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1Part Ten: The First Week
When she arrived home from work the next evening, Meryn was in a much better mood. She had indeed found an opportunity at work to ask the President, Mr. Martin, if he had any questions or needed any further explanations about the prior day’s presentation. As it happened, he did have several issues he wanted to discuss, and he was very pleased that she was able to clarify some areas of confusion that he had. She realized that he had had some misconceptions that could have posed problems in the future, and they both agreed that it was very good that they had discovered and taken care of these issues at this early stage. On his way home he made a point to stop at her desk to tell her how much he appreciated her bringing these things to his attention.
Jeremy greeted her at her front door, and indicated that a tall glass of lemonade, and her slippers were waiting for her in the livingroom. When she got there she also spied the bottle of body lotion, and as she sat down on the sofa, he knelt in front of her, and with her permission, removed her shoes and knee high stockings, and began massaging the lotion onto her feet, one at a time.
Sipping her lemonade as he worked, she told him about the events of that day with Mr. Martin, and he was very excited for her. She continued on about other things that had happened during the day, with Jeremy listening avidly, and before she knew it, a half an hour had passed too quickly again. Jeremy finished his ministrations to her feet, and then went on to serve her another lovely dinner.
The same pattern repeated itself the next two days as well. Jeremy would have a cold drink waiting for her, and would settle down on his knees massaging her feet as she would unwind by discussing her day’s events with him. This always lasted at least thirty minutes, after which she always felt thoroughly refreshed and relaxed, and they would then proceed onto dinner.
On both of the days, Meryn was able to tell him how Mr. Martin had initiated further discussions with her, and how he seemed very interested in her opinions.
On Friday he called her into his office and explained that he had been invited to an all day conference the next day, Saturday, and he wondered at this late date whether she would be available to attend it with him. He’d had already asked Michael, earlier in the week, to go with him, but he now felt that two heads to advise him were better than one.
Meryn immediately agreed to go. She was so delighted and excited by this turn of events that she readily accepted an invitation from several of her co-workers to join them after work for some TGIF drinks. Driving home later she admitted to herself that she couldn’t wait to tell Jeremy the good news. It was at that point that she realized that she hadn’t called him to let him know that she was going to be so late.
That had really been quite thoughtless of her she knew. She wondered anxiously if he would be upset with her. This appeared to be a very real possibility when he did not greet her at the door as he had been doing all week. Rushing to the kitchen she found him furiously working over the stove.
“Miss Meryn, I’m so sorry.” He said when he saw her. “I think I overcooked dinner. Please forgive me. If we eat it right away, maybe it will still be alright.”
Seeing his consternation, Meryn reluctantly decided to forego her nightly foot massage which she had come so quickly to look forward to. As Jeremy seated her at the table, she realized that he had deflected all the blame for the lateness of the dinner onto himself . As he served her her portion of poached salmon over sauteed spinach, she decided she would apologize to him later. She then excitedly told him about her invitation to the seminar the next day.
She was somewhat deflated by his reaction to this news. While he expressed happiness about it, he seemed somewhat reserved. When she tried to engage him in further conversation he appeared to withdraw even more. Maybe he really was upset with her, she thought, but after watching him for several more minutes as he busied himself clearing the table, she realized that he wasn’t angry, but instead very nervous and tense. And she suddenly felt she knew the reason why. She had almost forgotten with all that had taken place over the week. Tomorrow was his weigh-in, and, she sadly reflected, this was all going to be over.
Meryn now believed she understood how much this all meant to Jeremy. As she reflected back, she had to admit to herself that the experience had been very different, and far more enjoyable than she could have imagined. She had come to like Jeremy quite a bit, and far more than from the benefit of his meticulous attention to her domestic chores. She realized that it was his obvious interest in listening to her, and his perceptive discussions with her that she valued the most. She began to toy with the idea of telling him tomorrow that the two to three pounds she now felt it was likely he lost judging from the minuscule amounts he had been eating the past week, would be enough for him to continue this a while longer. She reluctantly rejected the idea however. It wouldn’t be fair. It would just make it that much harder for them both when it inevitably had to end in another week or two. It was best to get this over with tomorrow.
