Chapter 18

Elaine grabbed Kendra's arm before they entered the clinic. She looked around before hissing, "I thought we were going to see an Ob-Gyn..."

Kendra shook Elaine's grip. "I've seen an Ob-Gyn. This is the doctor. You know, The Doctor. I'm getting rid of it. Jeez, Elaine. What did you think I needed? My hand held in the waiting room?"

Elaine's eyes narrowed. "You could've just been honest."

"This is my decision. I don't need anyone else telling me what to do."

"Jesus, Kendra. I agree with you. It's your decision. But before you make it, you should at least be informed. It's traumatic for God's sake. 'Getting rid of it', as you so eloquently put it, doesn't sound like a considered opinion to me."

"I've had plenty of time to think it over."

"What's the rush? You said you were at six weeks."

Kendra swallowed. "Ten weeks."

Elaine shook her head. Mostly to herself, she mumbled, "Why am I here?"

"Look. Sorry, okay?" The sad look Elaine had seen the night before flashed across Kendra's face again. "I'm scared. All right?"

Elaine thought maybe Kendra was three-dimensional after all. This was a hell of a way to find out. "Just tell me what's going through your head."

"I'm too young to have a kid. I have no idea who the father is. I can't afford it. And I don't like babies. In that order. Satisfied?"

Elaine sighed. "Yeah, I guess."

"Can we go inside?"

"No."

"No?"

"I want to give you a hug first."

The experience Kendra endured was one Elaine didn't want first hand. After they hobbled up the steps and inside to Kendra's bedroom, Elaine doled out two painkilling tablets and fetched some water. After supervising Kendra taking the pills, she tucked her in bed fully clothed. Kendra insisted Elaine go to class. Fifteen minutes later there wasn't much Elaine could do. Kendra was out like a light.

Reluctantly Elaine left her roommate, spending the afternoon worrying about possible complications and all the unwanted children in the world. She just wanted to get back to the apartment and make sure Kendra was all right.

Arriving home late in the afternoon, Elaine knocked softly before opening Kendra's door. She was still asleep. Elaine didn't wake her. Instead she decided to make spaghetti, Kendra's favourite dish. While the sauce was reducing, Elaine made some notes for the assignment that was due after the weekend. By the time Chelsea came home Elaine was back in the kitchen, stirring the sauce. Chelsea asked where Kendra was and Elaine told her.

"Is she all right?" Chelsea asked.

"I think so."

"Is that spaghetti I can smell?"

"Yes."

"Yum."

Chelsea flopped in front of the TV in the lounge room while Elaine got dinner together. She wasn't sure how Chelsea might react when Kendra told her about the termination. Maybe that was why Kendra hadn't told her. Or maybe Chelsea did know but simply couldn't take Kendra to the clinic.

She shook her head and wrinkled her nose remembering the events of the day.

While waiting for Kendra, Elaine thought she'd enquire about getting a blood test. The whole idea of asking someone to check if she had a clean bill of health 'for sex', made her very nervous. But she'd gathered up the courage to ask the secretary about it and the next minute she'd been whisked into an examining room. Elaine had snagged an appointment with a weedy doctor who'd had 'an unfortunate cancellation'. Elaine had wondered who the unfortunate one was, as the unfamiliar man had poked and prodded her, drawn her blood and made her pee in a cup. He'd even called her a 'good girl' for doing it.

She was glad she didn't have medical fantasies. The whole experience would have been a real downer.

Still, she'd get her results the next day and could pick up the written report before the weekend.

Spooning out the spaghetti, Elaine made a small serving for Kendra and took it to her room. She woke her and placed the bowl on her bedside table. Kendra thanked her but rolled over, saying she wasn't hungry. Elaine left it there anyway, quietly suggesting Kendra yell out if she needed anything.

Returning to the lounge room, Elaine joined Chelsea and ate in front of the TV while some crazy show was on. Elaine's mind was elsewhere. She was thinking about Kendra and also about the paper she had to write. Not the one for school, the one for Gary. About 'being submissive'.

As soon as Elaine was done eating, she retired to her room to 'study' and got started right away. It didn't take her long at all. She just wrote from her heart.

