The door to office suite 304 was open. Inside, a very pretty, petite receptionist sat at her desk. She wore a sleeveless button-down white shirt, three buttons undone, and no bra. Her perky nipples poked prominently through the material, and her breasts swayed freely inside the shirt with the tiniest movement. Britney thought that was an odd outfit for a receptionist.
John and Britney introduced themselves and informed the young girl that they had an appointment.
"Of course," grinned the girl. "Dr. DuVoane will see you right away, if you could just take a seat. I'm Ginia; let me know if you need anything at all."
John and Britney turned around to find a place to sit. The front office was smartly decorated in pastel colors, in a 60s retro-futuristic style, a few paintings of pretty landscapes covering the walls.
The couple were just about to sit down on one of the couches when Ginia announced that the doctor was ready for them. The girl walked around the desk, and the couple saw that she was wearing a very short black miniskirt and platform black heels. "Not your typical outfit for a doctor's receptionist," Britney once again mused.
Ginia opened the white inner office door and announced the visitors. The bronze sign on the door said: "Dr. Simone DuVoane, PhD., M.D." And below that: "Marriage counselor."
Dr. DuVoane stretched out a delicate hand with long red, perfectly manicured nails to John and Britney and introduced herself: "I am Dr. Simone DuVoane. So very nice to meet you. My clients call me Dr. D. Please make yourselves comfortable."
Dr. D's inner office was decorated in a similar style as the outer office, except for the presence of large bookshelves holding a few hundred books and a wall plastered with diplomas from different universities. She motioned them to sit on a long light blue sofa, and sat herself across them in a similarly upholstered swivel, almost secretarial, chair with arm rests. The lightness of the chair allowed her to move around easily without getting up.
She wore a low-cut, white satin blouse which showed off her voluptuous breasts, a smart black cropped blazer, and matching short black pencil skirt. Black sheer stockings with little black dots, and black patent four-inch pumps completed her outfit. Britney concluded that her and her secretary's looks were deliberate, and meant to convey a message: "we are professional and proudly sexual."
Dr. D smiled genuinely at the nervous couple. "Why don't you tell me a little about yourselves and then we can talk about what brings you here today."
"Why don't we start with you, John?" Dr. D added, keeping the ensuing silence from getting awkward.
"Yes, uhm, my name is John, I'm forty-eight years old, I'm a professor of computer science at Columbia. I was born and raised here in the city."
"Nice."
"How about you, Britney?"
"I'm twenty-nine, originally from St. Louis, Missouri. I came to study at Columbia, where I met John."
"Lovely. How did you two meet?"
"Britney was my student, and after the end of the semester, we began dating. You know, university policy doesn't look kindly on faculty-student fraternization," answered John.
"Of course."
"And how long have you been married?"
"Seven years," answered Britney, knowing full well that her husband would get the number wrong.
"So, you have been married quite a while," Dr. D responded thoughtfully.
"Yes," both answered at the same time.
"Do you have any children?"
"We have one daughter. She's five," answered Britney.
"That's very nice."
"Do you work outside the home, Britney?"
"Not really. I do some charity work, but mostly I take care of the house and our daughter."
"Lovely. Now I'd like for us to talk about what brings you here today."
John and Britney exchanged glances.
"I think you should start," said John to his wife.
"No, you start, honey," Britney objected.
"Ok," John paused and took a deep breath. "Well, the thing is, our sex life isn't what it used to be, or what we both expected."
He paused, apparently waiting for a response.
"Can you speak about that John?"
John seemed reluctant, but Dr. D waited patiently.
"I don't seem to be able to satisfy my wife anymore," John finally said, morosely.
"What makes you think so?"
"Ok, Britney and I love each other very much, that's for sure, but she complains, you know, sometimes."
Britney attempted to intercede.
Dr. D stopped her by lifting her hand: "everybody has a right to express themselves here. This is a safe place for all."
Then: "'complain' is a very charged word; maybe she is just trying to communicate something to you?"
Britney nodded emphatically.
John seemed to agree.
"John, does Britney express dissatisfaction with your sexual performance, your skills in bed, or your sexual desire for her, or anything else specifically?"
