It took Helen a full six days to make contact and she asked if we could meet. I saw Helen two times over that week but she either didn't see me or didn't want to. Once was on campus for a fleeting second and the other in Marleys, the coffee shop. On both occasions we didn't speak but we did exchange a glance at Marleys.
She was sitting at my usual table and was facing me, her son Graham had his back to me and was unaware of my presence in the shop. They were deep in conversation and she seemed agitated, I could tell by her demeanour that she was uncomfortable when she saw me standing at the counter.
We had not spoken since our last scene and I knew she was avoiding me. As it was not my place to make the first move I decided to play along with the avoidance and let her stew.
Graham on the other hand was the complete opposite, he was positively gushing at school and did all he could to please me. I found a bright yellow, long stemmed daffodil in a small glass vase each day on my desk at school, he must have picked up on the fact from the pictures in my house that they were my favourite flower. This kid was a good one and if I had been twenty years younger, who knows.
I had not had him to my house since the night with his mother but he had pleasured me in the stockroom last Tuesday afternoon which was very nice. He did try to talk about the night last week but I shut him down each time telling him we would talk in time. He was becoming a master with his tongue and would keep a wife very happy indeed in the years to come. I was quite glad he had not seen me in the shop so I took my coffee to go, having my lunch in the park instead.
I phoned Cath, I was meeting up with her on Friday night to talk about this club venture she was getting involved in, apparently she was not only interested in becoming a mistress there but was also thinking of investing quite a lot of cash into it too. She wanted to know my thoughts on the matter and maybe did I think I might like to join her. We talked about all sorts of shit but mostly of what I should do about Helen, she thought much the same as me and to let her make the contact, after all she was the client. It did feel strange though, I think it was because of my relationship with her son that made me feel closer to her than I should be.
Thursday afternoon was my last class for the week, it would be an awkward subject. As part of the degree courses, my students would have two weeks to write a paper on 'the psychology of incest' and what it does or does not do to the family. We would have a talk about how common it actually is, and is it more prevalent between fathers/daughters or mothers/sons or siblings.
After our last scene I was wondering if Graham might not turn up for this lesson, I needn't have worried as he was already in the class when I arrived.
"Miss." He said. "Before anyone comes in, could I see you later. We need to talk."
I nodded and smiled, "Yes, meet me at Marleys around five-ish."
Just then the first group of students started to arrive, I let them all settle for ten minutes and to my surprise we ended up with a full class of nearly sixty.
"Hmmmm," I said with a smile, "Incest seems mighty popular!"
Most of the students roared with laughter, there were a few that looked uncomfortable with the upcoming subject so I tried to make it as easy as I could.
"Right, there is no easy way to broach the subject and incest is a delicate matter. The society we live in frowns upon it, but you may be surprised to learn that incest is far more common than we are led to believe."
I picked up my cane and pointed to the graphs I had up on the main board showing the statistics.
"Studies show that probably each of you will know someone that has participated in consensual incest at one point or another, which means at least one or two people seated in this class have likely had sex with a family member."
Gasps were audible as the students looked around trying to gauge which ones might be involved, if at all any were.
"My next graph shows that it is more common amongst siblings than any other grouping in our graph, but in certain cultures around the globe it is considered normal for the family matriarch or mother to pass on sexual techniques to her sons before their marriage."
I could hear pencils scribbling madly into note books as I spoke, I looked directly at Graham as I spoke my next words, he was not taking notes but looking intently back at me.
"In certain cultures, marriage can be around or just after the time of puberty so I ask you to use your own imaginations about that one!"
Again I heard gasps and tutting.
"It is commonly thought of that in our culture especially, sons have fantasies about their mothers more than likely because of the forbidden taboo. It does not translate into that same statistic for girls with their fathers though, many girls marry a man like their father but it's rare for consensual incestual relations. It is thought that at a certain stage of a boy's life, his mother will become the main object of his sexual imagination. It is widely thought that it probably comes from periods in our far distant history when sons had to protect the family, the women from wild animals or invaders."
