Chapter 6: Unexpected

After a couple of months of living together, I was starting to think of Ben in the superlative terms he used for me. According to him, I was a miracle, a goddess, the bright star at the center of his universe, and so on. I tried to deflect all his worshipful talk, but secretly I still thrilled to hear it.

What can I say? A girl likes to be appreciated.

And layered on top of all that, in bed he was still making me insanely happy. And all I had to do was target him with one of “those” smiles, and sex went right to the front of his mind. Before him, I thought blowjobs were the secret of female power over men. With my boyfriend, he was ready for me with only a suggestion.

Without saying it aloud, we both had our sights set on the six-month mark. That milestone would be our moment of truth—if things remained as wonderful as they were, we’d finally broach the subject of engagement. For me, it would be new territory. Ben had never proposed to anyone either, though when I pressed him about past relationships, he grew guarded. All he’d reveal was a year-long romance that had crashed and burned, leaving him reluctant to revisit the details.

On a Friday at the start of our fourth month of living together, I had an unexpected but paid day off. At about four o’clock, I had just put on my apron to start making our dinner when I heard the doorbell.

I checked the peephole and saw only a woman, so I pulled the door open. But she didn’t wait for a greeting.

“Who the hell are you?” she demanded, frowning. My quick impression was of a Latina with straight black hair. Something about her face seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place her.

Mildly, “My name is Iris.”

“I’m Anna, Ben’s girlfriend.”

Abruptly, she pushed forward and blustered through the door, surprising me.

“I see Ben decided to get help with the housework. He was always terrible at it. You can make me coffee, Lois—milk and two sugars. I’ll be in the living room.”

Her face and her name—both were now familiar from Ben’s photographs. Anna, seeing my apron, must have jumped to the conclusion that I was a housekeeper. My initial anger quickly gave way to a strategic decision: I’d exploit her snobbish error instead of setting her straight right away.

Bitch.

I still had a half-pot of coffee leftover from lunch, so I filled a mug and started the noisy microwave. I took out my phone and spoke quietly.

“Ben, I’m glad I caught you. Anna is here. Shh, let me talk. She’s in the living room. She thinks I’m your housekeeper. I’m going to let her believe that until after you get home. Maybe she will tell me what she wants. I’ll see you soon. I love you!”

I brought her mug out and put it on the coffee table with a coaster. I noted that she didn’t thank me or look at my face, being “the help” and all.

“Where is Ben?” she demanded. Playing my role, I answered her formally, as if she were my social superior and he was my employer.

“I anticipate Mr. Jackson will be here within the hour. Friday traffic may delay him.”

“Fine. What are you making tonight for our dinner?”

Oh, shit. I wasn’t expecting that, and neither was Ben. The only food I wanted to serve to this bitch was crow.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. Making dinner on Friday evenings is not part of my regular schedule.”

Because my Ben usually took us out to eat, you miserable cow!

“Alright, Lois, you can go back to the kitchen.”

You can’t even remember my name? You will when my boot is kicking you in the cunt, bitch. I figured she did know my name but judged me as lower status—a servant.

Fortunately, Ben rushed home after my call. I only sat in the kitchen seething for five or ten minutes. He came in the kitchen door like always but went directly to the sink and turned on the water, making some noise.

“Iris, trust me. I know what she wants; she wants to move in. Just stay in the doorway and watch until I call you in. Don’t worry; I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Anna? What the fuck are you doing here? Iris let you in?”

Her eyes flashed, but she composed her face and spoke mildly.

“Hello, Ben. It’s been a long time. I’m surprised your dog didn’t bark at me.”

A shadow briefly crossed his face, but anger remained.

“Eddie died months ago from cancer. You are still alive, though.”

I could see it crossed Ben’s mind that he’d prefer Anna’s death over his dog’s death.

“I’ll ask again, why are you here?”

“Obviously, Ben, I’m back here from New England, and I need a place to stay. I figured it’s been long enough for you to miss me and miss the girls.”

Anna’s sweatshirt had a full-length front zipper from neck to waist. She unzipped and spread wide the garment to reveal her huge breasts, which she proffered to him with a little jiggle.

Watching her closely, I could see Anna had pre-planned everything she was going to tell Ben. With her upper arms, she pushed out her melons while explaining her plans and requirements.

“We will go back to the original ways. I’ll agree: no collar and no cage. You will fire Iris and do the housework yourself. I’ll manage the money and run everything. Like before, once you’ve completed your assignments, you can ask my permission to sleep in the bed with me, play with my tits, and have sex. It’s been a while for us, so we will have lots of fucking to catch up on, but only if you’re obedient.”

“I think I understand, Anna. You move back into my place, and we will live under your, um, leadership. If I comply, you will allow some sex.”

“That’s right, Ben. If you’re obedient, I will allow you to satisfy me once a week.”

“Before you take off any more of your clothes, I think you should know something. Iris! Come out here, please.”

“Hello again, Anna. You have nice big tits. I’m sure Ben enjoyed them.”

“Wait, what? How do YOU know about him and me?”

“Anna,” Ben interrupted, “Iris is my girlfriend. We’ve been together for months now; she’s everything you could never be. You can put those big tits away now; to me they’re no longer appealing.”

Furious, Anna zipped the two sides of the sweatshirt back together in one angry motion.