(1987) The Celestial Bed Read Online Free PDF Page B

body-imaging point on?’
    ‘Always after that,’ said Freeberg. ‘As a matter of fact you’ll get so used to being nude it won’t mean a thing.’
    ‘Oh, I have no problem with that,’ said Brandon quickly. ‘Just wanted the information.’
    ‘My turn,’ said Elaine Oakes. ‘At penetration, intercourse, well, is it safe?’
    ‘The patient will have been examined thoroughly, I assure you. He’ll have no diseases.’
    ‘I meant impregnation.’
    ‘Ah, yes. Well, you’re probably on the pill. If you aren’t, an alternative is the use of a diaphragm when it comes to coitus.’
    Freeberg waited. There were no more questions. But the word coitus had triggered a question of his own. He regarded his listeners briefly.
    ‘Well, I have one last question,’ he said. ‘Now that you’ve heard it all, have an overview, do any of you wish to withdraw from the programme?’
    The five facing him remained immobile. Not one of them stirred or spoke.
    Freeberg smiled. ‘Good,’ he said softly. He came to his feet. ‘Tomorrow morning at nine o’clock, right here. Tomorrow you’ll be on your way to becoming professional sex surrogates. God bless us, one and all.’

Two
    Six weeks and a day had passed, and now Dr Arnold Freeberg was seated behind his desk at ten minutes to two in the afternoon waiting for the last of his group meetings to begin shortly. Looking out of the window, he could see that this day in mid-July was overcast, somewhat bleak, and he wished the sun was shining. Because he felt sunny inside. The gruelling training period had been a complete success. He had a team of bright, warm, sex surrogates, and he was eager to get them on the road.
    As he waited in his office for the arrival of his surrogates at two o’clock, he thought about what he had accomplished in the morning. He had reviewed the tapes of his first four patients referred to him by colleagues. The patients had all been dysfunctional men. There had been no female patient set for Paul Brandon yet, but he knew that several were being considered by psychiatrists for referral, so Brandon would soon be busy, too. Freeberg had given Suzy the tapes to transcribe on her word processor.
    Following that, Freeberg had met with Gayle Miller, his original surrogate, who had finally arrived from Tucson a week ago, after graduating from the University of Arizona and winding up her affairs there. He had not seen much of her during the week -except for one visit she’d made to his clinic when he had introduced her to his surrogate trainees - because she had been busy finding and settling into a bungalow in Hillsdale. She had also been busy preparing her application for graduate school at the University of California at Los Angeles - seeking admission to the doctoral program in psychology - and her request for a fellowship or financial aid while at UCLA. She had delivered all this along with her University of Arizona transcript and three letters of recommendation to the university.
    When she had come in this morning, to assist him with his send—
    off ceremony, Freeberg had been so delighted to see her, so reassured by her confident professional presence, that he had invited her to the Market Grill next door, the coffee and sandwich shop where they might lunch together. Following Gayle out of the clinic, and then into the street towards the grill, he had realised that she was certainly the most attractive of his surrogates.
    As they seated themselves in a booth, Freeberg noticed once more how graceful and beautiful Gayle was, attired in a pink silk blouse, nipped at her waist by a yellow leather belt, and below the belt a pleated silk skirt that clung to her thighs when she walked. Watching her, as she studied the menu, Freeberg enjoyed Gayle’s pretty face. She had dark glossy hair trimmed in a gamine bob, encasing a countenance that resembled the features of an Oriental porcelain doll — behind her big lavender sunglasses were widespread green almond