Lucky I’m a teacher
You know I thank my lucky stars that I am a teacher, because if I wasn’t I am sure I would never have gotten to meet Jenny James. Let me explain.
I had known her on Facebook for a few months. I’d become really fond of her, writing stories for her, making little videos for her. I really enjoyed her company. I found her great fun, and she seemed to understand me. I loved chatting with her, especially last thing at night, and then I would drift off to sleep, thinking of her. I really wanted to meet her in real life and I told her so. But she said that she had never met anyone who that she had met first of all on the internet. She was aware of cases where such meetings had turned out badly, in extreme cases some ending in murders. She asked me to understand. I replied that I did.
Then a month or two later she was talking about her children. She said that she wanted them to do better at school. She was thinking about having private tuition for them. But she didn’t want it to be like school. She wanted it to be fun. I explained that I had all sorts of educational, fun learning activities, such as making three dimensional shapes from pipe-cleaners and drinking straws. Sudoku is great for logical thinking, as is Chess, which can also be used for teaching about co-ordinates, as is the game Battleships. Playing Scrabble is a great way to expand the vocabulary, and the scoring system helps arithmetic. Cross-words, word-searches and games such as hangman can all improve vocabulary and general knowledge. Not forgetting how much everyone loves a quiz.
She was sold on the idea of me teaching her children. She asked me how much I charge for tuition. I told her. She told me that she couldn’t afford it. I suggested that instead of taking any money from her, she could give me a meal. I could perhaps stay for a couple of hours, an hour with her children and another for a meal and a bit of a chat. She agreed.
So there it was. I wasn’t going to meet this wonderful lady that I adored; I was going to meet her children, as their private tutor. As I drove up, I tried to imagine what her house would be like, and what she would be like. I listened to the car radio. It was a radio channel playing oldies. It was funny how many of the songs seems so appropriate – “You do something to me”, “You really got me”, “I’d do anything”, “Crazy for you” and “I drove all night”.
I finally reached her house. Now I know you have all seen her pictures on Facebook. You know how beautiful she is. Let me tell you she looks even more beautiful in real life! She shook my hand. Her hand was soft and warm. She kissed me gently on both both cheeks. She then told me to take my shoes off and leave them by the door. I obeyed of course. It was lovely to be bossed around by her. And of course, in her own home, she has the right to boss me around. Her voice was soft and warm, I could have listened to it for ages. She then told me to take my coat off, which I did of course. She hung the coat in the porch and led me into the house. She was wearing tight clothes which showed off her wonderful figure perfectly. I followed her, my eyes glued on her lovely backside, as it swayed back and forth like a hypnotic pendulum as she walked.
She led me through the living room, into a dining room cum kitchen. She sat me down at a kitchen in the middle and called for her children. They appeared obediently. The activity I had planned was making three dimensional shapes from pipe-cleaners and drinking straws. They loved it! The time simply flew by. While we were occupied at the table Jenny busied herself around the kitchen, most of the time she had her back to me, but every now and then she would glance over her shoulder and give me one of her dazzling smiles. She bent over and put a tray into the over, thrusting her buttocks in my direction as she did so. I admired her wonderful, firm, round backside, and wondering whether she was bending like that for my benefit, or whether it was simply the easiest way of getting the food into the oven. I was so preoccupied by her and her children; I failed to notice what food was on the tray she was putting in the oven.
I found the lesson over much too soon, and she was bossing her children around again, telling them to put the shapes away, wash their hands, clear and set the table. There was a little bit inside of me which was slightly jealous of them. I longed to be bossed around like them. Then we were all sitting round the table, enjoying the delicious food she had prepared – sausages, baked potato and baked vegetables.
At the start, although she was sitting opposite me, and my eyes didn’t stray from this vision of beauty and grace before me, her attention was on her children, as she continued to boss them around “speak when you are spoken to, I wasn’t speaking to you”, “Oh do eat your greens”. She also patronised them frequently “Good boy”, “You did? Well done!” I longed for her to talk like that to me.
At last we all finished and Jenny and I had a few moments to ourselves. She thanked me for coming and asked if I had enjoyed it, which of course I had. I offered to come again, at the same time the next week. She accepted.
So that is how it started. I soon fell into a regular pattern of visiting them weekly. It was in April that I first visited. Soon summer was there, but the children wanted me to continue, so I continued through the summer and into the autumn. The winter was one of the worst for years, with snow and ice, but I kept visiting, every week without fail.
Gradually I got to meet other friends and relatives. Her mum and dad were very nice. Jenny would discuss things with her mum – everything from what they were going to have as the Sunday Roast to where they would go on holiday. Her dad never got a word in. I remember once he tried to join in, and his wife said “Be quiet dear, you know I know what is best for you.” And he just said “Yes dear”.
The children seemed to enjoy the sessions, and their marks at school improved. Jenny said that she was very pleased. She told me that I would get my reward in due course.
