Navy Nurse Ch. 11

Diana cut to the chase, "Great Brad! So this is my proposal to you. Why don't you come to Ann Arbor before your Court date appearance, and submit to a paternity test? The clinics in our University are equipped to conduct a non-invasive DNA paternity test that could accurately determine if you are or are not the sire of my baby. If it turns out that you are not, and that would be the most likely outcome, I assure you that I will make no further claim on you. I'm conscious that some men have an aversion to having a relationship with a woman who has a child or children by another man. However, if you are still interested in me, but without me keeping my child, I would be open to such a possibility.

"If it turns out that you are the actual father of my child, I swear I'll keep him or her and raise him or her no matter what you decide will be your role in our child's life. So what do you say? Will you come then?"

Brad answered, "I'm inclined to accede to your request. However, I do want to consult with my cousin John Winters first as I trust his input unconditionally. I will not consult anyone else, including my parents, especially since it is as you say very unlikely that I'm the father of your child to be. I expect to decide in two days' time, and I'll advise you accordingly."

Diana responded, "Fair enough!"

Two days later, Brad phoned and advised that, after consulting with his cousin, he was willing to undergo the paternity test. Accordingly, he would drive to Ann Arbor on the following Monday, being a few days later.

Diana happily reported the developments to Makayla, who observed, "You seemed to be banking on Brad being the father. Aren't you setting yourself up for a huge disappointment? As you said yourself, the odds are 45-1 against him being the father."

Diana replied, "I've got to admit that I truly believe and expect him to be the father. I'll certainly be disappointed if that is not the case. Still, I won't be devastated if he isn't, since I haven't lost anything. I hope to convince him that there is still a future for us, as I would definitely be willing to give up my child for adoption if that is what he would demand for us to commit to each other."

Makayla replied, "Well, I wish the best for you and hope that things will work out. It's your life, and I trust you know what you're doing."

Diana admitted, "I doubt that I'm following my brain, but I do know that I'm following my heart."

The following Monday, Brad phoned at 10:00 AM, Diana's time, to confirm that he was on his way and expected to reach Ann Arbor in about four and a half hours so that there would be ample time to undergo the paternity test. Diana had previously given him the directions for the clinic so that she would be waiting for him at 02:30 PM. But Brad did not show up at that designated time. Diana did not panic until it was 03:30 before she called him. She only got his voice mail, and he did not return her calls. She tried every half hour till early evening, but he did not answer any of her messages. The next day despite trying to reach him regularly throughout the day, he never called. On Wednesday, when she tried to call him, she was informed by an automatic message that the phone number was no longer in service.

Diana was absolutely furious. She couldn't believe that he had stood her up. She could understand that he was most concerned about his legal problems and that he was resigned to go to jail. She could understand that he would believe that he was not the father of her child considering the odds and that accordingly, he was not in the mood to entertain the possibility. Then why did he lead her on? Why couldn't he be brave enough to say no to her proposal and tell her to get lost?

Diana was so distraught that she canceled her luncheon date with Makayla that week. She was in no mood to share her misery. The next week when she talked to Makayla, she was able to unburden herself and reveal that Brad was a no show. Makayla suggested that maybe, Brad got into an accident on the way, but Diana was not buying that since she believed that in that case, he would have called. Surely he would have called at least a few days later had he been seriously injured. Instead, it seemed like he had deliberately canceled his phone and got a new one to ensure she couldn't get in touch with him. Makayla then suggested that perhaps he will write a new letter to explain himself.

Diana did not receive any new letter from Brad. After about two weeks of no communication, Diana felt that she was owed an explanation and decided to try to get a hold of him. He did not have a Facebook presence, and then she thought maybe she could try reaching him through his cousin John Winters. That person also had no Facebook presence, but she remembered Brad indicating that John worked at his father's fur store. Searching the internet, Diana was able to discover seven individually listed women's fur stores in Chicago, and multitudinous women's clothing stores listed. None of the listings included the name Winters, so Diana opted first to call each of the listed fur stores to determine if they had a John Winters employed there.

Diana struck gold on the fifth store she called. It was listed as Pandora's Furs, and the clerk confirmed that John Winters was the manager. The clerk transferred the call, and as soon as Winters had answered, Diana introduced herself, "Hello Mr. Winters, my name is Diana Van Buren, I'm a student at the University of Michigan and am a friend of Brad Winters who I understand is your cousin, and that you are close to him."

Winters answered, "Oh yes, the enigmatic Ms. Van Buren. My cousin seems to have been preoccupied with your charms."

"Yes, well, the reason I'm calling is to see if I can get in touch with him. You see about Monday two weeks ago, he had indicated he would come to Ann Arbor to see me on a personal matter. He even phoned me that morning to inform me that he had actually started driving to see me. But he didn't show up, and he never called. I've been unable to get hold of him since. Do you by any chance know anything about it? Do you know if he intends to ever get in touch with me?"

