Hi there. I promised you a sneak preview of the first chapter of the book I’m writing, The Menopals Meetup, and here it is. This is the introduction, where the students arrive and the tutor, Kitty, gets to meet them for the first time.

Kitty paced the classroom, making tiny adjustments to the papers lying on each desk. She strode to the window and looked out, wondering which, if any, of the three people approaching the front door might be her new students. She placed a random bet with herself – the woman with the purple hair and the bright red coat. She’d treat herself to a gingerbread latte at break time if she was right.

Footsteps sounded in the corridor, and she turned back to the room. She was still making her way to the tutor’s desk when the door opened and a worried face peered round.

She’d put a big sign on the door, so students would know they were in the right place, but the woman looked as though she still wasn’t sure.

‘Good evening!’ Kitty greeted her warmly. ‘Come in! You’re here for the Menopals Meetup, right?’

The frown cleared, and the woman nodded, scurrying in the door and closing it carefully behind her.

Kitty strolled over and offered her hand. ‘I’m Kitty. Welcome to my class!’

The handshake was as limp as she’d expected, and the voice was almost apologetic. ‘Dolly. Pleased to meet you.’ Dolly bobbed the tiniest curtsey as she spoke. Kitty’s heart went out to her – and then she wondered; if the woman was this downtrodden, how did she come to be in this class?

She tried a touch of humour. ‘You don’t have to be pleased to meet me, you know! If you’re a bit worried, scared, and wish you’d never come, that’s OK too.’

Dolly blinked. ‘Really?’

‘Absolutely! This is a space where I encourage you to be yourself – exactly as you are. No filters, no judgment, no masks.’

Dolly blinked again. Her spine straightened a little and her shoulders dropped an inch.

‘My word!’ The frown this time was puzzled. ‘I don’t think anyone’s ever said that to me before!’

‘Most likely not.’ Kitty sighed, stepped back and waved her to a desk. As she walked to her own, she added, ‘And that’s part of the problem.’

Dolly opened her mouth to reply, but the door opened and – to Kitty’s delight – the purple-haired woman in the red coat marched in, looking like she owned the room already. Her presence, like her appearance, was loud, proud and unashamed. That’d model the look for others, Kitty thought with a grin.

‘Good evening, I’m Kitty,’ she said.

‘Gretchen!’ Was that a Scottish accent? Three long strides and Kitty’s hand was crushed in a bone-breaking grip. Note to self – take off rings before doing that again, she thought, rubbing her fingers.

‘Good to meet you, Gretchen.’  The woman nodded and plonked herself down at the desk right in front of Kitty’s.

‘Oh good, I’ve found the right place!’ An immaculately-groomed woman in what was clearly designer-label casual was closing the door behind her.

‘Good evening!’ Kitty had been just about to sit down.

The newcomer strolled over and gave her a carefully-weighted handshake – not too firm and not too soft. A Goldilocks grip, Kitty thought.

‘Hello. I’m Laura. It’s lovely to meet you. You’re the tutor, I take it?’

‘I am indeed. Welcome to Menopals Meetup!’

Laura glanced around the room. ‘Thank you.’ She nodded at Gretchen and Dolly, and took a desk in the centre-right of the room.

The next student’s appearance made Kitty blink, but she greeted her just as warmly, and with more curiosity than her other ladies. She was clearly a trans woman, and Kitty wondered what stage of the transformation she was at. It wasn’t a subject she knew a lot about, so she was intrigued, and keen to learn from this student, as much as the student would learn from her.

Even the voice was more masculine than feminine, though at least the poor woman didn’t have a booming baritone to contend with.

‘Kelley,’ she said, her grip a little looser than Laura’s, but firmer than the ‘wet fish’ that Dolly had greeted her with.

‘Good to meet you, Kelley.’ The woman’s smile said she knew Kitty had questions, and was looking forward to answering them.

Two students arrived together as Kelley sat down. They were chattering away as they walked in, and merely nodded to Kitty as they chose adjacent desks. 

Kitty leapt in during the briefest of pauses in their conversation. ‘Hi, I’m Kitty. And you are…?’

They both looked at her. ‘Oh, hi. I’m Gwen and this is my friend Catherine.’ Gwen’s voice had a Northern twang, but muted enough to suggest she’d lived in the South a lot of years.

‘Good to meet you. Welcome to the Menopals Meetup.’

‘I like that name,’ said Laura. ‘It sounds so friendly!’

Kitty beamed. ‘Thank you! That’s exactly what I intended.’

There were seven names on Kitty’s student list. Six had now arrived, and it was 7.30, the official start time. She glanced up at the clock on the opposite wall, then down at her watch, as if to check it really was time, then cleared her throat and turned up her welcoming smile.

Looking around the room at each person in turn, she began her opening speech.

‘We’re short one person still, but let’s make a start. Welcome everyone, and thank you so much for coming along to The Menopals Meetup. I really appreciate that you’ve decided to do this for yourselves – and for those around you, since they’ll benefit as well.’

She gave the housekeeping instructions – timings, where to find the loo, the fire exit and the cafe, and usual behavioural rules – then sat down to begin the class. As she glanced down at her laptop to set up the slide show, the door opened again, and a flustered-looking woman rushed in, closed it quickly, and scurried to the nearest available desk, flapping an apologetic hand.

‘Sorry I’m late!’ The words rushed out as she dashed across the room. Damp hair clung to her brow and her breathing was short and rapid.

‘No problem, we were just getting started. You must be Carol.’

‘That’s right.’ She reached into her bag and pulled out a water bottle and a hand-held electric fan. Kitty smiled.

‘That’s what I call prepared!’

‘Oh, I never go anywhere without this,’ the woman replied, switching the fan on. ‘I don’t care what people think. I hate this over-heating thing.’

‘Oh, I know what you mean!’ Gretchen barked, in what was definitely a Scottish accent. ‘Hideous!’ She picked up the paper fan she’d deposited on her own desk, spread it out, and wafted it vigorously.

Kitty ticked in Carol’s attendance.

‘I was just about to start the actual class,’ she said, ‘so you’ve only missed the boring bit.’

Gretchen barked a laugh, and there were a couple of giggles and several smiles.

Kitty let her gaze roam over the class. ‘So, I’m Kitty, and I’ll be hosting this class, but you’ll also be learning from each other. You may not feel you have menopause figured out – in fact, I guess that’s why you’re here – but you’ll all have found something that helps you, and I do encourage you to pass on any nuggets of ideas for others to share.’

The slide show appeared on the screen behind her, with her brand-new Menopals Meetup logo on it, and Kitty began the first lesson.