Seven Days With A Demon

Chapter Nine

SATURDAY MORNING, PART TWO

Tedshook his head.  A sad look was on his face.

"WhenI went away to college, I focused on the books until one of myroommates more or less dragged me to a fraternity house for a partyone Saturday night. There was loud music and immature guys and alarge bowl of punch. I wandered about and rebuffed every guy'sattempt at conversation and drank bottled water. After a couple ofhours I realized that many of the boys had paired off with many ofthe girls. One pair was in the corner necking. Another couple wason the couch, the boy's hand up her blouse. A boy was sitting on theedge of a chair while a girl was kneeling before him, her face in hiscrotch."

Tednodded. "So the punch was spiked?"

"Ithink so," she agreed. "Instead of being amused or even arousedI was horrified. I got the hell out of there and walked home. Thenext day my roommates breezed in with stars in their eyes and razorburn on their cheeks." She huffed. "I didn't say anything but Ithought they all had loose morals."

"Andyour mother's words rang in your ears."

"Yes,"she said, a trace of sadness in her voice. "What I didn't realizethen was that what I was really feeling was both envy and loneliness. I envied the girls for the fun they had and felt empty and alonethat I couldn't find a way to have fun without a boy taking advantageof me."

"Andgiving in to his 'animal urges'?"

"Right,"she said. "And I was denying my own urges in the process." Sheseemed ready to cry. "But the time you and I met--"

"Raninto each other . . . literally."

"Iwas so lonely I was about ready to end it all."

Hewas astonished.

"Thatbottle of wine I dropped was supposed to wash down a bottle of pillsI was going to take later that night."

"Ohmy . . . "

"Butyou were so apologetic, and generous, and kind to me, that I saw youas a lifeline."

"Dryland to a drowning girl?"

Theymade eye contact again. "I knew you'd understand." They beamedat each other. "So when you offered to buy me coffee, dinner . . ."

"Avisit to my place?"

"Isaid yes because the alternative was death by suicide."

Hescowled.

Thatmade her laugh. "That's not what I meant."

"Alwaysnice to know you're a better alternative than death," he quipped.

Theyboth laughed quietly.

"Ourfirst night together was wonderful," she continued. "And Ibelieved I'd finally found a man who was better than everyone else."

"Notso many 'animal urges'?"

"Onlyat the very end when you couldn't control yourself any more," shesaid, "and that was understandable. By that time I had very littlecontrol as well."

Theysmiled and paused for a moment.

"Whenyou proposed I wanted to be the absolute best wife for you I couldbe," she said.

"Butnot like your mother?"

"OhGod no," she replied. "And that didn't mean the subservient,slave kind of wife."

"AndI wouldn't have wanted that," he added.

"ButI wanted to make sure you were happy with me and respected me andvalued me."