Danica's Loves

Fasta

Danica Woodhouse sat in the lecture room staring adoringly at the man writing figures on the chalk board. She thought him to be the handsomest man she had ever seen, "A true Adonis," she thought.

Not only was he extremely good looking, he was also courteous and charming, if somewhat austere. It may well have been this very austereness that added to his attractions; it was a challenge for nubile maidens.

Danica was not the only girl with eyes for Spencer Church. The three other girls in the class, like Danica, sat gazing romantically at this male paragon.

They could scarcely take in what he was saying or writing and this adoration caused considerable annoyance to the ten young men also sitting in the Farm Statistics class, known by the student as "Fasta."

While the young men were calculating how they could get into the girls' knickers, the girls were scheming how they could get into Mr. Church's pants.

Danica Woodhouse

Danica was the daughter of a couple who ran a pastoral station up north. She had come down south partly to study a one year course on Cattle Management, and Fasta was part of the course.

The other purpose was to give Danica an experience of city life and to meet a wider range of people than the isolation of a cattle station allowed.

She was just eighteen and inclined to be shy and withdrawn, and seemed completely unaware of how attractive she was and the devastating effect she had on the young men around her.

On completion of the course it was her intention to return to the cattle station and her parents, and gradually take over the station office work from her father and mother.

While studying the course run by the Agricultural College she lived in a girl's hostel, and being somewhat socially inexperienced, she had made only one close friend, Nancy, who was doing the full three year Ag course.

As far as Danica was concerned, she believed that she could only worship Spencer Church from afar, and he seemed to be unaware of her adoration, or that of the other girls.

Spencer Church

Spencer Church taught mathematics and sport at an expensive private boys' school. Many of the boys were from rural and pastoral families, sent to the city for the last four or five years of their education.

His parents had been killed in a road crash when he was twelve, and he had been taken into the care of his uncle and aunt.

On the death of his parents he had shown no emotion. Whether he genuinely felt no grief, or kept it locked inside him, is unknown.

Intellectually he found mathematics to be the most logically satisfying subject. His tutors found him to be brilliant and he might well have gone on to outstanding academic achievement, but instead he elected to teach at the boys' school.

Physically it was sport that engaged him, perhaps even more than mathematics. Favoured with exceptional good looks -- looks that puzzled his aunt and uncle because his parents had not been exceptionally good looking -- his devotion to sport had given him a fine physique.

Themselves outgoing, his aunt and uncle were sometimes troubled by Spencer's reserved manner and formal behaviour, but since he was so successful in the academic field, and brought home many sporting trophies, they agreed that all was well and that he would "grow out of" his introversion.

Since so many of the boys at the school where he taught were from rural backgrounds, there was some degree of co-operation with the Agricultural College, hence Spencer spent one hour each week teaching Fasta.

He was twenty six when Danica was studying his Fasta course.

Invitation

Like many things about Spencer Church, it is not possible to say what attracted him to Danica. True she was by far the best looking girl of the four in the class; in fact she was better looking than most of the girls he had met, but she was so shy, and it did not take an exceptionally observant person to see that the other three girls would have been far easier to get into his bed -- or theirs.

Nevertheless, it was Danica who caught his eye.

It was about half way through the academic year and after one Fasta class he caught up with her in the corridor.

"Miss Woodhouse," he began. She had never been called "Miss" before; it was "Danica," "Dani," "Dan," or occasionally "Ms. Woodhouse. She thought being called "Miss" sounded old fashioned but rather lovely, somewhat like a male character from a Jane Austen novel.

"Miss Woodhouse, would you care to dine with me one evening?"

The invitation was abrupt and straight to the point and Danica was astounded. She was unable to reply for a few moments and Spencer stood looking at her, for once showing a little emotion since there was an anxious look in his eyes.

"Er...Mr. Church...did you ask...did you say."

"I asked you if you would care to dine with me one evening?" he said, carefully articulating each word.

"Yes...yes..." Danica replied, still unable to believe that this was actually happening. Spencer took a diary and an old fashioned fountain pen out of his pocket, and after some discussion a day and time were agreed upon, this being carefully noted by him.

