Dilara in the Harem Ch. 02

If you haven't read Chapter 1, and you really have too much trouble figuring out what is going on, well, you know what to do. But Chapter 2 is probably a little more fun than Chapter 1, so if you got here without reading Chapter 1, why not just give it a go?

— — — — — — / — — — — — — — — —

Holy fuck.

Hoooooooooooly fucking fuck.

Dilara reads the email a dozen times, heart pounding.

Finally she thinks clearly enough to check the website: only about five percent of the women who get a Spyke interview are invited for an in-person interview. And fewer than five percent of the women who get an in-person interview are invited to become "applicants" at El Purgatorio — where they eventually meet Raoul, and he only invites half of them to become (in the website's terminology) one of the "candidates" at El Paraíso, and a lot of them don't even get to become one of his actually lovers.

So there's still a long, long way to go.

And — she reminds herself — it's just for fun.

And there's no way she's going, even if they invite her.

(That's what she has to tell herself to stay calm.)

And surely they won't even invite her. There's no way she's pretty enough.

But maybe she can get an in-person interview at least: she would very happily take that two thousand dollar stipend!

— — — — — — / — — — — — — — — —

Dilara thinks long and hard about where to do this interview. She cannot possibly risk her parents catching her. But outside of her home....

Finally she hits on a plan. The following Saturday, she gets up early, puts on some lacy underwear that makes her feel confident, then her most daringly short shorts (just in case they ask her to stand up or something) and a tank top with tiny straps so that her shoulders and bra straps will be clearly seen on the videochat.

In order to get out of the house without unwanted parental comment, she puts her baggiest sweatpants and sweatshirt over it all.

She drives to a Union Busters Café all the way in Santa Barbara, just trying to be sure that no one she knows will run into her, and then, after shedding the sweatshirt and pretending to read for about an hour, she sits in the car in the parking lot waiting for that bubbly Spyke ringtone.

When it finally sounds, she starts as if something really surprising had happened, and takes a few moments to gather herself before pushing the little green button to accept the call.

Carla: Hi! You must be Dilara.

Dilara: Yes!

Carla: Pleasure to meet you, Dilara, I'm Carla.

Janet: And I'm Janet.

Dilara: Nice to meet both of you!

Carla: Thank you. Is it okay if we call you Dilara?

Dilara: Sure! That's what people call me!

Carla: Great. And you selected English as your preferred language. Is that correct?

Dilara: Yup!

(Having completely forgotten that she "doesn't really want to" become one of Raoul Cock's lovers, Dilara fails to notice that something competitive has awoken inside her, enabling her to smile brighter smiles than she's ever smiled before, to show herself more cheerful and sweet than she's ever shown herself before.)

Carla: Okay, good. And you know that this interview is being recorded, and that only people who work in the El Paraíso admissions teams will be able to view it, right?

Dilara: Yup! I understand that! Thank you!

Carla: And it will be automatically deleted in four months, and no one in the world will ever be able to see it after that unless you've made your own copy and choose to share it.

Dilara: Okay!

Carla: Good, then, that's the legal stuff out of the way and we're ready to get started. Janet and I are both on the Charming admissions team, as I explained in my email. We just want to get to know you a little bit. As you probably know, we do a lot of these virtual interviews, and we meet a lot of wonderful, beautiful young women who we'd love to invite to El Paraíso, but we don't get to invite very many of them, so you should not get too excited yet

Dilara: Yes, I understand!

Carla: Okay, good. Do you have any questions before we begin?

Dilara: Um, no, not really. I thought you would have the questions!

Carla: Oh, we definitely do. But I guess you've read the webpage then and probably lots of other stuff on the internet?

Dilara: Oh, yeah. Lots of stuff.

Janet: You have to be careful, though. Not everything on the internet is true. A lot of people enjoy making up scandalous things, or pretend to know things they don't really know to get attention.

Dilara: Okay. But I've read the website and everything too. But is the CIA stuff true?

Janet: Some of it is true. He did infiltrate organized criminal organizations with the CIA.

Dilara: Wow!

Janet: Yeah, pretty impressive stuff. He's a very impressive man.

Dilara: Yeah. Wow.

Janet: And if you ever get to see him in person, you'll be blown away by how good looking he is. I mean, tall, handsome, confident, charming....

Dilara: I really hope I get to meet him!

