Part Eighteen: The First Year
True to her word the next day Meryn took Jeremy out and they bought a very comfortable folding futon for him to use at her bedside. Their new sleeping arrangement was only one of several things that changed over the next several months. The first also occurred on that first day, when she asked him to stop referring to her as Miss, and just call her Meryn. She didn't want him to use Meri like everyone else, but preferred that he use the more formal Meryn. Other than her mother he was the only one she liked to have call her by that.
They began to go out more, to dinners, to movies, to concerts, to shows. Jeremy exposed her to a type of culture, classical music, drama, indie films, with which she had limited experience in the past. She, in turn drew him into her passion for classic rock.
She began to introduce him to her friends, and eventually at a holiday gathering' to her family. They all liked him immensely. He took her to meet his mother, whom she found to be an elegant lady, and with whom she developed an immediate rapport.
In public Meryn always went out of her way to treat him with obvious respect, and frequently asked for and relied on his opinions in front of others. He of course always treated her with the utmost deference, and, as she never acted as if she demanded it, everyone thought that he was just being a perfect gentleman, for which they liked him all the more.
She also began to take a much more active interest in his work. She knew that he loved his job, and she had no doubt that he was an excellent teacher. In conversations with him she discovered that he had many innovative ideas about how to improve his course material and his school, but either out of shyness, or more likely lack of self confidence, he never broached them to his superiors. She strongly encouraged him to do so, and when that didn't seem to work, she actually insisted. Given no choice he did cautiously approach both his department chairman and principal, and was greatly surprised when they liked several of his ideas and helped him begin to implement them.
As had happened before, Meryn had avoided contact with Natasha for several weeks. This time it was Natasha who broke the ice by calling her at work. By a tentative mutual consent they agreed that except for superficial and polite inquiries about their well being, the two women would not discuss Scott and Jeremy. With that potential issue out of the way, they soon found themselves enjoying each other's company frequently again, meeting for lunches and talking on the phone. Meryn once again realized what a dear friend Natasha was. Just not her best friend anymore. That person was now living in her home.
At home Jeremy and she settled into a comfortable routine. She was so busy at work that she found it easy to continue to allow him to be responsible for all the household chores. As time went on however, she not infrequently would do one herself when he was busy doing another. This did not please him, but she insisted that it was just more convenient at the time for her to do it. And after all, there were only so many hours in the day, and no matter how efficient and hard working he was he couldn't be expected to do everything, and she certainly didn't want him breaking down on her. This would only partially mollify him.
The body massages, pedicures and most importantly, the evening foot massages and Jeremy's devotionals remained the cornerstones of their relationship. Under the narrow guidelines established early on they continued to share intimate sexual activities, always initiated by Meryn, but always enjoyed by both.
As their first year together neared it's end, Meryn reflected often that it had been the best year of her life. She had a companion whose company she thoroughly enjoyed, who was committed to seeing to her every desire, and whom she genuinely liked and cared for. She was so content that she refused to investigate the nagging thoughts that had begun to creep into her mind, more frequently of late. That something wasn't right. That something was missing. She felt she was happy, so what could possibly be wrong? She refused to even try to answer that, afraid of where it might lead.
For his part Jeremy was filled with wonder and amazement every day. Why would a beautiful, vibrant woman like Meryn want to have anything to do with him on an ongoing basis? While their relationship wasn't everything he could dream of, it was certainly far more than anything he could have realistically hoped for. Every night during his devotional, when he fervently thanked her for allowing him into her life and begged her to grant him another day, he silently prayed to God for the same things.
He was determined to give her no cause to be done with him. He became despondent when his weekly weight loss slowed to a trickle despite his ongoing efforts. He had begun working out for an hour every day during lunchtime in the school gym, but despite that he had been unable to crack the two hundred pound barrier. For the past month he had fluctuated between 201 and 203, and could not seem to go lower. Meryn of course told him often that she was delighted with his new physique, and was very pleased with what he had accomplished. But he felt he needed to do more, please her more, or she would eventually grow tired and bored with him.
