*
It's 3:00 a.m., and I have spent a good portion of last evening creating this video.
Enough said.
*
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Old Christmas in Skopje (January 7, 2010)
*
*
It's 3:00 a.m., and I have spent a good portion of last evening creating this video.
Enough said.
*
*
It's 3:00 a.m., and I have spent a good portion of last evening creating this video.
Enough said.
*
Friday, January 1, 2010
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Essay: On Filtering Water
*
*
Everyone assures me that Skopje water is perfectly safe.
I don’t doubt it; still, I brought a pitcher with filters from the U.S.
The water that flows from the tap is thick, full of calcium, which you can see, taste, and feel as it slides down your throat. Esthetically, it’s a bit disconcerting when you feel as though you’re eating your water instead of drinking it. Moreover, cooking with it is nearly impossible--it thickens almost immediately and adds a grainy texture.
So for making coffee, mixing juices from powder, and cooking, I boil and then filter.
Every day, I boil water in a large pot and then allow it to cool before filtering it. This, of course, adds an extra chore to my daily routine, but it’s a bit like doing wash: once you place certain tasks in motion, it’s pretty much automatic.
Fill the pot with water, place on burner, turn to “3,” set the timer for 20 minutes (too easy to forget, otherwise), and go off to work on the internet or some other task. When the timer dings, make sure water is boiling, turn burner down to “2,” set timer for another 20 minutes, and leave. Second ding: turn burner off and move pot. Wait.
Once the water cools, I can filter about a quart at a time. Once it’s through the filter, I funnel it into a plastic two-liter Coca Cola bottle. Repeat until the pot is empty. Each pot fills about two Coke bottles.
It’s not like I wait around for the water to pour through; I leave it and do something else. Later, when I go to the kitchen for something to eat or drink, the water is ready, so I pour it and filter the next batch.
At any given time, I try to have on hand five bottles of filtered water, which I’m careful to rotate and use according to age. I have a system of moving older bottles forward and adding the newest filled to the back. It feels somewhat obsessive, but I would not wish to poison myself, spouse, or guests with expired water.
Bottled water is cheap here, about 18 denars (50 cents, more or less), for a 1.5 liter bottle; for drinking water, I buy Ladna because it comes in a really cool square bottle, and it tastes, well, like quality water.
So why bother going through the trouble of filtering water when I could just buy it? The short answer: I’d rather filter it than lug it home from the store and drag it up three flights of stairs to my flat. Today, I bought a 6-liter bottle of water, and I thought I’d die hauling it up.
In the U.S., I would scoff at the idea of boiling and filtering water, preferring to get my water straight from the tap for both cooking and drinking. In fact, if The York Water Company started spewing out calcified water from our taps, customers, including me, would be raising our voices in protest. But here in Skopje, this is the way it is, so deal with it.
In York, we buy bottled water only because my husband is under the mistaken impression that it’s somehow better than generic tap water. In fact, the U.S. bottled water industry is one of the biggest scams perpetuated on U.S, consumers; we have been sold a bill of goods because, for the most part, our tap water is pretty decent, probably better than some of the water in plastic bottles.
In Skopje, though, bottled water is a necessity; almost no one drinks straight from the tap. So, like American stores, the super markets here offer an array of water brands--the local Ladna, Jana, Gorska, Dobra Voda, and the imported Perrier and Evian, both seriously overpriced. Another tony brand comes in a square bottle with a white label and is priced at 52 denars. I have not tried it. It’s just water, after all.
You can find three kinds of water for sale: “still” water, water with gas, and lemon flavored water (gas or still). No silly flavors like raspberry watermelon or kiwi strawberry--just the basics.
The Macedonian brands are all priced about the same 18 denars, give or take a denar or two, and I see no difference in taste or quality.
While my Macedonian friends have assured me that the tap water is quite safe, they, too, drink bottled water (although they brew coffee and cook food with tap water); from what I understand, Macedonians who drink too much tap water tend to suffer from kidney stones from the excess calcium.
For me, the decision to boil and filter our cooking water is one of aesthetics; I want our water be clear and pure, even for cooking, so I’m willing to put in the extra time to make that happen.
Still I’m fairly certain that 10 months of drinking calcified water would not give us kidney stones, but why take the chance?
Filtering water is a kind of metaphor for the expat life, which often requires some small hardships for spoiled Americans accustomed to being pampered.
Overseas, we seem to be more accepting of situations we would not tolerate at home. We find ourselves adjusting our attitudes to fit within the prevailing culture. Had I moved to a primitive African tribe instead of a large European city, I might be pounding millet and dosing our water with purifying pills--it’s all about perspective.
As expats, we are more willing to put in the extra effort to create some semblance of familiar creature comforts, but we shouldn't be jerks about it--I would never tell a Macedonian that the city water grosses me out, so why don’t they organize a protest about water quality?
It may not be my favorite kind of municipal water, but it has served Skopje well, and who am I to say what is good or bad for someone else’s community?
Even though Skopje feels like home, I am, after all, just a guest here.
I have decided that I will worry about the water issue only in my own home; if a host serves me coffee or food made with unfiltered tap water, I drink or eat it without a thought and certainly no comment about water quality. Being a grateful guest trumps some personal aesthetic about the way I prefer my water.
At home: picky. Away: flexible.
I’m just so happy to be here, to be afforded the opportunity to experience someone else’s culture: teaching within their educational system, enjoying their food and drink, visiting good friends, listening to their music, viewing their art work, and buying their crafts.
Meanwhile, at home, I’ll quietly continue boiling and filtering my water.
*
*
Everyone assures me that Skopje water is perfectly safe.
I don’t doubt it; still, I brought a pitcher with filters from the U.S.
The water that flows from the tap is thick, full of calcium, which you can see, taste, and feel as it slides down your throat. Esthetically, it’s a bit disconcerting when you feel as though you’re eating your water instead of drinking it. Moreover, cooking with it is nearly impossible--it thickens almost immediately and adds a grainy texture.
So for making coffee, mixing juices from powder, and cooking, I boil and then filter.
Every day, I boil water in a large pot and then allow it to cool before filtering it. This, of course, adds an extra chore to my daily routine, but it’s a bit like doing wash: once you place certain tasks in motion, it’s pretty much automatic.
Fill the pot with water, place on burner, turn to “3,” set the timer for 20 minutes (too easy to forget, otherwise), and go off to work on the internet or some other task. When the timer dings, make sure water is boiling, turn burner down to “2,” set timer for another 20 minutes, and leave. Second ding: turn burner off and move pot. Wait.
Once the water cools, I can filter about a quart at a time. Once it’s through the filter, I funnel it into a plastic two-liter Coca Cola bottle. Repeat until the pot is empty. Each pot fills about two Coke bottles.
It’s not like I wait around for the water to pour through; I leave it and do something else. Later, when I go to the kitchen for something to eat or drink, the water is ready, so I pour it and filter the next batch.
At any given time, I try to have on hand five bottles of filtered water, which I’m careful to rotate and use according to age. I have a system of moving older bottles forward and adding the newest filled to the back. It feels somewhat obsessive, but I would not wish to poison myself, spouse, or guests with expired water.
