Jeanne stepped into the break room to regroup and take a breath. It had been a long day already, and it wasn't even lunchtime. As a nurse's aide, she had been called from appointment to appointment all morning long.
The sperm bank where she worked was running a promotion, offering a $50 bonus for every donation.
"You're going to do it anyway," said their ad, which had been running on local radio. "Might as well do it for money."
It had worked wonders, and the bank was overrun by men looking to collect for a few minutes of work that was really more like pleasure for them.
Jeanne blushed her blonde hair out of her face and took a sip of coffee. Then it was back to the next appointment. She grabbed a kit and headed into the next patient room.
She checked her clipboard then said, "Hello, Jamison, welcome to the donation center." She began to take the sample cup out of the kit, then stopped short. Sitting on the examination table was a handsome young black man. He smiled at her, self-consciously, but that wasn't what she noticed first. Instead, she saw his arms. His right was in a full-length cast, from above his elbow to the hand. His left was in a sling.
She stopped talking mid-sentence.
"I fell off my bike," Jamison explained. "Broke my arm and dislocated the other elbow."
"Oh my gosh," Jeanne said. "I'm so sorry. Are you going to be able to ..." she looked down at the sample cup in her hand.
"I don't ... know," he said, hesitatingly. "I mean, I tried ... you know, at home. And the motion really hurt my elbow." He gestured at the arm in the sling. "But I didn't want to give up the appointment. I really need the 50 bucks."
"Well, I'm not sure how ..." Jeanne began.
"I thought maybe you had a machine? Or something?"
Jeanne laughed with surprise. "Like a cow milker or something? No. Nothing like that. It needs to be done ... manually."
"Well, I don't know what to do," he said.
"I guess you'll have to come back when your arm feels a little better," she said.
Disappointment crossed his face. "I really need the money," he said. "Especially because I can't work with my arms like this, so the cash will really come in handy."
"Do you have a ... partner ... you could bring with you to help?" she asked.
"I mean, I've got plenty of partners," he said, and Jeanne felt herself blush a little. "But no one I'd want knowing that I'm doing this for money."
The two looked at each other in silence for a minute.
"There's no one here who could ..."
She shook her head. "We're not allowed to even be in the room," she said.
"So, what can I do," he said, concern masking his face.
She shrugged helplessly. "I mean, if you really can't do it yourself, you'll need to come back with a part..."
"You could be my partner," he blurted. "I could take you to dinner later on. That way we'd be partners who are dating. Going on a date anyway. You'd just happen to work here too."
When he saw her react with a start and begin shaking her head, he quickly added, "I mean, aren't nurses supposed to be able to ... y'know ... see patients naked and stuff and not react?"
Jeanne let out her breath. He was right. She wanted to be a nurse, and that meant being detatched and clinical in certain situations. Perhaps she could help him out. She glanced at his lap. He was wearing sweat pants, probably because they were easy for him to pull on in his condition. She could see a bulge there, extended down his right leg. She'd always wondered if it was true what they said about black guys. At least she might be able to find out ... in a clinical way, of course.
"Please," he added, looking desperate, with wide, soulful eyes. "I really need this money."