Honey’s grades improved dramatically, and she was suddenly even more popular than her sisters had been in their high school days. Honey was dined at the Private Eye and the Bombay Bicycle Club, and taken to the Ice Capades at the Memphis Mall. The boys took her skiing at Cedar Cliff and sky diving at Landis Airport.
Honey’s years at college were just as successful socially. At dinner one evening, her father said, “You’ll be graduating soon. It’s time to think about your future. Do you know what you want to do with your life?”
She answered immediately. “I want to be a nurse.”
Her father’s face reddened. “You mean a doctor.”
“No, Father. I…”
“You’re a Taft. If you want to go into medicine, you’ll be a doctor. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Father.”
Honey had meant it when she told her father she wanted to be a nurse. She loved taking care of people, helping them and nurturing them. She was terrified by the idea of becoming a doctor, and being responsible for people’s lives. But she knew that she must not disappoint her father. You’re a Taft.
Honey’s college grades were not good enough to get her into medical school, but her father’s influence was. He was a heavy contributor to a medical school in Knoxville, Tennessee. He met with Dr. Jim Pearson, the dean.
“You’re asking for a big favor,” Pearson said, “but I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll admit Honey on a probationary basis. If at the end of six months we feel she’s not qualified to continue, we’ll have to let her go.”
“Fair enough. She’s going to surprise you.”
He was right.
Honey’s father had made arrangements for her to stay in Knoxville with a cousin of his, the Reverend Douglas Lipton.
Douglas Lipton was the minister of the Baptist Church. He was in his sixties, married to a woman ten years older.
The minister was delighted to have Honey in the house.
“She’s like a breath of fresh air,” he told his wife.
He had never seen anyone so eager to please.
Honey did fairly well in medical school, but she lacked dedication. She was there only to please her father.
Honey’s teachers liked her. There was a genuine niceness about her that made her professors want her to succeed.
Ironically, she was particularly weak in anatomy. During the eighth week, her anatomy teacher sent for her. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to fail you,” he said unhappily.
I can’t fail, Honey thought. I can’t let my father down. What would Boccaccio have advised?
Honey moved closer to the professor. “I came to this school because of you. I had heard so much about you.” She moved closer to him. “I want to be like you.” And closer. “Being a doctor means everything to me.” And closer. “Please help me…”
One hour later, when Honey left his office, she had the answers to the next examination.
Before Honey was finished with medical school, she had seduced several of her professors. There was a help-lessness about her that they were unable to resist. They were all under the impression that it was they who were seducing her, and they felt guilty about taking advantage of her innocence.
Dr. Jim Pearson was the last to succumb to Honey. He was intrigued by all the reports he had heard about her. There were rumors of her extraordinary sexual skills. He sent for Honey one day to discuss her grades. She brought a small box of powdered sugar with her, and before the afternoon was over, Dr. Pearson was as hooked as all the others. Honey made him feel young and insatiable. She made him feel that he was a king who had subjugated her and made her his slave.
He tried not to think of his wife and children.
Honey was genuinely fond of the Reverend Douglas Lipton, and it upset her that his wife was a cold, frigid woman who was always criticizing him. Honey felt sorry for the minister. He doesn’t deserve that, Honey thought. He needs comforting.
In the middle of the night, when Mrs. Lipton was out of town visiting a sister, Honey walked into the minister’s bedroom. She was naked. “Douglas…”