Bottled water is cheap here, about 18 denars (50 cents, more or less), for a 1.5 liter bottle; for drinking water, I buy Ladna because it comes in a really cool square bottle, and it tastes, well, like quality water.
So why bother going through the trouble of filtering water when I could just buy it? The short answer: I’d rather filter it than lug it home from the store and drag it up three flights of stairs to my flat. Today, I bought a 6-liter bottle of water, and I thought I’d die hauling it up.
In the U.S., I would scoff at the idea of boiling and filtering water, preferring to get my water straight from the tap for both cooking and drinking. In fact, if The York Water Company started spewing out calcified water from our taps, customers, including me, would be raising our voices in protest. But here in Skopje, this is the way it is, so deal with it.
In York, we buy bottled water only because my husband is under the mistaken impression that it’s somehow better than generic tap water. In fact, the U.S. bottled water industry is one of the biggest scams perpetuated on U.S, consumers; we have been sold a bill of goods because, for the most part, our tap water is pretty decent, probably better than some of the water in plastic bottles.
In Skopje, though, bottled water is a necessity; almost no one drinks straight from the tap. So, like American stores, the super markets here offer an array of water brands--the local Ladna, Jana, Gorska, Dobra Voda, and the imported Perrier and Evian, both seriously overpriced. Another tony brand comes in a square bottle with a white label and is priced at 52 denars. I have not tried it. It’s just water, after all.
You can find three kinds of water for sale: “still” water, water with gas, and lemon flavored water (gas or still). No silly flavors like raspberry watermelon or kiwi strawberry--just the basics.
The Macedonian brands are all priced about the same 18 denars, give or take a denar or two, and I see no difference in taste or quality.
While my Macedonian friends have assured me that the tap water is quite safe, they, too, drink bottled water (although they brew coffee and cook food with tap water); from what I understand, Macedonians who drink too much tap water tend to suffer from kidney stones from the excess calcium.
For me, the decision to boil and filter our cooking water is one of aesthetics; I want our water be clear and pure, even for cooking, so I’m willing to put in the extra time to make that happen.
Still I’m fairly certain that 10 months of drinking calcified water would not give us kidney stones, but why take the chance?
Filtering water is a kind of metaphor for the expat life, which often requires some small hardships for spoiled Americans accustomed to being pampered.
Overseas, we seem to be more accepting of situations we would not tolerate at home. We find ourselves adjusting our attitudes to fit within the prevailing culture. Had I moved to a primitive African tribe instead of a large European city, I might be pounding millet and dosing our water with purifying pills--it’s all about perspective.
As expats, we are more willing to put in the extra effort to create some semblance of familiar creature comforts, but we shouldn't be jerks about it--I would never tell a Macedonian that the city water grosses me out, so why don’t they organize a protest about water quality?
It may not be my favorite kind of municipal water, but it has served Skopje well, and who am I to say what is good or bad for someone else’s community?
Even though Skopje feels like home, I am, after all, just a guest here.
I have decided that I will worry about the water issue only in my own home; if a host serves me coffee or food made with unfiltered tap water, I drink or eat it without a thought and certainly no comment about water quality. Being a grateful guest trumps some personal aesthetic about the way I prefer my water.
At home: picky. Away: flexible.
I’m just so happy to be here, to be afforded the opportunity to experience someone else’s culture: teaching within their educational system, enjoying their food and drink, visiting good friends, listening to their music, viewing their art work, and buying their crafts.
Meanwhile, at home, I’ll quietly continue boiling and filtering my water.
*
Thursday, November 12, 2009
6. Corpus Delicious: An (A-hh) Decent Proposal
*
*
An (A-hh) Decent Proposal
____________________________________________________________________
Lily and Jason arise from the mini-altar and quickly dress.
“I’m sorry,” Jason says. “I got carried away.”
“I was caught off guard, that’s all.”
“I thought you knew I, uh, wanted to...”
“To take things up a notch?”
“Well, yes.”
Lily shrugs. “I didn’t. Sorry.”
“I guess I misread your cues...” He pauses. “We’ve been hanging out a lot in the past year, and you’ve...”
“I just like to socialize a lot. You’re not an exclusive.”
“Who is these days?” He stops and touches her shoulder. “Look, I’ve applied for a procreation license.”
“No way!”
“It’s true. My application was approved.”
“Wow. I don’t know what to say.”
“My contraceptive has been turned off for over a month now...I’m producing the real deal now and looking for potential partners...”
“Oh, no, I don’t like where this is headed.”
“Just hear me out. We have a lot in common. We’re dynamite together, and our children would be beautiful and smart.”
“Oh, Jason...”
“I know for a fact you’ve been doing some headhunting...”
“Who told you that?”
“Never mind. I have my sources...The point is, we’re not getting any younger, and it’s time to think about creating the next generation.”
“I have been thinking about the future, but I’m not quite ready...”
“Lily, honey, I’m not looking for an exclusive partnership–I would like to create children with at least two other women–so you’d be free to do whatever you’d like. Have one baby with me, that’s all.”
“Look, Jason. I love what we have now, but I don’t want to have a baby with you. When I have children, it will be with one man.”
“You mean you want an exclusive relationship?”
“Don’t be silly. I love my male friends too much. But when I settle down to have children, I want just one partner to help me raise them, under one roof, someone who will be there when they need school clothes or are sick. I don’t need a pathological impregnator who has women and kids scattered all over the country.”
“Wow, I sure had you figured wrong.”
“I’m no prude, but when it comes to creating a family, it’s one man for me. Of course, we’ll have our separate social lives...”
“I guess I see things differently. I earn good money, so supporting several children with different mothers is not a problem. You see, Lilly, I want to create this great legacy, beautiful and smart children from all parts of the country and with accomplished women like you. Also, I have to consider genetics...”
“Genetics? What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re lovely and all, and I have carefully vetted your medical and DNA profile, but what if something goes wrong?”
“Wrong? What do you mean?”
“If you have a gene that goes awry. I don’t want place all my genetic hopes on one line...”
“Oh, Jason. We have so much fun together, but our outlooks are so different.”
“I can see that.”
“You go start your families, and we’ll see how things shake out for us. But no more surprises during Coffee Break.”
“Fair enough.”
Lily checks her watch. “It’s back to work.”
Jason opens the cubicle door and takes the bill from the slot. “It’s on me today.”
“Jason! You know our policy.”
“Yeah, Dutch Treat, but I feel guilty about putting you on the spot.”
“Well, okay, this one time, but I’ll leave the tip.”
“Good deal. I’ll walk you back to your office. I want to hear about your plans for the Judge.”
“Not much to tell. I ordered nothing but the best, and I’ll be scrimping for the next few months.”
“That’s harsh. I haven’t done a Business Lunch in months. It’s too nerve-wracking.”
“When you meet with those potential Mommies, you’d better be putting your best foot forward.”
Jason raises his eyebrow. “A few times with me, they’ll be begging for more.”
It was true. Of all her friends, Jason was the most fun to be around; when he was away on a business trip, she missed their Coffee Breaks, although she had plenty of guys from the factory from which she could choose, depending on her mood.
“So why the big deal? Do you even know this guy?”
“Never met him until I landed in his court.”
“Making that proposition was risky. He could have taken it the wrong way.”