Carla: Right. Good. So let's get started. The first thing is, you're so young, it seems like you've only been eighteen about a week. Why do you think you're ready to be a mother?

Dilara: Oh, that's a good question. Honestly, I probably wouldn't be ready for a normal guy. I would need, like, a job and money and a house and stuff. But with Raoul, you know, he will provide all that. I mean the money for it anyway.

Carla: Right.

Dilara: So in that case, if I can trust that a guy is going to be able to take care of me and a baby, of course I'm ready to have a baby. The sooner the better, right? I mean in terms of the baby's health and so on.

Janet: I like that. You're already thinking about things like the baby's health. If you do have a baby with Mr. Cock, and you get the trust funds, you know you'll have a regular income of about three hundred thousand dollars a year until your child turns eighteen, and then after that you and your child will each have about a hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year, right?

Dilara: Right.

Janet: The actual numbers change according to inflation, but that's roughly where they are right now.

Dilara: I saw that on the website.

Janet: Very good. So during those eighteen years while your child is growing up, what do you think your life will be like? How do you envision living?

Dilara: Like in terms of my house and stuff?

Janet: Sure. What you would do, how you would raise your child, or just anything else that comes to mind.

Dilara: Well, I would probably continue living here with my parents for a few years at least, or at least nearby, so that my mom and family could help me with the baby.

Janet: That's good. Very realistic.

Dilara: Thank you. And then when things get settled down, in terms of the nanny and all that, and maybe the baby doesn't need quite so much attention from me, I might take classes, at least part time. I'd still like to go to college and stuff, although I know it might take me a few extra years because of taking care of a baby, but that would be worthwhile anyway.

Carla: Would you tell people that Mr. Cock is the father?

Dilara: I couldn't even keep it a secret if I wanted to. My best friend Jasmine, you saw her on the video —

Carla: She seems very nice.

Dilara: She is. She's wonderful. I never would've done this without her. I mean, I didn't think I would have a chance, and I still kind of can't believe this is happening right now, but she's really confident for me. She really believes, you know....

Carla: Sure. She's right. You fit the profile of an El Paraíso woman very precisely. You're exceptionally beautiful, and you seem intelligent and cheerful, so Mr. and Mrs. Cock will like you, and you would probably be popular with the other women here. You seem serious about having a baby, which is also important. You're thinking ahead a little bit about what your life with a child would be like, so it's not just a game to you or a way to make money. We do need to get to know you a little better first, though.

Dilara: Oh, good, wow, really? I mean....

Janet: Well, there is still only a chance, right? I mean, there are several more steps between now and then.

Dilara: Right.

Janet: So you shouldn't take anything for granted. You should still assume you're not going to get in.

Dilara: Right, okay.

Carla: On the other hand, you're a serious candidate. Unless some red flags appear, I personally will probably advocate bringing you in for an in-person interview. I need some other people on the team to agree to that, and they'll watch the recording of this interview, and I hope we'll be able to persuade them.

Janet: Carla really believes in you, Dilara, so you have at least one strong advocate here, and you're beginning to persuade me too.

Dilara: Oh, okay, wow, thank you!

Carla: Well, your intro video was just amazing. Several of us have watched it and several of us loved it.

Janet: Definitely. Very cute and fun.

Dilara: Oh my gosh, thank you!

Carla: You're welcome. And even if you don't get into El Paraíso, you're a lovely girl. You're probably going to have a nice, successful, happy life.

Dilara: I hope so. I don't know.

Janet: Well, no one does, but you're off to a good start.

Carla: Let's get back to work though. I guess you're still in high school now, since you said you're on your school's dance team.

Dilara: Yup. I'm a senior.

Carla: Good. Are you a pretty good student?

Dilara: Um, pretty good.

Carla: Have you been in trouble much?

Dilara: No. Not at all.

Carla: Do you ever use drugs?

Dilara: Like pot?

Carla: Sure.

Dilara: Um, actually, I have smoked at some parties a couple times, and tried edibles once. But I don't do it much. I'm kind of scared of that stuff, and my parents would kill me.

Carla: Do you drink?

Dilara: Like alcohol? Beer and stuff?

Carla: Yeah.

Dilara: No, almost never. I mean... well, I've never been drunk, for example.

Carla: That's good, that's fine. There's nothing wrong with a little bit, but you don't use heroin or meth or any other really hard drugs?

