On most days, Rachel Levy didn't have to think about the fact that her husband was the host of one of the biggest talk radio shows in the country. On most days, she'd just go to the clinic and have a very normal day treating patients without having to deal with anything he said. But there are days when he brings her up on the show, referring to his "doctor wife" and telling his listeners about some conversation that they had. And on those days, she feels a flush of embarrassment, and steels herself for at least a week of being teased by her staff and some of her patients.
The thing is, Ken only ever brings her up in the context of his views about sex and relationships, holding their coupling up as an example of a healthy marriage. She is inevitably mentioned whenever there is a story in the news cycle that offends his sensibilities as a devout Christian man. And so, he ends up talking about their sex life publicly. And even if he never really says anything particularly salacious, even if all that he really says is that their version of intimacy is superior to whatever manifestation of hypersexuality is currently being paid attention to by the public, Rachel is still mortified any time he brings up his "doctor wife." These things, she felt, should never really be talked about.
And on that day, on the drive to her clinic, she heard her husband talking about a new hip hop song by a female artist, one that featured lyrics about her genitalia being really wet. They talked about it last night, and she had joked that the rapper was probably infected with something that caused that voluminous discharge. And now, Ken was referring to her doctor wife, reporting to his public that his doctor wife said that the rapper was sick with something.
Humor was never his strong suit. Rachel braced herself for the awkwardness of the day, for all the cracks that people will make both online and off. She told him before that she wasn't really comfortable with their private life being aired out, but she knew by now that to Ken, nothing was really off-limits as long as it helped his arguments.
She felt a slight wave of relief when Ken finally moved on from the topic, shifting his focus to some congressman who had spent the week touring Memphis, helping campaign for a local liberal candidate. She's heard her husband rant about this congressman before, this Trask from Illinois, and at least part of her was hoping that Ken would get worked up enough to say something truly outrageous, if only to draw the attention away from her today.
He was in the middle of a particularly heated point about what Trask represented when she pulled into the parking lot of her clinic. She switched the radio off, and quietly hoped to herself that none of her patients listened to this morning's show.
***
Rachel breathed a sigh of relief as her last patient for the day strode out the door. of her office She had gotten through the day without much incident, though it did seem to her that Mrs. Strode really wanted to bring it up, but just couldn't find a way to do it. She still felt tense as she gathered up her things, eager to head home.
"Excuse me, Dr. Levy?" Her receptionist Josh stood at the doorway, holding a file folder. "You have one more patient waiting."
"I thought we were done," she said.
"I thought so, too," Josh said. "The truth is, I screwed up listing down an appointment. The patient's already here."
This seemed strange to her. Josh wasn't the type to screw up. The handsome young man had always kept her schedule in order.
"I'm sorry Dr. Levy."
"It's okay, Josh. Let's just get through this."
Josh handed her the folder and went to fetch the patient. Rachel was just putting down her bag again when he walked in.
"Thank you for seeing me, Doctor."
"Yes, well," she said with an audible hint of annoyance. She opened up the file and looked through his information. "What seems to be the problem, Mr..."
"Trask," he replied. "And I'm just here for a checkup."
"Trask," she repeated, unable to hide the recognition. "You're the congressman."
"The same," he said. "You might have heard that I've been traveling around Memphis this last week. I've been meeting a lot of people, and my staff thought it would be prudent to get a routine checkup. You never know what you might be encountering when you're out campaigning."
"That might be overly prudent, if you don't mind me saying. You seem perfectly healthy, based on your file."
"Well, I figure I went through all the trouble of helping pass universal healthcare," he said with a smirk. "Might as well use it."
Rachel resisted showing any reaction. She pulled out her stethoscope and started to rush through the standard examination.
"I'm sorry, doctor," he said. "I couldn't resist pushing your buttons."
"I don't know what you mean," she said icily.
"I know who your husband is."
She froze for a second, but recovered. "I don't see what that's got to do with anything."
"Well, maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't call this good bedside manner."