“I knew he’d accept the deal.”
“That’s my Lily, always confident.”
“In this world, you have to be. Besides, men like me, I like them. It’s not complicated figuring out what you guys want, but...”
“Tell me, Lil.”
“I’m really nervous about this Business Lunch.”
“Why?”
Lily doesn’t want to go into the specifics with Jason. “Well, you know, the formality of it. I can think of 101 things that can go wrong.”
“If you hired good attendants, they’ll keep you on track.”
“They’re supposedly two of the best.”
“Well, then. You’ll be fine.”
“He’s a judge who holds a lot of power.”
“You’ve made a deal. He’s forbidden to use anything that happens behind those closed doors against you.”
“Yes, that’s the law. But you know how things can really work.”
“You’ll just turn on that awesome Lily charm, and he’ll melt like ice in on a steamy July day.
“Thanks, Jason.” They stood outside her office. “Oh, here I am. Time to get back to work.”
“Same time tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
For now, she’s relieved to get back to work and away from Jason.
What a sneak, trying to get her primed to bear his child. She had thought about asking him about going off script for their Coffee Breaks, but now she’s glad she hadn’t gotten around to it.
Still, she would like to go off script sometime, but with someone she could trust completely if something went awry.
Savia!
Perfect.
___________________________________________________________
Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009 (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.
*
*
____________________________________________________________________
Lily and Jason arise from the mini-altar and quickly dress.
“I’m sorry,” Jason says. “I got carried away.”
“I was caught off guard, that’s all.”
“I thought you knew I, uh, wanted to...”
“To take things up a notch?”
“Well, yes.”
Lily shrugs. “I didn’t. Sorry.”
“I guess I misread your cues...” He pauses. “We’ve been hanging out a lot in the past year, and you’ve...”
“I just like to socialize a lot. You’re not an exclusive.”
“Who is these days?” He stops and touches her shoulder. “Look, I’ve applied for a procreation license.”
“No way!”
“It’s true. My application was approved.”
“Wow. I don’t know what to say.”
“My contraceptive has been turned off for over a month now...I’m producing the real deal now and looking for potential partners...”
“Oh, no, I don’t like where this is headed.”
“Just hear me out. We have a lot in common. We’re dynamite together, and our children would be beautiful and smart.”
“Oh, Jason...”
“I know for a fact you’ve been doing some headhunting...”
“Who told you that?”
“Never mind. I have my sources...The point is, we’re not getting any younger, and it’s time to think about creating the next generation.”
“I have been thinking about the future, but I’m not quite ready...”
“Lily, honey, I’m not looking for an exclusive partnership–I would like to create children with at least two other women–so you’d be free to do whatever you’d like. Have one baby with me, that’s all.”
“Look, Jason. I love what we have now, but I don’t want to have a baby with you. When I have children, it will be with one man.”
“You mean you want an exclusive relationship?”
“Don’t be silly. I love my male friends too much. But when I settle down to have children, I want just one partner to help me raise them, under one roof, someone who will be there when they need school clothes or are sick. I don’t need a pathological impregnator who has women and kids scattered all over the country.”
“Wow, I sure had you figured wrong.”
“I’m no prude, but when it comes to creating a family, it’s one man for me. Of course, we’ll have our separate social lives...”
“I guess I see things differently. I earn good money, so supporting several children with different mothers is not a problem. You see, Lilly, I want to create this great legacy, beautiful and smart children from all parts of the country and with accomplished women like you. Also, I have to consider genetics...”
“Genetics? What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re lovely and all, and I have carefully vetted your medical and DNA profile, but what if something goes wrong?”
“Wrong? What do you mean?”
“If you have a gene that goes awry. I don’t want place all my genetic hopes on one line...”
“Oh, Jason. We have so much fun together, but our outlooks are so different.”
“I can see that.”
“You go start your families, and we’ll see how things shake out for us. But no more surprises during Coffee Break.”
“Fair enough.”
Lily checks her watch. “It’s back to work.”
Jason opens the cubicle door and takes the bill from the slot. “It’s on me today.”
“Jason! You know our policy.”
“Yeah, Dutch Treat, but I feel guilty about putting you on the spot.”
“Well, okay, this one time, but I’ll leave the tip.”
“Good deal. I’ll walk you back to your office. I want to hear about your plans for the Judge.”
“Not much to tell. I ordered nothing but the best, and I’ll be scrimping for the next few months.”
“That’s harsh. I haven’t done a Business Lunch in months. It’s too nerve-wracking.”
“When you meet with those potential Mommies, you’d better be putting your best foot forward.”
Jason raises his eyebrow. “A few times with me, they’ll be begging for more.”
It was true. Of all her friends, Jason was the most fun to be around; when he was away on a business trip, she missed their Coffee Breaks, although she had plenty of guys from the factory from which she could choose, depending on her mood.
“So why the big deal? Do you even know this guy?”
“Never met him until I landed in his court.”
“Making that proposition was risky. He could have taken it the wrong way.”
“I knew he’d accept the deal.”
“That’s my Lily, always confident.”
“In this world, you have to be. Besides, men like me, I like them. It’s not complicated figuring out what you guys want, but...”
“Tell me, Lil.”
“I’m really nervous about this Business Lunch.”
“Why?”
Lily doesn’t want to go into the specifics with Jason. “Well, you know, the formality of it. I can think of 101 things that can go wrong.”
“If you hired good attendants, they’ll keep you on track.”
“They’re supposedly two of the best.”
“Well, then. You’ll be fine.”
“He’s a judge who holds a lot of power.”
“You’ve made a deal. He’s forbidden to use anything that happens behind those closed doors against you.”
“Yes, that’s the law. But you know how things can really work.”
“You’ll just turn on that awesome Lily charm, and he’ll melt like ice in on a steamy July day.
“Thanks, Jason.” They stood outside her office. “Oh, here I am. Time to get back to work.”
“Same time tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
For now, she’s relieved to get back to work and away from Jason.
What a sneak, trying to get her primed to bear his child. She had thought about asking him about going off script for their Coffee Breaks, but now she’s glad she hadn’t gotten around to it.
Still, she would like to go off script sometime, but with someone she could trust completely if something went awry.
Savia!
Perfect.
Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009 (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.
*
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
5. Corpus Delicious (a novel): The Coffee Break and an Important Epiphany
*
*
The Coffee Break and an Epiphany
___________________________________________________________________
She meets Jason at the factory café for Coffee, where he’s waiting for her in their favorite cubicle.
He is supine on the mini-altar, naked and ready. Next to him is an end table, with small dishes of cinnamon and nutmeg powder. A cone of Banana incense sizzles, the smoke swirling in upward spirals. He nods toward it: “A little joke.”
“Ha, ha. Very funny,” Lily says. “I only have 30 minutes.” She closes the door and undresses, carefully hanging her clothes on a hook, next to his.
“I have even less. So how did it go?” He reaches for her and pulls her on top of him.
“Expensive. I’ll tell you later.” She straddles his hips and starts rocking back and forth.
“Okay.” Jason licks her skin just beneath her breasts, but not quite touching them.
“Umm. I need this Coffee.”
Jason licks his finger and pokes it into the cinnamon dish. He outlines her lips with powder.
“Delicious,” she says.
