The Incomparable Atuk Read Free Page B

nightly and Bette continued to do her utmost to fill Atuk with confidence.
    ‘Why go to so much trouble?’ he once asked her.
    ‘Because I have to help people. That’s me.’ Her long, powerful, Lloyd-insured legs curled under her on the sofa, a lock of blonde hair falling over her forehead, Bette smiled and said, ‘Do you realizeyou’re just about the only male who has never – never tried the funny stuff with me?’
    ‘Don’t you admire me for it?’ he asked hopefully.
    ‘Yes. Certainly I do.’ She got down on the floor and began a lightning series of chin-ups. A sure sign she was troubled. ‘But don’t you love me?’ She rolled over on her back, supporting her buttocks with her hands and revolving her legs swiftly. ‘Everybody loves Bette Dolan,’ she insisted.
    ‘And so do I. Oh, so do I!’
    So Atuk told her his dreadful secret. ‘I lack confidence,’ he said, ‘because I am unable to make love. All that stands between me and hitting the bull’s-eye is a woman who can … well, encourage me over the hump.’ He lowered his head. ‘I need help, Miss Dolan.’
    A plea for help was something Bette Dolan had never taken lightly. She sprang to her feet, bouncing upright. Her lovely face filled with determination. After a long and solemn pause, she said, ‘I will help you, Atuk.’
    ‘Would you? Honest?’
    To prove it she stepped right up to him, her eyes squeezed shut against anticipated distaste, and kissed him on the mouth. ‘It’s the very first time for me,’ she said.
    ‘I’m so afraid,’ Atuk said, his voice quavering, ‘of failing.’
    Bette kissed him again, forcing his mouth open. When she was done, Atuk cleared his throat andpoured himself a rather strong gin and carrot juice.
    ‘Aren’t you even … don’t you feel …?’
    ‘It’s no use,’ he said.
    Bette pulled him down to the rug with her and led his hand to her breast. ‘This should be very stimulating for you,’ she said. She kissed him even more passionately, rolled over on him, tried a couple of other sure-fire things, and then pulled back to look at him quizzically.
    ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I do feel a certain …’
    ‘Good.’
    ‘I think my pulse-beat
has
quickened.’
    ‘That’s progress, isn’t it?’
    But it seemed to Atuk there was a sour edge to her voice now.
    ‘That’s all for tonight,’ she said.
    At the door, however, she suddenly clung to him. ‘I hope you realize,’ she said, ‘that no man has ever even held me in his arms before. I couldn’t you see. Because I belong to the nation. Like Jasper Park or Niagara Falls.’
    ‘I do understand.’
    ‘I’m trying to help, that’s all.’
    She had Atuk back early the next afternoon for a lecture.
    ‘I think your trouble may be mental,’ she said.
    ‘Very likely. Many times the Old One has said—’
    ‘Well,’ she interrupted, taking a deep breath, ‘the first thing you must understand is that every human being from the beginning of time has possessed sexorgans and was produced as a result of sexual intercourse. Does that shock you?’
    Atuk whistled.
    ‘I thought it would. You must learn to think of your sex organ,’ she said, drawing a sketch on the blackboard, ‘as being just as common as your hands, your heart, or your pectoral muscles. If you analyse the penis as you analyse the function of any other part of your body you will find that it’s made up of essentially the same kind of materials.’
    ‘I’m going to love it in Toronto,’ Atuk said.
    ‘What?’
    ‘Nothing,’ he said, hastily pouring himself another gin and carrot juice.
    ‘Then, to quote Dr Parks, if you analyse the sex act itself in the same clear-thinking way, you will see that this simple function is no more mysterious or filthy than eating, breathing, or urinating.’
    After the lecture Bette shed her smock and was revealed in the most provocative silk pyjamas. Her work clothes, she called them off-handedly, and she at once engaged Atuk in a series of