Dilara: Oh, no. I'm.... You know, I live with my parents, right? They're both really conservative. By the way, they don't know that I'm doing this yet. I'm too embarrassed to tell them.

Carla: That's fine. Very understandable. You're not obligated to show us your report cards or anything, but would you mind showing them to us, just so we can get a sense that you're as responsible and down-to-earth as you seem?

Dilara: Well, sure. I mean.... I got some B's in math, and I got moved down to a lower level, right, like....

Carla: Oh, that's fine. I guess that means mostly A's and B's otherwise.

Dilara: Mostly A's.... I don't mean to brag, but, you know, like history and English classes aren't very hard for me. I'm in three Accelerated Placement classes right now.

Carla: Oh, great. That's excellent.

Dilara: It's only math. I just, I can't.... I was fine until they started using equations and diagrams and stuff. I am taking calculus, but it's just so hard.

Carla: Me neither, don't worry. And it doesn't matter. It's just something we can show the other members of our team to persuade them that you're a good, responsible person, like we said. Like you do your homework and stuff. You're not in trouble a lot, not a drop out or anything.

Dilara: Oh, no.

Carla: And that kind of thing sometimes makes a difference to Mr. and Mrs. Cock too.

Dilara: Realy?

Carla: Well, like the website says, they want to try to be sure that their children are going to be well cared for.

Dilara: Yeah, well, of course.

Carla: So you said one of your hobbies is reading poetry. That's really interesting. Why do you like that?

Dilara: Well, I just like when the sounds of the words are pretty, and I really like it when there are, like, hidden meanings or symbols and stuff.

Carla: Can you give me an example? I don't know that much about poetry.

Dilara: Well, let's see. Like, oh, gosh, let's see. I mean.

Carla: Sorry to put you on the spot.

Dilara: No, it's okay. I just... my mind went blank. I'm too nervous!

Carla: That's okay, just relax.

Dilara: Okay. Well, like, I saw this poem the other day, by this poet who isn't even famous, right? Just someone out there alive right now but basically no one's ever heard of him. Or her. I don't even remember the name of the poet.

Carla: Okay.

Dilara: But the first lines of this poem were, "Blow hot the wind, blow cold, soon we will both be old, and wormed with regret."

Carla: Wow.

Dilara: Yeah, I really like that. There's so much there. Like is the speaker of the poem talking to the wind? Or is he or she talking to someone else, like a lover, and saying that no matter whether the wind blows hot or cold they'll both be old?

Carla: Uh-huh.

Dilara: And the word "wormed," right? I mean, I don't even know if that's really a word, a verb I mean, but we can feel what it means, we can almost see it.

Janet: You really do like this stuff, then.

Dilara: Yes, definitely. I could go on, just about those two lines. Like how that final 't' sound in "regret" is so perfect. It breaks the rhythm, the smoothness of the lines, and it just sounds so final, almost like death itself. So painful. So evocative. You know?

Carla: Well, yeah, I guess so.

Dilara: Well, anyway. Sorry. I do get excited about good poetry though. Or at least poetry that I like.

Janet: No, that's good. Mr. and Mrs. Cock both enjoy that kind of thing a lot. You might have some good discussions with them.

Dilara: Really? That's... I didn't know that. But I guess I knew they like literature, so maybe I should've known.

Carla: Based on what you do know, how do you think you'll get along with them?

Dilara: Well, they seem like really interesting people. Actually, I think I'd be kind of intimidated. Of both of them. They're just so good-looking. But Mr. Cock is, you know, I mean....

Carla: We all feel that way. They're giants, too. You don't realize how tall they are until you see them.

Janet: But maybe we should start more directly. Of course you can't know exactly how you'll feel until you're there, in the moment, but do you think you would want to have sex with Mr. Cock?

Dilara: Um, well, it's embarrassing to say, but, I mean, of course I would. Would you even believe me if I said I wouldn't?

Janet: Sure we would. There are some women who don't want to.

Dilara: Oh, well, anyway, I definitely would. My friend Jasmine, it's like her dream is to do that with him.

Carla: A lot of women feel that way too. We meet them every day.

Dilara: I actually haven't thought about it very much until recently because, you know, I didn't think I would ever have a chance to. But now, well, seriously, I can't imagine a woman, or at least a straight woman, not wanting to have sex with him. I guess maybe if her religion was against it or something, but even then, you know, her heart would.