“But do not ingest.”
“I will not ingest.”
Lily licks her finger and pokes it into the nutmeg dish. She outlines Jason’s lips.
“Delicious,” he says.
“You must not ingest.”
“I will not ingest.”
“May I touch you lip to lip?” he asks.
Lily can’t believe Jason’s impertinence–not part of this script. “Uh, umm, the time is not right.”
“Then let us touch tongue to tongue.”
“I accept a fleeting touch of your tongue to mine, but no more.”
“I am grateful. A fleeting touch is more than I could ever expect.”
Lily is alarmed at the turn of events; she has never thought of Jason as any more than just a Coffee Mate. But she offers him the tip of her tongue, a major pleasure spot, her secret and one of many when she’s alone.
Jason flicks the tip of his tongue against hers. “A-hh.”
“A-hh.”
In public, they could be fined for uttering this word, but it’s okay during private times such as this.
Lily continues rocking back and forth on Jason. She can feel his Horn of Plenty growing hard, but in all good time. He will just have to be late for whatever meeting.
“I will now paint my lips with powder.” Lily takes her fingertip into her mouth and wets it. She presses into the cinnamon bowl and paints her lips until they are brown. “I will lick my lips until they are pink again.”
“But do not ingest.”
“Not to worry, I will not ingest.”
As she licks her lips clean, the powder feels sweet and spicy in her mouth. How many times has she wished she just could swallow it? What would happen, really, if she swallowed? She is almost tempted to take that swallow, just to see what it would feel like having something other than A-hh sliding down her throat. But the consequences could be grave. She liked Jason well enough, but he was a company man and would probably report her.
So, like a good girl, she spits into the nutmeg dish. “I offer you the elixir of my juices.” She offers him the dish.
“And, with great honor, I accept.” He mixes the nutmeg with her saliva and paints his own lips until they are brown. “I will now lick my lips until they are pink again.”
He spits into it.
She squeezes hard against him and rocks her bulb harder against his Horn of Plenty; then she takes his nutmeg and mixes it with her cinnamon.“I will now paint you with the spices of life and our meshed juices.” She dips her fingers into the bowl, places the bowl on the end table, and begins painting around his nipples, working her way toward his Horn of Plenty but not touching, never touching.
“A-hh, yes. Please don’t stop.”
Another off-script remark, but she must remain calm and not get all flustered. She must guide him back to the script and conclude today’s Coffee with her independence and his ego intact. “I must stop for now.”
“Yes, you should stop, and I should begin.”
She picks up the dish and offers it to him.
He places it on his chest and dips into it. “Now I will paint you.” He follows the script by painting all around her breasts but not touching her nipples and works his way toward her bulb and entry, painting all around, not touching...
“The body best understands pleasure when it is delayed,” Lily says.
“The body is best nourished through pleasure.”
Then his finger brushes against her bulb, not quite enough to pin blame, but too much to ignore.
The dish falls from his chest, hits the floor, and shatters.
She gently takes his hand and holds it against her face. “You must take care.”
“Yes, I was careless.”
As a reminder, Lily invokes a special incantation: “We will come, but then we must leave.”
“Understood.”
“For this time only, I am yours, and you are mine.”
“Yes, for this time, you are mine, and I am yours.”
“I will ingest you.”
“I will fill you.”
“Today, I am Alpha.” She pins his arms down against the Mini-altar.
“I accept. I am Beta. I offer you the Horn of Plenty.”
“You may enter now.” She lifts up her body, opens her legs wide, and pushes down hard on him. “Linked, body to body...”
“...We are now one,” Jason says.
As Jason writhes beneath her, she sees only the Judge’s face, hears only his fateful words:
But being Lily is a good thing, too, for she will never face rejection: any time she wants Lily, she can have her, to possess, to ravish, to love, to fill with her own pleasure. She knows and loves every curve and every lump of fat, hidden in secret, moist and warm places. She loves the way she touches herself and how easily she finds just the right pleasure spots and the exact pressure points, how she can bring herself to the brink of pleasure and then stop and then start all over again, and again, and again...why shouldn’t she bask in her own body and indulge in the worship of self?
As Jason jerks upward and pauses in that split second before a man possesses a woman (a fiction, of course), she realizes why she is so nervous about her Lunch Date with Adam H. Alvarez:
She must prove her worth, to demonstrate to him that fat is delicious and desirable and not worthy of all the laws against it. She would like to walk the streets freely without some cop writing up an illegal fat ticket, while dodging that same cop’s brush against her breasts.
More than that, she needs to feel Alvarez exploding beneath her body weight, succumbing completely to her fatness, losing all self-control, offering up his body to her.
Then beg for more...
Lily meets Jason’s upward thrust and consumes that which fills her...
“A-hh...”
_____________________________________________________________
Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009 (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.
*
*
___________________________________________________________________
She meets Jason at the factory café for Coffee, where he’s waiting for her in their favorite cubicle.
He is supine on the mini-altar, naked and ready. Next to him is an end table, with small dishes of cinnamon and nutmeg powder. A cone of Banana incense sizzles, the smoke swirling in upward spirals. He nods toward it: “A little joke.”
“Ha, ha. Very funny,” Lily says. “I only have 30 minutes.” She closes the door and undresses, carefully hanging her clothes on a hook, next to his.
“I have even less. So how did it go?” He reaches for her and pulls her on top of him.
“Expensive. I’ll tell you later.” She straddles his hips and starts rocking back and forth.
“Okay.” Jason licks her skin just beneath her breasts, but not quite touching them.
“Umm. I need this Coffee.”
Jason licks his finger and pokes it into the cinnamon dish. He outlines her lips with powder.
“Delicious,” she says.
“But do not ingest.”
“I will not ingest.”
Lily licks her finger and pokes it into the nutmeg dish. She outlines Jason’s lips.
“Delicious,” he says.
“You must not ingest.”
“I will not ingest.”
“May I touch you lip to lip?” he asks.
Lily can’t believe Jason’s impertinence–not part of this script. “Uh, umm, the time is not right.”
“Then let us touch tongue to tongue.”
“I accept a fleeting touch of your tongue to mine, but no more.”
“I am grateful. A fleeting touch is more than I could ever expect.”
Lily is alarmed at the turn of events; she has never thought of Jason as any more than just a Coffee Mate. But she offers him the tip of her tongue, a major pleasure spot, her secret and one of many when she’s alone.
Jason flicks the tip of his tongue against hers. “A-hh.”
“A-hh.”
In public, they could be fined for uttering this word, but it’s okay during private times such as this.
Lily continues rocking back and forth on Jason. She can feel his Horn of Plenty growing hard, but in all good time. He will just have to be late for whatever meeting.
“I will now paint my lips with powder.” Lily takes her fingertip into her mouth and wets it. She presses into the cinnamon bowl and paints her lips until they are brown. “I will lick my lips until they are pink again.”
“But do not ingest.”
“Not to worry, I will not ingest.”
As she licks her lips clean, the powder feels sweet and spicy in her mouth. How many times has she wished she just could swallow it? What would happen, really, if she swallowed? She is almost tempted to take that swallow, just to see what it would feel like having something other than A-hh sliding down her throat. But the consequences could be grave. She liked Jason well enough, but he was a company man and would probably report her.
