Help Wanted

 

 

 

HELP WANTED

Part One

 

All rights reserved.

 

 

 

I was getting older, 49 to be exact.  And though I could pass for younger, Hollywood for the most part was a young person’s game, and I was getting a little too old for the demand for the young, cute and cuddly.  Let’s face it, I was a dinosaur, and in the age of “reality” television when episodic drama had all but disappeared, I was definitely expendable.  I had worked in the business for a decade plus six, and while I wasn’t A-list, I had been a decent writer and able to provide a reasonable living.  While it was nothing outstanding, I had been able to secure a fine home, nice cars, vacations and the other niceties of a successful career. Circumstances change…sometimes drastically.  My second wife now lived in the house and drove the Mercedes I had purchased for her birthday while I made do in a dingy one-bedroom apartment with my son from my first marriage. I had survived in a tough business and had enjoyed the perks and freedoms of being a writer.  Only now, that career choice wasn’t too rosy.

            My divorce had put a major crimp in the financial situation and I had been out of work for almost two years.  With my savings depleted by the divorce settlement, business was never a strong suit, that, and the brutal shark of a lawyer my wife had hired, I was now on the brink of homelessness.  With bills piling on my desk, I needed employment in a hurry.  Let’s face it, I was desperate which led to a desperate decision that put me where I am today.

My ex and I had been friends with a younger couple for 14 years since our kids met at school—my son, now 20—was a couple of years older than their fraternal twins, a boy and a girl--and when I was offered a job working for them, I said yes despite my hesitancy and embarrassment of accepting employment from what had been friends.  It was a humbling experience when I was out playing golf with Jeff and he said that maybe something could be worked out.  At the time I detected an attitude of slight smugness, but Jeff always had that air about him.  He was intelligent, well-educated and while friendly and cordial, I always got the sense that he felt himself somewhat superior to me though it was so subtle that I always checked it off to my own insecurity.  Yeah, I might be able to beat him on the golf course, but I’m sure he felt that in the game of life he was ahead.

            He was a businessman with his own consulting business and few other side projects.  I wasn’t sure of his income, but it was well into the six figures, the forty-one-year-old Jeff was doing quite well.  Also, he and his wife, Ann, came from fairly well-to-do families.  Married while in college and having kids early, they were exceedingly mature for their age when I first met them during the Kindergarten year of school when my son was in the second grade.  They were comfortable, and while far from being ostentatious, they drove BMWs and owned a large home in a new subdivision, and pretty much did whatever they pleased, money never seeming to be an issue.  I can’t say I was ever jealous or envious of their financial comfort; at least I wasn’t until the work dried up and I found myself struggling to make rent on the dreary apartment that was home.  After the divorce, my wife and I had both remained friends with the couple, though my relationship was much cooler than the one my wife maintained with them, particularly Ann, who remained a close friend to my ex.

I wasn’t qualified for most employment, a self-made writer, I had only made it through a year and a half of college.  I had come to Hollywood with a briefcase full of scripts and was one of the lucky ones to actually find work.  Without any training or education and being on the old side, the work world wasn’t exactly clamoring for my services.  I was close to taking a supermarket job or something similar, maybe an assistant at a food-fast food place when Jeff said I could come and work for he and his wife.  When not involved with their children, his wife assisted with some of the businesses and supervised the maintenance of their household.  I’m sure my ex gleefully filled them in on my financial straits, so I wasn’t entirely surprised that they said they could use my help.  I WAS somewhat surprised I said yes, I guess the thought of looking for a menial job would be more humiliating than going to work for my smug friends.

His wife, Ann, was very attractive, definitely didn’t look her age of thirty-nine.  Tall and almost too thin, her shoulder-length light brown hair framed a pretty face that might have been a tad long, but nonetheless she was looker.  Of course, her smile was perfect, teeth white and straight and she had intense green eyes that flashed with impatience when things didn’t go exactly they way she sought.  She was a perfectionist and subtly demanding.  I knew that working for her wouldn’t be easy, that it would be unlikely anything would be complete satisfactory for her judging from the way she would nitpick and complain about every little thing in her life.