Jenny would give me the odd present. She gave me a pair of her used knickers which I smelt every night before going to sleep, to remind me of her. She also gave me an audio file to listen on loop as I went to sleep, which I did do. I found myself sleeping deeper. I found myself thinking more and more of her, and ways to please her and to entertain and educate her children. I found myself giving them gifts – well it seemed only fair if she was giving me gifts. Flowers, chocolates, perfumes etc for her. Jigsaws, books etc for the children.
Then towards the end of that harsh winter, one day I turned up for the lesson and her children were not there. She explained that they were at her parent’s so that we could have some quality time together.
She said that this time we would start with the meal. Somehow the portion was bigger that day. She also gave me a starter and a dessert. She kept encouraging me to eat. I wanted to please her, so I ate, complementing her on her cooking. By the time the meal ended I was absolutely stuffed full. She suggested that I should lie on the sofa in the living room, to sleep it off a little. I moved towards the sofa and she lay me down on it, fluffing up the cushion, and then resting my head on it. In front of the sofa she had a large open fire. She bent over to put more coal on the fire, thrusting her lovely behind in my face. It was so close to my face I could have leaned forward and kissed her bum, but of course I didn’t.
She then knelt down on the floor, looked into my eyes and started stroking my hair. “This is what my mum does to my dad” she explained. “She gives him an enormous meal and then he sleeps it off in front of the fire, while she chats to him, sooths him, strokes his hair like this, until he is completely relaxed and at ease and he is aware of nothing else other than the sound of her voice, gently guiding and directing him, helping him to relax, and to sleep. I think you know what I mean. I can see you relaxing in exactly the same way. It is so hard for you to keep your tired eyes open. Why don’t you just close them all the way down for me, turn off, and let me do the thinking for you, yes it is so much easier…..”
She carried on talking, but I have no idea what she said, I was fast asleep. I woke. I felt strange. Feelings I had of serving and pleasing her seem stronger than ever. Somehow the depth of love I had for her was deeper than ever.
The next time I came it was another cold day. I sitting on the sofa, warming myself after arriving. Jenny’s parents arrived. Jenny and her mum were talking in soft voices in the kitchen area. Jenny told her mum something, I couldn’t hear it exactly. Then her mum replied in a hushed voice. “Well very well dear, if that is what you want. You sure you have really got him? Have you done that thing I do to your father?”
“Yes I did it last week. It worked a treat. He went out like a light. I spent hours programming him. He has done every single one of the suggestions I left him and the best part of it he doesn’t even know I did it. Look let me demonstrate.”
She brought her mother closer to the sofa and said in a louder voice. “Look at this council tax bill mum. It is over £1,000, just for a little place like this.”
Automatically I found myself saying “Don’t worry about it Jenny. Give it me, and I will pay it for you.” She smiled a dazzling smile at me, kissed me on my forehead and said “Thank you so much, you are such a good boy for me!” as she handed me the bill, which I folded and put in my pocket. I felt so pleased to have made her happy.
The mother was not impressed. “That doesn’t prove that you have got him hypnotized”.
Jenny came over to where I was sitting and snapped her fingers in my face.
“Sleep time.”
I went out like a light. “When you awake Charlie you will be a little affectionate puppy dog. Do you understand Charlie?”
I grunted agreement.
She woke me up. Soon I was running around her front room on all fours. She threw a stick for me to fetch. I barked like a dog.
When I started to try and make love to the side of the chair she woke me up, and then put me back to sleep. The mother was still not convinced.
“He is a very good actor!”
“He isn’t pretending.” Jenny said in a stern voice. She noticed the look on her mum’s face, as if to say she didn’t believe it. She resolved to change her mum’s mind. She looked at me with those big bright light brown eyes again and spoke to me.
“Sit here please.” I obediently sat for her. “Now look into my eyes, that’s right, deeply into my eyes, going deeper, deeper, and deeper still, falling deeply into trance for me again…. Your eyes are closing as you slip deeply into trance again for me….” I quickly lost myself, looking only into those eyes. All I saw was those big beautiful eyes looking into mine, and her sweet voice. I am not even sure of what exactly she said, as I went deeply under, like I had done sooo many times for her. “Now you are sitting on a block of ice on the North Pole. It is ever so cold; you are getting colder and colder, colder than you have ever been before.” I started to shiver and goose pimps appeared on my body. Then, in a different voice, which I could tell, was not directed to me, She said. “OK, if you don’t believe it, touch him, feel how cold he is.” I felt this warm touch on my face, which quickly moved away. “Yes I believe in it now.” “Good, right I’d better bring him out or he will catch the death of cold” She switched into that lovely sort of bossy tone of voice she always uses from time to time. “OK, waking on the count of 3, 1, 2, 3 wide awake now, and back with us.” My eyes opened and I felt a bit disorientated, I wasn’t sure what to do, so I smiled at my Jenny. She smiled back.
It was soon after that we married. We used our own marriage ceremony, where I promised to love, honour and obey her for the rest of my life. I kept my vow. I’m now 90 years old. Cancer has really gotten a hold of me. I’ve not got long left. Jenny and her children and grandchild visit me regularly. And do I regret dedicating the last third of my life to them? Not for one second. On the contrary, I thank my lucky stars that I was a teacher.