Chapter 7

The one thing Julie really didn't like about being a woman was her period. Oh, the rational part of her brain knew why she had them, but it was messy and awkward, especially at work. They might go bare from the waist down, but at 'that time of the month' the women wore panties. At least she didn't get cramps. She did feel all of the other side-effects, but she'd never had cramps.

Julie woke up feeling heavy and bloated. She sighed, and dug the box of tampons out from under the bathroom sink. Having her period was supposed to be a good thing. It meant she wasn't pregnant, and given what happened at Hubbard she'd wonder who the father was. Which did bring up a point: how to make sure David was the father of any children they had.

There were several knowing looks from the other women. Julie gobbled some Tylenol, and called up Sandy in HR. She could avoid the 'fun and games' by spending time outside or away from the office. She always felt randier during her monthlies, and she'd probably have to masturbate in the shower when she got home. But first she had some questions.

"Check with Doris in Telecom," Sandy said. "She's had three kids since starting here, and all three are by her husband. She can tell you what she did."

"Do you have any suggestions?"

"Timing, and condoms," Sandy said at once. "We do make provision for women who are trying to control their pregnancies, so if you want, I could have you moved to the South Satellite. Things have eased since we got rid of a few people down there."

"I heard a little about that."

"They were making it a hostile workplace," Sandy said. "We tolerate a lot of things, including behavior that would get you fired anywhere else, but not that. If you really want, we can move you down there."

"Not right away," Julie said. "I'm just considering options. Now that I'm married, kids are a real consideration."

Sandy nodded. "True. Anyway, let me know what you decide."

Julie checked her watch, and then looked up Doris in Telecom. The woman was half-buried under a rack of servers. Guys always liked this view: just her lower half was sticking out. Julie sat patiently until Doris finally extracted herself.

"I know why they give me these tasks," she said as she shook the dust off of the work smock she'd been wearing. Under it she'd had on a truly awful tee-shirt advertising a sushi place on the east side of town. "My hands are small enough I don't have to yank servers out of the rack to disconnect and reconnect wires. What's up?"

Julie explained what she wanted. Halfway through, Doris began nodding.

"Okay. The first thing is to get a handle on your fertility. There's only a short window during the month when you can get pregnant. Know when that is. I won't say you have to take precautions only on those days, but you might not want to be in the office when you're most vulnerable to any wandering sperm. Second, sperm can live in a woman's body for at least 48 hours, some say 72. Add a couple of days on the other side, and you've got about a week, well, five days, of maximum vulnerability. Start charting your basal temperatures, and keep that in mind."

"What about protection?"

"Condoms. Most women I know around here don't like them. I don't, either; they're too slick, and I like the slight roughness of skin on skin. But if you positively don't want a kid just yet, get used to it."

"What about going to the South Satellite office?"

"Only if you're desperate. I went there to time the first one, but after that I let a little sanity prevail. And don't rely upon the guy pulling out. I had a co-worker named Naomi who tried that, and she got pregnant anyway. Guys produce a few drops of pre-come fluid, and those contain sperm, too, as she found out. Besides, who likes it when a guy pulls out? I like it much better when he completes within me."

"Me, too."

"Most of us do. You'll see videos of guys pulling out, but that's showing off for the camera. They feel the need to show that the guy came." She waved her hand as if dismissing that particular thought. "When are you planning on kids? Hopefully not too soon."

"Not for a few months, I think. So I can get a handle on my temperature cycles?"

"That, too. No, I was thinking of you and your husband getting settled down together. There are couples who go for kids right away, and that puts a big strain on things. Personally, I think things should be done in steps: marriage, getting used to each other, and then kids."

"That's my idea."

"Good. Anyway, start keeping track of your temperature. And when you do decide to go off your birth control you'll have a better idea of what's going on. It wouldn't hurt to talk to a doctor right about now, either. He or she may have some suggestions."

Julie nodded. "Thanks, I will."

She returned to the North Satellite, and made sure she had a steady flow of outside air. It must have worked, she felt the urge to head for the break room, but it wasn't like normal. One of the things Hubbard had for the women who were having their periods were the sex machines. It was like masturbating, in a way. These were ones you sat on. There was no penetration, and you put plastic over the machine itself. Then it vibrated down there, which gave you the most delicious feelings. And after a few minutes on one she felt nice and relieved.

Her periods always lasted four days, as regular as clockwork. On Thursday Ed took her into the shower and helped her relieve some of the accumulated tension. She gasped through her climax—achieved just from his hands—and a second one with her pressed up against the wall. On Friday morning she took the time to make up for a little lost time out on a blanket next to the pool. The first guy was quick, and got her wound up. The second took his time, and she was totally relaxed by the time she returned to the phones.

David was appreciative, too. That night she made sure he fell asleep from exhaustion. She smiled sleepily to herself. She had missed the intimate touch of a man in the last few days. That was one of the best things about Hubbard.

She mentioned that on Monday when she was in the main offices. She'd been asked to come down for an afternoon meeting, and decided to go to lunch with Anna and a couple of others, first. They decided on a local place with outdoor seating.

Anna laughed and nodded as Julie explained some of her thoughts. "I was talking with my sister," she said around a mouthful of salad. "I think I know the difference between this office and where she works."

"The constant sex."

"Only partly. To Jackie, sex is something a man does to a woman. I really pity her because I think she just lies there. Around here sex is something a man and a woman do together. It's more interactive, and I think that makes a big difference. I think that's true of more than just in the office, too."

"Maybe." Julie thought about that. She remembered her first experiences in bed. She really didn't know what to do. Her father couldn't explain it, or wouldn't, and her Aunt Patty had found the whole subject distasteful. She had lain there wondering what the big deal was. Oh, sure, it felt nice, but that was it. There weren't any of the skyrockets, shells bursting, or roaring in her ears that she'd read in the romance novels she devoured.

That had changed when she'd started at Hubbard. That very first time with a guy was indelibly etched in her memory. The sex had been a whole lot better than anything she'd experienced. She'd come, and that was part of it. It was the first time someone else had made her climax, and she wanted more of it. And it had only gotten better from there.

"I think part of the problem is that nobody tells a young girl how much fun it is," she said slowly. "People have been conditioned to not talk about it."

"My mother was sort of that way," Anna said. "I know it embarrassed her, at least a little. I wasn't the oldest girl in the family, and when I talked with my older sister, well, she had it worse. Mom was a little more comfortable walking with me. It wasn't anything like what I got from my friends."

"That's the thing," Julie pointed out. "Who do you have to go to that you can trust? Maybe that's why romance novels are so popular among teenage girls: you think they're telling you how it is. I didn't have may girlfriends I could turn to, mostly what I learned I got on my own."

"I learned a lot from my friends," Anna said, "or at least I thought so. There was an awful lot of talking and speculation. Nobody knew for sure, and so we shared a lot of misinformation."

"And now? What are you going to tell your kids?"

Anna sighed. "None of them are close to that age yet. I've been thinking about it. On one hand, how good sex can be, the closeness and sharing, and how it makes you feel. But on the other, I don't want them rushing out and trying things for themselves. I have this feeling that they would present me with a little bundle of joy far too soon. I want my kids to be more grown-up when they start having babies."