Volume 2, Chapter 3

McDuff and I meet at the pub where he bought me a drink after my ordeal earlier in the year. I make it plain that I am buying. I ask him if he would like a rusty nail, the cocktail we supped last time, or something else. He says he would prefer Scotch, so I ask at the bar for the most expensive single malt they have, seeing that they don’t have all that much, and order a Whisky Sour for myself. While we are waiting for the drinks to be brought over, we start to talk in an inconsequential fashion but then I tell him that Aroha has told me, very briefly, what prompted his resignation.

“We don’t have to talk about it, unless you want to,” I say, cautiously.

I am in difficult territory here but I don’t want to prejudge and I feel some sympathy for him. I am used to living dangerously and I am unconventional amongst the unconventional. We pause as the drinks arrive.

“I don’t know,” he replies. “It is a sad and sorry tale.”

“Did the student make a formal complaint?”

“Not the student in question, no. Her boyfriend or ex-boyfriend did.”

“Really? And did the young woman support his complaint?”

“I don’t know exactly. She wrote something that confirmed the basic facts, I suppose.”

“Didn’t they provide you with her statement?”

“No. When I received a copy of the formal complaint I made an appointment with the Dean and offered my resignation and it all went rather quickly from there. After all, I was guilty.”

“What did the Dean say?”

“Oh, something about it being a messy business and maybe my resigning was for the best if that was my decision. He said it could be classified as early retirement and he would make sure that I was entitled to a retirement gratuity. He was, in a way, rather nice about it but seemed keen to wrap it up as quickly as possible.”

“Did you get any independent advice?”

“No. I felt too embarrassed to go to the Union. Do you think I should have?”

“Yes. Was someone from Human Resources there when you met the Dean?”

“I think so. A young man I had never seen before who didn’t say anything and just took notes.”

“I do think the process was rushed. Aroha would have handled it differently, I am sure. But that is water under the bridge, I suppose. How do you feel now?”

“I feel guilty but also bitter. I think I may have been set up. But Matilda seemed so genuine at the time.”

“Matilda?? And was the boyfriend called ‘Jason’?”

“Yes I think that was his name. Do you know them?”

“They were both in my graduate class in the first semester, and I seemed to have unintentionally helped them get together. I don’t think Matilda was setting you up. Perhaps she was trying to get away from Jason in some way. What happened? I don’t mean physical details,” I add hurriedly.

“She was in my ‘Relations between the sexes in modern film’ graduate course, which, as you know, is cross-listed with the Gender Studies Programme. It was just before the final essay was due and she emailed me to ask if she could look in and discuss some questions she had. I was at home looking at my computer and replied saying I wasn’t in the office and invited her to say what was on her mind by email or by phone. She asked if she could drop by my house and I agreed. I shouldn’t have done that should I?”

“No you shouldn’t. But go on.”

“Well, she arrived in a long coat, which she took off immediately. She was wearing a short sleeveless dress, figure hugging you might say.”

“Black?” I ask, with an ironic grin.

“No, kind of red, maroon, I think.”

“And so she seduced you?”

“Well, yes. But I didn’t put up much of a fight. It was all over as soon as she took off her coat. We were having simple, sweet sex in the bedroom within about half an hour.”

“Protected, I hope.”

“Yes, she had a condom.”

“SHE had a condom. I take it none of these details were discussed in your meeting with the Dean.

“No, but I was still guilty.”

“Yes, you were. Not wanting to lecture you, but the teacher pupil relationship is a power relationship. And, however proactive Matilda was, you needed to be the responsible one. You made a big mistake.”

McDuff is silent and morose.

“But power relations are complex,” I add, to soften the judgement. “The teacher-pupil relationship is one dimension of the overall circumstance. Beauty is power. Money is power. Masculinity in our society is power. Social standing is power. Certain age differences and the different level of experience that may go with them can affect power. Suppose the teacher is a young inexperienced woman and the pupil is a rich, influential male film star who is a little older and is confident and experienced. It is clear where the power imbalance is there.”

“Hardly my situation.”

“Yes. Indeed. Sorry. But my point is that circumstances can be very diverse.”

My mind moves to another thought. I wonder how Matilda feels about it all, now. She might be feeling very guilty and probably resents Jason’s actions, finding the whole business intensely embarrassing and stressful. I will try to meet up with her, I think.

“Did she complete the course?”

“Yes. I had already marked her essay and given her an A when the complaint came in. A colleague was assigned to blind second mark it and came up with an A+ and her mark was raised.”

“Oh well, that is good.” I mean it was good she completed her course but I am also thinking it was a good sign the grade was raised rather than lowered. Even so, assigning a grade after sex is well out of bounds. We carry on chatting about his financial situation and other matters for a little while and then I leave, but not before giving McDuff a supportive hug. I could be criticised for that!

Back at home, I ponder what I have learned. I don’t believe for one moment that Matilda set him up. She behaved badly assuming what McDuff said is true, which I tend to believe, and McDuff behaved badly too. Jason was the immediate cause of the crisis but he was almost certainly acting out of extreme jealousy. He was a man in love. It was just a mess. But stuff happens in life, as I know from experience.

I will contact Matilda. I have her university email address and let’s see if I have her phone number from the time she and Jason were here for lunch early in the year. Yes, here it is. A text message is probably best. I’ll keep it short.

“Hi, Matilda. R U still around? Can we meet to catch up? Inka”