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An assistant approached them, and Stella waved him away, waiting to catch Mr. Patton’s eye. When he finished with his customer, he went back to his storeroom, and Mrs. Patton came out. She straightened bottles on the shelves for a moment, then signaled with her hand.
Stella took Clara’s hand and walked behind the wooden counter, following Mrs. Patton’s gray bun.The womanwas as petite as Stella, but round and soft.
Mortified, Clara wished to disappear when Stella asked to see the phallus collection, and the older woman’s spotted, plump hands took down case after case from the shelves. She laid them out on the wooden countertop, then opened the polished boxes one by one, revealing a variety of sizes and colors.
Mrs. Patton’s usual beneficent look didn’t alter as she described each one, wrinkles crinkling around her eyes with amusement at Clara’s wide-eyed consideration of the goods.
“What of this one, Clara?” Stella asked, lifting a rosewood phallus of medium size out of its velvet-lined box.
“A very fine choice.” Mrs. Patton nodded sagely. “It’s from France. The highest quality, the very highest, oh yes.” Her diminutive hands took it from Stella’s and closed over the rounded end, opposite from the tip. “Not all of them have bollocks. A helpful feature, making for an easier grasp, my lady.” She moved it back and forth to demonstrate.
She handed it to Clara, who eyed it as if she were picking up a live snake. Swallowing, she lifted it up for closer inspection, squinting as she examined the rounded part. She tapped the wooden bump representing testicles. “Are they truly so small?”
Mrs. Patton tittered kindly; Stella burst out laughing.
“This part”—Mrs. Patton pointed to the shaft and nodded—“is of a good size. These down here are not. Only a form to hold on to.”
Clara placed it back into its case. She accepted the women’s guidance, choosing the polished rosewood.
Next, Mr. Patton counseled Clara in the selection and use of the medicinals that would help avoid conception.
Clara left the apothecary in possession of the rosewood member and the required oils with which to use it—and the sense that her horizons had expanded considerably.