"I'm a medical professional," she shot back. "To imply that I'm being anything less than that is an insult, Mr. Trask, and I'd be more than happy to let you just walk out of here."
"Take it easy, Dr. Levy," he said. "You know, I heard the show this morning."
Rachel felt a flush creeping up her neck.
"That's when I decided I really needed to see you," he continued.
She gritted her teeth. "I don't feel comfortable talking about this."
"No," he said firmly. "The truth is you've been wanting to talk about this with someone all day."
Her initial reaction was indignance. How dare this man tell her want she wants? But as the words sunk in, she realized that was in fact the truth. She felt this deep desire to share what she's been feeling, and she remembered having to keep herself from just blurting out her feelings to her patients.
"The truth is," he continued, "there's no need to be embarrassed. The truth is that you can confide in me."
The tension of the day left her all at once, the creeping flush retreating. She looked at this man, this virtual stranger, and she felt deep inside her that he could be trusted with whatever she had to say.
"I was joking," she said.
"About what?"
"When Ken and I were talking about that song. I was joking about that rapper having some sort of sickness."
"So you don't think that having a wet pussy is the result of an infection?"
"Of course not," she said. "I'm a doctor, and I'm perfectly aware of the systems that result in healthy vaginal discharge."
"Well that's good to know," he said.
"Of course, the song is hyperbolic," she said. "And it wouldn't be natural to experience what they're talking about."
"Well I don't about that," he said.
"Don't be absurd," she replied. "I just wish Ken wouldn't talk about this stuff on air. I mean, I do agree with him most of the time, but I don't like getting roped into these arguments."
"Does your husband satisfy you sexually, Dr. Levy?" he asked suddenly, his deep voice giving the question unsettling weight.
She felt that she could trust him, but she still struggled to answer the question.
"The truth is you want to be completely open with me."
And this was true, she realized, her hesitation just dissipating as his words registered. "I don't really know," she admitted.
"What do you mean by that?"
She gave this some thought. "I mean...when people talk about sex, they talk about it like it's supposed to be an incredible experience. Ken's the only person I've been with, and sex with him isn't unpleasant. I think I have a nice time with him in bed. But if I'm being honest, I have no other experiences to compare him with. This is all I've ever known of sex."
She felt an odd sense of relief saying that out loud. She'd always felt it, some part of her wondering if sex could be more than just perfectly fine. But she never thought it was her place to ask Ken if they could try something, a general sense of shame keeping her from trying anything kinkier than missionary. After all, they were an upstanding, religious couple in the public eye. It wouldn't do to explore the perversions of the modern world.
"It feels good to be honest, doesn't it?" he asked, noticing the weight that seemed to have been lifted from her shoulders.
"Yes," she said. "Thank you. I don't know what I can really do about it, but it feels good to have said it."
"Well," he said, "I have a couple of ideas." He said this with a gravity that gave Rachel pause. It occurred to her then that he had some sort of power over her, his presence somehow causing her to act differently. Some part of her realized that the trust she was affording him wasn't rational, and this gave rise to a level of concern.
"The truth is," he began, and her concerns didn't really matter any more.
***
Ken Levy was a little agitated when he got home. Some snarky Twitter users were roasting him online for his rant about that song. He spent a little extra time at the office tracking the reaction, relishing in the attention while simultaneously fuming about all the things they were implying.
They're perverts, he decided. Perverts who were willfully misconstruing what he was saying, which was just a fact: that vaginas that discharge enough liquid to require extra tools for cleanup were likely infected. He spent a good long while working on the next day's script, making sure that he couldn't be misunderstood.
He walked into an unusually quiet house, missing all the signs of activity that would indicate that a family of four lived there.
"Rachel? I'm home."
His wife came down the stairs to greet him. She was dressed in a silky cream nightgown that he hadn't seen in years.
"Where are the kids?"
"They're with my parents," she replied as she threw her arms around him. "I've been waiting for you."
"Yeah I'm sorry. I had to work on tomorrow's show."