Ignorance Is Bliss Ch 06

Chapter VI - Ray's Thursday

I was standing on the sidewalk at 4:15. Beside me was my small suitcase. The butterflies in my stomach had started in the morning when packing. I had found it hard to concentrate all day. All I could think of was the silly deal I had made with Fred. This long weekend of potential sex was making me as nervous as when I had been dating as a teenager. Here I was waiting for a man twenty years my junior and I was supposed to teach him about the subtleties of sex. What was I doing?

I had worn my second best business suit today. The jacket and pants were soft micro-fibre and my blouse had a little lace at the throat. It wasn't really sexy, but then I was supposed to be slowing him down, not making him frantic. I giggled at the thought of him being frantic.

I checked my watch. 4:20. He was late. How dare he? Here I was, standing on a sidewalk, waiting for a man and he had the audacity to be late. I was too old to be stood up. He had better have a good excuse. The only reason I had suggested this weekend was because of the way he had looked at me when the four of us were around home. He had big dreamy puppy dog eyes that melted any hostility I had around his treatment of Sylvia. But this weekend would change that - if he ever got here.

It was 4:25. Where was he? I could feel myself getting angry. Fred and Sylvia would be off by now. I wonder how they would make out. I know that Fred would treat her with the utmost care. Would she actually let him... 'Don't go there,' I chided myself, 'you knew what you were offering. Whatever will be, will be.'

4:30. I crossed my arms under my breasts and stood fuming. Fifteen minutes late. He'd better have a really good excuse. If he didn't I would flay him alive with my tongue. I might even flay him with his own belt!

Just then, his little blue car zipped up beside me. Ray leaned across the passenger's seat, he rolled down the passenger window and said, "Get in..."

I stood there and looked down at his upturned face. I was really angry at his automatic assumption that he could order me around.

"Come on, get in," he ordered again.

I put my hands on my hips and looked at him. "And who is going to put my suitcase in the trunk?" I asked frostily.

"Oh," he said, "the trunk is open."

"And WHO is going to put my suitcase in the trunk?" I asked dripping icicles all over the side of his car. If this was the kind of thoughtless jackass he was, I should just go home and find my vibrator. It had more politeness than he did.

"Oh." His head disappeared and his car door opened. He came around the car and took my suitcase.

"And WHO is going to open the door for ME?" He should have turned into a block of ice at my tone.

He gave me a stunned look, put the suitcase down and opened the door. He held it as I stiffly got in and seated myself. He closed the door and took my suitcase and put it in the trunk. Then he dashed around and got in to the driver's seat. He started the car and signalled to get out into the lane of traffic.

"I am fine, thank you. And you?"

He glanced at me. "Yeah, fine, thanks." He started off down the street.

That did it. I wasn't going to put up with this kind of uncivil behavior any longer.

"Stop."

"What? We just got started."

"Rule number 1. When one person says stop, that means stop. Instantly."

"Uh, oh... yeah." Reluctantly he pulled over into and empty parking space.

"You ignorant, uncivilized, sad excuse for a human male... you have absolutely no idea how to behave in polite society!" I ranted. "You have done at least four things already that have made me really angry! I am very close to saying stuff it and going home - alone!" I paused, and then continued in a more quiet tone. "Now you have one small chance to redeem yourself. I am going to get out of the car. You are going to drive around the block and pick me up again. You are going to be polite and pleasant. You will start by apologizing for being," I glanced at my watch, "thirty-five minutes late. If you do it right, we can still go to C_, otherwise you can take me straight home."

I didn't wait for a response, I got out of the car and went to the trunk. I flipped it open and dragged my suitcase out. I took my suitcase and stood on the sidewalk waiting. He drove away.

I was furious. If this was the way he treated Sylvia, he need a real kick in the balls. I couldn't believe she had put up with it long enough to get married. I was still steaming five minutes later. Ten minutes later I was ready to call a cab. Then his car pulled in beside me. He got out and came around to where I was standing.

He looked at me with those great big puppy dog eyes. "Hello Roberta. Sorry I am so late. I was in a meeting at work that went over time and then I... needed... time to think...

So, how are you?" He opened the door for me.

My anger melted away like mist in the morning sun. "I am fine, thank you." I got in the car. He closed the door, put my suitcase in the trunk and got in to the driver's seat.

"Is there anything you need to do before we leave town?" he asked.

"No, but thanks for the offer."

"You're welcome." He started the car and pulled out into traffic. We were finally on our way.

I waited until we were on the main highway before I began to chat. "So, tell me about yourself, Ray."

"What do you want to know?"

"Where did you grow up?"

