Chapter 16

Oliver:

I left the house on Thursday morning feeling inordinately pleased with myself; Jack and I had pressed Vera pretty hard the evening before and she'd borne up well under it. Oh, I was well aware that she still had concerns and reservations, but she was gamely dealing with them. I considered that we'd actually broken new ground -- and experienced a level of intimacy sorely lacking in our relationship over the past few years. All in all, it appeared to me that the shakeup of our relationship offered opportunities for improvement well beyond my ascendancy to operational control.

At the office, I almost immediately discovered response emails from my other two daughters; I had been correct in assuming that dropping the fiancé hint would bring them slavering. Both would contrive to arrive on Friday evening, which would work out well. Judith's communiqué had some hints in it about rough waters with her spouse and the fact that he might wish to return home on Saturday -- but I doubted that he would be going ANYWHERE once thoroughly briefed. Judith's husband wasn't a source of any excitement on my part; if we could avoid briefing him and he wandered off Saturday morning it would fix any marital problems they might have quite handily. I would have to remember to express that thought to all concerned...

No time like the present; since I hadn't aired this little brainstorm with Vera yet, now was the time if I was going to avoid a harangue about not giving her any preparation time. I picked up the phone...

"Ollie?" Vera responded. "Is something wrong?" I seldom call home -- but this was paranoia ... It was unclear whether I should be strict or coddle her, so I decided to just pass it off...

"Of course not," I replied. "But I had an idea and it has borne fruit, so it's time to warn you. I emailed the girls and told them that we would be having a little family get-together tomorrow night."

"Oh," Vera snorted. "And they haven't begged off yet, so you're thinking that I should go ahead and plan a big dinner. That hasn't..."

"They've both confirmed attendance," I rode over her. "I took the liberty of telling them that they would be meeting Beth's fiancé..."

Vera snorted again. "You DID? That was GENIUS! Where did THAT come from?"

"I haven't spent a quarter century in your presence without learning a FEW things about what gets a woman going!" I retorted. "Besides, I AM the genius in the family, remember?"

"Yes, well..." Vera began.

It was time to call her down. "And that's not ALL I am, either! I'm going to stop you here to remind you that you're falling back into old habits..."

There was a silence on the other end of the line that got lengthy before a meek voice said, "Sorry."

"I'm not angry," I assured her, "It's just a reminder." Still, while I'd hoped to brace her in person, this was a lead-in... "While you're planning, you should expect another guest."

"Oh? Who?"

"Actually, I haven't decided yet," I replied -- which triggered an audible gasp. "My assumption is that with you tending the home fires, I should attempt to collect a research assistant."

"A young one, I'm sure," Vera replied in a dead voice.

"Age is irrelevant," I told her. "I'm sure that we'll both have a decade or so of wear repaired physically. Mental age could be another matter -- and being a bit older and wiser could work in your favor."

"Ollie, I..."

"We'll discuss it this evening," I cut her off. "This isn't a topic for telephone conversation. I only mentioned it so you could have a headcount when arranging supplies."

"Yes, Ollie." That had to be painful. Just cutting her off like that was exercising authority I seldom even thought about attempting.

"Nothing is decided. We'll discuss it when I get home. Worry about menu planning -- dinner tomorrow night could be our last unhurried meal for a while." I closed out the call with the usual terse endearments -- and suspected that she took little comfort in them. Well, it would all shake out...

The incident didn't improve my mood either; I felt somewhat guilty about the way I was treating Vera. But there wasn't much to be done about it; Jack had pointed out that if I didn't take on a second concubine, assumptions would be made -- assumptions that could complicate things even more than they already were. No, it was better to go ahead and do the male chauvinist pig thing and let Vera get used to it; she would adjust...

Putting aside my funk, I made the rounds. The feminine contingent had dressed for success -- or seduction, perhaps. I'd never realized what a catch it appeared that I was considered to be...

