Jumping Through Hoops

Lucy was going to have to avoid Karen or go crazy. But how was that going to be possible when the teenage blackmailer was now living in Lucy's home and had free run of the house? Lucy felt like she was losing grip on her sanity. She was faced with so many situations that couldn't have been imagined in her worst nightmares. Now they were destined to be commonplace until she was rid of that girl. It was hard to believe that less than 24 hours had passed since she first set eyes on Karen.

As Lucy came up the walk she noticed Barry's car was missing from its usual spot in the driveway. Good, they're gone for a while Lucy thought. Maybe she could think clearer if she were alone for a while.

"Did you enjoy your walk," Karen asked as Lucy stepped through the doorway. The woman didn't try to hide her disappointment that she wasn't alone. Worse yet, she had to deal with Karen again.

"Where's Barry?"

"Barry likes to hang out with his buddies on Saturday. You should know that. Male bonding and all that, I suppose." Lucy did know that but she'd been counting on Barry to protect her from Karen.

"Do you know when he'll return?"

"I told him to take the whole day off if he wanted. My goodness! We don't want to wear out the poor boy with the sexual demands of two horny girls. Do we?" Lucy blushed deeply. Yes, she was one of the two horny girls making sexual demands of Barry, much to her shame. If I were just a horny girl I might have an excuse, Lucy thought, but I'm a mature woman and Barry's mother.

"I'm going to take a shower," Lucy said finally.

"Oh, good," said Karen enthusiastically. "Then we can do some more female bonding."

"Barry told you to leave me alone. He made you promise." Lucy was beginning to feel panicky again. Barry wasn't home to provide some measure of protection.

"You really didn't expect me to keep that promise now did you," said Karen with a girlish giggle.

Lucy didn't think that needed answering. She already knew Karen was a deceitful bitch. "I'm going to take my shower," Lucy repeated and started to walk away.

"Did I give you permission to leave?" Lucy stopped short and looked incredulously at Karen.

"I don't need your permission to do anything in my own house. I ought to..."

"You ought to what, Lucy, start acting like the lady of the house? You gave up that title when you declared your servitude to me. I'm the lady of the house. Get used to it!"

"You're not the lady of the house. I won't and Barry won't let you. He told you to leave me alone. I'm going to tell him what you said." Lucy felt near tears.

Karen laughed. "I'm going to tell him what you said," she mimicked. "You sound like a little girl. You and I know that if we hadn't been interrupted this morning I'd have you jumping through hoops by now. Barry won't be able to stop me. He's a lovable guy and he doesn't like to play rough. He doesn't like unpleasantness or confrontations. I'm just the opposite as you can see. The fact is I have Barry wrapped around my little finger."

Lucy was afraid Karen was right in her assessment of Barry. She couldn't have imagined that Barry would ever have allowed his girlfriend to treat his own mother in this way unless he was under Karen's influence. It looked the more she resisted the more pressure Karen would apply. As long as that tape was hanging over them there wasn't much to be done. If Karen tried something really bad Barry would stop her. At least that's what Lucy hoped he would do.

"May I go now," Lucy asked.

"Yes, you may," Karen answered. "Dress nicely. I have someone I want you to meet."

Lucy cringed. She didn't want to meet any of Karen's friends. She didn't even want to be seen in public with this strange girl. "Are we going someplace?"

"No, she's coming here." Resigned to the inevitable, Lucy merely nodded and continued upstairs. She usually didn't dress up around the house but rather than risk another fight with Karen, Lucy dressed as if she was receiving a special guest. Lucy was glad she did because a fashionably dressed young woman was waiting with Karen.

"Lucinda Wyatt, meet Beth Brown," said Karen providing the introduction.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Wyatt," said the woman. She looked to be in her early twenties, had long blonde hair and stood about five feet seven inches in height. Lucy murmured a pleasantry in return. Despite her initial good impression Lucy was highly suspicious of Beth because of her apparent friendship with Karen.

"Why don't you two sit down? I'll get the tea," said Karen and left the room. For the first time Lucy noticed that Karen was trying to be halfway polite. Thank goodness she'd put some clothes on Lucy thought. Lucy wished she'd been told the purpose of Beth's visit.

"What work do you do, Ms. Brown?"

"Please, call me Beth. I'm still in school, actually. I'm working in two masters' degree programs, one in psychology and the other in marketing. To put bread on the table I act as a personal trainer."

Impressive, thought Lucy. She wished Barry was attracted to Beth or someone like her instead of some maniac like Karen. Personal trainer, huh? Does Karen think I need help to get back into shape?

"Tea for two," Karen called and poured out the tea. Lucy sipped at the tea. This is delicious she thought. It was an herbal tea blend. Normally Lucy was a coffee drinker. On impulse, she gulped down the entire cup, a decision Lucy immediately regretted. It didn't exactly make her look good in front of Beth or even Karen. Beth didn't seem to notice and Karen poured Lucy another cup. I'll just enjoy this cup thought Lucy. It made her feel so relaxed. The apprehension she was feeling to meeting Beth was slipping away.

"Was this tea in the kitchen," asked Lucy. "I'll have to ask Barry where he got it."

Karen nodded toward the guest. "It's a gift from Beth," she said.

"It is? Thank you so very much, Beth. Would you mind telling me where I can purchase it?"

"I'm so glad you like it, Mrs. Wyatt. It's my own secret blend so you can't purchase it in any store but I'd be happy to send another package to you when you run out. I feel so relaxed with a cup or two after a stressful day."

