My Parents in Law thought it would be good therapy for me if I put pen to paper and recount some more of the humiliation and punishment I have received at their hands. Good for the soul, they said. As if I need to write it down. The images are firmly embedded in my memory bank. And probably on my backside as well.
Well, let me continue. Firstly, my darling Michael did arrive home on the Monday as planned, and seemed none the wiser for the humiliation and punishment I had received from his parents, Ben and Jane. In fact he was clearly impressed with the amount of time I had spent with them over the weekend.
"Given how well you are getting on with my parents is a great relief to me," Michael commented, "I can relax while I am away knowing you are in good hands."
If only he knew what parts of my anatomy were receiving their 'good hands'.
Over the next week or so Michael and I visited his parents a number of times. Initially I was nervous inside their house. I kept getting distracted by flashback images of standing naked in my corner, or going over the lap of Jane or Ben. It had been an unreal experience that one does not easily erase from one's mind. However I soon relaxed as Ben and Jane behaved as if nothing had happened, and in fact went overboard to make me feel comfortable.
Almost two weeks had passed since that fateful weekend. It was a Thursday morning and I had not been at work long when I answered the phone. I was surprised to find it was Jane ringing me, as she had never contacted me at work before.
"Ben and I are expecting you for lunch. 12.30 sharp. Do not be late." It was clearly a command from Jane, not an invitation. "And tell your boss you are likely to be late back after lunch."
"Jane, I cannot do that," I pleaded, " My boss would be far from impressed."
"You may find him surprisingly agreeable," was Jane's response before promptly hanging up, leaving me dumbfounded. For a long while I held the phone to my ear, playing the conversation back over in my mind. Trying to make sense of it all. But like so much of my recent contact with my Parents in Law, it made no sense at all. Why the sudden lunch invitation? Was I to be punished? What had I done? Why not wait until after work? Why risk me getting into further trouble with my boss, especially as I had missed a day's work two weeks ago and my boss was clearly unimpressed with how late I had phoned up to advise him I would not be in.
My boss, Geoff Swift, is a University graduate who only joined the Company three months ago. I would guess his age at 21 or 22 years old. I am employed as his Research Analyst. To be honest I had applied for his role as I have been with this company for over three years and thought I had the necessary experience. I was hurt when they employed this young graduate instead. To make matters worse he was very good looking and it was sickening to see many of the women in the company making passes at him. As you may have well gathered, I am not a great fan of 'Mr Good Looking, Smarty Pants, Geoffrey Swift'. However I very much value my job, therefore are very careful not to get on the wrong side of my boss, despite my dislike of him.
For the next two hours I tried to focus on my work, but a maddening debate was swirling around in my head. I did not want to ask my boss for time off for a long lunch, but I also feared the consequences of letting down my Parents in Law. I did not know why Jane had phoned me out of the blue to request I be present for lunch, but I rationalised it must be important.
Finally I plucked up the courage to go into Geoff Swift's office. He was busy reading a report and I waited like a nervous child until he glanced up at me and raised one eyebrow in an enquiring manner. So bloody smug, I thought. I tried to sound confident as I asked for an extended lunch break
"And may I ask why?"
Why? Why? Bloody hell, I hadn't thought of why.
" I have a Doctor's appointment," I stammered. "Womanly problems," I added stupidly, hoping that would shut him up.
I was staggered when his response was a very big smile. "Take as long as you need to sort out your little problem."
The rest of the morning dragged by, minute by minute. At one point I glanced over at Geoff's office and he gave me a friendly little wave. I pretended I had not noticed him, and returned my attention to my computer screen that I had been staring at blankly for most of the morning. Is that little bastard trying to hit on me, I wondered, with him suddenly being all friendly towards me?
Finally it was midday, and although it was only a 15-minute drive to my Parents in Law's house I did not want to take any risks of being late. I had already suffered the consequences of being late, and I so wanted to impress my Parents in Law that I was well on the road to being the perfect Daughter in Law.
Not surprisingly I arrived at their house early so did my little trick of driving around the block a couple of times until it was almost 12.30 p.m. With some satisfaction I rang the doorbell at 12.29 p.m. Jane answered immediately and greeted me with a warm hug, which was repeated by Ben when I entered the house. I tried to act normal, but as you can well imagine I was confused as to why I was there. Surely they would not think of humiliating me and punishing me in the middle of my working day.
If Jane and Ben could see the confusion on my face they were ignoring it. The three of us made small talk while Jane continued to prepare lunch. Like the dutiful Daughter in Law I offered to help and was given the task of setting the table. Alarm bells rang in my head when Jane asked me to set the table for four persons. Visions of the humiliating John and Debbie incident flashed before my eyes, but I tried to blank them out. I was about to enquire whom the fourth person was going to be when the front door bell rang.
Ben answered the door and I heard him greeting a male visitor. I returned to my task of setting the table, and tried to hide my curiosity.
I just about dropped a plate on the floor when I heard a familiar voice greet me.
"Well, hello there Kym. What a surprise."
I swung around in terror and came face to face with......yes, you guessed it. My boss, Geoff Swift, looking all dapper in his designer jacket and trousers. My mouth hung open and I swear my heart stopped beating for several seconds.
"But....but...," was all I could muster. I looked to Ben and Jane for some sort of explanation. For what seemed an eternity Ben and Jane just stared back at me, smiling, and obviously not in a hurry to elaborate on why my boss was standing in the dining room of my Parents in Law.
"Lunch is ready. Be seated," Jane chanted, clearly not about to give any sort of explanation.
As I took my seat at the table I gave a pleading look at Ben, searching for answers. He shrugged his shoulders as if to say, 'Life is just full of its little surprises, isn't it.' That is for sure.
Geoff and my Parents in Law made polite conversation as the salad lunch was consumed. I remained silent, and deliberately focused on chasing my food around the plate. Somehow my appetite had waned. I could tell from the conversation that Geoff was a stranger to Ben and Jane, which only served to increase my apprehension.
"Sorry you are not well today, Kym," Geoff had turned his attention to me.
I looked back at him confused
"The Doctor," he smiled, "Womanly problem."
Suddenly I remembered my lame excuse, and flushed with embarrassment.
"Doctor? Womanly problems? What on earth are you two on about," Ben enquired.