Verena's Case Concludes

Herewith I conclude Verena’s case fiction. The first two chapters were posted on the past two Fridays.

So, Verena was willing to try dating. Only she did not tell Horace why she was doing so. She was persuaded that his effort was a waste of time, so she wanted to try it in order to show him that he was wrong.

It would be sweet vindication.

Horace was inviting Verena to learn how to play the dating game. Yet, Verena was looking for love and she believed, to the roots of her being, that playing a game was dishonest and deceitful. How could anyone fall in love with a woman who was pretending to be someone she was not.

And, she had never had the experience of waiting for someone to call and ask her out on a date. She did not quite understand how to behave during a dinner date, not to mention a theatre date. 

To be fair, Horace  pointed out that a movie date or a theatre date were far easier than a dinner date. After all, when you sit watching a show, you do not have to talk.

The notion that she ought to study a book called, The Rules, offended her profoundly. She was willing to glance at it, because she felt completely asea in the dating world, but still… she knew that it was an exercise in futility. How could playing by the rules lead to true love? 

And, considering her past history, she believed that only true love could save her.

And besides, she was a true believing feminist. She knew that most men, upon hearing her lecture them about their toxic masculinity, would not want more than a hookup. It was a relationship killer. The notion that she might have to hide her beliefs was yet another insult. 

So, she might try dating, but she knew it would not work. 

But, why not go out on a date with Chester?

Who was Chester? He lived in her apartment building. She had run into him several times in the elevator, and he had dutifully asked her out. She had, just as dutifully, begged off. She was either too busy or too tired to sit through a dinner with such a tedious and boring investment banker. Besides, one hates to have to mention it, but Chester was a nerd. 

Verena was used to dating very cool guys, some of whom were sexual acrobats. She was looking for several rounds of great sex and could not imagine finding it with Chester. The thought of sex with Chester felt like high comedy. No more, no less.

Anyway, Verena was so thoroughly persuaded that a date with Chester would be a wasted evening that she agreed to have dinner with him.

One understands that Verena was somewhat discombobulated by the thought of finding something to talk about with this banker. After all, she could not talk about her work in gynecology. To help her, Horace chimed in that she might ask him about what he was doing. Assuming that he could share information about his latest deals, that might be a way to draw him out of his shell. 

It is better, Horace said, to open a conversation with something resembling small talk. Do not, he said, confide in people you do not know and who have not established themselves as trustworthy.

It did not sound like the dumbest thing that Verena had ever heard. It was something of a relief for her to believe that she did not have to share too much about her private life on a date. Of course, Horace was thinking that if she learned to keep her private life to herself she might do the same with her private parts. He did not share this insight.

True enough, she felt it was awkward and out of character for her to have decided, before the date began, that there would be no erotic interlude at the end.

And yet, when Chester took her home and she took her leave from him, she did not feel terribly terrible. They had spent much of the time talking about economic and banking matters, and Verena felt that she was learning things.

She had had worse dates. She was not looking forward to seeing Chester again, but the thought of doing so did not make her want to throw up.

Briefly, she liked Chester but did not think that she would ever fall in love with him. She imagined that making love with him would be more an ordeal than anything else, so she preferred not to think about it.

Chester was polite and courteous, and even respectful. He was surely a nerd, but that did not mean that she would never see him again. When, a few days later, she ran into Chester in the elevator, and he asked her if she would like to go to the opera with him, she said yes. And, strangely, she meant it.

In fact, she did not mind having conversations with Chester, but she could barely imagine taking it all very much further.

Given Verena’s reticence, her relationship with Chester droned on at an infernally slow pace. She was not comfortable with it and eventually got used to not having sex with him. In truth, she did not much want to do so; abstinence was not that much of a challenge.

As for the larger question: did Verena fall in love with Chester? One would need to say that she did develop a certain amount of affection for him, but true love it was not.

As for sexual relations, by the time, several months later that they did the dirty deed, Verena discovered that she was not wrong about his being inexperienced. Of course, Horace had warned her about this and recommended that she keep some of her favorite tricks to herself. No need to show off when your partner might end up feeling inadequate.

As for the outcome, I am happy to tell you that Verena did decide to marry Chester. She was not madly in love with him, and she felt that she was settling, but he was stable and sensible and wealthy. 

So, she married him. And, strangely enough, it became a happy marriage. Chester lacked certain qualities that Verena thought she valued, but, alas, he had others that made for a good husband.

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