10 Jonathan
Mr. Jonathan Henry was married to his wife, Joy, for thirteen years. They met at a church event for singles. Mr. Henry was very shy as was his wife. They, over the course of a long period of time, as it takes a long period of time for two shy people to spit things out, they discovered they had much in common. They both worked as accountants. They both enjoyed hiking. They both loved art. Together, over time, they learned to come out of their shells. They attended more church events, talking to more people there, and, eventually, more social events outside the church, such as neighborhood cook outs and even salsa lessons. But not so far beneath the surface Mr. Henry remained shy and unassertive while his wife became more self-confident and active. They gave birth to James two years into their marriage.
James began displaying antisocial and oppositional behaviors from kindergarten. He was also hyperactive and inattentive. His parents took him to numerous psychiatrists and put him through batteries of tests every few years at school. The teachers didn't know what to do with him. Mr. Henry's wife believed that punishing James was the best method of action and she came down on him with the force of a dictator. Mr. Henry believed in reinforcing positive behaviors; he believed that was the best course of action, and he and his wife fought over what to do with their son frequently. Frequently audibly enough for their son to hear. When their marriage ended in divorce, the courts sided with Mr. Henry and granted him full custody.
When Mr. Henry was still married his wife's assertive behaviors made their way into their home. She frequently took the upper hand in how bills were to be paid, what decisions were to be made about their son, their vacations, the appearance of their home. Mr. Henry felt he had little say in almost anything.
After the separation enjoyed having the peace to do things his way, raising his son his way, arranging things his way. He spent a lot of time making their home just right. And now it was just Mr. Henry and James. Mr. Henry did his best with positive reinforcements with James. He tried charts and checklists. He tried using the honor system. He tried everything, but positive reinforcement didn't seem to be enough. James still came and went from the house as he pleased, never did his chores, lashed out at his father on a daily basis, got into fights at school, and was constantly in trouble for being insubordinate.
At work Mr. Henry was often asked to do a lot of things not in his job description. Make coffee. Make copies. File. He was constantly threatened about his annual review, constantly asked about where the most recent billing reports were. He was being smothered by his job but he worked it day in and out to support his son. He was most pleased to hear his son had been chosen to act in a play. He didn't know the actors were selected specifically because they were considered "at-risk" and were required to participate. He liked the sounds of this Ms. Z who was so strict with his son. He watched the change in his son over the next few months. His mannerisms changed. His school referrals declined. He even occasionally took out the trash. Mr. Henry definitely had to meet this woman. He had finally spoken with her at the play and he now knew she was gorgeous. He had to look back at her, her perfectly formed figure.
Justine caught Mr. Henry looking at her rear. Justine hadn't had a man in years. It had all been women. This one seemed shy. This one seemed like he could submit. Justine wasn't the type of woman who waited on these matters. When the lights came down she crept into the seat next to Mr. Henry. She noticed he was alone. They sneaked quick conversations during curtains.
"No wife with you today, Mr. Henry?" Justine asked nonchalantly.
"Divorced. Three years. No girlfriend. You?" Mr. Henry whispered.
"Just got out of an I-don't-know-what kind of relationship," whispered Justine, still thinking of Charlie. Act two began and they hushed themselves. Justine could tell Mr. Henry was proud of his son's performance but he was even more exceedingly grateful for Justine's work with his him. She could smell Mr. Henry's cologne. It was faint, but definitely smelled expensive. There was something so submissive about his argyle sweater and plastic framed glasses. Justine could feel herself getting turned on. She crossed and uncrossed her legs just so she could feel the sensation in her loins. They shared a brief exchange over the final applause.
"Your son is going to an after show party. Do you want to have dinner?" asked Justine.
"I.. um..." Mr. Henry was shy, but he wasn't the type to say no to a pretty lady, "Sure. I'll meet you out front... After," he said, pointing at the front door, nodding.
"Okay," nodded Justine, smiling and walking away. They met out front twenty minutes later and went to a tiny Italian restaurant Justine knew about. It had petite little wrought iron tables with even smaller little chairs. They both ordered the special of the night and they both had wine. Between the two plates and two glasses of wine there was not an inch of space on that table. You had to be holding your silverware the entire time. They shared some laughs at James' expense.
"I hate when he says, 'that's not what you said. You said...' and then he goes on to recite word for word what you said and you have to explain to him that it wasn't what you meant," laughed Mr. Henry.
"No Mr. Henry, I just cut 'im right off. I just say 'one,'" said Justine.