Given the formality of his manner Danica wondered if she should bring a chaperon with her.

Courtship

The services of a chaperon would have been completely superfluous. By the end of their meal it was still "Miss Woodhouse" and "Mr. Church." There was not even a hint of, "Would you like to come up to my place for a drink?"

Danica's experience of men was extremely limited but she had heard other girls discussing whether they should "let them" on the first date, or wait until the second date. She was therefore rather puzzled that Mr. Church, by their fourth date, had not even attempted to kiss her.

It was during the fifth date that she tentatively suggested, "Would you like to call me Danica?"

Spencer looked at her appraisingly for a few moments and the said, "Yes, all right Danica, I suppose it is appropriate. You may call me Spencer, but not in the presence of the students."

It took another couple of dates before he held her hand and kissed her goodnight very primly.

After that Spencer took her for drives in the country and to the beach. It was while sitting in his car staring out at the moon silvered sea that Spencer said, "I would like you to marry me."

Danica knew that in Jane Austen style she should have asked for time to consider, but despite his rather stilted manner she was fond of Spencer, so she said, "Yes, I'll marry you."

She waited for his euphoric outcry of joy, but it didn't happen. He said, "Thank you Danica, we shall go and choose the engagement ring on Saturday."

"At last," thought Danica, "he's a thorough gentleman in the old fashioned way, but even he will want to do it with me. Everybody who's engaged does it these days."

The only question in her mind was where. Would it be in his flat, the back of his car, on some mossy river bank, a motel or hotel room? She wondered if it would hurt much, and if he'd be sufficiently restrained to give her a couple of days to recover from the hymen splitting.

Engagement

Danica need not have been anxious about the pain of de-flowering; Spencer made no assault on her maidenhead.

They flew up north so that Danica's parents could meet Spencer. They were quite impressed with him; like most people they were touched by his courteous manner. While there her mother took Danica aside for a "cosy little chat."

"Darling, I know how it is these days. Your father and I waited until we were married, but we realise it's not like that now. Please make sure that Spencer wears something when you're...you're being...er...intimate. Or are you on the pill?"

Poor Danica; she didn't want to admit that her fiancé had thus far denied himself the pleasures of her body, and so she said, "No mother, I'm not on the pill."

"Well darling, you'll have to firm. Don't let him do it unless he's wearing one of those things, you don't want to...to...get in the family way before you get married, do you?"

"No mother."

Her father, after saying "A fine young fellow, a fine chap, you've chosen well my girl," simply asked if she was sure she would be happy with Spencer.

Danica assured him that her future happiness was secure.

"Sorry you're not coming back here to help run the business as we planned," he said, "but as long as my girl is happy, that's the important thing."

In conversation with Spencer he said, "Danica's the only one we've got so she's very precious to us, you'll take care of her, won't you?"

"She will be safe under my protection," Spencer replied.

Mr. Woodhouse thought that was a rather odd way of putting it, but it seemed that his darling would be in safe hands.

One year after they became engaged they were married in St. Anselm's Anglican Church. The guests consisted of relatives and friends of the bride and groom, although from Danica's observation Spencer did not seem to have many friends.

His guests consisted of his aunt and uncle, who incidentally had been mightily impressed with Danica whom they described as "That lovely young girl." His aunt expressed the hope to her husband that "Perhaps she'll get him out of his stuffy ways."

For the rest, there were some of Spencer's colleagues, and in the church a large group of uninvited boys from the school with whom Spencer did seem to be popular.

Outside a line of boys from the school awaited them, and they showered them with confetti.

Sentimental mothers often refer to the wedding day of their daughters as "The bride's day," and this, Danica felt sure, would indeed be her day. "Tonight we will do it," she told herself."

After the reception they were driven to the airport and they took off for their island honeymoon, Danica trembling with anticipation.

First Night

For her honeymoon, and with Nancy's aid, Danica had chosen the most delicate nightdress she could find.

Nancy, completely unaware of Danica's continuing virginal condition and under the impression that she and Spencer had been engaging in sexual activity throughout their engagement, thought Spencer might need an extra boost.

Gazing at the flimsy nightdress she exclaimed, "My God, Danica, that'll get him going."

