When in short order Raef returned carrying two freshly refilled glasses of iced tea Erica couldn't help but note that there was nothing servile in his demeanor, but more a sense in him of delighted privilege. He served her first and when she thanked him he responded with a slight bow of his head and a smile. When he then offered the second glass to his wife, Erica noticed that as she took it Amy barely glanced at him and continued uninterrupted with her small talk. Erica realized that Raef's was not the act of a gracious host, but one of expected everyday service, which appeared to require no acknowledgment or any expression of gratitude. As he resumed his kneeling post at Amy's side, Erica thought that this would be a good place to ease into the second part of the interview. After receiving the okay from Amy to proceed she turned the tape recorder back on.
"So then Amy, getting back to some of the examples you gave at the beginning, you indicated that 'you mess and he cleans', and that 'he works while you rest'. Do I take that to mean that he does all the work around the house?"
"Let's just say that all of the domestic chores are his responsibility." Amy replied. "But I fully recognize that he has a very demanding and responsible job in the outside world, and that there are only so many hours in the day. He has to maintain a very tight schedule to get everything done and his leisure time, which I minutely manage, is extremely limited. But I do want to keep him healthy and fit. I don't want him breaking down on me. I realize that he does need some down time, both physically and mentally, so I do pitch in to help when I see that it's necessary. We do want to make this all work in real life."
"And actually, I do enjoy doing a number of what might be considered by some to be chores. I like cooking, and while Raef is a very good cook himself, and frequently makes our meals on the weekends, I usually, if not most of the time, cook dinner during the week. Cleaning up afterwards is always his job however. But when I see things that need to get done, and I know that there's no possible way he's going to be able to get to it, I'm certainly not above helping out." She reached out to brush the back of her fingers along the back of his neck as she smiled benignly once again. "For which he is always sincerely grateful."
Amy now suddenly beamed. "But speaking of my rest and his work, let me tell you that there's nothing quite like spending a hot and sunny Saturday afternoon lying in my bikini on my chaise lounge in the yard, with a tall cool drink, reading a book but stealing long glances at Raef, dressed only in his cutoffs and sneakers, his skin glistening with sweat as he trims the hedges, hand mows and manicures the lawn, and weeds the garden, his only breaks coming when he refills my drink, or gets me a snack, or moves my lounger into the sun so that I can sunbathe, and then back into the shade so I can rest and read. Oh, I might allow him a little pleasurable downtime kneeling at the end of my chaise kneading and pampering my feet, but most of the rest of his afternoon is spent toiling in the hot sun for my amusement as I lounge. You can't imagine what a rush that all is."
"It does sound ... astonishing."
"It truly is. But I also have to tell you that no matter how delightful it is never having to be concerned with the daily domestic drudgery, it's the personal services that Raef provides that I appreciate the most."
"Personal services?"
"Yes. I've trained him to become quite the masseuse. His total body massages are to die for. I insist on having one at least once a week and sometimes even more often. And nothing is more soothing than his evening foot massages which he also provides for me each night while I'm watching TV." Amy stopped for a second to silently enjoy her contemplation. "And his pedicures are better than any you could ever receive at any spa." she finally declared.
For some reason this last one, as Erica cast a glance at the muscular, rock-solid, no-doubt-about-it, masculine appearing Raef, seemed to be beyond her ability to envision.
"Pedicure? ... Somehow I have a great deal of difficulty visualizing that."
"Well then why don't I have him give you one right now."
"No, that really won't be necessary."
"Why not? It would add some very mild but real hands on experience so to speak, on what we've been talking about. It would lend a nice personal touch for the article to relate to your readers. And we can continue our conversation while it's going on. What do you say?"
Put that way, despite Erica's very clear reluctance, it did make some sense and seem reasonable. And it had been ages since she had been to the nail salon.
"Well, okay then, if you don't think he'd mind."
"Mind? Not in the least. Excellent!" Amy turned to her husband. "Raef!" was all she said.
"Right away, Ma'am." he answered as he rose quickly and briskly departed. Little more than a minute later he returned carrying a basin of water, a soft sponge, a towel, and a black case. The easy chair in which Erica was sitting was actually a recliner, and Raef politely bid her to settle back so that the leg rest came up to the horizontal with her legs resting upon it. He put all of his paraphernalia on the floor, sank to his knees before her, and softly asked her permission to remove her pumps.
Erica was suddenly mortified about the condition of her feet. Being a runner, she was significantly callused, and she hadn't been joking about how long it had been since her last visit to a salon. Several of her nails were chipped, and her most recent self applied nail polish was uneven and already growing out. She felt extremely self conscious about being so exposed. But it would be even more embarrassing, she reluctantly concluded, to back out now. She gave a grim nod.
Raef carefully removed her footwear and set them aside. His first order of business was to take out a pumice stone from the case and set to work on her calluses. An athlete himself, he recognized their necessity so he did not try to substantially pare them down, but he did smooth down the rough and heavy edges and contour them more fully with the natural lines of each foot. Next he used a clipper to even out all of the chipped nails, and then filed each one until they all were of the same shape. When this task was finished he dipped the sponge into the warm water and meticulously dabbed and cleansed both of her feet before toweling them dry. Then after rubbing in a bit of scented lotion to each he gently placed small cotton balls between each of her toes. Once this was completed he leaned back on his knees, picked up and opened the case more fully, and looked up at Erica, presenting her the contents as he spoke for the first time since starting.
"What color would you like Miss Erica?" he asked with a bright and engaging smile.
Erica had become silently absorbed and increasingly fascinated by Raef's ardent ministrations. It had been a far more pleasurable experience thus far than she could ever have anticipated. She looked down at the dozen offered choices of nail polish and felt a few more inhibitions whither away.