Some things SHOULD be covered -- Harriet's knees, for instance, which were large and arthritic; she WAS pushing sixty, after all ... Well, perhaps only dragging fifty. I doubted that she was at all fertile, in any case, but she'd been displaying that aggressive friendliness that women over fifty looking for a late-life companion tend to deploy for some time. She would have been out of luck in any case -- I HAD Vera, after all; I'm not at all certain I was flattered, given the fact that I held the younger side of our age difference. Besides, when a woman over fifty who lives with her mother goes looking for a man, one has to wonder what for...

The young girls, on the other hand, were VERY flattering with their attentions; I don't think Amanda Fenster was wearing ANYTHING under her lab coat! They all seemed to go to great lengths to get me to try to see their navels from a vantage point between their breasts...

I let it go on through the morning, but by noontime, I'd decided. Britney held the high ground; in the first place, we had history, of a sort, in that she'd taken a long-term interest in me. In the second, she wasn't making a fool of herself. Instead, she hung out on the fringes, dressed relatively respectably and acting professional -- wearing eyeglasses today -- and watching the others make fools of themselves and making nonverbal commentary -- a look here, a quirk of a smile there, an occasional arched eyebrow ... In conversation, she was completely professional, while still managing to hint at the availability of another level -- which was something she'd been practicing for some time on me, and which had been a minefield on occasion when I was more concerned about maintaining the integrity of my body parts if Vera discovered an indiscretion. No, Britney was a class act -- and as such, my choice to occupy the vacant slot in my entourage...

That having been decided, I stopped enjoying the attacks of clumsiness and the apparent slipperiness of paper in my vicinity and began to evince some perplexity at the entire situation. I declaimed loudly to Leland in the break room that I had no idea what the fuss was and that it was much ado about nothing and that perhaps he should go shopping for concubines, since it appeared that all it took was an unguarded word to initiate massive excitement. It was true, too -- the conversation between Britney and I hadn't been all that damning, but someone decided that it boded a change in my modus operandi. The odd thing was that I could have triggered that mine at virtually any time -- and I would have been just as graceless about backing out as I had been. No, there was more to it than that; I was telegraphing interest -- clumsy of me, I'm sure, but I'm not good at these things. That afternoon, however, I closed up shop and went back to my old ways -- and feminine enthusiasm waned rapidly.

Just before the close of business, however, I contrived to visit young Britney, asking her about progress and getting her latest hypotheses regarding our slim data. At the end of it, after a casual glance around to see if we were being actively observed, I asked, "I wonder if you are available for dinner tomorrow night?"

Britney froze, then took off her eyeglasses to cover it. "I might be. Where?"

"My home," I replied. "I think it's time you met the wife. I need to know how well you'll get on together." I could see that I'd rocked her, so I continued, "I braced her with a variant on your comment about the realities of being a modern woman."

"I see." Britney put her glasses back on and covered her mouth with her hand while pretending to seriously peruse a printout. "And how did that go?"

"There were some initial fireworks, but the point was made," I replied. "Vera blusters quite a bit to cover her insecurities -- and another woman is a clear threat. She'll need to be, well, coddled, deferred to." I eyed Britney directly. "She's not particularly beautiful or shapely, but she is a practical woman and she took me on when no one else would and became the mother of my children. What little polish you see on me was applied by Vera."

Britney locked eyes with me, her expression serious. "You're being very direct, Doctor," she challenged.

"I am," I agreed.

"How should I dress?"

"Casually. It will be a family gathering, but the situation may ... morph a bit," I replied, treading carefully.

Britney eyed me for several seconds before asking softly, "Should I come prepared to stay the night?"

"The weekend, perhaps," I replied. "I have no idea of your living arrangements, I'm afraid. Do you have any long-term responsibilities? A pet, perhaps? A roommate?"

"No." She smiled an embarrassed smile. "My work occupies my attention. Pets -- and roommates -- would be a distraction."

I nodded, wondering what that meant from a sexual standpoint. As I have previously indicated, Britney wasn't excessively pretty, but she was fully capable of attracting a male. Had I been twenty years younger and single, I'd have taken a run at her (and been rebuffed, of course; my age and experience were part of my attraction for her, I doubt not). "So we should expect you?"

