Chapter 40: A Glass of Wine and a Bath

November 29, 1987, McKinley, Ohio

I was entranced watching Anicka slowly remove her clothes — sweater, skirt, blouse, bra, nylons, and panties. Anicka was flat-out gorgeous — nice hips, a nearly flat stomach, large breasts that drooped just a tiny bit, and neatly trimmed blonde pubic hair which didn’t conceal plump labia. If I didn’t know for a fact she was in her late fifties, I’d have guessed she was no older than about thirty-five, and she could have passed for Milena’s older sister, rather than her mother.

The vision caused blood to flow, and my briefs and jeans suddenly felt very tight, and I was positive Anicka hadn’t missed the bulge in my jeans.

“Your turn!” Anicka declared, her eyes twinkling with anticipation.

I’d begun wearing rugby shirts once I no longer wore my cassock, and pulled it over my head, then removed my jeans, socks, T-shirt, and finally my briefs. Anicka looked me up and down, made a point of staring at my erection, then nodded and smiled approvingly.

The tub was full, with copious suds from the bubble bath, so Anicka turned off the tap and asked me to fill the glasses. I poured wine into each glass and set them on the ledge next to the tub. Anicka directed me to get into the tub, so I stepped in, then sat down in the warm, sudsy water. I watched as Anicka stepped into the tub, getting a good look at her sexy, shapely butt as she sat down between my legs. She leaned back, and I put my arms around her, careful to rest my hands on her stomach.

Anicka reached for her glass of wine, so I did the same. We gently clinked the glasses together, then drank a few sips. I put my glass down and returned my hand to Anicka’s stomach, while she kept her glass, and continued sipping her wine.

“That’s it, right?” I teased. “A glass of wine and a bath?”

Anicka laughed softly, “I believe you knew what I meant when I offered that, you ninny! Not to mention I told you, quite clearly, what I wanted!”

“To be ravished by a young man who was less than half your age!”

“You just have to keep reminding me!”

“You brought it up! And seeing you brought it up, alright!”

“I’d say you have the right tool for the job!” she said with a soft laugh.

“I’ve had no complaints about my craftsmanship!” I chuckled.

Anicka used her free hand to grasp my right wrist and gently move my hand to her firm breast.

“You know, I usually kiss a girl before I get this familiar,” I said lightly.

Anicka laughed, shifted a bit, turned her head, and presented her lips for a kiss. I chose to give her a simple, soft kiss, my lips lingering on hers for a few seconds before I moved away.

“I didn’t expect that!” I chuckled.

“What?”

“Cherry lip gloss? I guess you weren’t kidding when you said you felt like a teenager!”

“I bought it this morning on a lark. You approve?”

“I do, though I very much enjoy the natural scent and taste of a woman’s body.”

“An important attribute for a lover! You know I want my men to be virile, strong, and masculine, and I enjoy the smell of a man I’ve helped work up a good sweat, not to mention how he tastes, especially after coupling.”

“And the unique flavor of a woman post coitus is equally enjoyable!”

“There’s another thing that’s difficult for me to reconcile.”

“The fact that I would perform cunnilingus on a woman with whom I’ve recently copulated?”

Anicka laughed, “You said it that way to be goofy, right?”

“Yes, of course! Why?”

“In my experience, devout Christians tend to be very conservative about sex, if not outright prudish.”

“Orthodoxy has a strain of that, but it’s mostly cultural, not church dogma. And the Orthodox girls I know who are very conservative are not so conservative once they marry. And that includes Elizaveta.”

“She was always so proper in public.”

“I bought her a flogger when we visited a sex shop in Amsterdam.”

“I don’t even know what to say about that!” Anicka declared.

“That my young wife was as open-minded as anyone you can think of, at least once we married! That is the pattern I hear from the other Russian men as well.”

“Your comment before, how would you say it if you weren’t trying to be silly by using technical words?”

“That I enjoy eating pussy, including one which I’ve recently fucked!”