Winters replied, "I'm well aware of the circumstances of his intended visit to see you in Ann Arbor. Unfortunately, I regret to say that he died as a result of a motor vehicle accident during his trip to see you. His funeral was held last Friday. I'm sorry I didn't have any information about you to contact you. His parents are unaware that you exist, as they're also unaware of the true reason why he was driving to Michigan. Brad had told them that he had another meeting with the lawyer handling his court case."

Diana was stunned! All she could utter was, "Oh no." She hung up as she broke into a prolonged crying spell in anguished grief. The fact that he had died was the one thing she had not imagined to account for his non-communication with her. It dawned on her that she would never know if Brad was the father, as practically speaking, it would now be impossible to get a definitive paternity test.

In her grief, she lost her appetite for any sex, as she refused the few requests for dates that came her way. Luckily to assuage her mourning, her education demands, not to mention the additional Navy commitment occupied her mind sufficiently to prevent her from lapsing into dreadful melancholy or severe depression. Consequently, she concentrated on her studies very effectively such that she finished her second year with one of the highest GPAs in the class.

During the summer break, she was able to recruit her sister Barbara to act as her birth coach, and they attended Lamaze classes together to prepare for the forthcoming event. By this time, Diana had secretly decided that she would keep her child no matter her reservations about giving birth to a biracial child. So she also attended La Leche League meetings as she certainly intended to breast-feed her baby.

So Diana was keeping herself busy, happily anticipating the birth of her child. In her mind, she had determined that the father was Brad, and thus, had no preference to take any steps that could possibly ascertain the identity of the sire. Brad was the father, and that was her mindset, and she was sticking to it. During the remainder of her sophomore academic year, she was seldom importuned to go out on a date. Apparently, word had magically got out amongst those who would have been inclined to seek her company that she was not interested in dating, and some even knew she was pregnant. Thus, she was surprised to receive a phone call at the end of July, just twelve days prior to her due date.

The conversation started with, "Hello, Diana Van Buren?"

"This is she."

"This is Robert Morley. We had met under some unusual circumstances last November during a Frat party raising funds for charities, including PETA."

Not particularly intrigued by the call, Diana, interrupted by bluntly asking, "Are you then one of the guys that fucked me that night?"

Morley was a little startled by Diana's loutish question, but he realized he shouldn't have been surprised. So he answered, "That would be colloquially speaking an accurate description of how we had met. I would prefer to say that we engaged in an amorous activity that night, which I found very appealing."

Diana was charmed, and delighted by his delicate choice of language. So her attitude in taking this call, immediately changed from hostile to friendliness. So she then asked, "Tell me, Robert, I trust I can call you by your first name and feel free likewise with me, but can you pinpoint approximately at what time of that evening, or morning for that matter, that we engaged in this romantic activity? This will help me recollect my memory of you."

"Oh well, I believe it was sometime after 10:00 PM, but before 10:30."

Diana now responded with a white lie as she really could not remember him, "OK, then a picture of you is now emerging in my mind. I take it during our sexual activity, that it was just you and I alone. There were some occasions that night when I entertained two gentlemen simultaneously, and sometimes even three at once."

"Oh yes, I guess that's true, as I had forgotten such details. But yes, it was just you and me."

Diana still could not place him, but she did recognize his name as one of the thirty or so men who had requested her phone number. Although he was not memorable to her, she knew the occasion with him was not one of those that she found disquieting. So she responded shyly, "I recall now that I found our amorous activity appealing as well. So what can I do for you now, Robert?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to go out with me next Saturday, that is the 5th of August?"

Diana interrupted to clarify, "Since you got my number while we were both attending U of M in Ann Arbor, you might not know that I actually live in Grosse Pointe Farms. So are you close by then?"

Morley happily responded, "Oh, that's splendid as I live in St Clair Shores, so I'm not too away far from you at all. Now if you like classical music, I have tickets for a special concert, at Orchestra Hall with Natasha Starikovich playing Enescu's well known violin sonata. The concert is sponsored by the Ford Motor Company and the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance at the University of Michigan. Their sponsorship was instrumental in securing this concert date from the highest in demand Ms. Starikovich. You might be aware that her first recording contained that piece of music whereby her CD album cover photo brazenly featured her posing naked with her violin covering the parts of her body that needed to be covered."

Diana answered now most enthusiastically, "Oh yes, I do indeed like classical music, and am aware of the prominence of Ms. Starikovich. In fact, I do possess that CD you've alluded to. I also possess a DVD of her with Pamela Rose, wherein both of them performed completely naked in a concert in Holland."

