Day 262 Wednesday
Denise's day started off with a very energetic session at the dining room table while Victoria prepared breakfast. She had actually woken up that morning wanting to do exactly that and enjoyed it tremendously. The previous night had been spent with Larry and that had supercharged her sexual appetite. They had gone at it like bunnies and she had slept the night dreaming of a repeat.
She waltzed into work in a good mood. She had just finished a major user's manual and was expecting to get a new project. She actually enjoyed the first day of a new project. Karen waved at her to come into the office. Smiling, Denise walked in expecting to hear about her new project. She asked, "What's up?"
Karen said, "Walter is leaving."
Walter was the office manager. For the most part, Karen ran the company and supervised everything that went on, but Walter took care of the day to day details. If she had a problem, Denise went to Walter. When she had to report progress, she went to Karen. Walter's leaving was a surprise. Denise said, "Wow. What are you going to do?"
"I've got to replace him somehow," Karen said.
"Lots of luck," Denise said. It took a very special personality to balance the responsibilities of the job with the control streak that Karen maintained. Whoever got the job would have a tough time earning Karen's trust.
Karen fussed a little with a stack of papers on her desk. Finally, she said, "I asked him to recommend someone to take his place."
"That's a good idea," Denise said. She was silent for a second trying to think who Walter would recommend. She smiled when she realized that Laura would be the perfect candidate. She was a good productive worker and had a good rapport with her customers. She said, "Let me guess. He recommended Laura."
Karen laughed and said, "She was his second choice."
"Really? She would be my first choice," Karen said rather surprised by the announcement.
"You were his first choice," Karen said.
"You're kidding," Denise said shocked by the assertion. The idea of taking over the day to day operations of the company was rather frightening.
"I agreed with his choice, but wanted to hear it from him. His only concern was that I'd be losing my best writer," Karen said. She had wanted his input in case her judgment was clouded as a result of the history that existed between the two of them. She had come to trust Denise knowing that the other woman knew enough that she could have seriously hurt her business. She looked across the desk at Denise and said, "I kind of share that concern."
"So chose Laura," Denise said, "I'd have no problems working with her."
"No. The job is yours if you want it," Karen said watching Denise for her reaction.
Denise thought about it for a long minute. The job represented a major increase in responsibility and she was concerned that she might not be ready for it. Wanting to delay giving an answer, she asked, "Is there a raise?"
"Of course," Karen answered. She said, "It is a pretty substantial raise."
"I guess I'll take it," Denise said. She was quiet for a second. She had grown significantly over the past few months. A lot of the doubts and concerns that had held her back in the past had been eliminated during her time in the program. She wasn't the same woman that she had been nine months ago. She decided that she could do the job. She burst into a smile. She said, "I'll take it."
Karen had been waiting for the smile and relaxed. She said, "Good. Walter will explain the job to you."
"Thank you, Karen," Denise said. Thinking about the responsibilities involved, she said, "You won't regret this."
"I'm pretty sure that I won't," Karen said. Nine months earlier she wouldn't have ever considered Denise for the position. The changes in the young woman had been significant. Even Walter had noticed how much Denise had grown.
"What am I supposed to do now?" Denise asked.
"Well, I suggest that you find Walter and let him know that we've talked," Karen answered with a smile.
"Great," Denise said rising from her seat. She looked at Karen and said, "Thanks for giving me this opportunity."
Karen tried to look grumpy and said, "Get to work."
"Yes, boss," Denise said with a laugh.
"I'll take you to a celebratory lunch," Karen said.
After working most of the morning with Walter, Denise called Larry and told him the good news. He immediately offered to take her out to dinner to celebrate. It was an offer that she immediately accepted. She then called Dale and told him the good news. He offered to take her to dinner, but she had to decline. He understood her reasons and volunteered to take her out that Friday.
