Wilson's Hard Lesson (44 page)

The next morning, Maggie texted her sister, Jess, to help
prepare for her stay. Jess was aware to some extent of the dynamic her sister
and Paul had, but was not well acquainted with dominance and submission. Maggie
had explained to Jess that Paul was the head of the household and they had
agreed that he made the final decisions on things. She had also explained that
Paul had a few things he was very particular about in terms of how things were
done around the house. Beyond that though, Maggie had avoided talking too much
about the D/s component of her relationship with Jess.

She and Paul had a traditional civil ceremony at the
courthouse to satisfy the vanilla members of their family, and then held a
separate collaring ceremony with their kink friends. To Maggie, the collaring
ceremony held more significance to her than the civil wedding. Her collaring
had taken place with their closest friends. These were the people who were
aware for the full dynamics of their relationship and had supported and watched
it grow from a flirtation to full love. The vows she took at her collaring had more
meaning because these could not be severed by lawyers and were not dictated by
some state official. She and Paul had negotiated these and they represented
what both of them truly desired from the relationship.

Maggie had adopted a routine and certain ways of doing
things about the house to please Paul. While he could tolerate a break in this
routine for a week while she was away in Tampa for her human resources
conference, it would make things go more smoothly if she taught Jess a few
things.

She picked Jess up at ten and they headed out to Trader
Joe’s. Maggie made sure to pick up enough coffee beans and cream to more than
last the week. Paul had a morning and evening coffee ritual he had engaged in
their entire relationship: a cup of French press coffee in the morning, black;
a cup of French press coffee after dinner with a splash of cream. She also
picked up his favorite body wash and lotion. While it was normally her duty to
rub him down with the lotion after his evening shower, he would have to do that
for himself this week.

“Jess, while I am away can I ask you to do a couple of
special things around the house?” Maggie asked.

“Sure. What do you need, sis?” Jess replied.

“It’s pretty simple. Paul gets up at seven for work. Jasmine
is on spring break and I told Denver’s pre-school he would be out for the week
with his sister, so no need to get them up before nine. Paul likes a cup of
black coffee, French press of course, before work. If you can have that ready
for him by 7:30 that would be great. Also, after dinner he takes a second cup.
This time with just a splash of cream.”

“Ok, that’s easy.” Jess replied.

“Also, I will leave a list of menus on the fridge. You
should have everything you need to make dinners. We eat at 6:30 every night.
Jasmine is supposed to help with dishes after dinner. Don’t let her sass you.”
Maggie instructed.

“That will be a little harder. Jasmine is turning into a
firecracker!” Jess laughed.

“Finally, I will need you to pick up Paul’s suits and shirts
from the dry cleaner on Tuesday. The tag and the cash are pinned to the fridge.
I will be back Thursday night so I can get his suits to the cleaner for next
week.”

“No problem sis. Happy to be able to help out.”

Jess smiled at her sister. Jess knew she was probably too
eager to help out with the family. For some reason, Paul was ridiculously
attractive to her. She couldn’t put her finger on why. He was tall, dark hair
and dark eyes and his smile always made her happy. But it was something beyond
just basic physical attraction. There was something that happened to Jess when
she was around Paul that made her feel girly and flirtatious and safe all at
once. She knew she would never act on these feelings because she adored her
sister, but she liked the secret giddy rush she got when they all hung out
together.

* * * * *

They got back to Maggie’s house and unloaded the car. As
Jess helped put the groceries away she was amazed at the organization of her
sister’s kitchen. There were no Tupperware containers of questionable leftovers
in the fridge. The ones that were there bore masking tape with the date the
food was prepared. There were no fruits and vegetables past their prime. No
open containers of half-eaten Chinese food. This was so remarkably different
than Jess’s own fridge she seriously wondered how Maggie managed to do this
with two kids and a real job.

She and Maggie went to prepare the den where Jess would
sleep.

“Would you mind grabbing the plaid sheets from the linen
closet?” Maggie asked.

Jess went down the hall and opened the closet. Again, she
noted the strict order everything was in. The sheets were stacked neatly; all
folded the proper way that Martha Stewart demonstrated on television. Over the
counter drugs were sorted by category - pain, stomach and digestive issues, lotions
- and placed in individual canvas bins. Hair ties and clips each had their own
containers. This boggled Jess. Her own linen closet was a combination of things
thrown in haphazard, which meant when she needed an aspirin or pillowcase she
when on a treasure hunt.

