In Part 05, Sharlene helps to comfort her friend Mariam who had been demeaned by her bosses for not doing a better job of spying on and providing sexual favors to a potential client. On top of that, the situation provokes a crisis in one of her other friends. Two days later, Sharlene answers the doorbell to see a police officer who accuses her of murder then forcibly drags her out of her home.
A peek inside:
They have a light breakfast then clean up and while she gets dressed in her usual ‘weekend’ attire of long sleeved shirt, jeans, and sports shoes, he gives his handgun a thorough inspection before he holsters it. She comes back in the room just as he finishes and smiles at his protective nature then asks, “Are you expecting trouble?”
“No. But since Klara said something about going to get a rental, that means we’ll be out and I remember you said you felt like you were followed the other day, so I thought I would be prepared.”
“Thank you.” She kisses him soundly then asks, “Pleasure and protection, what more could a girl ask for?”
“Most women want a whole lot more. That’s something else I appreciate about you. You don’t keep going on about ‘buy me this’ or ‘buy me that’ or ‘how come you don’t take me out or bring me presents or flowers’, etcetera. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you ask me to change who I am other than to encourage me to more freely express myself. That makes you rather unique for a female of the human species.”
“I never thought much about it, but those lines do seem to be a common thread of women’s complaints. Frankly, if I want something, I’ll go out and buy it. If I want flowers, I’ll buy the kind I want rather than hope somebody else was able to rightly guess what I wanted. Actually, I would rather grow them than buy them. Sure, I like presents, but I prefer presents I can’t get for myself. Hugging myself or touching myself isn’t the same as when you do it, so that’s the kind of present I prefer.
“As far as changing you goes, I like you just the way you are. Besides, if I can expect you to change to suit me, then you would have every right to expect me to change to suit you, and if those changes are mutually contradictory, then what? If I can’t accept who you are, then I should find someone else to have a relationship with rather than try to change you in ways which may be completely unsuitable to you.”
George shakes his head before he says, “Sharlene, you are a marvel. In spite of all of my years of observing and trying to understand people, you continue to surprise me. You’re so obviously female that I keep expecting typical feminine responses from you. I’m sorry I can’t seem to avoid the stereotypical preconceptions and just let you be yourself.”
“But you do let me be myself. Even when I don’t respond as you expect me to, you’ve proven yourself more than willing to set aside your expectations and accept my actions and responses at face value. I appreciate that. Even in my limited experience, I’ve met men who couldn’t deal with the idea that I don’t respond as a typical woman.”
She chuckles then explains, “I remember one of my medical school classmates gave me a bouquet of flowers once. I looked at them and asked him what they were for. He stared at me for a moment then said they were an expression of his affection for me. I asked him if he had grown them. He stared at me for awhile longer and said no, that he had bought them, which would have been pocket change to him. I told him he didn’t put much effort into expressing his affection, handed the flowers back, said ‘No, thank you’ and walked away.”
He laughs then proclaims, “That’s excellent, Sharlene, simply excellent. Did he make any other attempts?”
“No. In fact, he did his best to avoid me and when he did see me, he looked at me as though I was some sort of alien. Actually, his attempt ended up being a blessing in disguise because he made sure other people knew what I had done and after that I was pretty much left alone.”