Anicka laughed, “Sorry, but it’s amusing to me to hear you speak that way!”

“As much time as we’ve spent together, it’s almost always been in situations where I either was a student, or was married and ordained, and that meant practicing proper decorum.”

“And now that you’ve slipped the shackles of being my student and of ordination, we’re doing what I’ve wanted to do since the day I saw you in the tub!”

“May I inquire as to how the lady would prefer to be ravished?”

“The lady thinks she made that clear! She likes strong, virile men! And loves how they feel, taste, and smell! In other words, I’d like you to take complete control, and ravish me in any way you wish!”

“Your wish is my command!” I replied enthusiastically.

November 30, 1987, McKinley, Ohio

I awoke Monday morning when Rachel fussed, slipped out of Anicka’s bed, and went to my room. I took a quick shower, put on my robe, changed Rachel’s diaper, then took her downstairs so I could give her a bottle. It was going to be a long day, as I’d had very little sleep after six hours of intense, vigorous sex with Anicka, interrupted only by Rachel’s 11:00pm feeding.

As I rocked with Rachel, I took stock of how I was feeling. I had, as Anicka had requested, and I’d promised, ravished her, cumming an almost unbelievable eight times, alternating between intercourse in various positions and mutual oral pleasure. We’d finally fallen asleep, sweaty and sated, around 3:30am. My concerns about how I might feel afterwards seemed unfounded, as I felt very good, despite being exhausted.

“How do you feel?” Anicka asked quietly, coming into the music room wearing a robe.

“I know the question you’re actually asking, but I’m beat!”

Anicka laughed softly, “You were quite vigorous, even the last time!”

“To answer your question, I feel fine. I’d had some minor concerns about how I’d react, but all things being equal, I’m happy and have no regrets.”

“You are, as I suspected, an expert lover!”

“As are you! Not to mention being sexy and tasting great!”

“Somehow a comparison to that silly cereal commercial seems wrong, though you were quite the tiger in bed!”

“It’s not my usual style,” I replied. “But it was what you wanted, and more importantly, what you needed.”

“From my talks with Milena, I knew that you strongly preferred lovemaking to raw sex, though I gather from her and Deb that you were quite vigorous with them as well!”

“Comparing notes with your daughter?” I chuckled. “Will you do that now that you’ve had your own experience?”

“No. The only person who knows is Derek, though I assume you told Clarissa, given what you said.”

“I did. And she’s the only one who will ever know besides Derek, you, and me.”

“Do you know what the best part of last night was?”

“What was that?”

“When you brought Rachel into bed and fed her.”

“It seemed to be the right thing to do, rather than go downstairs and leave you. This morning, you were sleeping, and I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Milena’s father never once fed her nor changed her diaper. It just wasn’t a thing a Czech man would do in the late 50s or early 60s.”

“I suspect that’s true of my grandfather, and maybe even my dad, though I never asked. Elizaveta would have nursed Rachel, so it’s unlikely I’d have fed her before she was on solid food, and I’m not sure my diaper-changing skills would have passed muster any more than my cleaning or cooking skills did!”

“I’m not surprised she was traditional everywhere except the bedroom!”

“Not just the bedroom,” I chuckled.

“I still find it surprising that she would go into a sex shop in Amsterdam!”

“She did, though you should have seen the look on her face when French customs officers checked her bags and found the flogger!”

Anicka laughed, “That must have been hilarious!”

“To Clarissa, Abby, Pete, Sandy, and me; Elizaveta, on the other hand, was outraged!”

“I can imagine! I do have one last request.”

“I’m fresh out of cigarettes!”

Anicka laughed, “You certainly shot enough times last night! As I said, I love your sense of humor. Don’t ever lose it.”

“I’ll try not to. What’s your request?”

“Would you shower with me before you go to the hospital to show off your daughter?”

“And receive my evaluation.”

Anicka laughed softly, “10.0, even from the East German judge!”

“Who knew it was being observed and scored?!”

