Free Her One Obsession by Roberta Latow Page B

yourself,’ he answered, a broad smile crossing his face.
    Dendre noted that her brother always had a smile for her. He adored her. Being five years older than Dendre, he had felt protective of her ever since she was a baby. It was he who as a child had called her ‘Baby’ until it stuck and became her nickname. Dendre admired her brother. He was at Harvard on scholarships and worked two jobs as well to keep himself there. Herschel Moscowitz simply did not have the money to send a son through Harvard.
    Now, having experienced sex and the thrill of orgasm for the first time, Dendre could understand why women ran after her brother. He had a sexuality about him that, combined with his self-assurance and good looks, was very exciting. How odd, she thought, suddenly to think of Orlando in a sexual context. She sensed that he would understand her passion for Gideon, and strangely would not be shocked by her choice.
    ‘When do you have to be back at school, Orlando?’ she asked.
    ‘Day after tomorrow.’
    ‘I’ve met someone. The man I’m going to marry. I think you’ll like him.’
    ‘Baby!’
    ‘I want to tell you about him – us. I want you to meet him. We’ll come and see you off at Grand Central.’
    ‘Do Mom and Dad know about this?’
    ‘No, and they mustn’t, not for a while yet. They have to get to know him first.’
    ‘He’s not Jewish?’
    ‘No, I don’t know what he is.’
    ‘Marry out of the faith and it’ll kill Dad, shock the family. Maybe you’d better tell me all about this great love? From the beginning.’
    And so Dendre did tell her brother everything about her meeting with Gideon and falling in love with him. Though she admitted that she had gone to bed with him, she was careful to skirt around the details, feeling some embarrassment over discussing sex with her brother. The more Orlando heard, the more upset he was. He rose from the bed and walked around the room. His heart nearly broke for her when she told him that she loved Gideon beyond reason, beyond life itself. He went to her when she started sobbing.
    ‘Why are you crying, Baby?’ asked Orlando as he sat her down and placed his arm round her shoulders. She leaned against him.
    ‘Not from grief or despair but because I had no idea what it was to love as I do now. I’ve never felt as good as this in my whole life.’
    ‘Baby, are you sure this isn’t just sexual infatuation? Every woman falls in love with the first man they have sex with, and most especially if that first experience is a good one. By all accounts yours was and I like the guy already for that. A new world has opened up for you. You’re a woman now, not a baby. We’ll have to treat you accordingly, maybe even stop calling you Baby.’
    ‘Oh, would you, Orlando? Gideon would hate my being called Baby,’ she told her brother.
    ‘Hey, wait a minute, Dendre. You’ve had one experience with this guy, known him for less than twenty-four hours, and already you’re concerned about what he thinks and feels? I think you’ve had too much, too soon with this guy. Give him some space to think about you and come after you.’
    ‘I’m seeing him tomorrow. We love each other, Orlando, in just the same way. Be happy for us,’ she pleaded as her eyes filled with tears. There was a tremor in her voice.
    He took a clean handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. ‘Baby, you’re such an innocent. Men don’t love women theway women want them to. They love women the best way they can, on their terms.’
    ‘Gideon has already told me that and it’s fine with me.’
    ‘And who’s going to handle Mom and Dad? I’m off tomorrow, remember. Put him off for a few weeks, give yourself some time, and don’t do anything rash is what I suggest.’
    ‘I can’t do that.’
    ‘Why not, for God’s sake?’
    ‘Because I’ll lose him. You don’t understand how remarkable he is, Orlando. He’s already my life.’
    ‘This is crazy!’ he told her.
    Their conversation