Academic Pursuits

I held her close, and whispered softly into her ear, "Okay, you win. There IS such a thing as love at first sight. Would I be saying too much if I said that I loved you?"

"Well, considering that before tonight we had never gone out on a real date, yes. But I do have strong feelings for you. If that's love, okay. Then we're in love."

"It gets harder and harder for me to go every time we finish our work."

"So tell your parents the truth about us – you've told me they already kind of know anyway – and move in, at least for the rest of the summer. But you know that you have to go back home and we have to kind of put the brakes on before school starts. Appearances, you know. I want to talk with your folks before we do it, though. And I have something else I want to discuss with them, too. It's kind of a surprise I've been saving up."

"I get it. No clue as to the surprise?"

"Only one. Do you have a valid passport?"

"Yes, why?"

"You'll find out when I come to your house."

We lay in bed talking for hours, planning what we were going to say to my parents. We made love twice more, then fell asleep in each other's arms as the first glimmer of sunlight shone over the horizon.

She came over to my parents' house a few days later. My folks are kind of conservative, uptight types, and really gave her the third degree.

My dad: "Sothisis the famous Professor Dietz we've heard so much about. VERY pretty. I always thought of English professors as old and dowdy. You're barely older than my daughter (actually, at 27 they were the same age). My son tells me he very much enjoys working under you."

He wasn't exactly making adouble-entendre, as I had. He may as well have said to her, point-blank, "I know you and my son are sleeping together."

Karla held her ground. "Mike is always diligent with his work. He's been very valuable to me this past month. The article I've been working on with him is about to be published. His name is on it as a co-author."

My mom: "I'm sure he's been workingveryhard. But let's get down to brass tacks here. What are your intentions regarding my son?"

Karla stared hard at both of them. I started to get hot, but I had to restrain myself. I jumped in:

"We have some more work to get done. Another article. Karla wants to spend as much time together as possible so we can get it finished before school begins."

My dad said, "You mean, she wants you to move in so you can work all day and play all night."

I sighed. "All right, you want me to just come out and admit it? Okay, fine. Karla and I have been lovers since a week or so after I started working with her. Neither of us intended for it to happen, it just did. We're not doing anything illegal, either according to the law or the rules of the college. And I DON'T intend to stop seeing her, except after school starts. We felt we were doing the right thing as far as telling you before I moved in, rather than presenting it to you as afait accompli."

My father nodded. "And believe it or not, I appreciate that. I also appreciate your honesty about it –bothof you. If I said no, you'd go ahead and do it anyway since you're over 21, so I'm not going to say no. This is only until September, right?"

Karla spoke up. "Yes. And there's another issue I wanted to discuss with you. Mike has done so much for me – and, you should know, he's probably going to get a Distinguished Honors award from the English Department when he graduates in May – that I wanted to do something special for him. I want to take him to England for two weeks in the end of August. We'll be back the Tuesday after Labor Day, and classes start the following week. I know Mike's already pre-registered for all of his classes. We'll be based in London, so we can get all the sights and sounds. We'll be doing museums, the touristy things, take side trips to Liverpool and Stratford and maybe to Stonehenge. I would be paying for everything – plane fare, hotels, food, the works. The only thing Mike would be paying for is souvenirs."

I was in shock. I had no idea this was coming.

My mother scowled. "I presume only one bed in the hotel rooms?"

I said, "Look, Karla and I are two adults. We've already admitted – well,I'vealready admitted – that we've been sleeping together for a while. What difference is two weeks in a foreign country going to make?"

My parents looked at each other. My father finally declared, "Look, he's not marrying her, he's 21, and he still has a life ahead of him. He's only moving to the other side of town; he ISN'T moving out of state! When is an opportunity like this England trip going to come up again? And look at his travelling companion! She's smart and beautiful." He turned back to us. "What difference will it make? None whatsoever. Thank you both for your candor. Professor Dietz, thank you for this trip. I know how much my son loves literature. This will be the trip of a lifetime for him."

Karla smiled. "Thank YOU. And please call me Karla."

I quickly packed two weeks' worth of clothes and other things I wanted to take with me to Karla's house. In the car on the way back to her place, I put my head back and said "WHOOOOOSH. Did I REALLY say all that shit to my parents andnothave the sky fall in?"

Karla looked at me lovingly. "Iwas the one who was supposed to tell your parents about us. I wassoproud of how you stood up for me... for US! And I'll dare say that you probably jumped a couple of notches in your parents' eyes as well. It takes a real man to stand up for the woman he loves and what he believes in. And I intend to reward myreal manthe second we get back to – well, what will beourhome for the next six weeks."

I couldn't unpack until the next day. Within minutes of our walking into the apartment, my pants were down around my ankles, Karla's denim mini-skirt was bunched at her hips, and I was energetically fucking her doggy-style. Even blowing a load into her five minutes after starting did nothing to quench our mutual thirst. We spent the entire evening entertaining each other and celebrating our new status.

The Dickens article came together rather quickly. We had a self-imposed deadline, as we wanted the article to be done by the time we were ready to leave for England. We disciplined ourselves, working diligently for six hours each day, only making love after dark or when our eyes got so cockeyed we couldn't even look at the computer screens anymore.

England was a straight blast. My mind reeled at all the things there were to do and see. Westminster Abbey. Parliament. Poet's Corner. Plays in the West End. The Tower. Museums up the yin-yang. Walking barefoot across Abbey Road. Touring the All England Tennis Club at Wimbledon. Our trip to Liverpool, and taking the Beatles Tour. Two days in Stratford, and Karla bending down and kissing Shakespeare's grave. All memorialized in about 90 million pictures I took.

Oh, and sex. At least twice a night, every night except when we were on board the airplanes.

Our most daring sexual encounter took place after we had taken the Whitechapel tour. Karla found out I was a true-crime aficionado and booked us on the Jack the Ripper walking tour one evening. At about four o'clock that morning, we returned to Mitre Square, and Karla and I had sex on the exact spot where Catherine Eddowes, the fourth "canonical" Ripper victim, met her grisly end. Due to the excitement and the danger of it all, I came in less than three minutes. I have no idea how we avoided being picked up by the Bobbies.

And just like that, it was all over. I had to pack my bags and return home to my parents. Karla tried in vain to get me to stay longer, but I didn't want her to get into trouble. We had one final, lengthy night of lovemaking, and then I had to depart.

At graduation in May, Karla approached me. Seeing me holding my diploma and my Distinguished Honors English certificate, she asked me if I had room to carry one more thing. She handed me a small, wrapped present, which was a Parker pen set inscribed with my – and her – initials. Inside the box was a note, which I read in front of her.

I know that you're going to continue your academic pursuits – graduate school awaits, possibly a doctorate and professorship in your future – but you've already got one big advantage over many other people I know. To paraphrase our favorite mutual author, "This above all, to thine own self you are true." Don't ever lose that.

I love you always. I will always be with you in spirit.

Karla

We embraced for amightylong time. She looked at me and said, "Will you ever forget me?"

I hugged her again, buried my face in her hair, and replied, "Only when I stop breathing."