"All of the above, I'd say," snorted John, betraying a little exasperation. Then: "I didn't mean to sound so harsh; I just get frustrated sometimes." To Britney: "you know I love you and I do my best."
Britney smiled a sympathetic smile at her husband. "I know you do."
"How do you feel about what John just shared, Britney?"
"My husband is a brilliant man, and a very, very wonderful and kind man, but he's right, and I admire him for noticing. The truth is, I need more."
"More sex, you mean?"
"Yes," Britney answered simply. "I'm afraid so."
John agreed: "maybe we're just not sexually compatible."
"I have to say, I think that is a very good sign, that you both share the same perception of what the problem is. That is excellent, in fact," Dr. D added. "With many couples, it can take several sessions before we can all agree on what ails the couple!" Dr. D clapped her hands excitedly.
"What we seem to have here, is what we, in the field, call sexual discordance."
Dr. D waited for this to sink in. Then she went on:
"Sexual discordance is not a yes or no thing; it's more like a spectrum. A couple can have a lot of discordance or just a little. And it can be different things, like does one person have a higher sex drive than the other, or are the spouses into different things, like, let's say, one of you is into anal, and the other is not; things like that."
Dr. D stopped herself. She did not want to give a lecture, that was not her job.
"What do you two think of what I just said? Could any of this apply in your case?"
Silence.
"Please remember that this is a safe place. We should all feel comfortable expressing our feelings and thoughts. There is no judgment here."
"Well," began John, "as we said, Britney's sex drive is just bigger than mine. Otherwise, I think we're both into the same things. I mean, we both like anal, for instance. So that's not it."
"Would you agree with that, Britney?"
"I think so."
John and Britney both looked a little embarrassed
"That is nothing to be embarrassed about. We see that in a lot of the couples we help here. I'd even say it's the norm, even within couples who never seek help. And it's especially common in couples with an age difference such as yours."
"But what can we do?" Britney wanted to know.
"What I would recommend, given what I've heard from you two, and after having looked at both your medical files (which you kindly sent over earlier, thank you for that)," Dr. D hesitated for a second while she found her train of thought, "and a lot of other couples counselors do too, is to complement your sexual play with a surrogate."
"A surrogate? What's that?" John asked suspiciously.
"In your case, it would be a man who can complement you by satisfying your wife when you are unable."
"A man?" John asked abruptly.
"Yes, a man. Does that bother you?"
"I don't know that I would want a strange man fucking my wife."
"I'm not talking about some strange man," Dr. D explained. "Our surrogates are totally professional and board certified. And very, very attractive and able in bed, I must add."
"We always have a few on call," Dr. D added, "right here in the building. If you're interested, I can have one come by right now and we can try him out."
John's frown suggested he was unconvinced. Dr. D looked at Britney.
"Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea, honey," Britney suggested timidly.
John now found it harder to object. When the couple made the appointment to meet with Dr. D, they had agreed that they would take counseling seriously, and not just go through the motions.
Dr. D could tell that John was coming around. Britney didn't look like she would need much convincing, if any.
"Why don't you look at a few of our surrogates? Maybe one will pique your interest?"
"What do you mean by look?" Britney was curious.
Dr. D picked up the phone on the small table to her right. "Ginia, can you bring me the profiles of the surrogates available right away. No, just the ones who are available immediately, hopefully in the building right now."
After a couple of minutes, there was a knock on the door, and Ginia walked in with three folders.
"Who would like to look at them first?"
John motioned to his wife.
"You have to approve of them too, John."
Britney examined the contents of each folder carefully. Too long, john thought. She obviously liked what she saw.
"They are all so delicious!" Britney exclaimed excitedly. "I like this one the best!" She handed Dr. D the folder of the man she had chosen.
"This is a very good choice, Britney. Julian has worked with us for over a year now, and we have never had any complaints!"
Dr. D handed the file to John. "What do you think, John; is he somebody you'd be comfortable with making love to your wife?"
John took the file and examined its contents, a slight frown on his face.
Britney looked at her husband expectantly: "he is board certified."