Jeff wasn’t much better.  He was immaculate in appearance and manner.   And he had the same perfectionist manner of his wife.  More than once I could over hear him on his cell phone upbraiding an employee to do their job right.  He wasn’t a screamer, but he knew what he wanted and how he wanted things done and accomplished.  So there it was, I had say yes and found myself one morning ringing the bell to their house, standing at the door, questioning how I got myself into such a situation.

We hadn’t discussed the details of my employment, only that my salary would be five-hundred a week, a far cry from the thirty-grand I used to get for each television script for which I received credit.  Jeff had said he was sure they would be able to find something for me to do, joking even if it was only cleaning their house, but that he and Ann always had a need for another hard working person in their life.  He said that they could use a secretary…administrative assistant he quickly corrected himself, that they could trust and depend on.  He did iterate that he and Ann could be demanding and I said I knew this well, and that I was eager and willing to work hard to please them.

The part-time maid answered the door and said that Mrs. Moore was expecting me in the office.  I walked back to the office, which was located in the rear of the house, a house that was decorated with great style and taste even if it leaned a little to the “shabby chic” generic.  It felt odd to be in the home when it wasn’t a party, play date or social visit.  I was anxious and still feeling slightly embarrassed that I had reached the situation for a mercy hiring by my friends.  The door to the office was partially opened and I walked in with butterflies roiling in my stomach.  Ann was sitting at the desk, typing on the computer keyboard.

“Good morning.”  I tried to sound cheery and eager to be there, though I had a certain dread running through me.

Ann didn’t look up from the computer screen.  “You’re late.”

Thankfully Ann couldn’t see me flush red from her comment.  Yes, I was late, but only by five minutes and I was struck by the coolness in her voice and that I was starting from a negative as it was evident that she was displeased by my slight tardiness.  “Uh, I guess, I’m a couple of minutes late.”

“No, five minutes, Mike.  I know with your Hollywood job things were a little more casual and that you know us socially and so forth.  But this is now a workplace and I expect you to be professional and prompt.”

Anger started to swell up within me and I almost turned and walked out as I felt I didn’t deserve to be treated quite so abruptly, but I didn’t want to fail on the first day and give Ann and Jeff any satisfaction that their standards were higher than mine and I would be unable to meet them.  Plus, I really could use the money.  “Uh, okay, Ann, I’m sorry, I will be on time from now on.”

“Good.  Your fine will be five dollars.”

“My what?”  I couldn’t believe she had the audacity to suggest a fine, particularly with the measly five-hundred I was earning.

“Mr. Moore and I will assess fines as we see fit.  Keep you motivated and from slacking off.”

“You’re kidding…right?”

Ann was not happy with my protest.  “Look, Mike, these are our rules.  If you can’t abide by them, then get out.”

Damn, I knew she could be tough, but this was a whole different side to Ann.  Again, I thought about leaving, but figured the fine thing was simply a ploy to get my attention and wouldn’t be much of an issue.  “No, no, I don’t want to leave.  It just seems a little unfair.  Particularly since I didn’t know about the rule.”
            “Well you know what they say about law.  Ignorance is no excuse.”

“Whatever you say, Ann.”

“Also, Mike, when you are in a work situation, you need to address me as Mrs. Moore and Jeff as Mr. Moore.  Do you have a problem with that?”

Wow, this was going to be harder than I thought.  Here was this woman, someone I had thought of as a good friend, someone ten years my junior, instructing me on how to address her.  “No problem, Mrs. Moore, you’re the boss.”

I could see a hint of a smile on her face.  “Yes, I am your boss now, Mike.  Please don’t let our history cloud our understanding of the current situation.”

“No, Mrs. Moore, I won’t.”

“Good.”  Ann looked up at me, her stern green eyes intensely scrutinizing me.

She looked great.  Wearing a skirt and blouse, barefoot, her toes, as always, perfectly manicured, this time in pink with a flower painted on each big toe.  I was glad, that if nothing else, I would get to be with her even if I was now in her employ.  I stood there for a couple of minutes feeling awkward as I didn’t know what I was supposed to do and I didn’t want to interrupt her.  Finally, I said, “What would you like me to do?”

