be if she could make him beg her to stay! That would be a win.
Jogging reminded many parts of her body how sore they were, but Mary enjoyed the feeling, as it informed her what a wonderful time she and David had enjoyed yesterday. Pain was good if you chose it, for any chosen pain reminded you that you were alive. And sexual pain was not truly, or simply pain. For Mary it made sex into an occasion. Better to have a ritual feast of bittersweet sensuality and worship than just plain old sex.
She went around a corner and there were Carol and Faye. They waved to her and she waved back. The three of them jogged towards a meeting in the middle of the street. How good-looking they were, thought Mary. Charming and confident young women of true loveliness. Carol was stunningly tall and strong, with a shapely body on endless powerful legs. She was a Valkyrie out of Viking legends, an imposing beauty with pale-blonde hair so long that, unconfined, it fell all the way straight as rulers to her broad hips, though now it swayed in a ponytail. Faye was a real contrast, shorter and slighter, with a tiny waist and amazing breasts that seemed far too big for her body. Her eyes were large dark pools, and her light-brown hair was cut very short. How proud of them their boyfriends must be, thought Mary, and they surely did have boyfriends, for they looked so happy they must be in love.
‘Good to see you!’ cried Faye, as the three of them met and came to a halt.
‘We have a lot we want to talk about with you,’ Carol told Mary.
‘It’s personal stuff,’ said Faye. ‘The thing is, you’re one of the very few people we can trust.’
‘And respect,’ Carol added.
‘Don’t say “respect”, it makes me feel old,’ Mary joked, and they all laughed.
‘Can you come with us and have breakfast?’ Faye asked, and gave Mary a smile of genuine good-natured sweetness.
‘I’d love to.’
‘Let’s go that way,’ said Carol. ‘It’s prettier.’
Onwards jogged the three of them, with golden sunlight, sky of light-blue crystal, and vivid green so bright all around, the light of their own personal dawn that most people were too lazy to see.
Soon they reached Carol’s home, which was big and impressive. Her parents were both genetic scientists, but, they used to jokingly tell Carol, her remarkable tallness was not the result of genetic engineering. They were away on holiday, as were Faye’s parents, with Faye’s younger brother. This left Carol and Faye with two houses to live in without any family supervision, a situation they clearly enjoyed. Mary had breakfast with the two girls.
‘Do you have boyfriends?’ she asked.
‘No,’ replied Faye and Carol at the same moment, shaking their heads.
‘Actually we’re sort of involved with each other,’ said Carol.
‘We decided you wouldn’t be shocked or offended,’ said Faye.
‘And you were right,’ Mary assured the girls.
‘That’s what we wanted your advice about,’ said Carol. ‘Do you think we should tell our parents?’
‘Don’t bother. The less parents know about their children, the better it is for everybody.’
‘So in our place, you’d try to keep it a secret from your parents?’ Faye inquired.
‘If I were in your place I’d blurt out the truth all the time and offend everyone and have fights with everyone, because I’m me.’
‘That’s good,’ laughed Faye.
‘You’re one of the few people we trust,’ Carol told Mary.
‘Don’t trust me. I’m a disaster area. Work, family, relationships: disasters.’
‘Who cares?’ said Carol. ‘You look confident and happy, what else matters?’
‘Yes, I became confident and happy when I gave up,’ laughed Mary. ‘Abandon all hope, care about nothing, and then life starts.’
What nice innocent girls they were – innocent of suffering that is, which to Mary was real innocence, far more important than being sexually innocent. Their basic seriousness was part of their innocence. Both were