I no longer remember the exact date this happened, nor do I know exactly where it happened, but I remember the event itself with great clarity. If that sounds implausible, let me explain.
I had gone to the Netherlands (Holland) to research travel stories about Amsterdam and Rotterdam. I flew from Phoenix, Arizona to Amsterdam and was nearly exhausted by the time I got to my hotel room. Once there, I showered, and then napped for an hour. When I awoke, I called Jan van Gough. I had collaborated with Jan online for more than a year, but I had not met him in person.
After we had talked a bit, Jan suggested that I go to dinner with him, and then go to a club for a few drinks and a chance to get to know one another. As tired as I was, I begged off for that night, but agreed to go with him the next evening.
Jan arrived at my hotel promptly at 6:00 PM and called me from the front desk to say that he would meet me in the hotel's bar for a drink, and then would take me to dinner. Five minutes later, I met Jan in the lounge and had a Grolsch beer while we got acquainted.
Jan, at fifty-five, is an amazingly fit man. As we talked, he told me that he plays soccer every weekend on the senior's team for the village in which he lives. His blond hair is showing signs of grey, but he is nevertheless a man of such good looks that several of the women in the lounge eyed him with hunger in their eyes.
After we finished our beers, Jan took me to a restaurant that features food from Indonesia. The curried fish and rice I had was quite different from the Indian curry I am so fond of. The addition of coconut milk gave it a pleasantly sweet taste that in no way clashed with the heat of the spices that give good curry its fire.
As we talked, Jan and I discovered that we share a strong interest in erotica. As a result, Jan asked if I had ever been to one of Holland's sex clubs. I hadn't; that was actually my first visit to the country, so Jan asked if I would like to visit one.
We finished our dinner, and then got in Jan's Porsche to go to the club he had told me about. The club is not in Amsterdam, but is in one of the nearby communities. Don't ask me which one; I was so interested in just looking at the barges on the canals, and at the Dutch architecture that I paid no attention to which roads we took, or where we went. I could not go back there on my own if I tried. Nevertheless, after about a forty-five minute drive, we arrived at a magnificent home on the outskirts of a town. The building had to have been built during the first quarter of the nineteenth century, and must have been the home of a wealth merchant, or perhaps even a member of the royalty. It had seen better days, but was still an impressive structure.
Jan told me its grounds were much shrunk from what they had been, even when he was a boy, but to me they were still large, almost park like.
When we entered, a gorgeous girl about nineteen met us. She wore only a black apron trimmed with white lace, and a little lace cap. The apron barely covered her ample, firm breasts, and was so short that a few tufts of blond hair peeked out from beneath it. When she turned to lead us into the main sitting room, her bare butt and long, well turned legs made me wish I were a much younger man.
In the main sitting room, the girl took us over to a couple of overstuffed chairs near the fireplace and asked if we would like something to eat or drink. Jan turned to me and asked, "Do you like Pernod?"
"Yes, I do. I don't get to drink it often, however. Most Americans have no idea what it is, and it's not available in most of our bars."
Turning to the girl, he then said, "Hanelore, please bring Mr. Jacquekov a tall Pernod in water, and bring me my usual."
"Yes, Herr van Gough," She replied and disappeared through a side door. As she left, Jan turned to me and said, "Eukan, this is one of my country's most delightful bordellos. The staff is courteous and always discrete. It is a private club, and the board of governors tightly controls membership. Were you not my guest, you would not have been allowed to enter."
"Does the young lady, Hanelore, know all of the members by name?"
"Oh yes. So do all of the other staff members."
Just then, Hanelore returned with our drinks.
I took mine, waited until Jan had his in his hand and had dismissed Hanelore, and raised my glass; "To your health," I said.
Jan returned the toast and we began to sip our drinks. As we did so, Jan resumed the conversation he had begun before the drinks arrived.
"We have some very entertaining live shows in the theater. If you wish, we can watch one. We also have a number of girls who can satisfy any sexual desire you have. Not all of them perform the bizarre acts that a few of our members want, but a couple of the women specialize in such things. Also, some of our members are voyeurs, so the club has several rooms arranged so that those who wish to can go into a darkened passageway and look through a one-way mirror to watch couples on the other side having sex."
"Do the couples who are being watched know they are being watched?"
"I'm sure they know that they may be, but they never know for sure."
"Doesn't that put a damper on their performance?"
"No; not really. The men who request those rooms tend to be exhibitionists, and I suspect that they relish the idea that they may have an audience."
"How does one know which girls are available for sex?"
"They are all available. That is a condition of being employed here."
"Can a girl refuse a request for her service?"
"Oh yes. If a member asks for a sex act that the girl feels is too dangerous, or too degrading, she can politely refuse, and perhaps suggest to the man that he ask one of the girls who she knows provides that kind of service."
"Are there any women members of the club?"
"Certainly. They have the same privileges as the male members."
"Are the male staff members required to provide sex to the female members in the same way as the female staff is required to serve the male members?"