I could see the familiar wrinkle of irritation cross Ann’s face as she raised her right hand as to stop me from talking.  “I’ll let you know as soon as I’m finished.” 

Again, I thought she was being unfairly abrupt.  She certainly wasn’t making this easy for me.  She worked for a few more minutes, before sitting back and looking at the computer screen as if she was scrutinizing her work.  But I got the sense she was making me stand there simply because she knew she could.

Maria the maid popped into the room.  “Ann, what would you like me to do with these papers on the coffee table?”

Ann looked up and warmly smiled at the maid.  “Just leave them on the kitchen table, I’ll go through it later.”

“Don’t forget that I have to leave early today.”

“I haven’t.  Mike will drive you home after lunch.  You know Mike right?”  Ann said, introducing me to Maria.

I said hello and nodded at Maria who glared back while saying, “Yes, I’ve seen him before.”

“He works for me and Mr. Moore now.  And he will be helping you too.”

Maria brightened at this comment.  “Very good.  I always could use help.  Much to do around here.  I go back to work now.”

Maria left.  Ann had been so much more friendly and warm with her maid, so much for the workplace formality she had just expressed to me.  “Let’s see, where was I?” Ann was looking at the computer once again.  She then swiveled her chair towards me, bare legs crossed, girlishly bouncing one foot as she looked at me.  “What shall I have you do?”  She had a smile on her face as if she was enjoying the fact that I was now her employee.  “This is a little odd, isn’t it, you working for us?”

“Yes kind of…”
            “I’ll have to admit though, I kind of like it.  And I’m sure Joann is going to flip when I tell her you’re working for us.”
            Joann was my ex.  I hadn’t really given it much thought of her knowing about it since I had been more concerned about getting some cash.  I wanted to ask Ann why she liked it, but decided not to press the subject.   I had been there twenty minutes, just standing and watching her work as I felt like a fool.  There was a chair on the other side of where Ann sat, but she hadn’t offered it to me and had made no effort to allow access to it.  So I had stood while she worked.  I thought it ironic that she had upbraided me for my five-minute tardiness, yet I hadn’t done a thing.  Typical boss kind of thing.  Finally, I couldn’t take the idleness anymore.  “What can I do for you?”

“Mrs. Moore.  Please don’t forget the proper manner of respect.”

“What would you like me to do, Mrs. Moore?” I repeated resenting having to address her that way.

“Right now, you may clean my car.  Vacuum, dust, wash it.  You know where I keep my keys.  The supplies are in the laundry room.  If you need any help finding things, ask Maria.”

“Yes, Mrs. Moore,” I said, knowing that the keys were on a hook in the kitchen, everything in the house having its proper place.

“Good.  You’re dismissed.”

Dismissed?  I felt like a servant and almost let out a sarcastic, yes oh great Mrs. Moore, but I said nothing.  I gathered the supplies and went into the garage where the SUV was parked.  I passed a large closet full of shoes, as the Moore’s had a rule of no shoe wearing inside the house except for guests who didn’t wish to remove their shoes or the exception of Maria who wore her thick sole nurse type shoes when she was working.  Having a foot and shoe fetish I imagined what it must be like to have to clean and polish Ann’s shoes and wondered if that would ever become one of my duties, though it would be humiliating to actually have to clean the shoes of someone who had been my equal and that I had known so long as a friend, nothing in the least kinky or sexual.

But interrupting my brief shoe reverie was the need to clean Ann’s ride and I got to work for the next hour and a half cleaning her new X5 trying my best to get it as sparkling as possible knowing Ann’s fastidiousness.  When I went back into the house around eleven, I found Ann sitting on the plush sectional sofa in the entertainment room and talking on the phone while Maria was sweeping the kitchen that connected to the area where Ann sat.  She was laughing about something when I began to sit on the sofa across from her.  Phone to ear, looking up at me she shook her head no indicating that I wasn’t to sit down on the sofa.  What was this?  Now I wasn’t good enough to sit on her precious furniture?

