When Linda went to the Wednesday night Bible study, her friends were not there. She was supposed to meet Evan and she also expected Mary and Fred to attend. So she sat alone and did the lesson. The scripture was about Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. Eve was weak and was tempted by the devil in the form of a snake thus bringing sin and death into the world. After they ate the forbidden fruit and gained the knowledge of good and evil, God caught up with them and they knew they were naked and ashamed.
That is how she felt about her sexual sin because she could not control her lust and passion. That was all changed now that she was going to marry Evan. They would get married in church by Father Gilgo and bring their babies to Mass like she had seen the young families do. She was happy and she knew that Evan would be a good husband and father to her children. She knew she was not pregnant as she was still on the pill from when she was with Paul. She hoped that she did not pick up any VD from her other lovers that would spoil things with Evan.
Later that evening at home the phone rang and it was Mary in a very happy and excited mood.
"I am in love and he asked me to marry him. I said yes and we went all the way. We are going to announce our plans at church next week." she gushed.
"Mary that is great news, I am sure Paul will be a good provider, husband and father to your children" she said thinking of her intended Evan. She daydreamed maybe they could have a double wedding just like in the movies?
"Paul? I am not marrying Paul. You warned me about him and you were so right about him, he wanted only one thing and I made sure he did not get it! We broke up last Friday. I have really been interested in someone else for a long time and we dated tonight and it happened just like magic. I hope you were not getting serious about Evan - he said you were just friends. I know you dated him a couple of times but I have loved him for a long time. I would arrange double dates to be with him and get him jealous of Paul. It worked," Mary bragged.
Linda's safe world crashed around her. She remembered telling Mary how happy she was for them and getting off the phone as fast as she could. Then she cried for a long, long time.
The next morning she did not have classes so put on her jeans and a baggy college sweat shirt and went to the Essex museum to revisit the William Bouguereau art exhibit she viewed earlier with Uncle Walt. The paintings seemed to lack the same power over her that they formerly held. Maybe it was the champagne and Uncle Walt's masculine presence? As she entered the next gallery she recognized a gentleman sitting on a bench gazing at one of the paintings Boucles D'Oreilles (The Earrings).
In the painting the young woman is standing showing off her red earrings. She looks like a classical Greek goddess with her hair pulled up with a silver hair band. You can see the earring on her right ear - two small red globes - and with a tilted head she is looking at you putting on the ones on the other ear. The dress that she is wearing is white silk fastened at the shoulder on either side with a gold button. It has a sash under her breast showing the shape of her bosom. The dress falls on her body showing her form and hinting at the flesh beneath. The earring may have been a gift from a suitor and she has an innocent yet seductive look in her eyes. It reminded her of the photos of Uncle Walt fastening the gold anklet on her ankle.
She walked up behind the man on the bench and spoke his name, "Hello Mr. Phillips." He turned in surprise and smiled at her greeting.
"Oh hello Linda it is nice to see you again, please join me," touching the seat next to himself by invitation. "I did not know that you were a Bouguereau art lover like I am. What do you think about this painting?" he asked.
Sitting next to him she collected her thoughts then spoke, "It is telling me a story of a young girl, an innocent that is being seduced by the riches of the world by a lover or suitor. The red earrings represent her virginity to be given in exchange. She is dressed in white virginal dress. The gold buttons holding her dress up are like a wedding band, the promise of love and security that she needs. She is looking at her lover and deciding if he is the one."
"Which one of all of these in the gallery is your favorite Linda?" he inquired.
"The one in the other gallery called Girl-Defending-Herself-Against-Love with a cute little Cupid with wings wielding a gold arrow being pushed away. I wish I had done that last Friday night with Evan."
"Trouble with boyfriends dear?" he asked.
"Yes, we were going to get married and I gave my love and myself to him. Five days later he seduces and screws my girlfriend," Linda said angrily.
"Yes, love is like that you try to find the love of your life and get shopped along the way by those who 'woo but do not wed" he acknowledged.
"What happened with Celestial Escorts?" she asked.
"I was not a very good business man and borrowed money from the wrong people. I paid them off but I am almost broke," he confessed.
"Bill let's go to lunch" she suggested "but not Libos I can't afford it either."
They ended up at a small coffee shop where she bought him a coffee and a sandwich. As they ate the food she asked, "Now what are you going to do now Bill?"
"Shadchen," he said between gulps of his sandwich.
"A shad what" she inquired.
"A shadchen is a match maker it is a Yiddish word for a professional go between that helps arrange marriages between families," he explained. "Marriage is too important to be left to hormone crazed young people who marry the wrong person for the wrong reason. They need some guidance" he said.
"I could have used guidance with Paul and then that jerk Evan" she agreed.
Linda told Bill about going to confession and the spanking she received from the priest who then suggested that she go to the Bible study to meet a young man to help her walk with the Lord.
"It sounds like he is a Shadchen but you met the wrong one. The priest did not have the proper young man lined up for you it was real sloppy work. You need help - will you be my first client?" he requested. "I know a lot of families in this city with a lot of potential suitors. I can find the right one for you," he offered.
Linda thought about it for a moment and the disasters of the past months flashed past her eyes. What could it hurt?
"Ok I will do it. What does it cost? She inquired.