So, like a good girl, she spits into the nutmeg dish. “I offer you the elixir of my juices.” She offers him the dish.
“And, with great honor, I accept.” He mixes the nutmeg with her saliva and paints his own lips until they are brown. “I will now lick my lips until they are pink again.”
I wonder if he also has the urge to swallow?Once the brown is gone from his lips, Lily places nutmeg dish under his chin.
He spits into it.
She squeezes hard against him and rocks her bulb harder against his Horn of Plenty; then she takes his nutmeg and mixes it with her cinnamon.“I will now paint you with the spices of life and our meshed juices.” She dips her fingers into the bowl, places the bowl on the end table, and begins painting around his nipples, working her way toward his Horn of Plenty but not touching, never touching.
“A-hh, yes. Please don’t stop.”
Another off-script remark, but she must remain calm and not get all flustered. She must guide him back to the script and conclude today’s Coffee with her independence and his ego intact. “I must stop for now.”
“Yes, you should stop, and I should begin.”
She picks up the dish and offers it to him.
He places it on his chest and dips into it. “Now I will paint you.” He follows the script by painting all around her breasts but not touching her nipples and works his way toward her bulb and entry, painting all around, not touching...
“The body best understands pleasure when it is delayed,” Lily says.
“The body is best nourished through pleasure.”
Then his finger brushes against her bulb, not quite enough to pin blame, but too much to ignore.
The dish falls from his chest, hits the floor, and shatters.
She gently takes his hand and holds it against her face. “You must take care.”
“Yes, I was careless.”
As a reminder, Lily invokes a special incantation: “We will come, but then we must leave.”
“Understood.”
“For this time only, I am yours, and you are mine.”
“Yes, for this time, you are mine, and I am yours.”
“I will ingest you.”
“I will fill you.”
“Today, I am Alpha.” She pins his arms down against the Mini-altar.
“I accept. I am Beta. I offer you the Horn of Plenty.”
“You may enter now.” She lifts up her body, opens her legs wide, and pushes down hard on him. “Linked, body to body...”
“...We are now one,” Jason says.
As Jason writhes beneath her, she sees only the Judge’s face, hears only his fateful words:
I see standing before me an unacceptably fat person.But Lily knows the secret that no one will ever admit to in public: men love women with a little flesh to their bones–the proof is in the number of men seeking her company. She sees how men stare at her in public, the covert exchange of business cards, most of which she throws away, the fleeting touches by strangers. She understands the subtext of the Judge’s biting words:
If you are too greedy, we will have to hide you from polite society.Perhaps the Judge was right: if she were a man, she would pursue Lily D’Adame and not stop until she won her. In fact, if she ever found another Lily, she would have to possess her, even at the risk of imprisonment.
But being Lily is a good thing, too, for she will never face rejection: any time she wants Lily, she can have her, to possess, to ravish, to love, to fill with her own pleasure. She knows and loves every curve and every lump of fat, hidden in secret, moist and warm places. She loves the way she touches herself and how easily she finds just the right pleasure spots and the exact pressure points, how she can bring herself to the brink of pleasure and then stop and then start all over again, and again, and again...why shouldn’t she bask in her own body and indulge in the worship of self?
As Jason jerks upward and pauses in that split second before a man possesses a woman (a fiction, of course), she realizes why she is so nervous about her Lunch Date with Adam H. Alvarez:
She must prove her worth, to demonstrate to him that fat is delicious and desirable and not worthy of all the laws against it. She would like to walk the streets freely without some cop writing up an illegal fat ticket, while dodging that same cop’s brush against her breasts.
More than that, she needs to feel Alvarez exploding beneath her body weight, succumbing completely to her fatness, losing all self-control, offering up his body to her.
Then beg for more...
Lily meets Jason’s upward thrust and consumes that which fills her...
“A-hh...”
Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009 (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.
*
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
4. Corpus Delicious (a novel): A Late Bloomer
*
*
Late Bloomer
_________________________________________________________________________
Lily starting doing Lunch somewhat late in life, at 15.
In Corpus Luminous, children 10 years and older are allowed to Lunch with other children. Engaging in Lunch before age 10 is forbidden, although a special license can be obtained for the rare child under 10 who may be deemed mature enough for Limited Lunching; most children simply decide to wait until 10 or even later.
Occasionally, a precocious eight or nine year old will apply for a license, but it is almost never granted, especially if parental involvement is suspected.
Besides, children under 10 go to schools without Lunch-Zones, so opportunities are extremely limited.
By age 12, children are encouraged, not forced, to start Lunching, but only with other children, never with adults. In fact, any adult caught having Lunch with a child is immediately arrested and sent for life, without a trial, to a special enclave away from the city and fed a special formula of A-hh that eliminates their desire for Lunching or any kind of social interaction.
The rules are simple and clear cut: if you are 18 or over, you don’t do Lunch with a 17 year old, not even if you are one day older than 17 and your potential partner is one day under 18. You simply wait before suggesting Lunch to a minor on the cusp of adulthood. Period.
Furthermore, Lunching among children must be mutually consensual and never forced, even by parents anxious for their children’s social growth. In the matter of Lunching, children decide whether or not to Lunch and with whom.
As a youngster, Lily was more interested in studying hard in the field of nutrition engineering and not at all interested in Lunching. Her goal: to create a special formula of A-hh that would self-replicate--which would make ingesting nutrients practically obsolete--and automatically mutate within each individual in accordance with his or her own physical specs.
At 14, she discovered a live strain of A-hh that could self-replicate on a limited basis, but she had yet to find the key that could keep the culture alive for long--it always died out within 24 hours.
There has to be something about A-hh itself...Never mind, that’s heresy...
Still, only The Great One knew the full recipe–every school child knows this basic fact.
She spent her days poring over cultures in various stages of development: always working, working, working.
When Lily turned 15, her worried mother hired a guide to help Lily make the social transition into Lunching.
The guide, a highly-trained adult specializing in teen issues, was responsible for seeking out suitable candidates and introducing them to Lily, who proved to be a difficult student, and then guiding her through the highly specialized ritual.
But Evy, the guide, was quietly persistent and found a suitable Novice Lunch candidate, a shy quiet prodigy who, by 16, had earned his Ph. D. in Bio-Engineering. Lily felt that Limon was an excellent choice, most likely just as reluctant as Lily about Lunching and also obsessed with his work.
Evy, too, felt that Limon, also a novice, would be an appropriate Luncher for the first time.
Even now, Lily cringes at the memory. In retrospect, she would have done better with a boy who had at least some experience. Even with their guides, it was a disastrous Novice Lunch, with much fumbling and awkwardness--and, ultimately, no Communion.
Ironically, she and Limon are still friendly and often work together on projects, but they have never Lunched together since that first time. It was an unspoken rule between them that they never speak of or revisit that time.
Her subsequent Lunches were much better: Evy found Savia, a more experienced boy, who, for Lily’s second Lunch with him, guided her through the ritual with great technique and understanding.
After a few Lunch Dates with Savia, Lily was hooked and Lunched whenever her busy schedule allowed and was soon having Lunch with several boys.