"Oh! I have that video as well. However, I don't believe Ms. Starikovich will be performing naked in this concert."

"Oh, too bad. But then again, the music is the thing, and good music is a marvelous thing indeed to listen to. Whereas seeing someone naked is not as compelling. That reminds me of an anecdote, that my father has been fond of recounting to my sisters and me on occasion. Apparently, when he was eighteen years old, my father, along with his mother, were visiting his aunt, his mother's sister, in Cleveland. To get him out of their hair, the adult women allowed him to go to an Indians baseball game on his own. After the game, my father chanced upon passing an old fashioned vaudeville theatre, which featured striptease performances. He couldn't resist, so he went in to catch one complete performance.

"Being a callow male youth at the time, my father was naturally excited by the exhibition. The female striptease dancer that he witnessed was discarding her vestments provocatively in sync with the prerecorded music. Finally, at the end of the session, the woman was naked except for her panties. As the music was crescendoing down to a final ending, the woman lowered her panties to expose her genitalia fully. At this point, the audience, which, as far as my Dad could tell, was completely 100% male, burst into applause. As my father would reiterate, that particular moment struck him as unbelievably incongruous even though he was an impressionable inexperienced male teenager who found the mysteries of sex and women exotic. He wondered why was the audience applauding? That she had one? Meaning, of course, her vulva.

"Now, I understand the point my Dad was trying to emphasize in his anecdote. Each one of us possesses a physical body that is designed to be alluring to the opposite sex to induce a desire for sexual activity, which in turn would ensure the continuation of our species via reproduction.

"However, what my Dad did not perceive is that despite the undeniable accuracy of his observation, he ignores the actual mindset of all humans, male and female alike. We are enthralled by the physiques of those we're attracted to. In my own case, I'm fascinated by the complexities of the male phallus. You ought to know that the night in question, I had contact with the naked bodies of one hundred different male bodies beside yours. And each one of them was an exciting proposition for me."

At this point, Robert Morley was utterly lost in contemplating the purpose or point of Diana's speech. So he decided to clarify, "That sure is an interesting story, Diana. So, can you tell me then if you are interested in seeing Ms. Starikovich's concert?"

Diana asked in response, "Tell me, Robert, the only time we met was last November, and it is now July, almost August. Why do you contact me now?"

This time Robert felt sheepish as he answered, "Well, I did have a girlfriend, who I intended to take to this concert. But we broke up last week. That's why I'm asking if you would like to go instead."

Diana wanted further clarification, so she asked, "You were able to call me because you had my phone number as a result of asking for it after our amorous activity last November. From my viewpoint, that begs the question, why would you even ask for my number if you already had a girlfriend, who, in fact, you presumably continued dating until just recently?"

Continuing in his sheepish manner, Robert Morley replied, "As I've told you already, I found our encounter very appealing. Hell Diana, the sex I had with you was the most exciting sex I'd ever had in my entire life. Completely surpassing any pleasure, I had ever enjoyed with Harriet. I asked for your number, at that time just in case I would break up with Harriet. However, she became very tenacious in maintaining our relationship, and quite frankly, I thought you were out of my league for me to contemplate attracting you. So naturally, I didn't bother you, as I had anticipated an inevitable rejection. In other words, my attitude was why upset the applecart for certainty in favor of the ephemeral. "

Diana was utterly astonished by Morley's self-deprecating honesty as she couldn't possibly account for its genuine sincerity. She interrupted by asking, "What the fuck are you talking about, Robert? Why do you think I'm out of your league? When you met me, you were aware that I was in the process of fucking umpteen other men besides yourself. If anyone should be worried about being out of her league, it should have been me. I mean, what decent man would want to have anything to do with me considering my behavior of that night?"

Robert replied earnestly, "Now you are absurd. No doubt, it stands to reason that a female who would willingly consent to a gangbang orgy equivalent to last November's Frat party would be universally deemed to be a slut and a skank without a brain in her head. But, when I did encounter you at the orgy, to me, it was quite obvious that notwithstanding the negative circumstances of our acquaintanceship, you were an intriguing woman. So much so, that I knew it would enrich my life if I were ever to become more acquainted with you. I did think that you would not normally be interested in me, but I asked for your number on the off chance that you would consider a date. However, as Harriet was available to me until now, I was content enough with my lot in my dating life not to get out of my comfort zone, even for someone as enchanting as you. Now that Harriet is history, I can't think of a more fascinating person than you, who I would want to accompany me to the concert."

Diana was charmed. Ignoring the very nearness of her official due date, she replied, "Oh, what such sweet words you can dish out, my dear Robert. Yes, I would be happy to go out with you upon one condition."

"Oh? What's that?"

"I'll go out with you on the condition that you promise that at the end of the evening, we would engage in another amorous activity."

"I promise."