After swinging by the house to shower and change clothes, Larry took Denise to a modest Italian restaurant. It wasn't one of the very high end places, but it also wasn't a chain restaurant. The family that owned the restaurant staffed most of the positions. It was comfortable, inviting, and relaxed. She felt comfortable the minute they entered it. Denise had a feeling the Michelle had helped him pick out the place.
Once they were taken to her seat, she said, "This is a lovely place."
"Thanks. I found it shortly after moving here. I just kind of stumbled upon it. Albert and I come here for lunch occasionally to discuss some of our ideas. It is nice and quiet so I thought it would be a good place to bring you," Larry said.
"It is very nice," Denise said surprised that she had been wrong.
Larry said, "I think it is a good spot to celebrate your promotion."
"Thanks," Denise said.
He blushed and added, "It is also kind of romantic."
"I was thinking the same thing," Denise said.
"I'm so proud of you. I know that you'll do a great job in your new position," Larry said taking her hand in his. He looked her in the eye and said, "You're headed for success. I can feel it."
"You're so sweet," Denise said.
The waitress, a middle aged woman of a rather stout build, came over to the table. She looked over Denise and hoped that she wasn't the type that picked at her food out of fear of gaining a few pounds. Smiling at Larry, she said, "I see you've finally brought a young lady here."
"She's my fiancée," Larry said.
"I'll go slap that son of mine upside the head for seating you here. Young lovers need secluded corners and he put you two in the middle of the room," she said.
Denise giggled at that and said, "That's okay. I don't mind kissing him in front of an audience, but next time I'll expect a corner table with curtains."
The waitress laughed and said, "Next time, you'll get it."
Larry said, "We're celebrating her promotion."
"Ah, that's wonderful. I hope that you aren't going to put your career before your man," the woman said looking at her.
"Never," Denise said. She leaned over and said, "My dream is a loving husband, a house with a white picket fence, and a yard full of children. I've found my future husband, we're saving for a house, and we'll start on the children once we're married."
The woman put her hands to her cheeks and said, "Oh my! You should talk to my daughter. Maybe she'd listen to you. Lord knows she doesn't listen to me."
The idea of giving advice to another woman surprised Denise. She said, "I'm sure she listens to you."
"I like you," the woman said. She looked at Larry and asked, "Since this is a celebration do you mind if I select the food for you?"
"That would be great," Larry said.
The woman frowned as a thought crossed her mind and asked, "Do you have any preferences?"
"No preferences. I'm sure that I'll love anything you bring us," Denise answered with a smile.
"I'll serve it family style and that way you can take as little or as much as you want," the woman said. She feared that Denise would only take a bite or two of everything. She shook her head thinking about the young women of the modern world. All of them were concerned with their weight.
The woman brought out the first course of the meal. Denise looked at the steamed mussels and then looked over at Larry. She said, "It looks like we'll be fighting over the last mussel."
The waitress laughed despite the fact that she didn't believe that Denise would eat with an appetite. She watched as Denise loaded Larry's plate with food and then filled her plate. She was pleased the Denise wasn't skimpy with her own portions. Waving her hands around, she said, "That recipe comes from my grandmother on my mother's side. She was big woman with a heart the size of all outdoors. She loved to cook seafood. It has just the right amount of spices; not too much and not too little. I hope that you'll enjoy them."
"They look delicious."
The woman said, "I'll be back with the next course."
As she walked away, she heard Denise say, "Oh, this is heavenly."
"It is good," Larry said nodding his head in agreement.
Denise enjoyed the food and the company. She thought that the waitress was a delight. The woman fussed over them throughout the whole meal. She brought out plates of food and presented them with pride. She talked about which of her relatives gave her the recipe. As the woman cleared away the last plate, she said, "It is so good to see a young woman enjoy food. So many of them worry about their weight and fail to enjoy their food."
"This meal was absolutely fabulous. It would be a crime not to enjoy it," Denise said.
