It's Bliss (7 page)

“
I vote for Miss Billie Bliss as the fourth participant,” Hal stated firmly.

“
I second it,” Robert and Nettie said at the same time.

Sheldon raised his brows. “All right, but if she turns the project upside down, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“
In that case, Nettie said, holding back a smile, I vote that Sheldon be the one who works with Miss Bliss.”

“
I certainly second that,” Hal said.

“
I couldn’t agree more,” added Robert, emphatically.

“
You can’t mean it!” Sheldon exclaimed, panicking at the thought.

“
We do,” Robert said, and the other two nodded their agreement. All three grinned, enjoying Sheldon’s discomfort.

“
This isn’t fair, you three are ganging up on me.” Sheldon half laughed, half groaned.

“
Oh no, Shel, we just feel that you are the one who can help this young lady,” Nettie said, with exaggerated fervor.

“
She may need help, but, I assure you, I’ll need more if I take her on.”

We’re all here to help, Sheldon,” Robert said, struggling to keep a straight face. “We’ll all have lots of good advice for you.” Another wave of laughter engulfed the three.

“
All right, all right, you’ve had your fun. Which ones are you going to work with?”

“
We don’t know them, so it’s a toss of a coin. Just hand us a questionnaire of one of the other three we agreed upon,” Hal suggested.

Sheldon looked at the remaining questionnaires and handed one to each of them. “I might point out,” he said feeling very pleased, “these four have all chosen business as their major.”

Deciding he had better close the meeting before they came up with any more unwanted suggestions for him, Sheldon said, “The Dean has given permission for us to use the lounge in the Franklin building for our meetings.

What do you think?”

“
That sounds good, Sheldon,” Robert said. “It’s on school grounds and yet it’s more comfortable than a classroom and more friendly, so to speak.”

“
Good. The next order of business is to decide how we’re going to introduce them to the program, and how we’re going to proceed with them individually and as a group,” Sheldon said. “Now, how about a bowl of ice cream?”

Thursday evening at 7:00, Billie’s phone rang. Deep in thought while writing a paper, she only became conscious of it when it rang again. Reaching for it, she answered distractedly, “Hello?”

“
Hello, Miss Bliss, this is Dr. Ackerman.”

“
Dr. Ackerman?” Billie asked, startled—suddenly alert.

“
I’m calling in regard to the questionnaire you filled out Monday.”

“
Yes?”

“
The committee has chosen you to be one of the four participants in the program. I’ve spoken to the other three who have been chosen, and they were all delighted to accept. How do you feel about being chosen?”

“
I don’t know.”

Sheldon had prepared himself before he called her, so he wasn’t too surprised at her response.

“
I know this is late notice, Miss Bliss, but the group is meeting tomorrow night. Uh . . . when do you suppose you will know?”

“
I don’t know.”

“
Can you explain why you don’t know?”

“
Dr. Ackerman, did you notice on the paper I handed you that I only put down one goal, which is owning a business of my own?”

“
Let me see, I have it right here. Oh yes, I see that.”

“
Did you also notice that I stated that that goal was plan B?”

“
Yes, I see that,” he said, wondering why there wasn’t a plan A.

“
That’s why I wonder if it would be fair of me to accept.”

Sheldon could feel things getting sticky. “Miss Bliss, I think we could understand one another better if we were to discuss this in person. Is that all right with you?”

“
Yes, Dr. Ackerman.”

“
Is there somewhere we could meet?”

“
You’re welcome to come over here to my little apartment.”

“
Uh . . . no. The school would not approve of that,” he said, feeling grateful for Robert’s advice about this very thing. “Would it be possible for you to come up to my office right now?”

Billie looked at her unfinished paper and sighed. “All right. I only live a block from the campus, so I’ll be there soon.”

“
Thank you, Miss Bliss. I wouldn’t ask you come up tonight, but it’s important that the project gets started right away.”

“
I understand. I’ll see you in a few minutes. Oh, Dr. Ackerman, may I come just as I am—very casual?”

“
That will be fine, Miss Bliss.”

Sheldon, relieved to have this part out of the way, smiled as he hung up the phone. Immediately, he got up from his desk and went to the mini-blinds on the door window and opened them.

Seventeen minutes later, professor and student were facing each other across the professor’s desk. Sheldon noted that Miss Bliss was dressed casually, as she said, in knee-length shorts with a man’s shirt over them.

Miss Bliss noticing his examination of the shirt, hastened to explain. “This was my father’s shirt. You see he has auburn hair also.” Her professor looked puzzled, so she explained further. “Hunter green is my favorite color and also my father’s. It enhances our hair, Papa says. I coveted this shirt, so he gave it to me.”

Sheldon, now looking at her hair, discovered that, indeed, it was auburn.

He hadn’t noticed before. She had it pulled up off her neck with some kind of a clip, the underside ballooning, making it look like an old-fashioned style with tendrils of hair escaping here and there. Quite an enchanting hair-do, he decided. Suddenly realizing that he had been staring at her hair for some time, he quickly stated the obvious. “Uh . . . yes, I see that your hair is, uh, indeed, auburn.”

He cleared his throat. “Now, Miss Bliss, let’s try the best we can to understand one another. You said on the phone it wouldn’t be fair for you to be a participant in the program. Would you please tell me why?”

“
Because my goal to own a business is only plan B.”

“
So what is plan A?”

“
It’s was, not is, Dr. Ackerman.”

“
All right, what was plan A?”

“
I really hesitate to say.”

Sheldon Ackerman, feeling edgy, said, “Miss Bliss, you must have wanted to tell me to bring up plan A in the first place.”