Janet: How about Mrs. Cock?

Dilara: What do you mean?

Janet: Did you see the video where she talks about her sexual desires and how she feels about women having sex with her husband?

Dilara: Oh. No, I didn't. I guess I should.

Carla: It's okay, we interview some women who haven't seen it yet, but my team won't agree to invite you for an in-person interview until you tell us that you've watched that video and you're okay with what she says.

Dilara: Oh, okay. I will definitely do that.

Janet: She's really open and honest, and a lot of people don't like what she says there. You also need to think about if you're okay with people thinking that you'll be doing things like that at El Paraíso, because no matter what you tell anyone, they'll always assume whatever seems the worst to them.

Dilara: Okay.

Carla: Frankly, though, if you are okay with it, I think you have an excellent chance of being invited for an in-person interview. Hopefully by our team, too, but if our team doesn't get to you in time one of the other teams will almost certainly scoop you up.

Dilara: Really? Wow! Thanks! I mean... wow.

Carla: Just for the interview. And only a good chance, no guarantees.

Dilara: No, yeah, okay. Yeah. Definitely.

Janet: But that just about wraps things up for us for now. Do you have any more questions for us?

Dilara: Where can I find the video that I need to watch?

Janet: It's on the "About May" page of the website. That page gets far fewer views than the "About Raoul" page.

Dilara: Yeah, I really didn't think about it.

Janet: You should watch the video and give it some thought and then email Carla about what you think of it.

Dilara: Okay, I will.

Carla: We'll be looking forward to that.

Janet: Unless either of you can think of anything else....

Carla: No, I'm fine.

Dilara: Me too.

Janet: Okay, Dilara, it's been lovely to meet you and get to know you a bit. I hope we get to see you in person soon.

Dilara: Thank you! Me too! I mean, it's been lovely to meet you guys too!

Janet: Okay, now. Bye-bye!

Dilara: Bye!

— — — — — — / — — — — — — — — —

Dilara watches the video for the first time right there in the parking lot. It shocks her, it's hard to absorb, so she decides to think about it while driving back home, but she just happens to be in the right place at the right time to get a parking place along the road in Malibu, so she seizes it and watches the video three times in a row, pausing it to try to imagine what they're saying, what they mean.

She gets out of her car, walks on the beach watching the dolphins for about four minutes, and then heads back to the car to watch it a couple more times. Then she finally drives home and, with her bedroom door open in an attempt to seem not-at-all suspicious, listens to it through earphones while she paints her toenails.

This video was apparently made on the same day as the intro video on the first page of the site, because Raoul and May are wearing the same outfits and sitting on the same bench. But this time they are sitting even closer to each other, holding hands.

"Hello," Raoul says at the beginning, and the depth of his voice startles Dilara yet again. "This is going to be a very personal video for us, and not what you would probably regard as 'safe for work.'"

"No, not at all," May laughs, looking at him adoringly, as she apparently always does.

Dilara has never seen a woman look so smitten with a man. Every time she watches the video, she falls more in love with how in love May is with him.

"But there are a lot of rumors out there about what goes on here at El Paraíso," Raoul continues, "and we know that a lot of people won't approve of what we do here, but we believe the best way to deal with everything is just to be completely honest. Right?"

"Right," she agrees.

They smile at each other as if they'd just had a baby together or something, and then Raoul looks back at the camera, through the internet, to Dilara's computer screen, seemingly directly at Dilara herself.

"So, then, first of all, let me describe what happens here. Women who want to have a baby with me come here," he looks at his wife, "and I have sex with some of them to try to get them pregnant."

May nods, and Raoul continues:

"Of course we try to make it romantic. For example, I often perform cunnilingus on a woman before we have vaginal sex. That's not necessary to get her pregnant, of course, but it's more fun for all of us."

He looks at May. She smiles at him sweetly and then she takes her turn to speak:

"Most people can understand why Raoul here enjoys this," she playfully kicks his leg, "but a lot of people wonder what I get out of it. But the truth is I really enjoy seeing women be so in love with Raoul, and seeing him happy. I also love seeing all of the babies he makes, they're all so beautiful, and I feel so proud when I see them, and so proud when I see all the happy mothers in love with the little babies he made with them."