Olivia folded her hands in front of her as she walked through the crowded streets of London. Her shoes crunched on the wet debris that mixed with the filth and rain water. Two men were shouting at one another and she ducked her head as she stepped around them.
Every step along these streets reminded her that she was not far from living on them, if she did not succeed in landing the job she was about to all but beg for. She was not above begging, but she did not think Dr. Droll would be impressed by such behavior and she knew he was not the kind of man that gave second chances, if this impression proved below his standards.
She found the doorway to his ward of the university and hospital. A horse pulled a carriage by behind her and she waited for the sound to vanish before she reached for the door. There were not many forms of employment available to eighteen year old girls in 1800’s London. If she failed to convince the doctor that she could serve him properly, she would be serving other men for less money improperly in dark alleys within a week.
She stepped inside and scuffed her feet clean on the edge of the first step. Tracking mud and filth into his office or operating theater would not begin the meeting the way she would like. Another girl with clean shoes would end up being Dr. Droll’s assistant in her place.
Olivia moved forward between rooms. The doors were labeled with numbers, but not names. She had not been told a number. Olivia swallowed. Maybe figuring out this puzzle was part of her first test.
Olivia heard voices behind a door and opening it.
A man stood in partial profile with his fists on his hips as he stood naked in the center of the room. He was bare naked except for a derby perched on top of his head. His manhood stood out from his body in a severe, pink curve. Olivia had seen them before though she had never partaken in the pleasures or duties of the flesh herself. She had watched her sister in secret many times. This was larger than any of the erect members she had ever witnessed in all her sister’s sinful acts.
A group of men in white coats stood around him in a semi-circle. Other, younger men on risers sat and appeared to sketch what they witnessed.
One of the doctors near the naked man held what appeared to be a sextant down over the curve of the stiff member. Olivia wondered if they were using it to navigate or perhaps measure the distance to the sun. It was quite large and imposing.
The doctor performing the measurement said, “It was Michelangelo who first discovered that it was blood vessels which filled to change the penis from flaccid to stout. Previously, it was believed that heated air from lustful thoughts inflated the penis. Now it is the pelvic bone that provides the foundation for the thrust when penetrating a woman’s orifices. Please, demonstrate.”
The naked man drove his hips forward and back wagging his balls. Olivia imagined herself bent over in front of him taking those thrusts the way her sister seemed to enjoy so.
The doctor said, “Dear, in or out, please, make a choice.”
Olivia realized the doctor was talking to her.
***
The naked man continued his carnal pantomime and said, “Come along, girl, and I’ll let you get both in and out over and over, I will.”
Olivia blushed. “Oh, I’m not here for … I’m here to meet with Dr. Droll. He is expecting me.”
“Down the hall on the left,” the doctor said.
The naked man winked at her. “If you’re sure you want to go, that is.”
The doctor said, “Close the door. We are conducting science.”
Olivia closed the door and took a deep breath. She continued down the hall as instructed. “Which door on the left?” She whispered to herself. Her voice echoed back to her harshly off the walls of the corridor.
She took a deep breath and smelled chemicals she couldn’t identify, but