Missing

Chapter Twenty-Six

David sat at the end of the table in the dining room organising his notes and compiling a list of the properties sorted by their categories. He leaned back and studied the page, looking for trends and identifying and circling anomalies. He was so absorbed that he hadn't heard Maria approach, and was surprised by her hands on his shoulders.

"You've been very quiet in here for over an hour." She bent and kissed his neck. "Lunch will be ready in half an hour." Her hand moved across his chest, then farther down over his abdomen. "We could refresh. You could show me your rooms, and we could play soixante-neuf."

"Soixante-neuf? What's that?"

"It's what Mama calls that marvellous mutual mouth pleasuring."

He laughed as he rearranged his trouser front and stood. "I can see that. Does look like sixty-nine, doesn't it? Clever." He led her toward his rooms. "I mailed a postcard home from town."

"I was hoping you'd remember." She began unlacing her bodice as they walked along the hall. "So hungry for you."

"I'm always hungry for you."

"Yes, but Mama says a woman's passion always increases toward her fertile time; part of nature's design. I wondered why I always needed to play with myself so much more mid-cycle."

"You're making me so stiff I'm going to burst."

Twenty minutes later, as they lay cuddling. David said, "I talked with Opa about circumcision. He's so easy to talk with, and he was so relaxed with the idea." David laughed. "I understand the source of your curiosity. We showed ourselves to each other; compared and discussed. He seemed shocked to discover he's mutilated, and he's now even more intrigued with your essay."

"And you? What did you think when you saw his?"

"Revulsion at first, then sadness. Sadness that so many have been deprived of the great pleasure you and I share." He shook his head. "Opa said the pain and the rawness are part of the act, and the fulfilment is worth the suffering."

"That's so sad. But most are completely unaware of it."

"That's why you must write this essay as best as you can. Make it scream for attention."

"Doctor Nausdorf told me that the best three essays will be submitted for publication in the Baden-Württemberg Medical Journal."

"Then you must make it the best one submitted. It's an unusual topic, a controversial one, so that will help it." He laughed. "An idea... What if I gave you an operator's manual for mine? Care, maintenance and use. Opa could give you one for his. They'd be so different from each other."

"Now, that's clever. They can be appendices." She ran her lips across his and gave him a little shake. "We should clean and dress for lunch. Wash your beard well. I still smell me on it."

The six of them sat around the circular table in the gazebo enjoying slices from a large quiche with fresh greens from the garden and glasses of Weißburgunder. "This is a delicious quiche, Oma. It reminds me of my mother's."

"That's sweet of you to say, David. Rachel was telling me about your mother's noble origins in France and her love of cooking."

"Yes, near Toulouse in the Southwest. She went adventuring with two girlfriends after her studies, met my father, then stayed in Canada."

"Seems to run in your family, meeting lovers in foreign lands." Maria laughed. "You should follow her example and stay."

They remained silent in their thoughts as they continued eating. David finally broke the lull. "Opa, I need you to review the data I've compiled. There are several anomalies in the data that require explanations. I need to see the reasons behind their selling prices."