"Small prairie towns. We moved a lot. Dad was the manager of a series of small banks."

"What did your mother do?"

"She died. When I was five."

"Oh, sorry... any brothers or sisters?"

"Four brothers. I was the second youngest."

"Wow, that must have been hard on your father, bringing up five boys."

"Yeah, most of the time we were left on our own."

Now I understood why he had no manners. He had not spent any time with women and didn't know how to behave. It was a reason but not an excuse. I was going to have to train every little thing with him.

"What are they doing now?"

"Well, Doug, the oldest is in hospital with cancer. One too many fires - he was a fireman in P_. Jamie, he's next, he's married to a little sleeze... uh.. sorry, uh... girl who sleeps with anyone that will stay still long enough. She tried me once. Only once. I told her where to park herself. Let's see, then there is Paul, he went off to University and got a PE degree. He is teaching at some private school for rich bitches... uh... sorry...

"It's Ok, Ray, you don't have to apologize. I have heard it before and there are women who are sleazy bitches. Not many, mind you."

He snorted. "Then there's me and finally Chris. Last I heard of him he was in jail somewhere for fraud. Cashed one too many bogus cheques I guess."

"What about your father?"

"Detox. He's an alcoholic."

"I can see why you don't talk about your family much."

"Yeah."

We lapsed into silence for awhile.

I tried again. "So what is your experience with women?" As soon as the words came out of my mouth I wished I could call them back. I just knew he would take this the wrong way. He did.

"My first time was in university, a bunch of us hired a hooker...

"No, wait, that is not what I meant!" It was not what I meant, but it told me a lot about him. "What I meant was, have you worked or been around many women in your life?"

"Oh, well, no, I guess not, not really. I mean there was a secretary in the office I did my internship at, but I never had time to date. Too busy doing chores and working."

"How did you meet Sylvia?"

"Well, I was out running one day, around campus, and she was in front of me. She tripped and fell. I stopped to help her up and took her to get her scratches cleaned. After that, we just sort of met up to run together." His voice lost its harsh edge. "We started hanging together. I asked her to go to my award dinner with me." He shrugged. "She came and we had a good time. We even danced a couple of times. When I got word I was graduating I was so happy I asked her to marry me. She said yes." He shrugged as if it was of no interest.

"So she is really the first woman you have gone out with."

"Yeah, I guess she is."

Well, that explained everything. He treated Sylvia as if she was a male buddy that he could go drink beer or watch a football game with. He had no idea that women and men have a different way of looking at the world. I bet he even go her a Christmas present for her kitchen so he could have better meals.

"Do you every buy presents for Sylvia?"

"Yup. Got her a Mix Master for Christmas. Got her a big box of chocolates for her birthday."

"Do you think she is fat?'

"Hell no! She is just right for me."

"Do you ever tell her that?"

"What for? She knows it."

"How does she know it if you don't tell her?" I paused. He sat staring at the road. "Do you think she is pretty?"

"Damn right I do."

"Do you ever tell her that?"

"No," he said softly.

"Do you think I am pretty?"

"No," he said hesitantly, "I think you're gorgeous."

"Why thank you! I think you made my day!" I leaned over and kissed him chastely on the cheek. He reached over and put his hand on my thigh. I took his hand and put it back on his thigh. "We need to get one thing straight right now. I get to touch you any time I want. You don't touch me unless I ask you to. Got it?"

He heaved a big sigh. "Yeah, I guess so. I thought this weekend was too good to be true."

"That remains to be seen. But if you continue to treat me like that whore you mentioned earlier, this weekend will end all right." He had the decency to blush.

We drove in silence for a while.

I couldn't believe how ignorant he was. He didn't know the first thing about women. I needed some way to teach him.

I tried again. "What is your idea of the the ideal woman?"

"Sylvia."

"But she is afraid of you. Why?"

"I don't know. I try to be nice to her. It's the sex thing... it... Oh, I just don't know."

"Ray, what is the difference between men and women - I don't mean the obvious physical differences - I mean the emotional, spiritual, internal differences."

"I don't know... I mean I never really thought about it."

I could see he was trying to be honest with me. He was actually trying to express emotions he probably didn't even know he had.

"Men tend to be rational creatures. They think logically, they live in the moment. Women tend to be emotional creatures. They tend to feel rather than think things out. Women tend to think to the future and dream what a wonderful world it will be once certain things have changed - like their men."

After a short pause, I continued. "Men tend to hide their emotions even from themselves, or to express then physically, immediately. Women tend to store emotions and worry at them and express them in what to men seem more hidden ways.

"Men tend to be more competitive, women co-operative in dealing with people. Men prefer to work alone so they can be the hero. Women like to work in groups that support each other emotionally."

