Art, part two. Ch. 09
Dr. Lisa and Art find a possible new beginning for him.
Suddenly Heidi said, "Well hello 'Lees', you're late."
Lisa from somewhere behind me said, "It doesn't look like I was missed. Heidi, you and I need to talk."
When I sat up the two women were looking at me, so I said, "OK, I'm out of here." What else was there for me to say? Then it dawned on me I was still naked, "Heidi, where are my clothes?"
"They're up in my workshop. Grab one of my large T-shirts in the top dresser drawer; that will do you for now."
"How about this thing on my head?"
"Come over here and I'll take it off." She tripped a release in the back and pulled the hood off."
I got a T-shirt out of her drawer, but it was still hard for me to march out of the room with much dignity. When I shut the bedroom door they still hadn't said anything to each other. In the den the leather couch didn't look that inviting, but Heidi said it opened up into a bed. I pulled the seat cushions off and there was a folded up bed with a handle to pull up on. When I lifted it popped up easy enough, but when I tried to pull it down to open the bed, it refused to budge. Finally I crawled up on the partially opened bed to add my full weight to the effort. I had visions of the old sight gag where somebody gets trapped in folding bed, but finally I got it down. The whole effort just reminded me of how much my life had changed and just doing simple things had become more difficult.
I probably dozed a bit so I don't know how much time had passed before the room lights came on. I kept my eyes shut and my back was toward the door, so I had no idea who it was. I felt somebody else on the bed and then Lisa said, "Arthur, stop pretending you're sleeping. Sit up and talk to me." I rolled over and Lisa was sitting next to me leaning back against the couch.
"Lisa, I've had a long day and I'm still half asleep. Can't we wait until morning or better yet, why don't you slide down beside me and we'll see if we can get a conversation going."
"No, then I don't think it will be words we'll get going. Sit up, this is serious stuff."
When I was sitting beside her she said, "Look, we're the same size sitting here. It must be my long legs that make me taller when we're standing." She started to laugh and added, "I can't believe I'm actually saying that my long legs make me taller than anybody. Oh, I'm sorry Arthur. I didn't mean to make fun of your size."
"That's alright, I probably haven't given it thought for at least an hour or so."
"That's something we have to talk about, but first I wanted to explain about Heidi and me."
"You don't have to explain anything to me about the two of you."
"Will you just shut up and listen for a minute. I've known Heidi for several years. John and I were at a conference when he introduced us. She and I would get together every so often, but ever since the Joyce Company contract and Heidi joined us full time, we've been together quite a bit. We're even thinking about getting a place together and be open about our relationship. My parents will probably disown me and we don't know what John will do, so we've kept it pretty low key; although I don't think it's any big secret. Right now we're in sort of the decision making time and both of us aren't certain we're ready for a permanent arrangement excluding any other relationship. Then along comes a character by the name of Jones and puts another ingredient in the mix. Since the other night I'm actually thinking about becoming more socially active in a mixed group and I'm not so certain I want to exclude a heterosexual relationship in the future. At the same time I love Heidi. She and I have been there for each other and she was badly hurt in the past and I would never leave her. She told me she enjoyed the romp in the sack with you tonight, but she's also satisfied with her life as it is."
"Lisa, I have to tell you some of the things Heidi said make me wonder if she's not a little off kilter. Maybe her thinking isn't quite straight, a bit loony"
"Arthur, don't ever let Heidi hear you say that. Several years ago Heidi had a very bad personal experience that she didn't handle very well. She fell in love with a very prominent scientist, who also happened to be her boss. Heidi is very proud of her own scientific credentials, so in her eyes she thought she was connecting with him both physically and intellectually. When the scientist's wife found out about their affair, she demanded Heidi's dismissal. When the University they both worked for took action, Heidi thought her lover would stand with her, but he didn't. As a non-tenured Associate Professor, the black mark of being dismissed by a major university hurt her career dramatically. Seeing her lifetime dreams going down the drain, Heidi did some things she shouldn't have. As part of the University's agreement not to press charges, she was forced to seek psychiatric counseling."