Ella, a hot-blooded woman

Ella

A hot-blooded woman

I worked for the telephone company for many years and in that time I met and came to know hundreds of people. There was basically the good, the bad and the ugly all working there. My primary job those first few years was in the Directory Assistance office. However, there was a period of time that I was bounced around into other departments so frequently I felt like a tennis ball.

It was during one of the times I was loaned to the long distance department that I met and came to know Ella. At first glance, Ella looked extremely reserved and modest. Also for the first few shifts that I worked with her, she acted just as she looked, very modest.

We started talking late one night when the calls slowed down and we had little to occupy our minds. She asked me if I had a boyfriend and I told her I was dating a guy named James and I really liked him a lot but he had some issues that I found to be roadblocks to any long time relationship. He wanted us to get more serious but I saw some red flags that had me concerned. Then I asked, “Do you have a boyfriend?” This is when I learned not to ask any question unless you are prepared for the answer. I just was not prepared for her answer.

Ella said, “yes, I have many boyfriends!” At first I giggled because I thought she was acting silly. Then I looked over at her face and I realized she was serious. She added, “to be exact, right now I have 6 boyfriends, but they do not all know about each other.” At that point I was shocked but not nearly as shocked as I was about to be.

I still thought she was just joking, but she was not. Our conversation stopped for a few minutes as we each got customer calls and had to connect these people through to whoever they were calling. Once we slowed down, Ella began talking again. Somehow, I think she had come to trust me over the past few weeks and needed someone to talk to about her situation. Ella said, “First there is my oldest boyfriend, his name is Winston. I have been seeing him since I was 16 and we get along great!” “Winston is easy going and he really knows how to make love to a girl. He just wants a night or two here and there when I am willing and able to come by. Winston is the one who is wise enough to know that he probably is not the only one!” 

I sat there listening but looking straight at the switchboard because I was feeling so uneasy and oddly enough I was afraid I would laugh out of nervousness if I looked her way. I took a couple more calls and when those were completed, Ella continued with boyfriend number two. Jeff was number 2, he worked at a local hospital as a pulmonary therapist. He was muscular and macho. She had been seeing him for a couple of years. They went on dates and overnight trips from time to time. He was very passionate. Jeff was strong, virile and always ready to go. She said that if he was the marrying kind, she could possibly fall in love with him. He was not the marrying kind, so they both knew what their relationship was all about. The 3rd boyfriend, Charlie, actually worked at the telephone company with us. When she told me who it was I was totally shocked. They had been to bed 3 or 4 times and she said he was good but no comparison to Jeff.  Then she told me about a local businessman, Thomas, who was married and he was number 4. This guy was well known and he did his own ads on TV. She had been seeing him off and on for about 4 years. She wanted to break it off with him several times but he just would not let her go.

Then there was Curtis (#5) who worked for Liberty National Insurance and came to our workplace from time to time to offer discounted policies to us. She was still in the early stages with him and said she had held him off now as long as she could. So they had plans to consummate their relationship on Tuesday of this week. She said she gets all giddy and excited as she anticipates the first time with a new guy. So she was looking forward to Tuesday night, she would be off and she would be with Curtis.

Finally there was number 6, Cory and he was the best of them all. Cory was wild and crazy and would try anything. She said that is how she liked them. He loved all forms of loving and that made her very happy. She always looked forward to their nights together so much. She said, "Unlike the others, every time I am with Cory it is as good as the first time". She said “Cory holds the key to my heart!”

I was dumbfounded by then and actually had a headache. I said “Ella, why don’t you drop all of them except Cory?”  I added, "or how about Jeff, you seem to care about him too". 

I told her I did not see how she juggled six men. I said I would be miserable and a nervous wreck just thinking about it. I asked her what kind of guy was she looking for to marry. Did she ever want to find true love and get married or was she going to live her life with this balancing act forever. 

Ella laughed at me. She felt that I did not understand life at all. She seemed to pity me actually. When she finished responding to my questions, I felt naive, silly and uninformed. 

She was only about five years older than me. She was very attractive but she always dressed very basic and modest. You could still see her beautiful figure but you would never have guessed that she was so hot blooded to look at her.

I was blown away by her words that night and even today I do not know how she lived her life. But it was the life she really wanted. Seems like to me she would be confused and exhausted all of the time. She said it was a life of excitement, nice gifts, wonderful days and nights. She said it feels so good when you have that many guys who want you every single day and night. It was her life and hers to live as she chose. But the rest of the days I worked with her on the switchboard, all I could think of was her 6 guys and her life. It turns out Ella never married and never had any children.

Ella passed away about two years ago, she was one month away from her 70th birthday. I saw her obituary and went to the wake. As I stood there at the funeral home I looked at every man there and wondered if he was a relative or a lover.