Author's Note:
Gretel Fox lures Casper Waverly into firing Kurt Merchant from BizMart, a Baltimore firm that brokers business mergers and acquisitions. To receive his severance pay, Kurt must undergo psychological counseling with the company's psychiatrist, Lila Krafft, who has lost her license for unscrupulous practices. Dr. Krafft hypnotizes Kurt to pump him for information about his sexual addictions. Kurt confesses his first crush was an older woman named Greta—honing his affinity for similar names, such as Gretel. Cleared of Kurt's pauses and repetitions and Dr. Krafft's occasional prompting, the following is a transcript of Kurt's narrative.
*
My first crush called nasty secrets "dirty laundry," a well-worn phrase, but I considered the words hers, because her lips sanctified everything she said. So, I'll bow to her, again, by using her expression to name our bizarre affair, which I've never discussed before.
I met this femme fatale in Mrs. Johnson's bedroom. Mrs. Johnson lived on the corner of our block and threw parties all the time, mostly for other women: bridal showers, baby showers, and girls' nights out... whatever. Mom hosted a few parties, too. So, when Mrs. Johnson invited Mom, she always let me tag along.
As a kid, I'd sneak into the guest bedroom, where all the women put their pocketbooks on the floor and coats on the bed, and burrow under the coats, especially on chilly nights, and cuddle up against the furs, which preserved my body heat.
Sometimes I saw a beautiful blonde woman with green eyes in the bedroom. She always wore a shiny black dress and long leather gloves, which made me feel queasy. My intense emotions engraved her image in my memory forever.
Her perfume smelled like marshmallows mixed with lavender. I can't describe the exact smell, but I'll never forget it.
She became my model of femininity, the ultimate temptress. She told me not to tell anyone I saw her in the bedroom. She'd give me a firm hug to make sure I observed her code of silence. I felt warm and snug in her arms.
As I got older, I felt tingly when I rubbed against coats that had rubbed against women, a carom shot at contact with female flesh. Sometimes I'd imagine rubbing against the green-eyed blonde, a pre-pubertal desire to feel her warmth and softness without any sexual overtones, and I'd get hyperactive.
Mom sensed how my changing body altered my purpose in visiting the bedroom. She told me to stop frolicking in that cozy nest.
I kept going to the parties but stayed out of the bedroom until I was thirteen. Mrs. Johnson invited Mom and me to another social, and I couldn't resist creeping into my den for old times' sake. Not to crawl under the coats, but just to revisit the scene of my happy memories.
OK, I'm in the room now. It's dark. My eyes adjust slowly. My green-eyed blonde idol, wrapped tightly in her shiny black dress, stands with something in her hand. She's wearing gloves. She winks at me! She puts her fingers to her lips to tell me to be quiet and comes up to me.
I inhale the familiar marshmallow and lavender perfume in deep gulps of air. She hugs me. The slick feel of her dress and softness of her skin give me chill bumps. She makes me feel dizzy. I yearn to nestle against her. A puzzling sensation overcomes me, almost like I'm getting sick.
Before I head for the door, I whisper, Thank you. She whispers, Not a word. I walk into the normal lighting of the living room, which now seems extremely bright.
I eavesdrop on conversations to learn more about her. Name: Greta Hipps—Mrs. Hipps, to me. As I get older, I realize she gave me weird feelings because she sexually aroused me. Mrs. Hipps transforms into the most desirable woman on earth when the hormones of my budding puberty bombard me.
Getting her alone in that bedroom becomes my passionate goal. I pursue my quest for years. Each failure makes me desire her more.
Now I'm eighteen. No more high school. I've quit my summer job to prepare for college. I go to Mrs. Johnson's last party before fall classes start, and resume my desperate search for Mrs. Hipps. This time I find her, standing by the dresser in the guest bedroom.
Mrs. Hipps wears her blonde hair short, in bangs, with a hairline of inverted curls circling her head in beautiful symmetry—a welcome relief from the big hair of the '80s. Her surname describes her most beautiful asset, besides her ass. She's holding an object that glistens against her black gloves, just like before.
She gestures to stay quiet and come to her. When she takes me in her arms, I get an instant erection, and the marshmallow-lavender smell of her perfume piques my desire to sink deeper into her arms. She hugs me tighter. I try to avert my groin because I don't want to embarrass her, or myself.
She takes my butt in her hands, even though she's holding a necklace, and pulls my body against hers. My crotch slides smoothly along her dress, another slick, black number. She's a splendid paradox, an exhibitionist who flaunts her incredible body while she's fully clothed. My erection doesn't offend her. Her laugh ripples with reassurance, but her eyes smolder.
Despite her encouragement, I'm too nervous to breathe. My hands cup her ass. My fingertips follow the curves of her posterior, down to its juncture with her thighs, fanning out and tracing her hips back to her waistline.
The touch of her cool, slick dress and the soft flesh underneath make me delirious. The glimmer of her dress outlines her body and highlights her breasts and hips. I wish to sink into her softness and submerge myself completely into her.
My face descends into her bosom: compact, perfectly shaped breasts suggesting condensed, efficient power—contrasting with the open, inviting voluptuous of her hips and ass.
She says, Kurt, do you want to kiss me? And I say, Yes, Mrs. Hipps. And she says, You may call me Greta. Her name fascinates me. The "g-r" sounds aggressive, like "grip" or "grab." And "eta" floats like a whisper. I love her softness. Her smell. Her sleek dress, like the frosting on a cake. She personifies sophistication.
I'm taller than she is, but her face overwhelms my senses when she leans up and tilts my head down. She presses her small mouth against mine. The fullness and plumpness of her lips surprise me in such a tight mouth.
Her lips overpower mine, dance lightly, tease, soften for me to kiss back, and then caress me again. Her tongue darts into my mouth. My mind is spinning with no equilibrium, unable to focus on anyone or anything but Greta.