Ester and Larry

What would she look like twelve years later? Had she learned to make the most of what feminine features she possessed, or had she gone deeper into the shell around her heart. Being a doctor I assumed she dressed better than high school, it would be interesting to see if she still wore her hair so long. Just before noon I heard a knock on the door, I had been reading a trade mag which I set aside and raised my bed up to an almost sitting position. I hadn't shaved since the accident, the beard had altered my appearance considerably, I let the nurses trim and shape my beard, but I didn't let them shave my face.

Extending her hand looking at me oddly she introduced herself, "Good morning, I'm Doctor Dobbins. Not sure what it is but you look strangely familiar."

I squeezed her hand and smiled, "Hello Ester, it's good to see you."

Her eyes went wide, she glanced at the chart for my name and let out a quiet squeal of delight.

"Larry? Is that really you? What's it been, twelve years? Shame on me for only looking at the room number and not the name. How have you been, other than your present situation?"

"Up until about six months ago I was working as a master plumber. You know where I've been since then."

That statement caused her to cackle, I'd never heard her laugh all through high school.

I asked about husband, kids, family in general.

"My dad died four years ago, mom sold the herd and machinery, she leases the land to others around her. My little sister is a nurse in Omaha, married, two girls, says she's going to give it one more shot and hope for a boy. Our younger brother is a certified welder working for Miller Corporation. Other than that, not much else to say."

"What about you though? No husband, no kids?"

"Nope, neither. Doesn't mean I don't have any number of them still trying to get in my panties. When you aren't the prettiest thing walking down the corridor it seems they think I should be easy prey, they're wrong. No one has been in these panties since Reggie tricked me with his little dick. Being a surgeon I've seen every size, shape and color, Reggie wasn't even average, in fact he was well below the normal six inches."

I looked at her and chuckled, "Six inches is average? Really?"

"Sure is. 95 out of 100 men have a penis between five and a half and six inches in length with differing girths. The number of men seven inches is about one in a thousand, eight inches is around one percent worldwide and above eight is something like .7% of all men. Guys can talk about size all they want, but from what I'm told size doesn't necessarily matter to a woman if the guy knows what to do with what he's got."

I was laughing by then, "My, my, my. The things a guy learns talking to a knee surgeon. You look really good Ester you look like you've slimmed since high school."

"I dropped about fifteen pounds, I think most of that was in my chest and butt, but that's where I seem to be most comfortable. I don't actually care what others think, I like who and what I am. Take note I'm in a dress, something you never saw in high school, well, other than at Reggie's. Damn I hate him for that, wrong guy, wrong time, I felt so stupid."

She spent the next forty-five minutes explaining everything that would take place from the point of surgery through rehab, since I was already bed-ridden she suggested I do both knees at the same time. I wasn't sure about that but put my trust in her and agreed. Half an hour after she left the day nurse came in to see if I needed anything and ask if I was ready for lunch. Her next question shocked me.

"So, do you know the ice queen? It sure sounded awfully friendly in here, she's usually all business, in and out with no idle talk."

I scowled, "Ice queen? Why would you call her that? And yes, I do know her, I have since seventh grade."

"Didn't mean anything bad about her, it's a name she's gotten because there have been numerous guys that have tried getting next to her, she's shot every one of them down. Apparently she had a bad experience sexually when she was young."

I scoffed, "If being raped is now being referred to as a "bad sexual experience" then this world is going to hell faster than I thought. That info stays in this room, understand?"

She made a motion of zipping her lips and tossing the key.

The morning after surgery Ester stopped in to check on me. We got to talking a bit more, suddenly she stopped and grinned.

"You are apparently above average."

I looked at her wondering what the hell she was talking about.

"You know, what we were talking about a few weeks ago. Penis size. No one with any authority has caught her yet but one of my surgical nurses likes to "look under the hood" as she describes it to other nurses. Apparently, you have what I overheard a nurse say, is a nice package. "

I gave her my who the hell cares look and waved it off.

"Don't be so fast with that opinion, you're likely to get a visit or two in the night if word spreads. If you do don't let them mount you, it'll ruin the progress we've made."