Jess picked up the sheets and returned to the den.

“How do you keep everything so orderly?” she asked her
sister with genuine interest.

“Paul taught me.” Maggie replied. “He hates having to search
for stuff when he needs it. Drives him crazy. So he showed me how to fold the
sheets, helped me set up the house in a way that pleases him. I just make it
part of my chore list to keep things in order. Makes the household run better,
I think.”

For some reason the thought of being told what to do and
having a chore list made Jess weirdly excited. She liked the idea that someone
other than her could set this stuff up and just make it her job to maintain it.
Her biggest obstacle in maintaining her own house had been that she just didn’t
know where to start. She had tried to organize things, but after twenty minutes
of sorting or after binging at The Container Store her desire to organize
dissipated and she would be left with a pile of stuff on the dining room table
that would then take another two weeks to deal with.

As she and Maggie made up the futon in the den, Jess drifted
into a fantasy about meeting someone who would organize her house and tell her
what to do. She laughed at herself when she realized that the idea of a man
telling her how to organize her linen closet was making her slightly aroused.
Too
much time watching the DYI channel
, she thought to herself.

She and Maggie finished prepping the den and walked into the
living room. The kids were playing a loud round of Shoots and Ladders on the floor
with
The Tree Friends
playing on television.

 “Can I get you something to drink?” Maggie asked.

“Lemonade would be good.” Jess replied.

She sat on the couch and watched Denver and Jasmine while
Maggie grabbed the drinks.

Maggie sat down and pulled a pad and pen out of the end
table.

“I will make you a list of dinners for the week. Also, the
kids usually have oatmeal for breakfast during the break. There are fixings for
PB and J sandwiches and some veggie buffalo nuggets in the fridge for lunch.
Make sure they drink plenty of water throughout the day. They get almond milk
with dinner. If they want a treat, you know where I keep the cookies stashed.”

At the word cookies, both kids turned and looked at their
mom.

“Cookies?” Jasmine asked.

“Sweetie, you can have one after dinner.” Maggie replied.

Jasmine looked a little crestfallen. However, her brother
took a turn at the game and it sent him sliding down a shoot and back behind
her. Jasmine laughed and forgot about the cookies.

At 5:30 Maggie and Jess started making dinner. It was
nothing elaborate, just soft tacos. Jess started chopping the vegetables to
sauté while Maggie prepped the chicken. They heard the garage door open. Paul
was back from his golf game.

“How are the two loveliest ladies I know?” he asked when he
entered the kitchen.

“Good Sir. How was your game?” Maggie washed her hands and
poured Paul a glass of iced tea.

“Not too bad. Got a chance to catch up with the guys a bit.
Colin got a promotion at the firm. Jay has his regular girl drama. It was
cool.” Paul sipped the ice tea then kissed Maggie on the forehead.

“I’ll leave you two to dinner. I am going to work in the den
for a bit.”

* * * * *

After dinner, Jasmine helped Maggie and Jess clear the
table.

“Why don’t you make the coffee tonight?” Maggie suggested.

“Sure.”

Jess put the kettle on to heat and got the beans out of the
crock on the counter to grind. She filled the French press with grounds and
poured the hot water over them. Maggie handed her a spoon and Jess stirred the
grounds so they would steep. Once Jess pressed the grounds to the bottom of the
pot she got the cream out of the fridge and grabbed a coffee mug.

“Not that one,” Maggie corrected. “Paul takes the solid
color mugs.”

Jess thought this detail was a little odd and persnickety
but she was the guest and there to help after all.

Jess added the cream and took Paul his coffee in the living
room where he was reading to the kids.

“Thanks,” he said. “Nice work. Just the right amount of
cream.”

Jess smiled the immediately corrected herself. She should
not be responding like this to her sister’s husband. His thank you made her
feel warm and fuzzy. It wasn’t like bringing coffee was some grand task and she
shouldn’t be so pleased with herself for earning his praise.
Bad Jess
!
She scolded herself in her head and walked back to the kitchen to finish clean
up.

* * * * *

Jess closed the door of the den and started to get ready for
bed. The room still smelled like Paul, a combination of something like
sandalwood, black pepper, and musk. As she changed into the oversize t-shirt
and boxer shorts she brought to sleep in, she could hear Paul and Maggie moving
about in the master bedroom next door. She couldn’t make out the words they
were saying, but the tone of the conversation came through the wall. Whatever
they were talking about, Paul was doing most of the talking. She could tell he
was using short sentences, but it was deep and gentle.

