In Part 18, Rebeka’s journey of touching provides a healing contrast to her previous abuse and encourages her to take potential risks. As more people see her drawings, their praise is overwhelming then she’s shocked at how much is paid for her first Woman At Work drawing which sets a precedence. Angelisa is very excited with her own journey of touching especially as it nears her hoped for goal.
A peek inside:
He . . . tries to explain his concerns. “I may not be very clear, but give me a chance to try to express myself. First of all, you’re a beautiful exciting woman who I very much care for and would consider it a great privilege to be allowed to make love to you, but there’s more than my selfish nature to be considered. I don’t think we’ve made a point of discussing it, but any time two people are intimate, there’s the risk that one person will infect the other person with a disease. We’ve taken the precaution of testing each one of us and to the best the medical practitioners can determine, we do not have any sexually transmitted diseases.
“By the same token, any time a man and a woman engage in sexual intercourse, there’s the risk that she’ll become pregnant regardless of any precautions taken. Again, I’ve had a vasectomy and been tested and to the best the medical practitioners can determine, I’m incapable of fathering a child. So, from a physical and medical perspective, I could make love to you with minimal risk of inflicting you with a disease or pregnancy. Considering the legal element, since we are both unmarried consenting adults, we can legally make love.
“That still leaves the social and emotional elements which can be the biggest factors. I recognize that most people only think about the fun involved, but I want you to consider all of the factors. I think it’s quite clear you’ve enjoyed your journey of touching up to this point which strongly suggests that you will enjoy making love. From what I understand about your culture, for a man to make love to you the first time bestows upon you the status of an adult woman which is in contrast to the wider society where, for some people, the first time a woman makes love she doesn’t gain anything, but she does lose her virginity.
“So, culturally speaking, you’re already ‘programmed’ to view making love the first time as something positive as well as fulfilling a cultural duty. However, even in your culture, it’s expected that when a girl becomes a woman by having a man make love to her, it will be associated with her being married and, they hope, pregnant. Because of that, it’s quite possible that even though you become a woman by your culture’s definition, they may not believe you when you don’t show the expected evidence. Also, if it happened to come out that I was the one who helped you perform your cultural duty, it could be difficult for you both within your own culture and within the wider society.
“Those are some of the bigger things for you to consider and that I’ve tried to consider and have struggled with. As much as I understand the logic of providing you with as safe of an environment as we can for you to experience and hopefully enjoy intimate pleasure, I still think you should have your own intimate partner to help you safely enjoy making love the first time, but I don’t have a clue of somebody who I would be inclined to recommend. Frankly, I wouldn’t even recommend myself. . . . I’m also concerned that if you find our intimate relationship enjoyable enough, you may ignore or simply not see the possibility of someone else who could be a loving intimate partner for you. I don’t want to push you away or disappoint you or outright refuse you after leading you so far along your journey, but for your sake, I think you ought to consider these factors and any others I might have overlooked. . . . I know I wasn’t very organized or clear, but, please, think about it a little more before you agree to do something which can never be undone.”
