As Gene closed the door behind him she raised her fingertips to her cheek and tried to push the tingling feel of his tender kiss into her flesh so it would never leave. It evaporated as Gene did into the darkness.
She checked to see if she had left anything behind, picked up her pocketbook and opened the door. Just as Gene had predicted, Roger was busying himself down at the dock and so she called good-bye, waved and went to her car.
"Did you have a nice drive, dear?" asked her mother in a voice which tried to show interest while carefully avoiding any hint of prying.
"Uneventful," came Kay's lie. "Good-night."
"Good night, dear, get a good rest."
Kay didn't get a good rest, however. She kept thinking about the lies she was telling. This had to stop. She vowed, as sacred a vow as she was going to take with Davey very soon, that once she'd mastered the techniques of sex and could approach him with the experience he assumed she had, her lies would stop. She willed it!
It was three days before the wedding. Her mother brought her breakfast on a tray in her bedroom.
"What's this, mama?"
"Every girl should have breakfast in bed at least once in her life, and I don't think Davey's much of a cook. So here it is."
Her mother sat at the foot of the bed while Kay devoured the food. The mother watched her daughter eat and chatted merrily about the Big Day. When Kay was just finishing she almost casually said, "Oh, by the way, dear, I've made an appointment for you to see Dr. Kimpler. I forgot to mention it in the excitement."
"Why did you do that?"
"Well, dear, he should examine you to see if you are… functioning properly, that there won't be any unnecessary complications on your wedding night."
Kay practically choked on her coffee. Her Mom was so old fashioned, but what a darling! Of course, Kay could not refuse or announce that that possibility had been avoided long ago. She thanked her mother for her foresight and asked when the appointment was to be.
"It's for ten o'clock this morning so hurry and take your shower. I want you to drop off the music for the ceremony at Mrs. Endicott's on the way. You know how nervous she is, she's called twice about it. She wants to practice, so she'll be perfect. She's always planned to sing at your wedding, so be very sweet to her. Remember, she's known you all your life and is terribly fond of you. You will do that for me?"
"Of course. Mrs. Endicott is such a nice old nut, she gave me my first compact. Remember?"
"I remember you filled it too full of powder and insisted on using it before we went to church that Easter and you spilled it all over your navy blue dress in the car. I'll never forget that!"
The women laughed and hugged each other. Kay broke away before her mother could start to cry.
While rubbing her body with the warm soapy water of the shower, she speculated on her interview with Dr. Kempler. What would she tell him? He'd be obviously aware she was not a virgin. It didn't take much thinking to decide to tell him the truth. She would finesse part of her narrative, that was nobody's business! Not even Davey's.
Dr. Kempler was delayed with another patient so his lab technician, Morris, who was short and stocky and sexy, ushered her into a room and did the preliminary things. Her chart didn't indicate that she should be here. She had to explain her mother had made the appointment because she was getting married soon. After Morris, a young man even though he was prematurely balding, but not unattractively so, offered congratulations and wished her happiness he suggested she get into a robe.
Kay remembered Morris vaguely from school, he had been a senior when she was a freshman. He was much better looking now, even though his hair line had receded remarkedly for a man who was not yet twenty-five.
The room she was in contained a regulation white examining table with the stirrups for her heels, the pull-out board and the long roll of white shelf paper for the top. Against the other wall was a long plastic-covered divan, left over from the days when these offices belonged to a dentist who used it in his waiting room. Dr. Kempler had used it in his and eventually shuttled it to this room.
Morris was just opening the door to leave her alone to disrobe when Dr. Kempler opened the door, greeted Kay and told Morris that an emergency call had just come from the hospital and he had to dash over there. He'd be back as quickly as possible, would Kay mind, waiting? Kay knew it was pointless to wait, she could tell the medical man more than he could tell her about her own body but because she knew her mother would rest easier getting a doctor bill for a useless appointment, she agreed to wait. Morris smiled happily at that; he knew there were no more appointments before one.
Dr. Kimpler apologized and closed the door. Morris began chatting casually with Kay while he tried to pretend to be busy. He talked about general things so casually that Kay was completely disarmed and finally when the conversation got around to why she was there she told him just what she would have told the doctor.
"I know my body will function properly. I'm not a virgin."
Morris showed his true colors by grinning ear to ear at the information. He sat down on the plastic-covered divan next to her. They talked about school, gossiped about some of the more notorious alumni and laughed a good deal. Morris edged closer to her. He was right next to her before she was aware of his maneuvering. Seeing his clear eyes under the aged hairline, she decided it was okay, she'd let Morris make a pass at her.
"How did you come to be a lab technician, Morris?"
"The Army. I was trained for Nam."
"Davey, my fiance, was over there. He was in the…"
Kay never got to finish her sentence because Morris planted his mouth on her upper lip and imprisoned it between his full lips. Not quickly, but eventually, Kay pushed him away.
"No, Morris, we mustn't. Somebody may come in."
"Nobody'll come in. The doc took Harriett with him to the hospital. He always does."
"Yes, but…" His mouth was on her again. Kay realized Morris had been trying to do this ever since she arrived. She resigned herself to his advances. It really didn't go against her grain to be made love to.
Morris pressed his advantage, working his mouth over her features. His voice was almost a breath when he whispered to her ear.
"Let's enjoy this."
With that he gently took the handbag and slipped the strap off her shoulder. With his big hands on her upper arms he pressed her backwards till she was against the divan, then he lowered her and sat beside her, not taking his kiss off her face. When they were seated he continued the burning kisses and fondled her neck with the back of his fingers.
Kay was stiff. She'd only had sex with bald men on two occasions. The first was with her cousin's boy friend during a picnic in the back of a pick-up truck. She had been traumatized by the experience. He had been a brute, several years older than she. And she had been drunk. The second sexual encounter was with a married man. He'd just lost his job, had a mountain of bills, and he had been kind to her. She had been comforting him when one thing led to another. She trusted him. This time her whole future was riding on the fuck. She had to go through with it.
As his breath warmed her neck she determined not to waste this chance to gain some new knowledge. It was, after all, the goal she'd set her sights on. She closed her eyes and prayed she'd do all right.
After a few more kisses, Morris rose from the couch. He stood directly in front of her and began to remove his white jacket. She could tell from the way his shirt clung to his body that he was lean and tight, his body the efficient machine he'd worked for years to make it. An ex-Army medical man, she assumed, had to have a perfectly functioning body and he exercised daily to keep it that way. He had ambitions, too.