From time to time, Lily still Lunches with Savia, who has proven to be more confidante than ardent Luncher. Besides, he’s been Dining regularly with Penny, another co-worker. It has been rumored that they are about to apply together for a procreation license. Savia has already admitted that he and Penny have touched lip to lip. A lot, and with exuberance. They have also engaged in serious tonguing, something Lily has never even done, the kind of physical contact reserved for committed couples. She could still Lunch with Savia, of course, but he seemed to be at that stage in a relationship where he had eyes only for Penny. Lunching with Savia could prove to be very sensitive right now, so they will probably switch to Coffee Breaks, at least until the fire cools a bit.
On some level, she will always love Savia; he came into her life at a time when she was frightened and disgusted by the very idea of Lunch, and he understood. In fact, during their First Lunch together, she did not take part in Communion.
At the moment of ingestion, she became afraid and backed out.
“Look, it’s okay, Lily,” he said. “We all have a first time.”
Luckily, Savia’s attendant, a pretty redheaded 16-year-old, girl offered him Communion, and he accepted.
Lily and her attendant, a 13-year-old boy, observed, and it didn’t look so awful.
“Don’t worry about pain,” the attendant, a freckled-face boy, said.. “We have a special tool for the first time. So when you’re ready, we can help.”
Lily would later learn that attendants in general had special latitude and powers when it came to attending their clients. For instance, they were empowered to touch their clients in certain places when the client deemed it necessary, and often they were called upon to finish or participate in Communion, especially with very young or very old Lunchers.
But it was understood that none of it meant anything; attendants are neutral parties, employees hired and train to make sure Lunch is pleasurable, not to develop relationships with their clients. Therefore, attendants are forbidden to develop any kind of relationship with people outside of the Attendants’ Corps.
The Children’s Attendant Corps has always been a mystery to her; growing up, she never saw a child attendant at her school--or any school, for that matter, or in public. She suspects that these children, carefully selected chosen for their sleekness, height, and high I.Q.s, have been raised in special institutions that train children from an early age. Most adult attendants had been young attendants who, after becoming of age, simply decided to continue with the adult corps. They are obviously well-educated, healthy, and smart--one could ask an attendant anything and receive an intelligent answer within minutes, even seconds.
Lily often wonders if encouraging children to do Lunch so young is really such good government policy. She always felt there was something unnatural about children engaging in what seems so, well, adult.
I’ll never nudge my kids to do anything before they’re ready.
_______________________________________________________________
Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009 (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.
*
*
_________________________________________________________________________
Lily starting doing Lunch somewhat late in life, at 15.
In Corpus Luminous, children 10 years and older are allowed to Lunch with other children. Engaging in Lunch before age 10 is forbidden, although a special license can be obtained for the rare child under 10 who may be deemed mature enough for Limited Lunching; most children simply decide to wait until 10 or even later.
Occasionally, a precocious eight or nine year old will apply for a license, but it is almost never granted, especially if parental involvement is suspected.
Besides, children under 10 go to schools without Lunch-Zones, so opportunities are extremely limited.
By age 12, children are encouraged, not forced, to start Lunching, but only with other children, never with adults. In fact, any adult caught having Lunch with a child is immediately arrested and sent for life, without a trial, to a special enclave away from the city and fed a special formula of A-hh that eliminates their desire for Lunching or any kind of social interaction.
The rules are simple and clear cut: if you are 18 or over, you don’t do Lunch with a 17 year old, not even if you are one day older than 17 and your potential partner is one day under 18. You simply wait before suggesting Lunch to a minor on the cusp of adulthood. Period.
Furthermore, Lunching among children must be mutually consensual and never forced, even by parents anxious for their children’s social growth. In the matter of Lunching, children decide whether or not to Lunch and with whom.
As a youngster, Lily was more interested in studying hard in the field of nutrition engineering and not at all interested in Lunching. Her goal: to create a special formula of A-hh that would self-replicate--which would make ingesting nutrients practically obsolete--and automatically mutate within each individual in accordance with his or her own physical specs.
At 14, she discovered a live strain of A-hh that could self-replicate on a limited basis, but she had yet to find the key that could keep the culture alive for long--it always died out within 24 hours.
There has to be something about A-hh itself...Never mind, that’s heresy...
Still, only The Great One knew the full recipe–every school child knows this basic fact.
She spent her days poring over cultures in various stages of development: always working, working, working.
When Lily turned 15, her worried mother hired a guide to help Lily make the social transition into Lunching.
The guide, a highly-trained adult specializing in teen issues, was responsible for seeking out suitable candidates and introducing them to Lily, who proved to be a difficult student, and then guiding her through the highly specialized ritual.
But Evy, the guide, was quietly persistent and found a suitable Novice Lunch candidate, a shy quiet prodigy who, by 16, had earned his Ph. D. in Bio-Engineering. Lily felt that Limon was an excellent choice, most likely just as reluctant as Lily about Lunching and also obsessed with his work.
Evy, too, felt that Limon, also a novice, would be an appropriate Luncher for the first time.
Even now, Lily cringes at the memory. In retrospect, she would have done better with a boy who had at least some experience. Even with their guides, it was a disastrous Novice Lunch, with much fumbling and awkwardness--and, ultimately, no Communion.
Ironically, she and Limon are still friendly and often work together on projects, but they have never Lunched together since that first time. It was an unspoken rule between them that they never speak of or revisit that time.
Her subsequent Lunches were much better: Evy found Savia, a more experienced boy, who, for Lily’s second Lunch with him, guided her through the ritual with great technique and understanding.
After a few Lunch Dates with Savia, Lily was hooked and Lunched whenever her busy schedule allowed and was soon having Lunch with several boys.
From time to time, Lily still Lunches with Savia, who has proven to be more confidante than ardent Luncher. Besides, he’s been Dining regularly with Penny, another co-worker. It has been rumored that they are about to apply together for a procreation license. Savia has already admitted that he and Penny have touched lip to lip. A lot, and with exuberance. They have also engaged in serious tonguing, something Lily has never even done, the kind of physical contact reserved for committed couples. She could still Lunch with Savia, of course, but he seemed to be at that stage in a relationship where he had eyes only for Penny. Lunching with Savia could prove to be very sensitive right now, so they will probably switch to Coffee Breaks, at least until the fire cools a bit.
On some level, she will always love Savia; he came into her life at a time when she was frightened and disgusted by the very idea of Lunch, and he understood. In fact, during their First Lunch together, she did not take part in Communion.
At the moment of ingestion, she became afraid and backed out.
“Look, it’s okay, Lily,” he said. “We all have a first time.”
Luckily, Savia’s attendant, a pretty redheaded 16-year-old, girl offered him Communion, and he accepted.
Lily and her attendant, a 13-year-old boy, observed, and it didn’t look so awful.
“Don’t worry about pain,” the attendant, a freckled-face boy, said.. “We have a special tool for the first time. So when you’re ready, we can help.”
Lily would later learn that attendants in general had special latitude and powers when it came to attending their clients. For instance, they were empowered to touch their clients in certain places when the client deemed it necessary, and often they were called upon to finish or participate in Communion, especially with very young or very old Lunchers.
But it was understood that none of it meant anything; attendants are neutral parties, employees hired and train to make sure Lunch is pleasurable, not to develop relationships with their clients. Therefore, attendants are forbidden to develop any kind of relationship with people outside of the Attendants’ Corps.
