The Men in My Life
I moved into my dorm room at USC a week before classes began for the spring semester. My roommate had not yet arrived and I lay in my bed thinking of the men in my life and their effect on my life during my final semester at Community College.
There was
Corey
Daniels
, he had been my boyfriend and fiance at the beginning of the summer. But he had gone to Chicago for an internship and a semester of advanced studies at the University of Chicago. He had taken up with another woman and not even bothered to tell me. I had to find out from his mother! I was devastated. When he came back for Christmas I found out that the other woman had dumped him. He contacted me and I told him that I wasn't sure I could ever trust him again.
He called and asked for another chance, the bitch had dumped him, and I told him that since he had convinced me to turn any decision about who I would marry over to my parents he needed to convince them too. He called repeatedly but I was over him. I left for USC before he came back from Chicago to resume his studies at Cal Tech. I was sure he would be contacting me at USC. I might go out with him but he had a lot of work to do if he wanted me.
Henry
Barnett
, ... dear, sweet Henry. Henry had been a huge help in my getting over Corey. He was a widower, 65. I'm only 20 but I had seduced him out of a desire for sex. I'm still not sure why I wanted or maybe even needed it so badly. Whatever, Henry had been an excellent choice. Sex with him wasn't just scratching an itch or getting back at Corey. No, it made me feel wanted and important. Henry showed me that I was desirable to men other than Corey and that other men could please me as much as Corey did.
Before I left I set Henry up with several other women more his age, excepting Jennifer who was only 36. He took to playing the field like a fish to water. I was even a bit jealous of the time he began spending with them. But I had selected him because he seemed "safe," someone I could leave when I when to USC with no regrets. Well there was a bit of regret but Henry and I remained good friends and may still share some "benefits." He and I had spent a wild night of good-bye sex after a rock concert the night before I moved. I had suggested an opera but Henry picked the rock concert based on his knowledge of my musical preferences. He was like that.
Dr. Jacobs
had been my family doctor as long as I could remember. When I started pre-med studies he took an interest in my career and had given me a job as a medical assistant. He had also helped me pick USC, his alma mater. When I broke up with Corey he provided advice on how to get over my distress. He gave me extra work that was not too difficult to keep my mind off Corey. He helped me understand that no matter what happens I can continue to function. I'm much stronger as a result. If anyone helped my transition from the girl I was at the end of the summer to the woman I felt like now, it was Dr Jacobs.
Leo Daniels
is Corey's father. When Corey and I were to be married he had set up an educational trust fund for me. However, the terms of the trust fund expected me to marry Corey. When Corey broke up with me I was concerned that the trust fund would no longer fund my education. That would certainly put an end to my plans to attend USC and could make it difficult for me to continue to get the MD degree I wanted.
I talked to Mr. Daniels and he seemed as upset about what Corey had done as I was. He assured me I didn't need to worry and then sent me revised trust fund terms. He dropped all the marriage conditions, added some money for personal expenses and added one new condition -- the money could only be used to pursue a degree of training in a medical field. Mr. Daniels had made sure I would reach my goal of being an Ob/Gyn.
And, there's my Dad,
Tom O'Connell
. He's always there for me and for my mom. Throughout my life he has demonstrated that a woman can trust a man. My father's example showed to me that even if I can't trust Corey, there are men I can trust. I took out a piece of paper from the bottom of my desk drawer, "I trust you explicitly and give you full authority to decide who I should marry," it began. The "contract" I had made with my parents. I looked at it and put it away. I considered it my primary assurance that I would not choose improperly.
Rachael and Josh
My roommate, Rachael, showed up just a day before classes began. She was a sophomore who had been at USC since her freshman year. She was kind of a "party girl" and well known by other dorm residents, especially the guys. We were in a coed dorm with women and men on alternating floors. The rules said no members of the opposite sex on floors after 11 but that was ignored rather than obeyed. Women would spend the night in men's rooms and vice-versa. There was kind of an unwritten rule that when a woman was spending a night in a man's room the roommate was welcome to use her room. That meant I had a lot of one-night male "roommates". I made it clear to Rachael, as soon as I clrealy understood her social activities (it took less than a week) that I intended to study and expected her to go to the guy's place. She was free to entertain a guy with me here but I didn't intend to leave.
Anyway, Rachael was away more often than present and in the first few weeks every one of the displaced roommates came to our room looking to score with the hot new roommate. I was propositioned a lot those first few weeks. It seems that many women would bed the guys forced out. I made it clear I wasn't one of them. I was here to learn and study. Looking back I guess I was always a serial monogamist, or more accurately serially monandrous. I tended to bond with just one guy and wasn't interested in sex with lots of different guys. I think I also had kind of an obsession with STD's.
Not that I avoided all social contact. Several guys invited me to basketball games, movies and parties. If they seemed polite and interested in companionship other than sex, I accepted. Some made vague invitations, hoping I would pick the destination. I always suggested the opera. That weeded out many of them but, unfortunately, seemed to leave behind those who were interested mainly in sex and would undergo anything to get it.
Did I have sex? I gave in to the pressure from a couple of cute guys but regretted it. They were both insensitive to me, just after their own pleasure. In, out, in, out, ejaculate and good-bye. I guess, "wham bam, thank you ma'am," is the conventional phrase except I never heard the "thank you" part.
Josh Westerly was John Sanchez' roommate. Rachael was with John at least once a week and Josh always came by. Josh was unique in that he didn't even attempt to make a play for me. The first time he came he just said meekly, "Rachael is in my room, would it be okay if I stayed here?" Then he just sat at her desk and studied. When it became clear his room would be in use all night he went to Rachael's bed and slept in his clothes. With the others I always went to the shared bathroom to change into my nightclothes but I took a chance with Josh and changed in the room. I didn't think he even peeked.
Well, Josh grew on me. He was maybe 5-8 and a bit on the slim side. he seemed to be reasonably strong despite his thin limbs, I guess "wiry" is the usual term. He had a thin face with a protruding thin nose and small thin lips. Looking at what I wrote it sounds homely but he was really quite nice looking even if not the most handsome guy. Sometimes he would find he was missing a book or had forgotten some study materials and ask me if I had a book or took a particular class. I never had what he needed and he would go scavenging for what he needed. When he couldn't find it he would return and lay in Rachael's bed reading or just staring into space.
I had to break the ice, "So, Josh, what
is
your major," seemed a safe start on his third visit to my room.
"What? Oh! Uhh, architecture," he replied almost like he wasn't sure.
"You're a junior?" I guessed.
"Uhh, no, a senior," he responded.
"And you don't care for girls?" I said with as light, joking a voice as I could manage.