With that she patted my hand and told me she'd see me the next day. I had no middle of the night escapades, although once well after midnight I was half awake when two nurses came in quietly, I felt the cover be pulled back and then my gown lifted. One gasped and whispered to the other.

"Rita was right, that is a nice package. If I wasn't married, I'd do him."

The other one whispered back, "Well I'm as married as you are and if I get the chance I'm gonna ride that cowboy."

They scooted out of the room silently, I thought to myself, one is a woman of integrity, the other is a cheating bitch. If she's thinking and talking about it, sooner or later it's bound to happen. With my knees now taken care of my lawyer was being hounded by the insurance company of the driver to settle quickly. I still had weeks if not months of rehab and PT to go through, he basically told them too stick it until I was done with everything.

I was up and moving around using forearm crutches or canes. Loading me into a wheelchair they took me to Ester's office, I'd seen her only a week prior but she wanted to exam me in her clinic. It was on that day I began to look at her in a different light, I hadn't paid much attention before during her visits, but she was wearing makeup, something she never did in high school, her hair was also a bit shorter but still well over her shoulders. One other thing I noticed is that she was wearing a dress or skirt, blouse combination whenever I saw her.

I was sitting on the exam table while she scooted around on her wheeled round stool that doctors use now. As she would move using her feet and legs to propel her I would see a flash of stocking tops with a garter strap, she wasn't flagrant about it, but she wasn't hiding it either. She'd apparently seen me looking, she stopped, smiled and put her hand on her lap.

"You like those do you? The stockings and garter straps?"

I nodded, "I'm surprised you don't cover up more, that's all."

She pushed back enough for me to see between her legs just above her knees.

"Larry, you're the only man other than a physician who's ever seen my lady parts. I wear dresses because I want to, I like the look of stockings but I can't wear panty hose, most of them don't breathe and I've learned through the years that's why I had so many yeast infections early on. So, it's cotton underwear, stockings with a belt or stay ups. How's that for too much information?"

We both laughed at her comment before I asked, "Did you know they call you the ice queen?"

"Absolutely, and I love it. I don't get hit on all the time because they think the ugly chick needs a good screwing. Nope, I don't mind it at all. You're the only man who's ever shown me kindness without expecting some sort of reward. What do you think of that buddy boy?"

I reached for her hand, she placed hers in mine, I pulled her to me. "I think it's a sad indictment on men, that's what I think. No need to see a lady in that light, like she owes you a piece of nooky because you were nice."

She laughed softly as she pulled away, "Well aren't you mister chivalry. It is nice to know though, that not all men are cads, most of the ones I've come up against were."

A week later I was back in her office getting a clean bill of health, I wasn't finished with PT but I could go home and return each day for PT, except I didn't have a home. Mine was over seventy miles away. When I brought my dilemma up to Ester she told me she'd take me in except her spare room was full of junk and she didn't feel like moving it to a storage unit. She did tell me there was a vacancy across the hall and two doors down from her, she would talk with the rental agency and see if I could rent on a six month lease basis.

I was a bit confused, "You live in an apartment complex? Surely you can afford a house."

"Sure I can, but as a single woman why would I want to? My building has a locked lobby with a security guy on duty twenty-four hours a day, I have no lawn to mow, no snow to shovel, a parking spot that is mine and mine alone. Elevators that work, space for a washer and dryer in my apartment, a gym/workout room open until eleven each night and a small pool if I want to swim laps. Exactly what would I gain by buying a house?"

I looked at her and shrugged, she had a good point. I'd been in the apartment a week when Ester knocked on my door.

"Hey, did you eat? Let's go for pizza, if I remember right pizza is one of your go to defaults. It's only two blocks away, we'll go slow, it'll be good for you to walk outside again."

I was using just one cane and took hold of her arm to steady myself, it seemed entirely normal and she didn't mind. She had a soft drink while I had a beer, the first I'd had in a long time. She had never consumed alcohol in her younger years, that conviction still held true.

"Do you hear from home Larry?"