The Children’s Attendant Corps has always been a mystery to her; growing up, she never saw a child attendant at her school--or any school, for that matter, or in public. She suspects that these children, carefully selected chosen for their sleekness, height, and high I.Q.s, have been raised in special institutions that train children from an early age. Most adult attendants had been young attendants who, after becoming of age, simply decided to continue with the adult corps. They are obviously well-educated, healthy, and smart--one could ask an attendant anything and receive an intelligent answer within minutes, even seconds.
Lily often wonders if encouraging children to do Lunch so young is really such good government policy. She always felt there was something unnatural about children engaging in what seems so, well, adult.
I’ll never nudge my kids to do anything before they’re ready.
Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009 (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.
*
3. Corpus Delicious (a novel): Arranging a Very Important Lunch Date
*
*
Banana
____________________________________________________________
As she exits the school, Lily breathes a sigh of relief.
She hated these mandatory outings, these pointless lectures to schoolchildren. She knew most would comply with the law; the others would be quietly whisked away to rehab, where they would spend the rest of their lives as convicted Rabble-Rousers.
Like that redheaded kid in the back of the room, just a few years away from rehab.
Secretly, she admired his sassiness. Too bad his high spirits would come to nothing–no place for dissent in Corpus Luminous. The Government was always right, the Government always won.
As she walks to her aircar, she says, “DotTel!”
“Proceed,” a disembodied voice says.
“The Banana Tap.”
The phone rings for what seemed a long time. She’s slightly dizzy from her 500-calorie-per-day suspension, imposed by Judge Adam H. Alvarez, but she will soon adjust, maybe even lose a few of those vexing pounds that keep landing her in court.
“The Banana Tap. May I help you?”
“Yes, I need to book the Raspberry Torte room for next week, the 12th, for four hours.”
“What time?”
“Noon.”
“Umm, Business Lunch. Looks like you’re in luck. A last minute cancellation.”
“Judge Alvarez will be my partner, so everything must be perfect.”
“Lovely choice.”
“Excuse me?”
“The Judge is quite popular here.”
Lily’s heart sinks. She can only imagine the incredible delights other ladies have arranged for the Judge’s Lunch. Will she be able to outdo the others? She will have to try. Legally, she’s okay–they have an iron-clad agreement and the Judge is required to accept whatever arrangements she has made–but she does not want to feel shamed before him.
Besides, it is likely she’ll be standing before him again at The Board of Acceptable Weight, fined yet another Fat Tax. She wants him to remember their Business Lunch, but for the right reasons.
To gather her bearings, she leans against her aircar, a Cherry Coronet 5000, fully loaded with an automatic navigation system. She has never learned how to drive.
She is nervous about First Lunch with the Judge. There are special rules about this event--it has to be perfect--especially since it will, in essence, be a Business Lunch.
“In that case, I’ll need to meet with you in person.”
“Certainly, Madam.”
*
Lily has never liked preparing for First Business Lunches, because too much can go wrong and has, like the time when her Lunch partner was more interested in the male attendant than he was in her. Very awkward for everyone, especially the attendant, who ran out of the room, screaming, “I don’t get paid for this kind of crap!”
Lily meets with Sid, the top Business Lunch Concierge at The Banana Tap.
“I don’t know the Judge at all.”
“No problem,” Sid says. “We have his preferences on file.
“Spare no expense.”
“Of course.”
For over three hours, they pore over his likes and dislikes: he despises daisies of any kind, including floral designs on Altar Cloths, but he loves deep red carnations, the most expensive dish on the menu, so she orders three dozen. “Nothing but the best quality,” she says.
“We serve nothing but the best.”
To go with the three-dozen carnations, she selects a matching Altar Cloth for when they take part in Communion. She even selects carnation under-covers; given the Judge’s popularity, the Altar Cloth could, at some point, rumple up and even slide off the Altar. At any successful Business Lunch, lots of enthusiasm and a little sparring is expected and even desired.
Lily interviews 10 attendants and reads through their profiles, before settling on two, a man and a woman, as is customary when the Business Lunch partners are of the opposite sex. Although all Business Lunch Attendants are tall, very slim, and attractive, selecting the right attendants is an art, based on intuition and knowledge of their backgrounds. Lily makes sure that her attendants have a solid and positive history with her partner, while also appealing to her. She particularly likes the man, who is of pure African descent and highly educated in the Humanities, and the woman, a lovely redhead with ivory skin, a known favorite of Judge Alvarez.
She selects garments and undergarments with great care.
For Lily: a red silk robe with matching sash, decorated with real red and white carnations. Undergarments: filmy red panties and bra, scented with carnation.
For the Judge: a matching robe, except that his carnations will be all red. Undergarment: filmy red briefs, also scented.
The attendants have their own special garments, mandated by the Attendants of Corpus Luminous Union: a blue silk robe for her and a silver one for him--one less thing to worry about.
For Confession: two large red carnations with special elongated thorns attached.
For Aroma Therapy, an incense of carnation and rose. It is important to fill the room with intense delights.
For the Lip Ritual, she selects several dishes, consisting of fine lip powders: chili, curry, basil, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg.
For the Body Rub, Lily chooses a special red oil, essence of carnation and clove.
For Communion: a lighter version of the red oil, two red feathers, a Butterfly device, and a platinum finger enhancer (with warmer), a special tool for increasing pleasure centers associated with touch and texture.
For Post Communion: a special stone spa, filled with warm scented water, consisting of a slightly sweet bouquet, a recipe which remains a secret. Lily selects Jasmine, the top brand of spa water.
The Raspberry Torte Room turns out to be a good choice, with its red decor, lovely hand-carved Altar, and large size, so, fortunately, Lily is able to keep decoration costs reasonable.
So many preparations! But, finally, Lily closes the deal by pressing her fingertip to the credit blotter. The bill is shocking and will set her back financially for the next month or two, but she has senses that, in the end, it will pay off.
Now all she can do was wait and spend her non-working hours meditating for the Business Lunch and hoping that all will go well.
Lily doesn’t wonder if the Judge is married, because it no longer matters. If he has a wife, she won’t care too much if her husband does Lunch with other women; it is likely that she, too, has regular Lunch Dates with men.
Lily guesses that Judge Alvarez is in his mid-40s, part of a generation that still wed, especially among the educated classes, so there’s a 50/50 chance he’s married.
Very few young people marry these days, perhaps a few holdouts who live in isolated conclaves still clinging to the Old Ways.
As a modern liberated woman, she will never marry; marriage would be much too confining and socially limiting, but she wants children and thinks maybe the Judge might be a good candidate. These days, she is always on the lookout for suitable donors for her future children and is financially secure enough to sign waivers exempting any potential donors from fatherhood responsibilities.
And on that fateful day, as she stood in judgment before Judge Adam H. Alvarez, she noticed his strong jaw and wide shoulders; she liked his confident tone, his emphatic legal ruling making her tingly all over, almost always a good sign for procreation. She decided he was worth some inquiries and an expensive Lunch. If nothing else, she had solved a pesky problem: possible imprisonment and/or a huge fine; therefore, suggesting Lunch together has turned out to be a win-win situation.