The waitress beamed. She said, "You're a sweet a girl. You've found yourself a good man. He's a scientist. There is no profession more respected than being a scientist. He's so smart. He comes here for lunch with his friend and they talk about things that I don't even understand. They'll be erecting statues to praise his inventions."
Larry said, "They don't raise statues for scientists."
"They should," the woman said. She said, "If my son were to become a scientist or an engineer, I'd take out a full page ad in the newspaper."
"You sound like Candy," Denise said laughing.
"This Candy, is she engaged to Larry's friend Bill?" the woman asked.
"Yes," Denise said realizing that she shouldn't be surprised that Candy had been to this restaurant with Bill considering that he was in the program with Larry and Albert.
"She's such a sweet girl. Her fiancée is a scientist, too. I'd adopt her if I could. Do you know that she came here to learn how to cook some good Italian dishes so that she could feed her husband properly? She's such a good girl," the woman said. She smiled and added, "Everyone loves Candy."
Denise nearly choked when the woman made the comment about everyone loving Candy. She said, "You're right."
"Run along home and celebrate in private," the woman said gesturing towards the door.
"What about the bill?" Larry asked.
"Don't worry about it," the woman said. She leaned down and said, "I'm so happy that you found a nice old fashioned girl."
"Thanks," Larry said.
"Thank you for everything. This was a meal to remember for a lifetime," Denise said.
"You're sweet," the woman said beaming at her.
They had driven about a block away from the restaurant when Denise suddenly said, "Pull into the park over there."
Larry didn't question why, he just did as she asked. He pulled into a parking spot and asked, "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is wonderful. I just want to sit here with you for a little bit," Denise said. She was full and wanted to give her meal a chance to settle.
"Did you eat too much?" he asked.
"Not at all," Denise said with a smile.
Larry looked at her for a second and, in a serious voice, said, "There's something I wanted to talk to you about."
"What?" Denise asked concerned by the serious expression on his face.
He shifted uncomfortably for a second and then asked, "Your goal weight — did you set it or did Dale?"
"Dale did all kinds of measurements on me and gave me a target weight range based on my body frame. I remember it was between 129 and 139 pounds. I picked 130 pounds," Denise answered.
"Oh," Larry said biting his lower lip. He didn't know how to make his request.
"Do you think that is too high?" Denise asked afraid that he wanted her to lose more weight.
"I would like you to keep a little more weight than that," Larry said. Feeling awkward, he asked, "Do you think you could change it to the high end?"
"What?" Denise asked shocked at his request.
Larry waved his hands and said, "I didn't mean to upset you. It is just that I really like your body. You're so soft and nice to touch. I like looking at you just the way you are."
"You're kidding?" Denise asked unable to believe what she was hearing. The idea that a man didn't want her to be rail thin was overwhelming.
Feeling like he had made a fool of himself, he said, "No."
Denise stared at him for a minute unable to believe that he loved her body as it was. For a woman who had always been ashamed of her body, that was the ultimate declaration of love. Suddenly, she launched herself at him and grabbed him in a hug. As tears flowed from her eyes, she said, "Anything you want, Larry. You can have anything you want."
Larry didn't know what to make of the sobbing woman who had wrapped herself around him. He didn't know if she was happy, angry, or sad. He put his arms around her and said, "I've got everything that I want in you."
"I'm yours. I'm all yours," Denise sobbed. She shifted and kissed him. With tears running down her cheeks, she said, "I love you so much."
"I love you," Larry said.
Denise said, "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."
"I love you, Denise," Larry said enjoying the feel of her in his arms. He was relieved that she wasn't angry with him. He wasn't sure what he had said that was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her, but he accepted her compliment.
Denise wanted to give everything she had to make him happy. His compact car in the middle of a park wasn't the best spot for that to happen. Desperate to demonstrate her love she was frustrated at not knowing how to express it. She was left hugging him and repeating, "I love you."
