Having sworn off chocolate croissants and sex in the interests of intellectual pursuits, Mr Timberland was finding the physical manifestation of a warm, oozing chocolate chip muffin a difficult temptation to rise above. ("Above which to rise", he corrected pedantically, leaving Carnivorous Cow concerned at the loudness of her thinking.)
She broke a piece off, and savoured it slowly. "Mmmm...." she lowed, "It's really good. Have some!"
Mr Timberland shook his head resolutely. The skinny body he yearned for did not yet gloat back at him, neither from his bed nor from his mirror, and so he resisted. They spoke instead of the interview he'd conducted with Prof. Habitus a quarter of a century ago, and was now finally transcribing. Carnivorous Cow broke off another piece, her face the screen upon which her enjoyment played out. It was a really tasty muffin.
Finally, he could resist no longer. Mr Timberland broke off the tiniest fragment and quickly stuffed it into his mouth. It *was* good! "Have some more!" offered Carnivorous Cow, but he leapt up as if scalded and started edging towards the door. "No, no!" he trilled, feet shuffling nervously, eyes still fixed on the remnants of the muffin.
Outside, he fixed her with his steely resolve, and declared solemnly that what women *really* want is a man who'll say no. Carnivorous Cow regarded him bemusedly. "Isn't that it?" he insisted, "the message of The Thorn Birds? Women want what they can't have - be it a priest or a pair of shoes."
Carnivorous Cow mulled over this back in her office. To be honest, she didn't quite see the analogy. Having a muffin, and offering to share, didn't quite translate in her mind into wanting what one could not have. Though, she admitted, wanting what one *should* not have was common enough - the problem usually manifesting once one had it rather than in the wanting. Psychologists, dieticians and divorce lawyers existed, as a result.
She couldn't recall if the protagonist in The Thorn Birds ever got the priest or not - it was one of those books her friends read aloud during break times at school... well, at least the juicy bits - and wasn't quite sure what "having" constituted anyway, in Mr Timberland's assertion. But something else dawned on her as she pondered - was Mr Timberland suggesting that, by refusing more of the muffin, he was increasing in desirability?