"It's relaxing and delicious," Lucy affirmed. "Call me Lucy, er Lucinda. You could make a fortune selling this tea. I'm a loan officer with a bank. I'm mainly in consumer loans but I have contacts with some venture capitalists."

"I'll definitely keep that in mind for the future, Lucinda. Perhaps after I complete my education we'll talk more."

"Mrs. Wyatt has expressed a desire to lose weight and get in shape," said Karen. "I think she'd be a perfect candidate for training, don't you?"

"Yes, definitely," said Beth. "Has Karen told you anything about my program, Lucinda?"

"Uh, no she hasn't. Do you work out in a gym or something?"

"No, it's nothing like that. I train the mind, not the body. The body benefits because you become more focused with your physical training."

"How does it work?"

"I'm working on a new way to program the mind using subliminal suggestions recorded digitally so you can download it."

"Oh," Lucy said only. She'd heard about subliminal suggestions for years but they never seemed to work as claimed. The only ones who seemed to benefit were the promoters who extracted the cash from the suckers.

"I detect a note of skepticism, Lucinda," said Beth.

"I'm sorry," said Lucy. "I didn't mean to imply anything." She hadn't meant to insult Beth.

Beth laughed. "That's okay. I would have been surprised if you hadn't been skeptical. It's part of my master's thesis and still theoretical but I'm very encouraged with the initial testing. Here, let me give you a demonstration. You've already taken the first step, my tea. It puts you in a relaxed state and allows the subliminal suggestions to have maximum effect." She reached into a bag on the floor and drew out a player with earphones. "Put these on and give it a try. Don't worry about the subliminals. They're very general and suggest a feeling of well being."

"Well, I don't know." Even as she said it Lucy was putting on the earphones. It seemed reasonable to give it a try.

"Good," said Beth. "I don't want you thinking you're talking to a con artist."

"Oh, no," Lucy declared. "I would never think such a thing." She finished off the second cup of tea.

"Let's synchronize our watches, please," said Beth. "It's 11:45, okay?"

"Okay," said Lucy. It was 11:45 on the dot according to her watch. Beth pressed the play button and Lucy began to hear ocean waves breaking on shore. Pretty innocuous thought Lucy and settled back to listen but it seemed not more than a minute passed before the player was turned off.

"Is anything the matter?"

"Nothing's wrong," said Beth. "You've been sitting there for over 30 minutes. Check your watch."

It was true. Lucy's watch read 12:20. "This is truly amazing," said Lucy. "The time went by so quickly."

"That's why I think this could never be marketed as a do-it-yourself self-improvement program. People wouldn't get much done if they kept losing track of time. How do you feel?"

"I feel wonderful," Lucy declared. She looked over to Karen. Yes, something had happened. It might be the tea but she definitely felt less hostile and nervous from being around the teenager. "I'd love to get involved," Lucy offered. "How much do you charge?"

Beth smiled. "Well, since you'd be one of my guinea pigs I wouldn't charge you anything. The only thing I'd ask you to do is to come to my home, drink a cup of my tea, lie back and listen to the programming. I'd be there to monitor your time listening and to ask you questions afterward. It couldn't be simpler."

"When do we start," Lucy asked.

"Would Monday after work be convenient? We'll repeat this session and discuss your goals so that I can customize your subliminal suggestions."

"Monday would be fine," said Lucy. It would mean a much longer day for Lucy but if she could use this program to boost her self confidence the tables might be turned on Karen.

Beth left soon after. Lucy wanted to ask the young woman more questions but that would have to be put off until later.

"How did you meet Beth," Lucy asked as casually as she could.

"She used to be my babysitter," said Karen.

"Has Barry met her?"

"Yes, Barry has met her. I know what you're thinking," Karen said with a sly smile. "You're thinking, 'Beth is so charming, so smart and so pretty. She'd make a fine daughter in law.' Well, forget it. Barry isn't her type. Beth only goes for girls."

"I wasn't thinking that," Lucy lied. "I was only curious, that's all." Still, it was a shame that Beth was a lesbian. Lucy couldn't understand how women became lesbians. She'd only had a couple of lesbian experiences in her entire life but that was as a teenager. She actually enjoyed it but Lucy had discovered boys soon after and never looked back. That embrace with Karen earlier in the morning didn't count because she wasn't a consenting partner as far as Lucy was concerned.

"So tell me why you introduced me to Beth. I don't think you care a bit about my weight, do you?"

"Of course I care about your weight, Lucy," said Karen sincerely. "When Barry told me about your plans to lose weight I knew he'd be very happy if you succeeded. Whatever makes Barry happy makes me happy. Besides," she added. "I don't like my slaves looking like fat cows."

Lucy seethed. She didn't care any more about herself. If there wasn't Barry's future to be concerned with Lucy would have been throttling Karen to within an inch of her life at that very moment and to hell with the consequences. The telephone interrupted Lucy's thoughts of revenge and she answered it.

"Mom? It's Amy."

"Amy," exclaimed Lucy. "How nice to hear your voice. Are you all right? Are you enjoying your visit with your father?"

"I'm fine, Mom," said Amy. "Dad's been called out of town on important business so I'm cutting short my visit. I'm flying home on Wednesday." Amy heard only silence in response to her announcement. "Mom? Are you there?"

"I'm here, darling," said Lucy. "You just took me by surprise. Give me your arrival information and I'll ask Barry to pick you up."

Shit! Lucy was hoping to be rid of Karen before Amy flew home. But how? Lucy could have used a stiff drink right about then but she didn't keep any hard liquor in the house. She turned to Karen.

"Is there any more tea left in that pot?"