Chapter 13

“You – all of you – want to be my wives, AND have my children?”

“Did you have any objection to the idea, Reg?”

“Objection? No, never. I couldn’t object to being an object of love on such a scale. I am simply terrified of not being able to reach the high standard that you seem to expect from me. I don’t know if I can manage to be everything that you envisage for me.”

Frances continued to act as spokeswoman. “Don’t get your nickers in a twist, Reg. We expect you to carry on as you do now, loving each of us in your inimitable way, helping us to achieve our degrees, and you making further progress in your social bonding and other social skills.”

“What, nothing more?”

“Well, you may have to escort one or more of us to the occasional social outing, to a party or other event. I hope you are not afraid of being seen with us, Reg?”

“Gosh, no. I have seldom been to any social events, and never with a girl by my side! I would be proud to escort you, Frances, or any of you.”

“Fine. Now that we have that sorted, you can give me a kiss.”

Reg was happy to do so.

Next day at the university Reg found himself in a state of high alert; conscious of his new status with the girls, and his new responsibilities towards them.

The lecturers noted that he was not as focussed as usual in their classes, and wondered at it. It was often the case that a student would be clearly not himself or herself. It was usually a sign of a new young love, or the breakdown of a love affair, but the idea of Reginald Robertson in either position was ridiculous, they thought. He was not socially aware enough to be involved with a girl – or even a man, they mentally added – so they remained puzzled at his distracted air.

Come lunch break, Reg collected his meal and sought his usual table, making sure there was seating for five at it. He got odd glances from other students as he tilted all the seats forward against the table, to indicate them being reserved. Reserved for whom, they wondered?

Prudence had attached herself to the other three girls, and after getting their meal trays filled, they headed as a group for Reg’s table. They grabbed their seats and settled around the table unselfconsciously, as if it was a perfectly normal occurrence.

Other passing students began to notice the change at Reg’s table, and wondered what was going on. A loner and four girls of perfectly ordinary appearance with nothing going for them.

Was this a flock of nobodies; a group of the unwanted; a collection of the bland and the solitary? It looked that way.

One passing girl looked over the surprising table and said, loudly enough to be heard, “Weird!”

To the girl’s shock, Frances looked up at the speaker, and responded, “Weird? No, I don’t think you are; at least not terribly.” His girls burst into a fit of giggles, while Reg just looked embarrassed. He looked at the girl and said, apologetically, “I am sorry if you feel insulted, but you did ask for it, my dear.”

She responded to him, “You are defending them? That lot?”

“Indeed so,” he replied. “They are a bit boisterous, that is all. They are lovely girls, otherwise.”

“But you? You are Lonesome Reg, aren’t you? Never speaks to anyone?”

“Again, I must apologise for my own behaviour. I am still learning the ropes, and my tutors are having to put up with my peccadilloes.”

She recovered her poise. “Well, you seem to be doing fine, Reg. Congratulations. Sorry I spoke earlier. Bye.”

“Bye,” he said in turn, and she left, shaking her head in astonishment.

“Reg?” It was Prudence. “I have a free hour now, so I booked a session with the university doctor. Frances is going to go with me, for moral support. We’ll see you later and tell you about it.”

Reg racked his brain. University doctor? Migraine, perhaps? He watched them walk off, and his face must have shown his puzzlement, for Freda whispered to him, “Contraception, Reg, remember?”

His face cleared. “Ah, now I understand. Thanks, Freda.”

At the university medical clinic Prudence’s name was called, and she and Frances went through the door to the surgery. The female doctor looked up from her desk.

“Sit down, girls. Welcome, Miss Gower. Your friend looks familiar.”

Frances told her, “I was here for an implant fairly recently. Prudence has a similar need, and I am here in her support. She is new at this, as I was at the time.”

The doctor’s brow furrowed as she racked her memory. “Ah, Miss LeBrun. I remember the odd surname. No problems, I hope?”

“None. Me and my fella are happy, doctor.”

“Well done, young lady; and now?”

“Prudence has a young man as well. She wants protection for the moment, until things get settled for the future.”

“Is that so, Prudence? You have a young man interested in you?”

“Very much so, doctor. He may very well be my man for the future, but I am not ready to get pregnant yet.”

The doctor was rummaging around with her packs of medical items, to find what she wanted.

“A wise decision. I am very pleased that you and your friends, Miss LeBrun, are so fortunate, and so careful as well. Many girls who are not naturally beautiful in the extreme seem to have problems attracting the right man. You don’t seem to have that problem.”

“No, doctor,” Replied Frances. “I did have problems in the past, but when you find a guy who sees you as a person of merit, rather than as an object to please the eye or not, things start to look up.”

“Excellent. I am glad to hear that. I take it that you have had similar luck, Prudence?”

“Yes, doctor. Frances showed me the way to go, and I am very pleased with the results!”

“Fine, girls. Now, Prudence, do you want an implant under the skin of your upper arm, to last three months or so, or do want one of the devices that is inserted into your uterus?”

“I think the implant sounds simpler, doctor. Less things to go wrong. If there are no side-effects to worry about, that seems best for me.”