"So, Ray, the question is, what can you do to stroke the correct emotions that Sylvia, as a woman, needs to have stroked?"

There was silence for a long time. Finally Ray answered, "Compliment her?"

"Yes, but... what makes a good compliment?"

"I don't understand."

"Well, for example, if I said your face was chiselled like a Greek God, what would you think?"

"Yeah, right."

"But, If I said I thought you were handsome, what would you think now?"

"Do you think I'm handsome?"

"That is beside the point, the point is, one statement is over the top, the other from the heart."

"You do think I'm handsome."

Ok, so I blushed.

"Hmm, I think I see what you mean." He paused. "So if I said I thought you should be a Miss Universe contestant, that wouldn't be a compliment, but if I said that little curl of hair hanging down your cheek is cute, that would be a compliment."

"Yes," I confirmed, feeling a small clutch of muscles in my abdomen.

"So compliments are good things."

"Yes, one got you a kiss on the cheek, didn't it?"

"Hmm. Yes."

We were nearing our destination so we lapsed into silence while Ray navigated us to the hotel in the city centre that I had booked. I had booked two adjoining rooms and said we were on business but that my boss and I needed to be able to confer easily. There had been no problem.

When we arrived, the valet opened the door for me and then went around to get the keys. A bellboy took our luggage and the doorman held the door as we went to the reception desk. We were on our way to the rooms quickly as I held a privilege card with this chain.

As we rose in the elevator, I said to Ray, "You need to find a place for us to eat. It would be nice if it could be a little romantic."

"We will have to hurry if we are to catch McDonalds..." He looked over at me with a grin on his face.

"Ha ha. I need a little time to freshen up. Leave your connecting door open and I will come over when I am ready. What should I wear?"

The doors to the elevator opened and let us out at our floor.

"Hmm. Do you like Sushi? I think I know a little place just around the corner. It is fairly casual so whatever. "

"I like what little I have had."

"Great. You will enjoy this." He opened his door with his card key. I went on to my room.

"See you in twenty minutes," I called out as I entered my room.

Dinner with Ray was an interesting experience. I had thought that he was a complete male chauvinist with no feelings what so ever. What I found over the course of the evening was that he was simply ignorant about what makes a woman tick. We started off down the hall from our rooms at a startling pace. I thought he was angry, but when I asked him why he was running, he looked at me blankly and asked what I meant.

I actually had to demonstrate how fast he had been walking. He had no idea that I was having problems keeping up. When I took his arm, he slowed right down and we talked pleasantly as we ambled (his word) across the street and down to the Sushi place.

Once we were inside, he pulled out a chair at the bar and seated me quite handsomely. Then he sat next to me and explained how the bar worked. Little coloured plates with different types of Sushi on them scrolled by on a moving conveyer belt. We selected the plates we wanted, and they were stacked up as we finished the delicacies they contained. At the end of the meal, a waiter counted the plates and calculated the cost. Each colour was a different price.

Ray was familiar with this Sushi bar as he had attended college in this city. He introduced me to all the different kinds and made me taste some of the types that I really didn't want to. The octopus was rubbery and I made faces as I chewed on it. He laughed at me and proceeded to clean the plate.

I laughed with him as he told silly stories about his college days. All the stories were about he and his buddies and the hi-jinx they got up to. Most of the stories concerned sports events or outdoor trips he had gone on. The only mention of girls was his meeting Sylvia.

We left the Sushi Bar and ambled back to the hotel. I took his arm again. He seemed to appreciate the closeness. I had a thought running around in my head that I needed to clarify with him, so just as we approached the main entrance to the hotel, I stopped him.

"Ray, be honest with me. Were you a virgin when you were married?"

His face went beet red. Even his ears turned pink. He looked away, then down at the sidewalk. "Yeah, I guess so."

"What do you mean, you guess so?"

"Well, Sylvia was the first girl I ever dated... we you know... touched and stuff..."

"You never had intercourse?"

"No," he whispered, still blushing .

"You must have touched her vagina."

"No."

"Wow. But you have seen pictures, right?"

"Yeah, a few..."

I had a sudden thought, "What about the hooker?"

His blush turned scarlet. "I... I... uh..." He turned away. "I came too soon."

"Oh. Too bad."

I started walking again. Ray was still blushing and was not looking at me. We walked in silence right up to our rooms. I stopped him at my door.

"Do you masturbate?"

He went red again. "Umm, well..."

"Ok. Good. You might want to tonight." I put my card in the door and slipped inside while he stood blushing furiously outside my door. I closed and locked it, then I checked the connecting door to make sure it was closed and locked.