Elaine sat back in her chair and sighed. She hated writing things without researching. But she'd written all she could think of then edited it three or four times. She hoped he liked her answer and that she hadn't said anything wrong. She just tried to be honest. She knew that things might not work out with Gary. She had to keep reminding herself that this was just the first step on what might be a long journey.

She bit her lip as she pressed 'send', then turned her attention to her journal.

The first thing that occurred to her was, 'What a day.'

So she wrote it down.

"Grins."

Gary's message popped up on Elaine's screen giving her a fright. She'd been concentrating hard, working on her Metaphysics essay due next Monday. At least her term paper due Friday was done. "One moment, please," she typed, saving her work and closing windows.

"Sure."

Within a minute she was ready. "Hello, Sir," she typed, adding a smile.

"Hello, Elaine. I just got done reading your answer to my question about being submissive. I think you are just about ready."

"Ready for what?"

"For the presidency. What do you think? For the weekend, silly."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Sir. It's been a a strange day."

"I'll say. Though I would have thought it was somewhat depressing after reading your journal."

"A bit. It's just a bad situation, I guess. Bad all round."

"Let's talk about it."

So they did. Elaine talked about everything that had gone through her head that day. As the opportunity to unload opened in front of her, she began to smile. Gary listened and took it all in. He added his own opinion and they talked things through. They had comparable outlooks on sex, contraception and the abortion issue. They had both assumed correctly that the other was of a similar mind, though they were glad they covered the subject. And they both enjoyed seeing how the other's brain worked.

About an hour later the topic had been exhausted and Gary said, "A lot of this could go in your journal, you know."

"I never know what to put in it and what to leave out," Elaine replied.

"Well, in real life, you would have my undivided attention to tell me all about your day. Every day, a time would be set-aside for you to do that. During that time, you would be encouraged to tell me not just 'what you did', but how you thought about it and any questions that might have arisen about any aspect, or indeed any subject at all. Your journal either replaces or augments that time."

"Augments?"

"There is no reason why you couldn't keep a journal for the rest of your life if it suited you."

"I see. It's a work in progress."

"I'm sure it will take shape as you realise and explore its benefits."

"So it hasn't displeased you."

"Not at all."

"I should just work toward using it more effectively."

"You can work toward using it however you like. Once you've met the basic requirements, the sky is the limit. That's the point."

"Could you tell me the exact basic requirements please, Sir?"

"Haven't I told you?"

"I don't think so."

"The basic requirements are to outline the happenings of your day and any feelings, thoughts, needs or desires that they provoked."

"Oh. I think you did tell me that."

"Smiles. In the future, more things may be added such as any rules or instructions we've decided on, or any delayed reactions to discussions we've had. I think we communicate pretty well already, so as long as those basic requirements are met, I can't see any reason why you can't just enjoy your journal and do with it as you wish."

Elaine read Gary's words a couple of times. She was surprised by how laterally she was thinking. She wondered if Gary would catch her wavelength. "A bit like D/s."

"Hmmmm," he sent.

Elaine smiled to herself.

In no time Gary was typing again. "Yes, a bit." He sent a smile. "D/s is the same in that if you meet your Dominant's basic requirements, then you move to the next level, and so on and so on. If you get a match, then the world is your oyster. The trick is in taking the time to find your match. When your boundaries and limits converge and you can assume correctly what the other wants and needs, then yes, you are truly free to do anything within those boundaries and limits."

There was something Elaine hadn't understood. "What do you mean by, 'the next level'?"

"Well, they loosely equate to 'friend', 'boyfriend', 'serious boyfriend', and 'married partner'. They are: your Mentor, your Trainer, your Dominant, and your Master. From my point of view, it's my 'mentoree' which I don't think is a word, then my trainee, my submissive, and my collared submissive."

"Where am I up to?" Elaine wondered if the question was appropriate, though not until after she'd sent it.

"I'd say there is still a lot of mentoring going on and a fair bit of training. We have a long way to go."

"Is it normal to 'like' the idea of having something to aim at? Like a career path?" Elaine smiled at her words and sent the face with its tongue poking out.