I laughed. I was his penicillin, his lightbulb, his sliced bread. It became his
mission to fix me. And, most important, I didn’t disgust him.
Paul was everything I wanted in a boyfriend. He was a gentleman. I felt adored
by him. My needs were just as important as his. Our relationship was about more
than sex. We shared our passions and knowledge. He tolerated me reading Shakespeare, and I listened attentively when he talked about what steps were needed to save the world from self-destruction.
The nine months we were together, I learned much about myself. My biggest
realization was that we weren’t meant to be. He was nice, but there was no true
passion. Paul wanted to save the world and bring me along with him. When he
approached the idea, he knew my answer before I even spoke.
In the end, we both agreed we were better as friends. After we parted, I decided I couldn’t tell anyone ever again about the assault. Paul had healed my
body with care. Telling my story wouldn’t help anyone. It would turn me into a
victim and cloud the relationship.
Ten
The Dominant Approach
My sophomore year, I had been so busy helping my mother with an
event that I waited too long to get my textbooks.
“I don’t understand how the books I need are not available for
this class,” I ranted.
The chubby sales assistant with the bright blue DONALD name tag on his chest pushed his glasses up. “If we ordered a book for everyone in the class, we
would have an overflow. For you, the guesstimated numbers just didn’t work out. It’s a risk you take if you are a procrastinator.”
“I see the books I need right there. How about you give me those books and
tell the next person about guesstimation? Donald, I would be really, really grateful if you helped me out.” I placed my hand on his and smiled.
“Sorry, do you still want these?” He pointed to the stack of books that I had
found.
“Yes,” I sighed.
Donald began to ring up the items.
“I’m sorry I was being such a B. I’m just having a bad start to the new year.”
“Your total is seventy-two, ninety-six.” Leaning close to me, he whispered,
“I gave you my staff discount.”
“That was nice of you.” I smiled.
Donald finished the transaction and scribbled something on a flyer. I looked
at the note:
Meet me at 37289 Iguk Lane in one hour.
I’ll make it worth your while.
Donald
I raised my eyebrows. He grinned and nodded his head back towards the stack of books behind me.
“Ok,” I finally answered. “See you later, Donald.”
He grinned and waved as I walked away.
In my car, I looked up the address. It was only two miles away and looked
like a nice residential area. His house? I’m going to get murdered, I thought wryly. He’s not going to kill you. What do you have to lose? Maybe he is just being nice.