Still, she mused as she was sipping her tea in the livingroom as Jeremy was finishing cleaning up the kitchen, he had done everything she could have asked of him in the past week, usually without her ever needing or thinking to ask. She found herself wanting to do something for him, to give him some token to express her appreciation, but she could think of nothing that seemed appropriate. As she thought back to all of the events of the past week, an idea did begin to occur to her, and the more she considered it, the more right it seemed. It wouldn’t be enough, she thought, but she sincerely believed it would at least be something he would like.
When Jeremy finally came out to ask if there was anything she would like him to do before he left for the night, she told him that she would probably be eating on and off at the conference tomorrow, so not to make dinner for her then. She didn’t tell him the real reason. She didn’t feel it would be right. It would be like he was preparing his own last meal. She told him she would probably be home around six.
“There is one last thing you can do for me tonight, Jeremy.” She continued as she noted the disappointment on his face. “I think I would really like my foot massage that we postponed earlier.”
Jeremy graced her with his first real smile of the evening.
“Sure Miss Meryn. Right away.” And he disappeared into her bedroom, returning several seconds later with her lotion. Falling to his knees, he slipped off her shoes and socks, and silently began applying himself devotedly to the care of her feet.
After several minutes, Meryn was ready to test her theory.
“You like feet ,don’t you Jeremy.”
A slight pause, then a quiet, “Yes Miss Meryn.”
“Do you like my feet?”
“You have the most gorgeous feet.”
She was very pleased. She had always thought she had nice feet. Now for the acid test.
“Would you like to kiss my feet, Jeremy?”
He stopped completely. Then in a voice barely above a whisper.
“Oh God yes, Miss Meryn.”
She smiled broadly. She had been right.
“You have my permission.” She said softly. “Kiss my feet, Jeremy.”
Jeremy remained absolutely motionless for several seconds, as if the enormity of her offer had overwhelmed him. He then began to raise her right foot that he had been holding, and bent forward to meet it halfway. He gently placed his lips on the top of her foot, let them linger there for several moments, and then carefully put her foot down. He then lifted her left foot , also meeting it halfway, kissing it in the same way in the same place. He then gently put that foot down, and remained kneeling with his head bowed.
“Is that all you feel my feet deserve?”
He looked up at her immediately.
“Oh no, Miss Meryn. Not at all. It’s just that I didn’t think...I mean...that you wouldn’t want...”
“Kiss my feet like you think they deserve, Jeremy”
He smiled again and nodded. He carefully picked up her right foot again and bent forward to kiss it softly on the top. He then slowly kissed down the top of her foot to the base of her toes and then across. He then deliberately, gently, almost reverently, kissed the tops, tips and bottoms of each of her toes. He proceeded across the ball of her foot, along the side, up into the arch, and then around the bottom, the sides and the back of her heel. He progressed around both sides of her ankle, returning to the top of her foot for one final lingering kiss.
Placing her right foot down, he gently picked up her left foot and began the same sequence. While he had been completely silent before, he now began to softly speak as he proceeded, just loud enough for Meryn to hear.
“Thank you for this wonderful gift Miss Meryn.” He murmured as he progressed across her toes. As he worked across the bottom of her foot. “Thank you for allowing me to be of some use to you this past week. It’s an experience I will always cherish.” Finally, as he came up around her heel and ankle. “Most of all, I want to thank you so very much for giving me a chance to prove my worthiness to you.” As he finished on the top of her foot where he had begun. “Even if I don’t meet your expectations tomorrow, it was an opportunity I will always greatly treasure.” One last kiss, and he put her foot back down.
Meryn had been thoroughly enjoying the homage that Jeremy had been paying. But as he had gone on like this, she began to feel empty. All she could offer was what she felt was a very inadequate, quiet, “Thank you Jeremy. That was very special.”
As he left for the evening, Meryn began to feel a very deep sense of loss. Tomorrow had to be the end of this, she insisted to herself. For both of their sakes.
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