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1Part Twelve: The First Month
The next morning, Meryn woke up at about 8:30, much earlier than she usually did on a Sunday, but there were new circumstances in her home to which she found herself unexpectedly excited. She got up and put on a long robe over her nightgown, and cautiously peered out into the livingroom. The couch was empty, and there were no sheets or blankets. Had Jeremy decided to forget the whole thing and leave? After all this, that would be a major disappointment. She then heard noise in the kitchen.
“Good morning Miss Meryn.” A fully dressed and smiling Jeremy greeted her as she entered the kitchen. “I didn’t know when you might be getting up, but I have a breakfast of blueberry pancakes all set to make for you whenever you’re ready to eat.”
Meryn decided to take a quick shower while he made the pancakes, which he served her when she returned. She noticed that he had taken none, and when she asked, he replied that he never ate breakfast. She wondered if that was always the case, or just in the last week. She decided not to press the matter, as he joined her for coffee.
Later that day, he did go to his apartment and brought back a couple of days worth of clothes and other necessary items. Several days quickly became every day, and a routine began to develop. He continued to be diligent and meticulous in performing all the household chores, always making sure that Meryn never had to lift a finger at home unless she insisted. He always woke up before her, stripped the couch, then showered in the bathroom off the second bedroom that had been converted into a computer room. He then prepared and served her breakfast, joining her for coffee only.
As he had to be at school before she had to be in her office, he left before her, but was always home first in the evening. He would begin to prepare dinner, and then greet her at the door when she arrived home. The first order of business was then to bring her a large cold drink in the living room, and proceed onto her daily foot massage.
This had rapidly become Meryn’s favorite part of the day. While she had to admit that the foot massages in themselves were heavenly, she came to value her conversations with him during them even more. She usually began by discussing her day at work, and was continually amazed at how he always seemed to lead her to have a fresh and different outlook at things. He was anything but an expert in her type of work, but he seemed to have an intuitive sense in how to put information together, and his observations, which she began to actively solicit, helped her immensely at work in putting her best foot forward.
His dinners continued to be exceptional, even after she suggested that they begin to have simpler fare as she was afraid that the gourmet type meals he had been preparing might begin to bankrupt them. She continued to insist that they split all household expenses fifty-fifty, although she paid her entire rent, and made sure that he not give up his apartment. His portions at dinner remained very small, and at the end of the second week he had lost another eight pounds, and an additional seven by the end of the third. While he was very disappointed with the decreasing amounts he was losing each week, she reassured him that she was very pleased with his progress, and thirty four pounds lost in three weeks was tremendous.
At he end of each night, after Jeremy had finished his evening chores, during which Meryn would watch TV, read a book, or talk to friends on the phone, she made a daily ritual of his adoration of her feet. She began to call this his evening devotional. Before going to bed, she would summon him, and he would kneel before her, and begin his veneration. This was her second most favorite time of the day, and she came to believe that she enjoyed having her feet kissed almost as much as he enjoyed kissing them. During this time, he would always find new and creative words through which to offer his devotion as his lips traversed the length and breath of her feet. He would first thank her for permitting him to so worship her. He would then express his profound gratitude for having been given the opportunity to serve her that day. He would always end by humbly begging her to be allowed to continue to serve her again the next day. As she would say goodnight, she would always respond to him in the affirmative. She would not yet allow herself to contemplate the time in the future when she would eventually have to say no. That was not for now. As Jeremy would leave to go to bed on the couch, and she nestled under her own covers, she invariably went to sleep with a smile.
Meryn hadn’t talked to Natasha for over two weeks after that first night when she had met Jeremy, but she ran into her one day at work. Natasha voiced her concern that Meryn had been avoiding her, and apologized to her once again for trying to foist a loser like Jeremy on her. Meryn replied that on the contrary, things had, and were going very nicely with Jeremy, and she thanked Natasha for making the introduction. Natasha immediately became very interested, and began pumping Meryn for information, but Meryn remained very sparing in her details. For some reason she just didn’t want to go into depth about the developing relationship, especially with Natasha. When Natasha continued to press, Meryn suggested that they meet the following day for lunch.
“Meri, you have to tell me what’s going on.” Natasha insisted as their lunch was served to them at a café near to the office the next day. “It’s only fair. After all, I supplied him for you.”
Meryn was actually enjoying having Natasha beg her for information for a change. “It’s just like you said Tash. Jeremy is absolutely fantastic when it comes to housework. He doesn’t allow me to do a thing.” She then went on to describe many of the domestic duties that he performed so admirably.
“I’m not interested in your laundry, Meri. You know that.” Natasha snorted after listening to this litany for a while. “I want to know what’s really going on”
Meryn had no desire to tell Natasha about Jeremy’s nightly devotional. Somehow that was just too personal. Still she did think it reasonable to offer, “He does give me the most wonderful foot massages every day.”
“Finally something worthwhile.” Natasha muttered under her breath.
“And, of course, as you know, he’s the most fabulous cook.”
This brought Natasha up short. “No, I didn’t know that.” She admitted. “I never had him cook for me. Of course it wouldn’t come as a great surprise to anyone that Jeremy has a way with food.”
Before Meryn could reply to this snide remark, Natasha went on. “That’s one area where Scott is still woefully deficient. He’s still a terrible cook, and he pays dearly for that , let me tell you. Still I’d be careful if I were you Meri. You don’t want the whale harpooning you with too many great meals or you might start packing it on just like him.
Meryn had been annoyed with Natasha’s original remark, and now she was really upset. She started to retort about all the weight Jeremy had lost, but then held back as a better idea occurred to her. She would let Natasha discover that for herself, and it would give Jeremy an opportunity to outshine Scott in something.
“As you can see Tash, I’m not very comfortable talking about all this.” She began. “Why don’t you and Scott come over to my place for dinner on Saturday, and you can see for yourself what’s going on.”
Natasha thought that was a great idea, and they finished their lunch by agreeing to meet at Meryn’s place on Saturday night.
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