"Nope, with mom gone I don't have anyone there any longer, Floyd, my boss, has been to see me a few times but otherwise nothing. I told him to hire another guy, he can't be without what I would be doing for a year. I should see a hefty settlement over this anyway, maybe I'll do something else in the future. I have my house rented to a guy I worked with, they have one still in diapers and another on the way."

She winced as she laughed softly and quipped, "Ouch. Busy mama."

The weeks turned into four months, Ester and I had been going to supper at least once a week during that time. With my PT done I told the lawyer to get the settlement worked out, after paying all the medical bills and deducting the lawyer's fees I still walked away with 1.8 million. I didn't know when it all started that they take your age into consideration as well as potential future lost income. I'd been in contact with a financial guy I trusted, the day I signed all the paperwork and the money was put into my account I texted Ester.

Me: Hey girl. Wanna go out for a steak tonight? I'm buying.

Ester: Sure, I'm done at three, come get me at five."

I laughed to myself, sure I can pick you up, it's a forty-foot walk down the hall. When Ester and me first started going for dinner it was basically so we had something adult to do, as the weeks went on it became obvious we enjoyed each other's company. And boy did we get the stares, me being six foot four and her five foot ten we tended to tower over everyone else, Ester was doing her hair up and applying makeup emphasizing her more feminine attributes, but her masculine structure was still the first thing most people saw.

Mind you, I'm nothing special to look at either, it was quite obvious I was nothing but an overgrown country bumpkin. If I didn't trim my beard often it looked shaggy and unkempt and I had never learned the nuances of how to get along with the ultra-educated, the very people we would meet at times. I usually didn't know what to say or how to behave so I stood silent while she spoke for both of us. It generally went like this.

"Oh, hi Doctor Dobbins, who's your friend? Is he in the medical field?"

When she'd tell them no they tended to excuse themselves. I often felt badly on her behalf, she was well known and yet here she was hanging around with a nobody. Specifically, a nobody without any secondary education to speak of. Walking to her car one of those evenings I was more quiet than usual thinking about how her being around me was probably holding her back amongst her peers. Pulling into her parking spot she turned off the car, turned sideways and asked.

"What gives Lar, you're never this quiet. Have I done something to offend or embarrass you? I know we're not a "couple" so to speak, but I was under the impression we were at least close friends."

I held my hands up in surrender, "Just the opposite Ester. I feel like I embarrass you, like I'm holding you back. You have all these important educated friends and then there's me, just a common everyday turd herder. I know people think plumbers are dumb, but it takes a hell of a lot of intelligence to know what pipes go where, their proper sizes, the proper amount of pitch, so on and so forth. It's a five-year apprenticeship and if you don't measure up, you're out."

She took my hand, "You don't embarrass me Larry. If anything, it's the opposite, I'm proud to be out and about with you. Let's face facts, I'm still seen as the ugly duckling, just like it's always been, except now I'm a very educated, renowned in my field, and prosperous ugly duckling. You have always accepted me for who I am since seventh grade, I don't think I have a better friend than you. So, let's stop this talk about who embarrasses who and just enjoy the company."

It was the first time she reached out and gently took my hand for a second as we walked down the hall after exiting the elevator. I wasn't sure what that meant but it made me feel good, my door was two before hers and when we reached mine she stopped.

"The annual Christmas party will be early this year, they're gonna have it mid-December. It's a plus one invitation, I've always declined, I'd like to accept this year if you'll go with me. You don't need a tux, if you have a nice suit that will be fine, if we go I want to get dolled up, I've never had a cocktail dress. It would mean the world to me if you can."

"I know I'm going to sound redundant, but are you sure I'll fit in? I won't know how to talk with those people. I want to Ester, I just don't want to be an embarrassment to you."

She softly slapped my cheek, "Stop that! No more of this bullshit Larry. You are a gentleman, polite, you have integrity and character, you're no dummy and if you being in the trades offends them, too damned bad. Screw them and the horse they rode in on."

Then she laughed as her face got red. "Listen to me, I sound like Kari-Jo Olsen in eighth grade, man she had a potty mouth."

I was laughing to myself, if she only knew what the language was like on some of the jobsites I'd worked at she'd mess her britches. I nodded.