Larry held her in his arms feeling awkward and clueless about what to do. Michelle had not yet covered what to do when holding an emotional woman in his arms. He sort of wished that she was seated in the backseat giving him instructions. He just murmured back, "I love you."
Denise finally pulled herself together. Her nose was stuffed, her eyes were puffy, and her makeup was ruined. Realizing that she looked horrible, she grabbed her purse and said, "I'll be right back."
"Will you be okay?" Larry asked concerned for her.
She answered, "I just need to fix myself up."
"Okay," Larry said, "but I think you look fine."
"Keep saying things like that and I'll never stop crying," Denise said fumbling for the door.
"Oh," Dale said. He watched her stumble away from the car. She ran around a little concession stand by the baseball field.
Once out of sight of Larry, Denise opened her purse and pulled out a little package of tissues. Looking at it, she hoped that there were enough tissues in it to recover. She used two of the tissues blowing her nose. It took another to dry her eyes. She opened her compact to fix up her makeup. Upon looking at her reflection, she said, "I look like a raccoon."
It took a couple more tissues to clean off the smeared makeup. She was going to redo her makeup but decided that standing next to a little building in the dark was not the kind of place that supported doing a good job of it. She looked at the packet of tissues and said, "I've only got enough left to survive him saying one more nice thing to me."
She took a minute to calm down. She said, "Get control of yourself. You're going to chase him off crying like that."
"He's so sweet," she said bursting into tears as she remembered what he had said to her. She used up two more of the now precious tissues.
Getting back to the car, she noticed that Larry was talking on his cell phone. He had a relieved expression on his face and was nodding his head vigorously. He noticed her and then said a few words into the phone before hanging up. He jumped out of the car and raced around to her side to open the door. She got in the car saying, "Thank you."
"My pleasure, My Queen," Larry said giving a courtly bow.
His light hearted act helped Denise keep control of her emotions. She waited as he returned to his seat. Pretty sure that he had been talking with Michelle, she asked, "Who was on the phone?"
"I called Michelle," Larry answered. Most of the conversation with her had been spent with her laughing. He wasn't quite sure what had been so funny. He said, "She said that I should find a comfortable place where we could be alone for a change."
"That would be nice," Denise said thinking that she owed Michelle a very large thank you.
"She recommended a hotel," Larry said afraid that it was a little forward of him to request that.
"That is perfect," Denise said thinking that she could think of a lot of things to do.
"Michelle said that she would let Dale know you wouldn't be home until late, if at all," Larry said.
"I didn't even think of that," Denise said. She'd miss a picture in the time-elapse video, but that didn't seem so important.
Larry said, "She's really good about things like that."
"You're lucky to have found her," Denise said. She'd watch Larry grow over the past few months. It wasn't that he had matured, but he'd become more capable in social situations. Of course, she wasn't surprised that he'd felt the need to call Michelle after finding a sobbing hysterical woman crawling all over him. She said, "Let's go to a hotel."
Larry started the car and pulled out of the park. As he drove, he frantically tried to think of a hotel that would be good enough for her. He noticed the Himton Hotel when he passed one of the main streets. It was a couple of blocks down the street. He asked, "Would the Himton Hotel be okay?"
"So long as London Himton isn't a guest," Denise answered with a smile.
"She's not," Larry replied with a smile. He turned at the next intersection to get to the hotel.
When they finally got to the room, Larry went over to the telephone and called room service. He ordered a bottle of champagne and a fruit tray. While he was busy doing that, Denise went into the bathroom to fix her makeup. She just replaced her mascara rather than going with the full eye shadow treatment. She was out of the bathroom before Larry finished ordering. After hanging up, he said, "They're going to bring it up in a few minutes."
"That's so sweet," Denise said appreciating his desire to make this a special night.
Larry stood there rocking from one foot to the other. Feeling a little bashful, he looked at her and said, "I have to admit that I'm a little nervous."
