My Kind of Town
>> Kahala Mandarin Oriental Lying for a living
Somewhere in the world there may be a lot of 27-year-old virgins, somewhere like Afghanistan where a perversion of a perfectly fine religion rules and women are circumcised. But here in the U.S. of A. that Lt. Col. Chuck Ryan spent his entire adult life defending, well, times have changed. At the moment, Ryan thought he might have been sitting with America's last remaining 27-year-old virgin, and certainly the most beautiful.
"And I intend to remain a virgin until my wedding night," Fawn Nakamura added.
"Good for you," Ryan said. "I admire that. I really do." And thinking, Sweet Jesus, let it me be!
Fawn was not accustomed to such a positive, even encouraging response from men. "To be honest, Chuck, my being a virgin -- or at least my vow to be a virgin on my wedding day -- turns off most guys, even those I've met at church."
A waitress brought their tea --Fawn had Dragon Phoenix Jasmine Pearls, Ryan the Sing Bulli Estates Darjeeling.
"So tell me, Fawn, do you want to get married?"
"Of course!"
"And what are you looking for?"
"He must be a gentleman, strong of character and physically strong too. Intelligent, sensitive."
She's talking about moi, Ryan thought.
"And a sense of humor."
He'd already made her laugh and smile.
"I would need to know that he would not only be a good husband, but also a good father."
I can do that, Ryan thought. I have done it, and well, judging from the way Becky turned out.
"And of course honesty."
Ah, that. He had not mentioned to her that he was Lt. Col. Chuck Ryan, Navy intelligence officer. To Fawn he was "Chuck Ryan -- International Investments and Head-Hunting -- Baltimore," as printed on his business cards. He had not mentioned that lying was part of his job, or that he wanted to keep her pure and apart from the shadows in which he worked. He wanted to be warmed by the white, angelic light that seemed to radiate from Fawn's heart. And he wanted to be a significant part of her wedding night. If that happened then he could tell her his truth. "Of course," he said. "Honesty is so important between friends."
"Yes," she said. From what she knew about Chuck Ryan, he had just about every quality she was looking for.
And yes, he was old enough to be her father, but in her heart that was mattering less and less.
Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek.
His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin
with weekly summaries on Sunday.
He can be emailed at dchapman@midweek.com