And so, on that first night of their honey moon, after showering, Danica put on the night dress and entered the bedroom.

Spencer was already clad in striped flannel pyjamas.

Danica felt a trifle disappointed. She had expected to see Spencer wearing only a pair of pyjama shorts, or at least silk pyjamas.

In the past Danica had read a few romantic, not to say erotic, novels, and so she at least had the rudiments of what to expect. There came to mind such passages as, "He gazed at her lovely body, barely concealed beneath the delicate fabric of her dainty night dress, and she could see the desire in his eyes and his hot throbbing manhood moulded by the thin cloth of his boxer shorts."

Spencer gave her a brief glance and saying, "Ah, you're ready for bed," he pulled back the covers of the bed and clambered in.

Poor Danica, she stood there bewildered. Where was the fiery embrace, the passionate kiss and the cries of, "How lovely you are my darling, my love, my beautiful wife."?

"Well," Danica thought, "I'm feeling a little shy myself, so perhaps he is too. I will be different under the bed covers with the light off."

She got into bed beside him and switching off the light and pulling up the covers, lay on her back awaiting his embrace.

Nothing.

"Spencer!"

No reply.

She felt for him with her hand. He was lying with his back to her.

"Spencer?"

A soft snore. He was asleep.

Marriage

I shall pass over many of the details and deal only with the most pertinent.

Two things need to be said immediately: first, after two years of marriage Danica was as virginal as the day they wed; second all attempts by Danica to arouse Spencer's manhood had failed.

Any attempt to talk to him about the difficulties was met with stony silence or he would simply walk away.

It might be asked, why did Spencer marry Danica? The answer to that can only be conjectured.

Perhaps it was considered unsuitable for an unmarried male teacher to be on the loose with a lot of boys, especially one who was involved with their sporting activities.

The school principal may have had a private word with Spencer.

It may have been because as a married teacher he became eligible for a house on campus.

Perhaps he simply wanted someone to cook and keep house for him.

It was not only the sexual aspect of their marriage that plagued Danica. Soon after their marriage it became clear that Spencer had no real interest in her. They rarely spoke, and he was often out at school sporting functions. Any suggestion by Danica that she attend these functions with him was met by, "Oh, I don't think you'd be interested."

A few times when she did attend school sports functions he showed her to a seat and then left her and mingled with the boys and sports masters from other schools.

Living on school campus was no help. The dull and plain wives of the other male staff members were no company, and in any case most of them were sick with jealousy at Danica's good looks, especially as their husbands found Danica to be very interesting.

I hasten to add that Danica did not find the husbands interesting, as they were almost as dreary as their wives.

It might also be asked why Danica stayed with her apparently impotent husband.

Here we come up against one of those strange quirks some women have. Despite all the problems she was actually fond of him. Perhaps that fondness arose partly out of pity for him, but whether that is true or not, the fondness was there.

Blaming

Another ingredient in the mix was Danica's tendency to blame her self for Spencer's non-performance.

Never aware of her own attractiveness, she took frequent inventories of her self, and always she came to negative conclusions. These I shall try to enumerate, putting beside them the true facts insofar as I have been able to ascertain them.

"I'm too tall" (five feet six).

"My hair is the wrong colour." (Golden brown, long, hanging down to her shoulders and shaped like a bell).

"My eyes are the wrong shape and colour." (Dark brown, almond shaped).

"My nose is awful." (Retrousse).

"My mouth is too big," or alternatively "too small." (Not very large but with a rather delicious lower lip that protrudes slightly).

"That hole in my chin is terrible." (A rather delightful indent).

"Oh God, my neck." (Oh God, her neck; as graceful as a swan's).

My breasts are too big," or alternatively "too small." (34C. You make up your own mind).

"Look at my fat waist." (24 inches).

"My hips stick out." (34 inches).

"He must hate my pubic hair." (A rather nice little triangle that leads the eye to the firm cleft beyond, and consequently the mind to the delights that lay within that cleft).

"My legs are too long," or alternatively, "too short." (Estimated two feet three inches).

Other parts of her anatomy -- arms, hands, feet, all came in for the negative treatment. I can only say that to me all was nicely proportioned.