"If you're sure then yes, I'd like that. I can rent a tux if you want me to. Heck, I guess I could buy one now, but I'd only wear it once or twice, be a waste of money. So that's what, in three weeks?"

I rented a tux and arranged for us to be delivered to and from in a limo. I knew she had taken the day off for all her womanly needs, hair, nails, all that stuff. I had roses sent to her apartment late afternoon when I knew she'd be home, just after five there was knock on my door, when I opened it there stood Ester, all dolled up, and in sweats. I couldn't resist.

"Well ... either I'm going to be over dressed or you're going to be under dressed."

She swatted my arm, "Wise guy. I came to thank you for the roses, don't get any wild ideas about ravishing my body though just cuz you sent flowers."

She laughed a belly laugh, spun on her heel and said over her shoulder, "I'll be ready by six."

When she opened her door after my knock, what I was looking at set me back on my heels. She looked radiant, she was in a strapless dress with a light shoulder wrap, she was actually showing a decent amount of cleavage. I quickly deduced there was no room for a bra under that top, she had to be relying on the support from the dress alone. Given the size of her chest I couldn't stop staring. With her finger under my chin she lifted my head.

"My eyes are up here, I take it you like the dress. Not sure why you're staring, you've seen them before."

I scoffed, "I saw them fleetingly how many years ago. My God Ester, you make that dress look fabulous."

She smiled, "I think it' supposed to be the other way around, the dress makes me look good."

"No, I meant what I said, you make that dress look good. Jeez, every guy in the place is gonna be salivating over you."

Taking my arm as we left her apartment she looked at me, "I don't think so. Most don't find me attractive in any sense of the word. We're going for us to have fun, let's concentrate on that and let the others be. Fair enough?"

I nodded. Once the meal was done, the tables cleared and the band was setting up, people began to circulate and schmooze. Most had already reached their limit of alcohol intake but kept on drinking anyway. As she would introduce me most would comment how nice it was to meet me, that is until just before the music started. A young doctor asked what I did for a living, when I responded I was a master plumber he laughed out loud. If that wasn't enough he went on to embarrass himself further.

"Oh, a "master" shit herder. Am I supposed to be impressed? My god Ester couldn't you find anybody else? A plumber, really?"

In a nano-second he had a split lip, not from me, from the back of Ester's hand. She was winding up for a second blow when I took hold of her wrist stopping her.

"He isn't worth it. He's another young wanna-be, he'll never amount to much with an attitude like that. Ignore him, the band is starting, come on, dance with me."

That little incident set the mood for the rest of the evening, people were polite to me but kept their distance from Ester. As the clock turned ten I texted the limo driver to be ready in fifteen, a slow song started, I moved her to the floor and embraced her with a standard dance stance. As we glided across the floor I could tell she was lost in thought. On the way to the limo I took her hand.

"What's rolling around in that head of yours?" I asked.

"Oh, just thinking about how guarded I am and that it might be time to lower my defense's a bit. I've never had somebody dance with and make me feel special like you did tonight. Thanks."

In the limo I initiated an awkward kiss, she didn't pull away, she simply didn't know what to do. Pulling back she looked at me.

"Sorry. As you can tell, I have no idea what to do."

I pulled her to me a second time and kissed her softly, gently, longingly. Letting go she smiled, "Wow. I never knew a kiss could be like that."

I walked her to the door of her apartment and was ready to go when she took my arm.

"I don't want the night to end, take me to your place."

Once inside and seated on the couch she eagerly let me embrace and kiss her, accepting my tongue as it slid across her lower lip. As we made out I pulled back and placed my hand directly on her breast, even with the thickness of the dress I had a handful and then some. Touching the breast startled her causing her to push back further, but she didn't remove my hand, instead she leaned into it and planted her lips on mine. Suddenly she stopped, stood and reached for my hand.

"Take me to the bedroom, this is the right guy and the right time."

As we stood by the bed necking I unzipped her dress enough to lower it beneath her breasts, laying her back we continued to kiss as I gently manipulated her left breast. Large, soft, warm, the nipple beginning to harden. Pulling away from the kiss and my hand she was back on her feet as quickly as she'd lain down, pulling the dress over her breasts she repeated again and again.