Chapter 7
She sat at her dressing table with a piece of blank paper before her, her full pink lips chewing the top of her pen as she tried to phrase the letter in her mind before putting it down on paper. From time to time she glanced out the huge picture window of her bedroom, at the sparkling lights of the city dwarfing the infinitesimal stars above, then stared at her own image in the mirror before her, still startled and pleased by the subtle change in her face. The lewd, ripe pout was becoming a permanent fixture now, and her eyes, once held in a wide, innocent expression now glittered with a sultry new light. She heard Virginia mix another drink with a loud angry tinkle in the living room, and Laura again tried to figure out why her roommate had changed so suddenly, then shrugged indifferently when she remembered she'd have her own studio apartment in this building in a few more days, when it was vacant.
The young blonde's conference with Virginia and Bob, held shortly after she'd awakened from her long, exhausted sleep late that afternoon still whirled in her mind, filling her with a hum of anticipation and excitement.
Virginia had explained to her-in a surprisingly cold and bitter voice-that she'd been a wild hit at the party the night before and was suddenly in demand. They were prepared to pay her a hundred dollars for every similar party she attended, and an equal amount for every "date" Bob lined up for her. She could have as many of both as she could handle, provided she took a minimum of one per week. Already Laura's mind had begun to reel with the staggering figures when they added she could also have her own apartment, smaller than Virginia's but totally rent-free on the condition she reserved two nights per month for the landlord-owner and his wife, who'd taken an intense interest in her when they'd met. Her rent would be paid in this manner, and Virginia made it crisply clear that the wife had bizarre sexual tastes, and that the landlord might occasionally use her to pay a special favor to a friend. Before Laura could nod eagerly in agreement, Virginia began pointing out the fringe benefits: free lavish dinners and expensive liquor, gifts from especially pleased customers, occasional weekend trips to Las Vegas and, with great luck, possibly Europe.
As for the polaroid pictures, Virginia went on, pushing a single snapshot across the table to the excited blonde, she could have one back after each date and party. Laura wasn't surprised at this treachery, realizing they were afraid she might still run away.
But they couldn't possibly know-and she wouldn't try to explain-the remarkable moment of truth she'd felt the night before with every fiber of her honey-soft body as two men racked her loins with an overwhelming orgasm, as she surrendered the vain struggle once and for all and wallowed in lustful joy and her true self emerged victorious.
Laura felt strangely at peace with herself now, a majestic calm she'd never felt before. Some deep, overpowering force inside her had swept aside the pretentious mask of her virtue and told her in resounding, unmistakable terms what she really was, and what she was meant to be, and suddenly everything was perfect-body, mind, and soul she was an instrument of passion, endowed with a luscious, desirable body and a lovely face for exactly that destiny. She even smiled as Virginia picked up the phone before her and called the newspapers and told them to rerun her ad for a roommate to replace Laura.
The blonde sighed happily as her pen poised over the paper, but her thoughts still added up columns of neat figures in her mind, vast sums of money she would earn while she enjoyed her new self immensely. She'd already decided to work a five-night week with the same systematic schedule a secretary would follow if she worked nights. She would bank most of it and send her parents two hundred dollars a month, a fortune to them. When Virginia had explained that Laura wouldn't be paid for last night, that it was a trial run to see if she could adjust, Laura demanded a hundred dollar loan at once, which they gave her. Tomorrow she would take it to the post office with her letter and get the money order and mail it to her folks.
With a soft thrill of pride, she began writing:
Dear Mom and Dad:
I've got wonderful news! I've found a terrific job that pays a very good salary, and I'm enclosing a hundred dollars and want you both to spend it strictly on luxuries. Don't worry. Mom, there's more coming-I'm going to send you this much every two weeks, because my job, which is in public relations, is not only fascinating and well-paid but I get a lot of fringe benefits that save me money.
I wish you folks could know how thrilled I am with this new position. I think it's exactly what I've always wanted, although I frankly had a hard time making up my mind at first. And again, don't worry. Mom, I remember everything you told me and I'm doing the right thing. I can feel it's all perfect deep, deep down inside me, that it was meant to be.
Hope this finds you both happy and healthy. I think I'll be back to visit you next summer ( in a new car!) and bearing lots of gifts....
Your loving daughter, Laura
Laura reread the letter, sighed with satisfaction and put it aside until morning.
She caught her own image in the mirror, and suddenly knew it wouldn't have mattered if she'd never even left her quiet, simple home in Kansas, or had gone to another distant place.
Her destiny would have pursued her to the ends of the world.