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Odd.

Also, have noticed at the gym that my Achilles tendons seem stiff of late. Am told this is the result of habitual wearing of heels. I know that every season we are bombarded with the propaganda that flat shoes are cute and sexy too, but trying to talk me into low heels with a skirt is probably a conversion project along the lines of the settlement of the West Bank. Will simply have to stretch more. samedi, le 27 mars

For all of the good advice I have received over the years, no one has ever opined on what may be the greatest challenge of my working life. How to deal with a non-standard-issue cock.

Penises can be strange for many reasons. They might have an unusual length-to-width ratio, or curve in a funny way, or remind you of your father’s brother’s penchant for turtleneck sweaters. In fact, if you sum up the ways in which a dong can be odd, there are probably more strange ones than unstrange ones. This gives the old man quite a scope for personality indeed.

For the most part the differences can be stacked in the “odd, but not distractingly so” or the “odd, but not medically abnormal” bins. And when a member confounds these classifications, I never know what to say.

Treat the matter lightly? As in a saucy purr of, “My, what unusual tackle you have.” Show a modicum of medical interest and ask, “Have you ever been to a doctor about that?” Recoil in horror? Ask advice on how he would like it handled? Or would sir prefer I didn’t comment at all?

I had the pleasure of meeting a customer with a most normal penis. Normal in every detectable way. It was his foreskin that was unusual. Instead of parting at the top, so the glans could nudge through, this gentleman’s sheath opened at the side.

At the side. Of his penis. Halfway down the shaft. An aperture too small to wedge his cock through. Meaning that he was hooded at all times, even when aroused.

I smiled. Looked at it, looked at him. Didn’t say anything. He didn’t offer advice. Should I attend to the head (completely covered) or the opening (drooling with pre-come, but several inches back)? He was older than me, divorced, so obviously someone had come across this anomaly before. Was it uncomfortable when he was hard? I wondered. Would he have problems with certain positions? Would this affect the condom? Would it be insulting to ask?

I lavished attention on both the head and the opening, being careful not to curl my hand round the shaft too tightly. When we progressed to intercourse, I pinched the tip of the condom as I put it on to collect the semen, wondering if it mattered. He took me from behind, but didn’t say if there was a reason above personal preference. He removed the condom himself afterward. I never did have a proper look at the result. dimanche, le 28 mars

I had been set up yet again, this time with someone introduced merely as “your future husband,” no pressure or anything. lundi, le 29 mars

I have this friend, right, only she’s not really a friend. More of an ally, or an acquaintance who won’t quite go away. And I’m not usually an unkind person, promise, I’m not.

I met her via A3, who kind-of sort-of had a thing with her a few years ago. By which I mean that he fancied her until he found out how desperately awful she was, at which point there was no turning back. As Churchill said, when you’re going through hell, keep going.

EOBAYH, we call her. Short for Each One Big As Your Head. This reference to her massive… tracts of land, being almost unpronounceable, has shortened itself to a two-hands-ballooning-from-chest gesture that signifies an overample bosom. Sample: “I ran into [hand gesture] the other day, apparently she’s doing the low-carb diet.”

“Yes? Is it working?” Because Hand Gesture’s assets are all natural, there’s a bottom to match the top. Not to mention a middle. And ankles you could safely moor Thames pleasure cruisers to.

(raised eyebrow in response, indicating that, if anything, she has grown more ample)

Hand Gesture probably has the highest ratio of failed diets and gym memberships to actual pounds lost of anyone I’ve met.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not polite to ridicule someone’s weight. A4, for instance, has been known to carry an extra pound or two and we never utter so much as a peep. But Hand Gesture has earned the right to be mocked by automatically declaring anyone smaller than her to have an eating disorder. Which by definition is the entire living population of the world save the scarier neighborhoods of Glasgow and a few bubbes in Miami. A conversation with Hand Gesture will most likely include a passage along the lines of, “I ran into Ruth the other day, yes? She just had a baby-right back to her original weight, eating disorder-and she was telling me about a new band her partner’s in…” and so on and so forth. Endlessly. She saw your mum the other day? Eating disorder. That blonde on Teachers? Eating disorder. New slimline Vanessa Feltz? Bulimic cow. Conversely, nibble so much as a rusk in front of her, and you’re bingeing.

Anyway. Last week A3 was in town and rang to see if I wanted to meet for lunch. It was rather disorganized-he had two meetings beforehand, one in Bayswater and one in the City. But my daylight schedule is dead easy to rearrange, and we decided on 3 p.m. on Friday. Bought a sandwich an hour before, noodled around the shops for a bit, arrived at the restaurant. The staff looked a touch surly at having customers in the post-lunch hours, for which I felt not the tiniest tinge of guilt. A spotty student-type led me wordlessly to the table.

He sat me opposite Hand Gesture and her magnificently upholstered chest. Damn, I hadn’t known she would be there. Though if I had known, I probably wouldn’t have bothered turning up. She was the only other person there, scarfing through the complimentary bread and olives. So much for low-carb diets.

“Hello, darling,” I said, feeling none of the goodwill I hoped I oozed. “A pleasant surprise to see you.” I asked after her family and she brought me up to date on who was looking too skinny, who should eat something, and-while there was no physical evidence to confirm this-the stones that had been simply dropping off her lately through diet and exercise. She offered me a chunk of bread and, still rather full from the sandwich, I waved it away.

“You’re certain?” she asked, eyes scanning my breasts, which are by no stretch of the imagination as big as my head, much less hers. “You’re not one of these…”

I put on a pained look and fluttered a hand up to my chest. “Celiac disease, actually,” I said, twitching the corners of my mouth and making as if to cry. “They diagnosed last month. My bowels are literally falling out of me, I can’t digest gluten and have come out in a rash all over.”

“My… no. Really?” she asked, mouth slack.

I leaned forward conspiratorially. “The worst part is the explosive diarrhea,” I whispered, just as the rest of our party arrived and seated themselves. “You simply can’t imagine how awful it’s been. You’re ever so lucky. It would be a blessing to have real thighs again.”

Of course, this meant I had to nibble poached fish and a terrible salad for the rest of lunch, but it was worth an hour of neither words nor food passing her mouth. I’m not usually an unkind person, really I’m not. mardi, le 30 mars

The client leaned over me, pulling at his member furiously. “I’m going to come on your face,” he said. It was the sixth time in ten minutes he’d said it, growling, as if trying to convince himself.

That was all. “I’m going to come on your face.” No instructions for me, though I played with my breasts and nipples, sucked my own fingers after touching myself, hoping that would help. All that I had known before the appointment were the details of the meeting and a request to wear a lot of makeup.