“OK, then 10.0 from the Czech judge! They aren’t quite as corrupt as the East German ones!”

“I’d love to shower with you,” I replied. “It seems a fitting last act.”

Anicka smiled, “I was positive you had your head screwed on straight about this.”

“Had you not been sure, you’d never have done it. You and Derek are, for all intents and purposes, married without the paper, though with what I’ve heard called the occasional ‘hall pass’. You know I intend to marry and have at least one more kid. This was amazing, but it was a one-time, special thing, which could only have happened due to a series of tragic events. Are you OK?”

Anicka laughed, “You are an expert, well-endowed lover, my Dear, but we don’t connect on the same level as Derek and I do. I will treasure the memories of my fantasy being fulfilled, but that is all this could ever have been.”

“And I will always remember the beautiful music professor with whom I shared a bottle of wine and a bubble bath, and everything that followed.”

“There is one other thing you could do for me, if you feel up to it.”

“What’s that?”

“Before the shower, come back to bed and make slow, passionate love to me!”

“You want to experience the thing that moved Milena to reconnect with Joel?”

“I do.”

“I believe I can oblige!”

Just over an hour later, we emerged from the shower, dried, dressed, and went downstairs to have breakfast together.

“That was sublime,” Anicka said as we prepared our breakfast.

“It was,” I agreed.

After breakfast, I packed Rachel’s bag, as she and I would be out until lunch, given I had to drop off my evaluation at the medical school, meet with Doctor Gibbs, show off Rachel, and run errands before meeting Lara for lunch. Anicka left the house at the same time we did, so she could teach her class, and she surprised me with a soft, loving kiss before we went out the door.

I drove to the medical school and turned in my evaluation, and, unsurprisingly, Rachel attracted attention from medical students, professors, and administrators. Joel wasn’t kidding when he said Abigail was a chick magnet, and Rachel certainly appeared to be as well. We left the medical school about forty minutes after we’d arrived and headed for Moore Memorial Hospital.

“This must be Miss Rachel Michelle Loucks!” Nate exclaimed when I walked up to the admit desk.

“None other!” I declared. “Is Doctor Gibbs available?”

“Yes. She’s in the Attendings’ office.”

He buzzed me through and as soon as I was through the doors, two nurses stopped me and cooed over Rachel. I let them each hold her for a moment, then hurried to the office before I could be accosted again.

“Hi, Mike! Shut the door, please, and then I want to hold her!”

I chuckled, “What is it with females and babies?”

“Give me a break! I know you dote on her!”

“Yes, my own baby! Other babies aren’t all that interesting. Girls and women, on the other hand, no matter their age, seem to go gaga over babies!”

I shut the door and handed Rachel to Doctor Gibbs, who suddenly became ‘girly’, rather than acting like the stoic doctor I usually saw.

“Did you turn in your evaluation?” she asked.

“This morning, before I came here. I’d have given sixes, if that were allowed. My only regret, and this might sound bad, is that I didn’t get a chance to take Doctor Casper up on his offer to allow me to do an intubation.”

“Every Resident and every medical student complains about lack of opportunity to do procedures, despite the fact that those opportunities only come if someone is injured or falls ill. It’s similar to people hoping a heart becomes available for transplant, as the only way that can happen is if someone else dies. You’ll be a Fourth Year when you’re back in the Emergency Department, and you’ll have your opportunity then, for sure.”

“Fortunate for me, unfortunate for the person needing the tube.”

“Not if you save them!”

“I meant needing it in the first place, but I get what you’re saying.”

“It won’t surprise you that your evaluation is perfect, with a notation that you did honors work. I also checked the box for ‘potential Match candidate’. I’m not speaking out of turn, because she knows, but Clarissa received the same scores and check marks.”

“If you can’t answer, I understand, but what about Maryam?”

“I think she’ll make a fine cardiologist! She doesn’t have the temperament to work trauma, and she’s too, let’s call it ‘conservative’ with regard to anything that has to do with reproductive or excretory functions.”