"Yes."

I handed her a slip of paper with our address and contact information on it that I had prepared in advance. "Dinner should be around seven-thirty -- but feel free to arrive well before that."

"Thank you, Doctor." Britney tucked the slip away in her lab coat.

"Obviously, we'll have to get through tomorrow..." I glanced around pointedly.

"I understand completely," she replied. "I'll ... attempt to defuse the current crisis." She cocked her head, her look suddenly sultry, "Besides, if tomorrow night goes well, there will no longer be any occasion for excitement, will there?"

There it was. She was asking -- pretty clearly -- if she was auditioning for a slot in my entourage. What amazed me was the fact that even though she had no idea that the potential harem would soon be an actual one, she was still willing to deliver herself into my tender mercies. I was well aware of the concept of the 'pre-pack' -- and just as aware that they didn't always deploy as configured -- yet, clearly, she was willing to take the chance that I would be extracted and that when it occurred, she would actualize her position as a potential concubine. I limited myself to, "Exactly."

She nodded, absorbing the confirmation. "Goodnight, then," I said, turning and taking my leave of her.

"Goodnight, Doctor." I could feel her eyes on me until the door closed behind me.

At home, Vera awaited my pleasure -- nude and obsequious. I don't know which surprised me more. "Would you like a drink?" she asked, as she took my laptop case -- a behavior heretofore unknown in and of itself. Vera NEVER met me at the door, and NEVER took my laptop from me -- and I got my OWN glass of wine if I wanted one, although she saw to it that the bar was stocked. Now she stood before me, head down ... It was somewhat painful, as if I was guilty of robbing her of something. "The pinot grigio, I think," I replied. "Give me my case back and I'll take it to the office while you pour. Pour one for yourself, as well." I took my laptop back and took it to my office, working to compose myself and trying to figure out just how to present things to Vera.

Upon my return to the living room, I settled on the left side of the couch and waved Vera to the right, where we could face one another. "Vera, how long have we been married?"

It was a clear indication of her upset that she didn't needle me with, "What? You've forgotten?" Instead, she said quietly, "A long time -- but that's over, isn't it?"

"Technically, perhaps," I agreed, "but functionally? Aren't you still the woman I come home to at night? Don't we continue to occupy the same bed? Are you not continuing to do the myriad things that keep this household running, leaving me to focus upon my work? We DO still have a relationship, and it isn't 'at will', as it were..."

"It is for you," Vera replied quietly, "And it's clear that I won't be the only one occupying your home or your bed!"

"Vera," I sighed, "Have I ever said or done ANYTHING to indicate to you that I consider you to be disposable?"

"Well, no..."

"If I wanted you gone, could I not have gone to Jack and made a separate agreement to merely leave you behind?"

THAT had an impact! Vera looked startled. "Uh, I guess you could have, couldn't you?"

"Yes, I could -- yet there you sit -- and you ARE a concubine!" I pointed out. "You need to look at the larger picture, here. I can take you -- but there will be changes. There would be, anyway -- it will be a new place, and I will most likely have a new job. You will need to start fresh on a new home. What I need for you to do is to look at the glass as being half full, rather than half empty."

"There will be another woman," Vera pouted. "Some young thing from your office, I imagine."

"Yes, you are most likely correct," I conceded. "Since our telephone conversation, I have settled upon a candidate."

"You haven't slept with her, have you?" Vera snarled, stiffening. She whipped back her glass, preparing to dash it into my face...

I slapped her! I don't know what came over me; suddenly, I was EXTREMELY angry! I leaned up and warded off the incipient dousing with one arm -- and with the other, I hit Vera for the very first time in our relationship, and roared, "Don't you EVER speak to me like that again! I have NEVER, EVER dishonored you with another woman and I am insulted beyond measure that you would accuse me of such a thing! You pig-headed little fool! I'm doing my absolute best for you and all you can do is whine about this and that and accuse me of infidelity!"