“
No, I don’t want to tell you,” she said matter-of-factly. “It only explains why I don’t think it’s fair for me . . .”

“
Tell me, Miss Bliss,” he ordered. She looked at him, shocked. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, “please tell me.”

“
Plan A was . . . getting married and having children.”

Sheldon wondered why he hadn’t guessed, but still puzzled, he asked, “Then why don’t you go with plan A? Apparently you want to do that more than plan B.”

“
Yes, I did, but now it’s out of the question.”

“
I’m sure you’ll get an opportunity to get married, Miss Bliss, if you’re patient.”

“
I’ve already had several opportunities, Dr. Ackerman, but it’s out of the question.”

“
Why?”

“
As I asked once before, how many weeks do you have?”

“
Why can’t you just come right out and say it?” he blurted out in frustration.

“
I can, Dr. Ackerman,” she stated, wide eyed, “but you wouldn’t understand any more than my family does.”

“
Can we . . . uh, circumvent this, and you tell me in another way why it would be unfair to accept the program?”

Billie thought a minute. “I won’t be as dedicated a student of the program as you would like me to be, because owning a business is not my number one desire.”

“
But you’ve made the decision to go with plan B, haven’t you?”

“
Yes.”

Sheldon sighed with relief. “Well, Miss Bliss, that is dedicated enough to participate.”

“
It is?”

“
Yes.” He found himself smiling.

“
All right, I’ll be a participant.”

Sheldon Ackerman’s sense of relief, though silent, was no less profound than a climber finding a sure footing on a cliff.

The Franklin lounge was for faculty use only. Its soft, muted colors of blue and rose made the room feel pleasant and comfortable. Upholstered chairs and couches were placed at one end of the room, and a small conference table encircled by blue padded chairs, was at the other.

The only disharmony in the room was Sheldon Ackerman. Nervousness had set in and he was pacing back and forth. He was now wondering if taking on this program was utter foolishness. In his experience, limited though it was, he had found women complicated and unpredictable. And Billie Bliss seemed determined to take that to a completely new level. Disaster, he feared, lurked just around the corner.

“
Shel, you’re here already,” Nettie said, entering the room.

“
Nettie, it’s good to see you,” he said, relief written all over his face.

“
She studied Sheldon’s face. “What’s the matter, Shel, getting cold feet?”

“
I’m afraid so, Nettie. In fact, I’m sure they’re both frostbitten. Working with the opposite sex isn’t my area of expertise, I’m afraid.”

Just then, the rest of the committee walked in, bringing more support to the beleaguered professor. After greeting each other, they sat down and quickly went over the agenda.

“
Excuse me,” came a sweet, dulcet voice from the open doorway, “Dr. Ackerman?”

They all turned to see the first of the four participants—a strikingly beautiful young woman. Nettie, Robert and Hal noted her gorgeous auburn hair, her large, milk chocolate brown eyes, and her creamy complexion.

Sheldon stood up and walked to the doorway. “Do come in, Miss Bliss.” He glanced at his watch and saw that it was exactly seven o’clock. “You’re right on time.”

At the mention of Billie’s name, the other three looked quickly at one another conveying a message that clearly said, “So this is the girl who has Sheldon all twisted up!”

He led her over to the group, who all stood up as Sheldon introduced her to each one. “Miss Bliss, this is Mrs. Nettie Newman. She and her husband, Don, own the Diet Center, Dr. Robert Bittle, a prominent psychologist, and Dr. Hal Ozog, one of Claytonville’s most outstanding family practice physicians, newly retired. And this is Miss Billie Bliss who has accepted the opportunity to participate in Project Success.”

Billie was impressed. Each smiled warmly, shook her hand, and commented on how happy he or she was to have her in the group.

Sheldon noticed with satisfaction that Miss Bliss was tastefully dressed in an emerald green dress with an ivory jacket over it. Her hair was pulled up into the same charming style as last night.

The three other girls soon arrived, all dressed in pants. Vickie Blume, Jane Bentley, and Sandra Potter were introduced, then the four girls greeted each other.

It was decided that they all assemble around the table. Dr. Ackerman began the meeting by welcoming the girls and explaining that the committee was a group of successful, community-minded people, who were presently donating their time and expertise to help young women who want to succeed in their chosen field or in the business world. He then explained that they would be working as a group and that they would also be individually guided and supported by one of the committee.

As planned, Nettie then explained the first goal of the project. “As a woman in what is now a successful business, I have learned some valuable rules of success—most of them by trial and error. One of the first things I learned was that we women seem to feel better about ourselves when we’re pleased with our appearance. Do you all agree?” The girls all nodded.

“
Appearance is many faceted. A few of the facets are good grooming, the glow of good health from eating right, getting the proper rest and exercise, and inner happiness, and so on.”

Nettie then asked each girl to write down on a piece of paper her most pressing concern, and hand it to her, which they did. Nettie read each one silently, then announced the results. They had unanimously agreed it was their weight.

After Nettie encouraged the girls to ask any question that might be on their minds, Sheldon asked Hal and Robert to say a few words to the them.

When they had done this, Nettie informed the girls that the first thing on the agenda, since weight control was their main concern, was to get a medical examination, then go to her diet center and confer with her concerning a nutrition and exercise program. Nettie explained that it all could be done tomorrow, Saturday, if they had time, because Dr. Ozog had arranged with a physician friend in advance to do the examinations at no cost.

Sheldon then explained to the four young women that, when they felt their appearance was what they wanted it to be, the next thing on the agenda was personal help and guidance with their career goals. Until then, he told them that they would be meeting with their counselor as often as mutually agreed upon and would meet as a group every Friday night at 7:00 here in the lounge.