I handed out papers to each pupil in the class, stopping at Grahams seat to see him adjusting the front of his trousers. I smiled at him and dropped his paper into his lap to cover any embarrassment he might be feeling.
"Miss?"
"Yes Sandra."
Sandra was a beautiful young thing and didn't usually make herself known, she was normally quite shy and let others take the floor.
"Miss, how many people actually act on the feelings, do you know?" She said in a quiet timid voice.
"Let's just say a lot, lot more than you would think." I replied.
"We will get into that more next session, for now I want you all to write a three thousand word paper on why incest is so frowned upon. Use the internet but go careful." I said with a wink.
"I would prefer you take at least two to three weeks to complete it as we will get further in-depth into the subject over the next two weeks. You will be surprised at how the subject is intertwined with psychology and psychiatry."
I made my way to Marleys just after five to find Graham sitting at our table waiting. He had two pieces of treacle sponge cake and a couple of lattes on the table, one double cream and sugar. I nodded my approval at his choice and thanked him.
"Ok, what's up?" I said.
"Miss, the lecture today. I, erm, well I,"
I reached out a hand and laid it into the back of his,
"Say it, don't be nervous."
I had a feeling what was coming, I had seen him a couple of times since our sex session with his mother and knew it was troubling him.
"My mum, I know it was her. In the house, in your playroom. I know it was her."
I raised my coffee to my lips and took a slow mouthful of cream, licking the cream from my lips I looked him in the eyes, cocked my head and said just one word.
"And?"
"And, AND?" he asked, a little louder.
"And." I repeated in a quiet voice.
"You made me fuck my own mother in the ass!" He hissed under his breath.
"It has been so awkward at home for the last week knowing what I know. I couldn't look her in the eyes, she knows something is wrong......Does she know it was me? She doesn't know, does she?"
He had panic in his voice now so I put him at his ease.
"No. She knows it was someone young, someone around your age but she doesn't know it was you, don't worry. Unless.........do you want her to know?" I said with a raised brow.
"God no!" he said, a bit too quickly.
I smiled and thought to myself, 'oh he soooo wants his mother to know'.
I dropped him home and spent the whole evening pampering myself in a nice hot bath with oils. I had no clients for the whole weekend, in fact tomorrow I would be the client, I had Marcus my personal trainer coming over at 9am for a session. I tried to train at least twice a week to keep up my stamina and figure, as I neared the dreaded middle age I wanted to look as good as I possibly could. I have been told by quite a few that I look ten years younger than I actually am, I hope that its not just flattery.
I woke at 6.30am and had a quick shower followed by a coffee and one piece of buttered toast. My 5k run flew by in a record time of just over twenty minutes, I started running a year ago and my times then were touching thirty so in barely a year I had knocked a third off. I was proud of myself and my personal trainer would be too I thought.
At home I had a quick juice and piece of mango before Marcus turned up. He put me through my paces over the next few hours and when we were done I was glad that I had taken the weekend off.
I relaxed on a lounger in the back garden with a white wine topping up my tan, I had another four hours before Cath was due.
The phone woke me at 3pm, I must have dozed off and it startled me, it was Helen.
"Hello, Abi."
It took me a second to register her voice as I was still half asleep.
"Helen?" I asked.
"Yes." She said. "We need to talk, I need to see you."
My fuddled brain started to clear and I said. "You need to, do you?"
"Sorry," she said, "I didn't mean as harshly as it came out. Can we meet, please."
"That's better." I said in a sterner voice. "You have a session booked for next Tuesday, can it not wait for then?"
"No, no, I really need to talk. My head is in turmoil, you have opened something in me that I had no idea was there. I am not sure I am ready to walk through the door that you have opened."
"Helen, my dear Helen, we are both in the business of the mind. We both know that hidden fantasies, desires and the like only come to the fore if we truly wish them too don't we?"
The phone went silent.
"My job is to find those desires, those delicious little fantasies and push the right buttons to bring them kicking and screaming to the surface."
"But, but....."