About twenty minutes later, faint sounds of sex started to
emerge. Between long periods of relative silence, she would hear some type of
kissing or sucking and a few muffled moans. Jess was envious. Her own sex life
with Rick was dull and predictable. Same twenty-minute session twice a month,
in the dark, under the sheets.

Jess put in her earphones to watch a movie on her computer
and tried to give her sister some privacy. Still, she found herself a little
jealous that her sister was having such fun with Paul.

The next morning the house started moving about five. Maggie’s
flight was at seven. Jess got up, pulled on yoga pants and a tank top and
walked into the kitchen. Maggie was bustling about making sure she had
everything she needed for a week away.

“I don’t have time to make coffee, would you do it?” Maggie
asked.

Jess prepared the French press as she had done the night
before.

“Travel mugs, please” Maggie said on a pass through the
kitchen to the mudroom to get her last pieces of laundry for the trip.

Jess prepared two travel mugs. One black, for Paul, which she
prepared first. Then one for Maggie: cream, two sugars and an ice chip. Her
sister had been drinking coffee this way since she was fourteen. Jess handed
Maggie and Paul their respective mugs on their way out the door.

“The kids will be up in a couple of hours. I will be back in
forty-five minutes. Please have scrambled eggs and two pieces of toast for me
when I get back.” Paul instructed.

“Thanks,” he added so as not to sound too bossy.

Jess brushed her teeth, washed her face and began to prepare
Paul’s breakfast. There was something both comforting and exciting to her
knowing that he would come back and she could serve him breakfast exactly as he
wanted it.
Knock it off
! she scolded herself. She had a husband. They
had been together for a little more than three years and she really liked him.
Nothing wrong with him or anything, it was just that she didn’t get the
excitement with him that she craved. While she would never admit that she liked
Paul telling her what to do, she did like being a little submissive. Rick was
committed to a “relationship of equals” which to him meant she had to make as
many decisions about things as he did. His sex drive and imagination were
nearly non-existent anymore. This got old to her.

She placed a pat of butter in the skillet, cracked three
eggs and turned on the heat. She gently stirred the eggs until they formed soft
curds. She plated them and sprinkled a little salt on them. She placed two
pieces of sourdough under the broiler and kept a hawk’s eye on them until they
browned just right. She was setting the plate on the dining room table when
Paul came back.

He came in and sat down. “Thank you, this looks great.”

“You’re welcome. Can I get you anything else? Another
coffee? Jam?” Jess inquired.

“Jam would good.” Paul said.

Jess grabbed the boysenberry jam from the fridge and a small
knife from the drawer. She went to sit in down on Paul’s right.

“Left side, please.” Paul corrected.

Jess moved the jam and knife. She looked to Paul for
approval. He made no response as he began to dig into the jar.

Paul noticed Jess had not moved after setting down the jam.

“Yes?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Jess said and quickly stepped back to the
kitchen. She began to fry two eggs for herself.
What was that about
? She
asked herself. She stared at the eggs as the edges of the whites popped in the
butter in the pan.

She plated her own eggs, poured a second cup of coffee and
took them in to the dining room. Paul was just finishing breakfast.

“I am going to work for a bit,” he said and got up from the
table. He left his plate sitting there.

Jess finished breakfast and cleared the table. She heard
Denver pad into the kitchen. “Morning kiddo!” she said.

“Hi.” Denver smiled.

“Do you want breakfast?” Jess asked.

Denver nodded.

“Go sit at the table and I will make you breakfast. Do you
want brown sugar or raisins on your oatmeal?” Jess asked.

“Waisins!” Denver shouted.

Jess made his oatmeal and prepared a bowl for Jasmine. She
set Denver’s on the table and went to wake Jasmine.

She entered Jasmine’s room and sat on her bed. She rubbed
the girl’s back gently until she awoke.

“Mornin’ sleepy head. Breakfast is ready.”

Jess wanted kids, but they hadn’t been in the cards yet. She
loved playing mom. Maggie’s kids were so well behaved and sweet. Her job as
aunt was the best. She got to do all the fun stuff and never really had to
discipline them or argue about bath time.

She sat with the kids as they ate breakfast and outlined her
day. Nothing too taxing. She would do the dishes, help the kids make their
beds, take them to the park for a bit, and then she had to get dinner on around
5:30 p.m.
Easy day
, she thought.