"Me too," Denise said looking over at him. She had to admit that she felt nervous. Even though this wouldn't be the first time for them to make love, it was the first time that they were truly alone with each other. Her bedroom in Dale's house didn't give that same sense of intimacy as the hotel room. His bedroom at Michelle's house was even less intimate. It would be the first time that they would be able to take the whole night together.
Denise went over to him and wrapped her arms around him. She looked up at his face when he held her in a gentle hug. He looked down at her and found that he was getting lost in her eyes. He whispered, "This feels so right having you in my arms. I have found heaven and it is here with you."
Words that had been ready for release fled leaving her speechless. Knowing that words were not sufficient, she kissed him. It was a gentle kiss. She tried to put her whole soul into it. Their lips and tongues danced as they sought to mingle their souls. She said, "I love you with my whole heart and soul."
Rather than a hurricane of uncontrolled passion, their passion was more like an early summer day. It had the feel of a warm sun, gentle breeze, and the smell of fresh mown grass. Rather than running frantically into bed, they wanted to take their time and explore the hidden places of their love. Each was confident of his or her skill in the mechanics of making love, but felt a little uneasy about the art of loving.
There was a moment of interruption when room service arrived with the champagne and fruit tray. Rather than spoiling the moment it provided each a little respite in which to recover their balance. They returned to each other's arms.
Larry said, "Let me undress you."
"You own me body and soul," Denise said.
With trembling fingers, Larry slowly removed her clothes taking delight as her female form was revealed to his eyes. She watched his face seeking any sign of disapproval and was rewarded with only seeing adoration. When he removed the last of her clothes, she said, "It is my turn."
Denise removed his clothes with the same care that he had given her. She explored his body with her hands and eyes. It was the exploration of a lover wanting to sear the body of her lover into her memory.
Neither was sure how they ended up in the bed. Each did the best they could to bring pleasure to the other. Each relaxed to accept the pleasure being given them. It was the give and take that lovers throughout history have shared. Denise opened her soul and invited Larry in.
When they finished, Denise was resting her head on his chest. She sighed and said, "I wish we could do this forever."
"That day will come soon," Larry said running a hand along her back. He loved the feel of her skin. It was soft and giving. He felt that she had a female figure and that losing too much weight would ruin it.
"I can't wait," Denise said.
Larry said, "We have to wait until we both finish our respective programs."
"I know," Denise said wishing that it would come to an end already.
Larry said, "I think that we are lucky to have found Dale and Michelle."
"Why?"
Larry answered, "I'll tell you the truth, I was a pretty lousy lover before starting the program. It isn't that I was a premature ejaculator, but I didn't have that much stamina. I didn't have any skill and was totally clueless when it came to the female body. The sad thing is that I knew it. It really did a number on my confidence.
"I was a weird mix of shy and arrogant. Around women, I was clumsy and stupid. When I was dealing with technology, I was arrogant and boastful. I tried to dominate any technical discussion that came along. Women found me pathetic and men thought I was a bastard.
"If I had met you back then, you'd have laughed at me. I was a pretty ridiculous specimen."
Denise said, "I was just as bad. When I entered the program I hated sex. My whole life was dominated by shame. I was ashamed of having desires. I was ashamed of my body. I hated what I was and I despised everyone around me who was skinny. I was self absorbed as a result.
"I watched a video of one of my early sexual experiences with Dale. He had to cover my face so that he could complete the act. The expression of loathing on my face would have killed the passion in any man. I laid there like a beached whale. I didn't move or do anything. I was so locked in hating myself that it never occurred to me to give anything to my partner.
"If you had seen me back then, you'd have called me a fat woman. You would have been right to do that."
Larry said, "The one thing that I think our respective programs taught us was honesty."
"That's very true," Denise added. It was impossible to have secrets. She had watched Larry have sex with Michelle. Larry had watched her have sex with Dale. There were no secrets in their relationship.
Larry gestured to the table and asked, "How about a little champagne and fruit?"
"That would be marvelous," Denise said.