I nodded, “Something she and I discussed during our OB rotation. Elizaveta was always uncomfortable with me laying my hands on a female in that way, or even seeing them, but she also knew it was part of the job. There is a strong strain of cultural conservatism, and taboos even, especially for Christians from the Middle East. That’s true of some Russians, but marriage seems to mostly cure them of it.”

Doctor Gibbs laughed, “Your wife certainly wasn’t shy about it!”

“True, though she still had qualms about me doing pelvic exams or inserting Foley catheters. I had an interesting discussion on that general topic with a woman who was supporting her friend during an extended delivery that turned into a C-section, and later, with the woman herself. They both found it fascinating and confusing that I could, in effect, turn off the usual male response to seeing exposed female genitalia.”

“It’s a skill you learn very quickly. If not, you risk all manner of trouble down the road. Maryam’s choice of a specialty which does not involve, for the most part, those kinds of exams is wise. She’ll see her share of exposed breasts, though males have far more open heart surgery than females, often by an order of magnitude.”

“Too much beer, poor diet, and lack of exercise are common male traits. And smoking doesn’t help, either. I don’t know too many women like that, though I do know they exist.”

“Exactly. And that is where primary care practitioners need to focus. Unfortunately, patients do not listen to doctors any better than teenagers listen to their parents!”

I chuckled, “I hadn’t made that analogy, but it does track!”

“I assume everything is still going according to plan with your training and choice of specialty?”

“Yes. Pediatrics, psych, internal medicine, then back here. The administration approved the plan, as you know, and I don’t see any chance that’ll change. The only thing I might consider is doing my final emergency medicine rotation in Cincinnati.”

“You want to see gunshot victims that badly?”

“No, but yes, if you understand. I’d do it in Chicago, but I’d prefer not to move out of this area, even for two months. That said, I did have someone encourage me to interview at Vanderbilt.”

“You’ll need the services of a trauma surgeon if you even think about doing that!” Doctor Gibbs said fiercely.

I chuckled, “Too late! A blonde, eighteen-year-old with a full tennis scholarship to Vanderbilt let me know I was ‘boyfriend material’ and encouraged me to think about it.”

“All teasing aside, is that something you’re seriously considering?”

“As I said to the young woman after we had talked it through, my entire support system is close to Moore Memorial, with my maternal grandparents being only forty minutes away, and my mom being furthest at about ninety. I know nobody at all in Tennessee, and my parish is here, as well. Even though Vanderbilt has a great teaching hospital and the young woman in question is smoking hot, it’s impractical.”

“I know it’s against your ethical principles, but this hospital has plenty of ‘smoking hot’ nursing students, medical students, and doctors!”

“I serve on the Ethics Board and we’re meeting this afternoon because a medical student was in flagrante delicto with one of those ‘smoking hot’ nurses, well, a nursing student, and ignored a page.”

“You know what happened with Tom Dobbs.”

He was the neuro Resident who had ignored my pages.

“Suspended for thirty days for ignoring his page, then dismissed when it turned out he’d pressured his Fourth Year into an affair by promising a good evaluation. Bad choices all around, and something I would never do. Even you aren’t worth it!”

Doctor Gibbs laughed, “Even me?”

“Even you!”

“I can’t hold a candle to Nurse Ellie!”

“And Nurse Ellie is never going to get a chance to hold my ‘candle’, no matter how much she wants to! Ditto any other nurses.”

Doctor Gibbs laughed and shook her head, “You and Ghost are made for each other! You both have a goofy sense of humor and a way of twisting even the most innocuous phrases into innuendo.”

“To complete the thought, I think anyone who has any supervisory relationship over me, or whom I might supervise, is ethically off limits. A fellow med student or a nursing student would probably be OK, but nurses and doctors are absolutely off limits.”

“Patients?”

“That’s how you met Bobby!” I replied. “But it would have to be the proper context.”

“I think you have it right. What will you do this afternoon?”