Next week she’ll know more about his mental state, personality traits, physical specs, and DNA profile--whether or not she would be willing to accept his seed. In four hours of intense lunching, one can learn much about candidates.
Lily jumps into her car and flies off to the A-hh factory, where she and a colleague have a standing Lunch arrangement, short and casual, of course, and mutually satisfying without any procreation expectations.
_______________________________________________________________
Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009 (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.
*
*
____________________________________________________________
As she exits the school, Lily breathes a sigh of relief.
She hated these mandatory outings, these pointless lectures to schoolchildren. She knew most would comply with the law; the others would be quietly whisked away to rehab, where they would spend the rest of their lives as convicted Rabble-Rousers.
Like that redheaded kid in the back of the room, just a few years away from rehab.
Secretly, she admired his sassiness. Too bad his high spirits would come to nothing–no place for dissent in Corpus Luminous. The Government was always right, the Government always won.
As she walks to her aircar, she says, “DotTel!”
“Proceed,” a disembodied voice says.
“The Banana Tap.”
The phone rings for what seemed a long time. She’s slightly dizzy from her 500-calorie-per-day suspension, imposed by Judge Adam H. Alvarez, but she will soon adjust, maybe even lose a few of those vexing pounds that keep landing her in court.
“The Banana Tap. May I help you?”
“Yes, I need to book the Raspberry Torte room for next week, the 12th, for four hours.”
“What time?”
“Noon.”
“Umm, Business Lunch. Looks like you’re in luck. A last minute cancellation.”
“Judge Alvarez will be my partner, so everything must be perfect.”
“Lovely choice.”
“Excuse me?”
“The Judge is quite popular here.”
Lily’s heart sinks. She can only imagine the incredible delights other ladies have arranged for the Judge’s Lunch. Will she be able to outdo the others? She will have to try. Legally, she’s okay–they have an iron-clad agreement and the Judge is required to accept whatever arrangements she has made–but she does not want to feel shamed before him.
Besides, it is likely she’ll be standing before him again at The Board of Acceptable Weight, fined yet another Fat Tax. She wants him to remember their Business Lunch, but for the right reasons.
To gather her bearings, she leans against her aircar, a Cherry Coronet 5000, fully loaded with an automatic navigation system. She has never learned how to drive.
She is nervous about First Lunch with the Judge. There are special rules about this event--it has to be perfect--especially since it will, in essence, be a Business Lunch.
“In that case, I’ll need to meet with you in person.”
“Certainly, Madam.”
Lily has never liked preparing for First Business Lunches, because too much can go wrong and has, like the time when her Lunch partner was more interested in the male attendant than he was in her. Very awkward for everyone, especially the attendant, who ran out of the room, screaming, “I don’t get paid for this kind of crap!”
Lily meets with Sid, the top Business Lunch Concierge at The Banana Tap.
“I don’t know the Judge at all.”
“No problem,” Sid says. “We have his preferences on file.
“Spare no expense.”
“Of course.”
For over three hours, they pore over his likes and dislikes: he despises daisies of any kind, including floral designs on Altar Cloths, but he loves deep red carnations, the most expensive dish on the menu, so she orders three dozen. “Nothing but the best quality,” she says.
“We serve nothing but the best.”
To go with the three-dozen carnations, she selects a matching Altar Cloth for when they take part in Communion. She even selects carnation under-covers; given the Judge’s popularity, the Altar Cloth could, at some point, rumple up and even slide off the Altar. At any successful Business Lunch, lots of enthusiasm and a little sparring is expected and even desired.
Lily interviews 10 attendants and reads through their profiles, before settling on two, a man and a woman, as is customary when the Business Lunch partners are of the opposite sex. Although all Business Lunch Attendants are tall, very slim, and attractive, selecting the right attendants is an art, based on intuition and knowledge of their backgrounds. Lily makes sure that her attendants have a solid and positive history with her partner, while also appealing to her. She particularly likes the man, who is of pure African descent and highly educated in the Humanities, and the woman, a lovely redhead with ivory skin, a known favorite of Judge Alvarez.
She selects garments and undergarments with great care.
For Lily: a red silk robe with matching sash, decorated with real red and white carnations. Undergarments: filmy red panties and bra, scented with carnation.
For the Judge: a matching robe, except that his carnations will be all red. Undergarment: filmy red briefs, also scented.
The attendants have their own special garments, mandated by the Attendants of Corpus Luminous Union: a blue silk robe for her and a silver one for him--one less thing to worry about.
For Confession: two large red carnations with special elongated thorns attached.
For Aroma Therapy, an incense of carnation and rose. It is important to fill the room with intense delights.
For the Lip Ritual, she selects several dishes, consisting of fine lip powders: chili, curry, basil, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg.
For the Body Rub, Lily chooses a special red oil, essence of carnation and clove.
For Communion: a lighter version of the red oil, two red feathers, a Butterfly device, and a platinum finger enhancer (with warmer), a special tool for increasing pleasure centers associated with touch and texture.
For Post Communion: a special stone spa, filled with warm scented water, consisting of a slightly sweet bouquet, a recipe which remains a secret. Lily selects Jasmine, the top brand of spa water.
The Raspberry Torte Room turns out to be a good choice, with its red decor, lovely hand-carved Altar, and large size, so, fortunately, Lily is able to keep decoration costs reasonable.
So many preparations! But, finally, Lily closes the deal by pressing her fingertip to the credit blotter. The bill is shocking and will set her back financially for the next month or two, but she has senses that, in the end, it will pay off.
Now all she can do was wait and spend her non-working hours meditating for the Business Lunch and hoping that all will go well.
Lily doesn’t wonder if the Judge is married, because it no longer matters. If he has a wife, she won’t care too much if her husband does Lunch with other women; it is likely that she, too, has regular Lunch Dates with men.
Lily guesses that Judge Alvarez is in his mid-40s, part of a generation that still wed, especially among the educated classes, so there’s a 50/50 chance he’s married.
Very few young people marry these days, perhaps a few holdouts who live in isolated conclaves still clinging to the Old Ways.
As a modern liberated woman, she will never marry; marriage would be much too confining and socially limiting, but she wants children and thinks maybe the Judge might be a good candidate. These days, she is always on the lookout for suitable donors for her future children and is financially secure enough to sign waivers exempting any potential donors from fatherhood responsibilities.
And on that fateful day, as she stood in judgment before Judge Adam H. Alvarez, she noticed his strong jaw and wide shoulders; she liked his confident tone, his emphatic legal ruling making her tingly all over, almost always a good sign for procreation. She decided he was worth some inquiries and an expensive Lunch. If nothing else, she had solved a pesky problem: possible imprisonment and/or a huge fine; therefore, suggesting Lunch together has turned out to be a win-win situation.
Next week she’ll know more about his mental state, personality traits, physical specs, and DNA profile--whether or not she would be willing to accept his seed. In four hours of intense lunching, one can learn much about candidates.
Lily jumps into her car and flies off to the A-hh factory, where she and a colleague have a standing Lunch arrangement, short and casual, of course, and mutually satisfying without any procreation expectations.
Corpus Delicious is copyright 2009 (Jennifer Semple Siegel), and may not be reposted or republished without permission from the author.
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