“Right, let’s get on with it.”

Frances interrupted, “Oh, and she had a migraine a few days back. Can you prescribe for that, doctor?”

“I can, and I will, just as soon as we get this implant dealt with.”

Prudence and Frances returned to their classes that afternoon, and the rest of the day was a normal time at the university for them.

Later in the day, as they stood at the car park entrance, waiting for Frances, the dumpy Beth came along and made a comment.

“Hello, Prudence. I see you have associated with that lot.”

She replied, “I am on probation with them, Beth. They are a bit leery of letting anyone take part in their group, so I might not make it. If I don’t, I’ll let you know.”

“Oh. All right. Best of luck then.”

“While I am on probation, I mustn’t discuss matters with anyone else, so I can’t speak to you for now, Beth.”

“Oh. I see. Bye.” She walked off, feeling peeved at being an outsider. She hoped that Prudence would not make it and would come back into her clutches.

Erika said to Reginald, “Comments on that, Reg?”

Reg looked pensive. “I am thinking: little lies to deter Beth from bothering Prudence for now?”

“On the ball, Reg. You are doing well on seeing social interactions that are more than simple statements.”

“Good. Glad to hear that I am now seeing how people speak, like others do. Very little that is said means exactly what is said; mostly there are undercurrents to be derived from the speech. In this case, the untruths being so clear to me, I could follow what it was really intended to mean.”

“Yes, this was an easy one. Others can be quite complex, and you have to know the speakers quite well, to know what they are getting at. Ah, here’s Frances. Let’s get in before Beth changes her mind and comes back!”

They were soon at Frances’ house, and preparing the evening meal. This time it was sausage rolls and baked beans, with iceberg lettuce and tomatoes; ready in less than half an hour.

As they ate, Reg told them of an encounter with one of his lecturers that day.

“At the end of the class he said, ‘Mr. Robertson, please stay behind for a few minutes.’ I did so, and he then told me quietly, ‘Mr. Robertson, I am told you have been seen associating with a group of several girls. I am worried in case you are being bothered by them, for I am aware of your desire for personal privacy. If you need any help, do let me know. I like to look after my better students.’

I explained to him, ‘Sir, I have struck a deal with them. They help me with social skills, and I help them with their studies. So I am an unpaid tutor, being paid in kind.’

He was greatly taken by the idea, and encouraged me to continue. ‘It is a win-win situation, Mr. Robertson. You get help with people skills, and they should boost their marks in their assignments. I like it. Do you want any more students to tutor? There are a few more in this class that could do with help!’

I told him, ‘Sorry, sir. I think I have enough to keep me busy for the moment. Can I get back to you if any of them drop out?’

That was enough to conclude the discussion, and I escaped. I thought I did very well, with that little bit of intrigue.” He grinned.

Frances was pleased also. “You did indeed, Reg; and with no-one there to help you with it!”

He preened in the glow of achievement. “Thank you, girls. You are already making a big difference to my life!”

Erika said, pointedly, “A big difference to your sex life as well, my man.”

“That is true, Erika. But in turn, I have made a big difference to your sex life as well.”

“You have got me there, Reg.” She laughed a little, and said reflectively, “You have got me quite a lot, Reg. Is that not so?”

He smiled in reply. “Yup. And I like getting you, Erika my love.”

Prudence interrupted, “Hey, you two: enough of the sex talk. It is me that Reg is getting tonight, now that I am protected. It is my first time, so I’d like to be alone with him, girls.”

There was a murmur of agreement around the table. They wanted her first time with Reg to be so good that she would never think of leaving him afterwards. They were not so much being generous as being organised with their generosity.

The girls reckoned that too much academic discussion would do little for Prudence’s night with Reg, so they kept the discussion to the minimum, and encouraged the pair to adjourn to the bedroom. Prudence was unsure which bedroom they should use, so Reg decided that her bedroom would be used. “My bedroom sees too much sex as it is. Frances tells me that her cleaner, who comes in two days a week, has been complaining about the condition of one room. Frances would not say whose room it was, but since then we have been trying to use as many different rooms as possible, to keep the cleaner happy.”

Prudence nodded. “I can go along with that, Reg. My room must be the least contaminated with sex pheromones in this house. Take me there, my love.”

They made their way to Prudence’s room. She was glad of the background heating in the house, for she didn’t fancy making love between cold sheets.

She headed straight for the bed, but Reg took hold of her hand, and restrained her. “No. Let’s do it my way, Prudence dear? If you don’t mind?”

She stopped, sighed and leaned back on him. “I don’t know any ways, Reg. I thought I just lay there and you fucked me. Please show me what you mean.”

From behind, he placed his arms around her, and clasped his hands to her small breasts. He teased them a little, through her clothes, then ran his hands down her sides to her hips.

“Nice,” said Prudence quietly.

“Even nicer with a few extra pounds on your lovely hips, my darling girl.”

“You think so, Reg?”

“I know so. I am looking at it from a man’s point of view. A few extra curves are always attractive, provided one doesn’t take it to extremes. Skinny models seldom look attractive to men. You are not that skinny, so you are an attractive girl, but you can be more attractive still.”