In the morning, Katerina and I went down for her appointment. We had barely spoken. She was shy of me, red-faced and avoiding eye contact, through breakfast. It made me wonder how she could be so ashamed of the episode with her teddy, and not with all of the men in our neighborhood.
The night before, in a fit of fury, I'd called Ken, our neighbor, and Kat's teacher, and demanded an explanation. He listened to my stream of anger quietly, feeling, perhaps, that I was entitled. But then he simply said, "Wouldn't you? Knowing she was eighteen, legal, and wanted it?"
I was silent.
Ken sighed. "Look, would it help you to know she called me papa the whole time?"
I was still silent. I remembered my girl, wiggling over her teddy the night before, growing hot in my arms.
"If my girl wanted me like that," Ken said carefully, "I would be thinking very thoroughly about my options."
I didn't want to think about what he meant by this, so I told him to fuck off, and hung up. But the words lingered through breakfast, and then on the walk down to Dr. Moorcroft's office for Kat's first correction appointment.
What were my options?
I would have her rehabilitated, to marry another man and be faithful to him, or she would fail and go into the dens, where men could use her as they pleased.
Where you could use her as you please.
This voice came into my head unbidden, and I dismissed it. But the image from the night before, of Annie, her face screwed up with ecstasy as she lay beneath her father, as he thrust his ruddy tool into her pussy, stuck in my mind. Annie seemed more than happy to serve other men, so long as it kept her in her father's bed. Could Kat be happy like that? She didn't seem to mind sucking off her teacher...
But bile rose up in my throat when I thought of her being used like that, when I thought of her perfect rose being torn apart by another man's cock.
No. Kat was not meant for that life. It would be beyond selfish of me to condemn her to it, just so she could keep my cock happy. She was meant to be worshipped, not used.
And she was not meant for me.
***
Dr. Moorcroft was ready when we arrived. He shook my hand, but otherwise had eyes only for Kat. He welcomed her into his office and offered her tea and coffee, which she declined, noting that her stomach was too upset, she was nervous.
Kat and I sat together on the couch. She was holding my arm with both her hands.
Dr. Moorcroft -- who instructed that we call him Ben -- smiled at her. He looked at her, I saw with relief, like a nice girl, a rabbit who had wandered into the paths of wolves. Not at all like a whore. I'd been afraid that her transgressions would have made him see her as already fallen.
"That's natural, sweet Katerina," he said. "But I assure you, there's nothing to be afraid of. I should tell you now that all of the therapeutic exercises will be done here in this office, or in your dormitory, alone or with your father present. I'll be here, of course, to oversee." He continued smiling as she looked up, her eyes wide with an emotion I couldn't read. "But you'll never be with a man unsupervised."
He directed the last part to me, with a nod and, when Kat looked into her lap, a wink. I breathed much easier now, and put my arm around her shoulders.
"What sort of exercises are you talking about?"
Kat snuggled into me. I liked how she was leaning on me. I was her protector. I might have failed, before, but I wouldn't fail again.
"Let's slow things down." Ben kept that gentle smile on Katerina. "First, let me tell you my theory on why girls stray. And Katerina, why don't you tell me if this feels right?"
She nodded obediently.
"We have decided, in our society, to keep our girls safe from male desire until they are old enough to bear it. This protects them from corruption, and ensures that when a man marries, the girl he chooses is pure and his alone. This makes for healthier families, happier men, and happier wives."
We both nodded. We'd heard this before.
"But sometimes, when girls are curious, they start to look for answers," he said. "Most of the time, this is just with talk among themselves. We can't stop the girls from gossiping."
Kat flushed. I remembered how Sarah had told her about the dens, about how I had seduced her at Kat's birthday. It was stupid of me, I realized now, to assume this would stay secret.
"But sometimes, when the girl is particularly curious, she goes to men for answers." Ben's voice dipped now, showing his disapproval. Kat hid her face in her hands. "Now, you might ask. What would make a girl so curious?"
He looked at me.
"Now, dad, it's time to bring you into the picture."
To my surprise, he didn't sound gentle anymore. He was frowning at me.
"A girl has no need of male attention if her father is adequately providing the affection, love, and discipline a girl needs."
My mouth went dry. "You're putting this on me?"
He looked grave. "It's more complicated than that. I have no doubt that you provided for Katerina, that you love her. But she is just a young girl, and somewhere along the line, she got confused. She stopped being able to feel your love. And, as a maturing young woman, her body then started to ache for the affection she was missing. In short, everything got criss-crossed."
Here, he waited for Kat to look at him.
"Does that sound right, sweetie?"
Without looking at either one of us, she nodded.
"I love you," I said to her. I pulled my arm back, gripped her by the shoulders. "Kitty Cat, I love you more than anything."
"But you wanted those other girls more," she said.
"Ah, yes," Ben said, sighing. "This often happens. The fathers with the highest sex drives -- the heaviest users of the dens -- often provoke jealousy in their girls. You see, you are Katerina's whole world. Her provider, her companion, and, in many ways, the man she is made to serve. Until she has a husband, you, dad, make up most of what's in her heart."
I felt sick. "Baby," I said to her. "I didn't mean to neglect you."
"It's natural for a girl to want to become what her father wants," he said. "In your case, a whore."
I wanted to cry. I never wanted the whores more than Kat. Not for a minute. I told her so.
She shook her head. Katerina really was crying now -- sobs that shook her body. I drew her into my chest, rocking her back and forth.
"Shh, sweetie, daddy's here," I said. "I'm so sorry, Kitty Cat."
"Then why did you visit them so much?"
I looked to Ben for help.
"Your father has needs, sweetie," he said. "But that doesn't mean that you aren't beautiful."
"What do we do now?" I asked him desperately.
"We start to try to repair the damage," he said. "Right now, Katerina is confused. Her body is aching for attention. Even if the cause is emotional, we can't put the cat bag in the bag, so to speak. We need to treat the symptoms."
"The symptoms?"
"Katerina is desperate for your approval," he said. "All the girls want to know their father is pleased with them. And they need to know that you approve."
"I don't approve of what she's been doing," I said angrily. "I don't want her sucking the cocks of every man in her life."
"No, of course not. But you can approve of her beauty. Her love, her affection." He waited for me to understand. "You need to reassure her that she is a beautiful woman in your eyes, that she is your number one priority. Only then will she feel confident enough to resume her modesty, to wait for an honorable man to love her rather than giving her love away to the first man who asks."
My face was hot. What he was saying made sense. But I was afraid, afraid that I was hearing in his words something that I only wanted to hear, something that could not possibly be true, because I was a wicked man.
"What are you saying, doctor?"
He smiled at me, winked again. "Katerina, sweetheart, why don't you lay down on the couch? Your daddy and I will sit here."
He pulled up another chair for me and set it beside the couch. Both of us were then sitting, looking down at Kat, as she laid back against the pillows. "Like this?"
