Megan walked slowly towards the door of the house. She would have turned and fled a long time before if Jean hadn't collected her, and wasn't with her as they approached. Truth be told, Megan would never have left her own house if Jean hadn't picked her up.
It wasn't that Jean was forcing her -- quite the opposite. Jean had given her several opportunities to back out. Just as they were getting in the car Jean had asked if she still wanted to go through with it. As they had arrived at the house, Jean had offered to drive her home again if she didn't want to stay. Even as they approached the door, Jean asked if she was still sure she wanted to go. There was just something stubborn in Megan that wouldn't turn her back and run away. Megan had never met Jean before, but every time Jean had given her the opportunity to back out, something had clicked in Megan's mind which said "I am not going to back out of anything." It was that resilience which made her keep going. It was not as if she didn't like Jean -- she did, she seemed really friendly, but it was that something in Megan which kept her going............
And now she was at the door, stunned as the door was opened by a tall young man wearing a French maid's outfit -- a very short French Maid's outfit.............
It had all started a couple of weeks before. Megan, and John her husband, were struggling. She adored John, but somehow things weren't going right. It had been like this for several months. On the surface Megan easily blamed John for the troubles. He was too demanding. He wanted to do things which weren't right. He had been reading too much pornography -- Megan had never caught him doing it, but from the things he said she knew he must read that stuff. And it horrified her. The problem was the more she said "no" to John, the more he asked, the more he looked disappointed. The more the life of their relationship was ebbing away.
Deep down, Megan knew it wasn't so much John, as her. Well, it was both of them. On the one hand she simply didn't find sex wonderful. It was always over too quickly. She didn't get excited by it as she heard others say they did. And there was that parental voice which constantly said "sex is dirty" bringing a wet blanket to the bed. And because she wasn't enjoying it, she wasn't able to make John enjoy it. At the same time, as much as John wanted more, he had never really discovered how to get Megan aroused, excited.
Somehow she had been talking to a particular friend Joyce, who had winkled the story out of her. Joyce had known there were problems for a long time, but over coffee a couple of weeks before she had somehow pushed all the right buttons, and the whole story had poured out. Megan was horrified at how open she was, but once the floodgate opened, so she couldn't stop talking about how bad it all was and how it was all going wrong. For two hours she told Joyce what was wrong.......
Megan was surprised when Joyce told her she needed to see Margaret Bryant. And tell her everything. Megan had never heard of Margaret Bryant before, but had found herself, two days later talking to a striking looking woman, a confident woman, a strong woman, but a warm woman. And told her everything. They had met in a coffee shop, but for most of the time they had chatted in Margaret Bryant's office where she was clearly in charge of a large number of people.
At the end of the chat, Margaret Bryant had explained that they had get-togethers at her house. Joyce came to them. Megan would be welcome to join the next one.
Megan liked the thought of going out with a group of ladies, and knew John wouldn't mind, and perhaps by expanding her social life a bit, things would get a bit better.
She continued to listen to Margaret Bryant, but was suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Margaret explained that the evenings could be a bit naughty -- which Megan didn't baulk at. But then Margaret Bryant introduced "the rule." Megan could stay as long as she wanted. She could ask to leave at any time, and she would be given a lift home. However, if she stayed after ten o-clock then she had to do whatever Margaret ordered her to do. It wouldn't be painful. It wouldn't be unpleasant. But it might be a shock.................. Margaret would say no more. A corner of Megan's brain said she could leave whenever she wanted, but somehow there was something about Margaret Bryant which said -- you will do what I say. Just over a week later she was facing an open door, with a young man holding it open for her, dressed in a French Maid's uniform.
As Ben opened the door dressed in his maid's uniform, a uniform he had learnt to enjoy wearing, he looked over the newcomer. He hadn't been told her name, but had been briefed by Margaret Bryant on what he should do. He looked her over -- she was tall, slim, maybe late forties. She was dressed rather plainly in a long skirt and white blouse. Some would say she was poised. He noticed her dark hair, bunching around her shoulders, noticed her attractive face, although looking rather hang-dog -- perhaps looking depressed and carrying cares on her shoulders. When she smiled her face lit up, but the cares seemed to out-weight the joys. Ben knew he could tackle the challenge he had been given..........
The party took its normal course, although there was a lot more humour than sometimes they had -- the 12 women gathered thought the inflatable dolls someone had brought were hilarious. Ben and Tony had been made to blow them up, and they were given two chairs at one end of the room. They were even given names -- Joyce and Mavis. One had blonde "hair," the other black, although in reality the hair was just part of the plastic shape.
There were a few things Megan found odd, maybe a touch shocking. Ben and Tony both dressed as French maids, and she was pretty sure they were wearing nothing under their skirts. She learnt that Ben was a regular "waiter" at the parties, and he was, despite the dress, an Adonis. It was the only word she could think of for this young man who was good-looking, yet almost serene and poised in his manner. Megan learnt that Tony was Margaret's husband. A handsome man in his late forties, although clearly Margaret Bryant was the stronger one in the relationship. Megan was also a bit shocked to see Tony and Ben holding hands when they weren't doing anything, but it was clear they were used to it.
Megan also enjoyed the food, the drink, the chat -- it was a nice group of women. She smiled at the bawdy jokes about the two inflatable dolls who were sat proudly naked on their chairs. Both Jean and Joyce made sure she was part of the group, and Margret Bryant, as well as the other women, embraced her in their friendship. But just at the back of Megan's mind was the time -- 10 O'clock was approaching. Should she stay, or should she go...................
The question was put to her by Margaret Bryant, who had moved to sit by her. It was half past nine, and again she made it clear. If she wanted to leave, then Jean would simply drive her home. If she wanted to stay then she had to do what was demanded of her, whatever it was. The phrase "Whatever it was" was said in a tone not to be denied.