There were a few other aspects; for example, she decided that she didn't smell nice. This led over time to the buying of twenty one different perfumes. I might go on relating other things, like cosmetics, but I am sure that I have written enough for you to get the point.

Most of us can find things about ourselves that do not accord with some abstract idea of perfection, but in Danica's case it was the desperation she felt about the lack of her husband's interest in her. She had to be to blame, because obviously, in her view, she was unattractive to him.

Consultation

Danica had not discussed her marital woes with anyone, but there came a time when in despair she felt she must.

There was only one person she felt she could trust to unburden herself with, Nancy, her friend from the Ag. Col. days. She and Nancy had back then shared many joys and problems.

After Danica's marriage, that was soon followed by Nancy's marriage, they had not seen as much of each other, but Danica telephoned her, and they agreed to meet in a small café in town.

Nancy had no idea what the topic was going to be, thinking it merely a social meeting.

On seeing Danica Nancy exclaimed, "Darling, what's the matter, you look so depressed?"

Danica held back the tears until the waitress had brought their coffee and cakes, and then they flowed.

"Oh Nancy...Nancy, I'm so miserable."

"What is it darling?"

"Spencer."

"Spencer?" Nancy's face became grim. "Is he beating you?"

"No...no..."

"Does he swear at you?"

"No...no..."

"Does he keep you short of money?"

"No...no..."

"Well what then?"

Danica looked around furtively and then whispered, "Sex."

"Ah," said Nancy, nodding knowingly," and then lowering her voice and bending toward Danica she said, "He wants to engage in...in...er...unnatural practices with you?"

"No," cried Danica, unsure of what unnatural practices were, but thinking it sounded ghastly.

"Oh," Nancy said, sounding relieved, "I think I understand. I've got a bit of a problem with Ralph, I think a lot of women have the same problem, you see, men don't always understand a woman's needs."

"Don't they," Danica said, amazed that a lot of women should be living in unconsummated relationships.

"Mmm," Nancy continued, "he leaves me too soon, he doesn't realise that my orgasm goes on a lot longer than his. I did have a talk to him about it and he's gradually getting better at it. Why don't you have a talk to Spencer about it?"

"But Nancy, that not my difficulty."

"Isn't it, what other problem can there be?"

"He...doesn't do it at all."

Nancy laughed and said, "Oh come on Danica, that's a bit of an exaggeration; you mean he doesn't do it as often as you would like."

"No Nancy, I mean he doesn't do it at all."

Nancy stared at her for a few moments, astounded.

"You really mean, never?"

"Not ever, not even once." Danica began to cry again and Nancy had to lend her a clean handkerchief.

"Why darling...why...did something happen, did you say or do something that turned him off?"

"I don't know," Danica wailed, "he won't even talk about it, in fact he hardly talks to me at all; he's only interested in the school, the boys and their bloody sport. If I was a cricket bat he might take more interest in me."

"You...you don't think he's got another woman, do you?"

"Another woman!" Danica yelped, causing two old ladies sitting at a far table to look up startled. "It wouldn't be so bad if he had another woman because then at least I'd know he could do it."

The two old ladies looked hurriedly away.

Nancy took on a conspiratorial air and said, "Darling, there's one sure fire way of getting a husband's interest."

"Wha's dat?" Danica asked, blowing her nose

"It's a bit drastic darling, but in your situation it might be the only solution."

"What?"

"Have an affair darling, and make sure Spencer finds out."

"An affair, with a man?"

"Well I wouldn't suggest a woman unless you're that way inclined, but if you are that way, that may be the trouble, Spencer senses that you're..."

"I'm not that way inclined," Danica yelped, "I want to be fruitful and multiply."

"What?"

"I want to have babies."

"Oh, well that's my suggestion Danica, and if you're interested I know a few very nice single men who would be glad to oblige and..."

"I don't want to be obliged," Danica protested, "or if I am I want to be obliged with someone I love and who loves me."

"Well, if you're going to be so particular darling..."

"I am particular."

"And look what it got you; Spencer. There's nothing more I can suggest. You think it over and let me know if you change your mind."