first' She reached her arms up around my neck, and as we kissed I slid heavily forward on top of her. We writhed
together for more than a minute.
`Am I too heavy?' I asked.
`A little bit,' she said.
`Let's go to the bedroom.'
We disentangled and stood up.
`Where to?' she asked, as if we were about to begin a long hike.
This way,' I said, and after we had negotiated the ten paces into the bedroom I added: `That's the bathroom.'
We look at each other. `You undress there. I'll undress here.' `Thank you,' she said and walked into the bathroom, her shoulder just bumping the doorway as she entered. I undressed myself, dropping my clothes neatly in select piles between the bed and an old walnut dresser. Inside the king-size double bed, I but my hand behind my head and watched the ceiling swirl like cosmic nebulae. Five minutes later the nebulae were still providing the only active entertainment.
`Terry?' I called neutrally.
`I can't,' she said from inside the bathroom.
`What?'
I said loudly.
She came out fully dressed, her eyes red and the lipstick on her lower lip completely chewed away. Standing stiffly
halfway between the bathroom door and the bed she said: `It's been a mistake. I'm not who you think I am.' `Then who are you?'
`I'm - I'm nobody.'
`Oh no, Terry, you're wonderful, whoever you are.'
`I'm - but I can't go to bed with you.'
`Ah Terry,' I said and started to get out of bed when I saw by her facial expression that she might run. Sitting up, I
said: `Well then, who are you?'
'I'm - I was sent here as part of a - an experiment of the Columbia Medical School.'
`No!' I said; flabbergasted.
`Yes. I'm really just a college girl, a pretty innocent college girl, I guess. I wanted to do the experiment the best I
could, but I can't.'
`My God, Terry, that's incredible, that's wonderful. So was I.'
She looked at me blankly.
`So - were - you - what?'
'I was sent here as part of an investigation into the nature of human sexuality conducted by the Columbia Medical
School. I'm Father Forbes of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.'
She stared at my bulky, nude torso.
`I see,' she said.
`The quirks of fate have sent together two innocents!' I raised my eyes to the ceiling briefly; it responded with a swirl.
`I've got to go,' she answered.
`My child, you can't go. Don't you see there is the hand of God in this. Have you ever given yourself to a man?'
`No, Father, and I must go.'
`My child; you must stay. By everything that is holy you must stay.'
I rose with stately dignity from the bed and with a look of great fatherliness and agape; arms outstretched in welcome,
I approached Miss T.
`No,' she said and held up one arm limply.
I never hesitated, but embraced her fully and fatherly, stroking her hair with one hand and her back with the other.
`My sweet child you are my salvation. Had I sinned with a prostitute I would be forever damned; the woman would
have been acting selfishly and I would have been a cause of her sin. But sexual congress with a Catholic girl giving
herself against her will, and thus unselfishly, is to liberate you from sin and me from corruption.'
She stood stiffly and unyielding in my loose embrace. Then, she began crying.
`I don't believe you're a priest, I want to go home.'
She huddled and sobbed against my upper belly.
`In domine Pater incubus dolorarum; et filia spiritu grandus magnum est. Non solere sanctum raro punctilios insularum, noncuninglingus variorum delictim. Habere est cogitare.'
She looked up at me.
`But why are you here?'