Bert Ormsby - Swapping with laura

She didn't hear any of Ralph's babbled apologies afterward. She lay motionless beneath him, her large blue eyes opened wide like those of a startled bird's, staring frozenly at the blank white ceiling above them. She felt only pain and self-disgust for the trouble she had taken to please her inconsiderate husband.

It was no use. Ralph knew only unbridled lust for her body. He could never satisfy her. She would probably remain unfulfilled for the rest of her life.

Without any apology, Ralph left the bed and went into the bathroom to wash himself off. She was glad to have his heavy, puffing body off of her. This was not what she had expected in marriage at all. Perhaps the whole thing had been a big mistake.

Laura lay there silent and motionless until he had returned to the bedroom and turned off the lights. It was rather early for them to be in bed, but the ravaged bride felt so drained of energy at she didn't have the strength to protest.

He slipped in beside her and pulled the covers up over them both. After that it was some moments before he spoke. "I'm sorry if I was a bit rough, darling."

"It's all right, Ralph," she said dully.

"You were just so beautiful that I couldn't control myself."

"I said it's all right."

"If you weren't so almighty virtuous it would be even more all right. I don't know, sometimes I think you don't even care. If you'd only show a little…"

"Let's not discuss it, Ralph. I'm more tired than I thought." She yawned without much conviction. "Maybe it's just as well to get to bed early for once."

To save up energy for the Franklins' party tomorrow night, she thought. Cleonora was right about one thing. I need some distraction.

And she vowed to herself that she was going to find it.

The following day broke reasonably clear, but quite windy. For most of the day enormous white clouds hung, seemingly motionless, in the sky above the rolling and tossing sea. This apparent calm above was denied down below, where the ocean thrashed with unconcealed urgency.

Around the Saunders' home, the trees as well blew first in one direction, then the other, thrown by gusty winds off the sea which seemed to strike with typhoon force as Laura watched from the window.

She wondered if she would be able to go to the Franklins after all. In weather like this, the coast road to their house was unpredictable, slices of it having fallen into the sea during similar storms with considerable alacrity. Or so she was told. She and Ralph were too new to the neighborhood to actually have seen the evidence of this.

But no storm developed, and as the day wore on the winds became gentle until finally soft breezes stirred the trees and bushes all around with scarcely a hint of the morning's airborne savagery.

The sun came out around mid-afternoon, and Laura took off some time to sunbathe on the rain-damp lawn in back of the house. The air became warm until she felt as if she were baking under an almost tropical sun. She relaxed and allowed herself to be caressed by the easy, pleasant warmth of that sun. A subtle lassitude entered her bones and muscles, and she felt as if she never wanted to stir again.

Around suppertime came the expected call from Ralph at the clinic. He expected to be late again. She told him that she would be visiting the Franklins for the evening for a meeting of the local women's club. He didn't seem to mind. She promised to leave him something on the stove.

After that she put all her time into getting ready. She wanted herself to be as attractive as possible if she was going to have an opportunity to expand her woefully small circle of friends. What good luck it was that Cleonora had invited her!

She bathed luxuriously, taking her time, and then she anointed her warmly glowing body with various creams and ointments, followed by a generous dash of the most expensive perfumes on her dressing table.

I smell like a prostitute, the naive young girl thought, but I don't care. I'm going to enjoy myself tonight if it's the last thing I ever do.

By the time she was ready to leave for Cleonora's she couldn't remember when she had looked or felt so radiant. Everything about her was exquisite, from the old-fashioned high-heeled pumps she wore on her dainty feet to her short navy blue skirt and the daring way she had unfastened one more button on the top of her pale blue sweater, to the elegant and beautiful waterfall effect of her long golden hair falling shiningly down her shapely back all the way to her waist after she had combed it out and scented it lavishly. She was in a mood that was just a little wild, although she couldn't have told herself why.

Distraction, she repeated to herself. I've got to distract myself and not dwell on my problems with Ralph too much.

By nine o'clock she was ready to leave for the Franklins'. She would have liked to arrive fashionably late in order not to be the first one there, but she didn't want to chance still being home when Ralph arrived, tired and bothered from his long day. Predictably he would send her on various errands for this, that and the other. No, the time to leave was before he came home. She set off down the steps into their driveway with haste and tooled the Mustang out of the garage before she could have any hesitant thoughts. In another few minutes she was turning into the Franklins' drive to add her car to a considerable line of other automobiles already parked bumper to bumper. She parked quickly and then half-ran up the gravel path to the big house.

There seemed to be no one else about, but she could hear happy sounds of merrymaking from within. All the curtains had been drawn, but they were moved occasionally by the brushing of unseen hands and bodies, and beams of light flashed through.

Laura was surprised to be met at the door by a butler in full livery. Ordinarily the Franklins were not so ostentatious. But the house was quite crowded with women – and their dogs – so Cleonora had definitely needed the extra help.

And their dogs. Cleo had told her that the Park Palisades Women's League was composed largely of dog fanciers, but Laura hadn't quite expected that the women would be bringing their dogs to the meeting as well.

Further, all the dogs were German shepherds. And what fine animals they were, too. Their coats shone lustrously in the expert concealed lighting of the Franklin home, and they moved with powerful confidence among themselves and the women. Laura had never seen such splendid animals anywhere, and the collection of so many of them in a single place made the net effect all the more striking and impressive. She looked around to see if Rover were among them.

"Ah, there you are!" came a gushing voice at her side. She turned to find Cleonora approaching her from the study. "Girls, this is the young lady I told you about!"

The commotion died down and a heavy silence fell over all the women. Laura felt very awkward under their examining gaze. "I… I'm not late, am I?"

"No, dear, you're right on time. People just started arriving a little earlier than expected, that's all. We've been preparing for you. Come along."

With this, Laura's beautiful brunette friend took her arm and led her towards the study.

Laura couldn't help but feel self-conscious. For the most part the women seemed older than she was, and their stares were so intent.

A strange scent wafted from the doors to the study as they approached it, and Laura wondered what it was. As they moved through the partly opened doors she saw further that the study's walls had been covered with red-and-violet drapes and the lighting had been greatly altered. There seemed to be more reddish glows all around, and dozens of large red pillows had been cast onto the deep-carpeted floor.

"Incense," Cleonora whispered. "That's what you're smelling." She didn't add that there were also traces of hashish and marijuana in the sultry air.