“Just a sec.”  She put the phone to her shoulder and said while pointing towards the kitchen, “Go make Maria and me turkey sandwiches and cut up some fresh fruit.”

“Yes, Mrs. Moore,” I said, quietly seething to myself.

“Did you bring lunch with you?”

“No, Mrs. Moore.”  I didn’t even think of bringing lunch.  Ann had always been generous in offering food or snacks during previous visits.  I had no reason to think otherwise.

She kind of shook her head and said, “That’s too bad.  I don’t want you eating any of the turkey in case the kids want something later.  Maybe after they have had their snacks, you can have a banana or something.  From now on, you’ll be expected to provide your own food.”

I didn’t know what to say.  I was dumbfounded with her attitude, so I simply said, “Yes, Mrs. Moore,” like a robotic idiot.

“Good.  I’m glad you understand.  Now go!”

I didn’t understand.  Why was she treating me this way?  Why did Maria get to eat her food but not me?  And as I pulled the turkey out of the refrigerator to make lunch and seeing that there was enough meat to feed the neighborhood, I realized that there was something more going on than simply having enough food for after-school munchies.  I could her hear continue the phone conversation and I realized she was talking with Jeff.

“He’s doing all right.  It will be an adjustment for all of us.  Of course, he started out on the wrong foot by being late…Yes, I fined him.”  There was a second of silence followed by much laughter from Ann.  “Yes, maybe we’ll have to do that.  He’ll learn or else.  All right, I’ll see you later, darling.  Love you.”  Ann put down the phone after hanging up.  “Is that lunch ready?”

I was hurrying to put her turkey sandwich together.  I had eaten enough at Ann’s house to know how she liked her sandwich prepared.  “Getting there, should be a few more minutes.”

“You need to work fast, Mike, I don’t like to be kept waiting for anything.”

“Yes, Mrs. Moore, I’m aware of that.  I’m working as quickly as I can.”

“That’s a good attitude, Mike.  I know I can be demanding, impatient, even unfair.  But that’s just me.  You’ll have to deal with it.”

“Yes, Mrs. Moore, I understand.”  I quickly finished the sandwiches and cut up the fresh fruit and put them on plates as Ann thumbed through a magazine.  “Your lunch is ready, Mrs. Moore.”

“That’s so cute the way you say Mrs. Moore, Mike.  Do you hate addressing me that way?”  Ann said standing and walking the few short steps to the kitchen.  “Maria that’s good,” she said to the maid who was puttering around the kitchen.

“No, if that’s what you wish, I have no problem.”
            “Good, Mike, you are more agreeable than I thought you would be.  You must have really needed this job.”

“Yes, I did…”

Ann was circling her hand for me to finish my sentence.  “Don’t forget your manners.”

“Yes I did, Mrs. Moore.”
            “And?”

Maria had taken a seat at the table and Ann was standing at an end chair waiting for me to realize that I was to pull out the chair for her to seat down.  And?  I wasn’t sure what she meant by that.  “And what? Mrs. Moore?”

The question displeased Ann who snapped as she sat down.  “A thank you.”

“Oh…thank you, Mrs. Moore for the job.”  I could see Maria smirking and trying not to laugh as she enjoyed Ann’s difficult treatment of me.

“That’s better.”  I placed the plates before Ann and Maria and began to clean up the kitchen.  Fixing the food had made me hungry, but I wasn’t about to venture into that territory, Ann had made it clear that her food was not available for me.

“Mike.  Do you think that Maria and I are some kind of philistines?  Where are our napkins?”

Messed up again.  “Sorry, Mrs. Moore,” I said, scurrying over to the table with two cloth napkins that I pulled out of a linen drawer.

“Apologize to Maria also.”

Ann smoothed the napkin into her lap as I handed the other napkin to Maria with my apology.  This was a little weird, but I was going to go long with Ann’s little game.  “Sorry, Maria.”  I turned to go back to cleaning.

“No wait.  I think you should address her as Mrs. Lopez.  Show her a little respect.  After all, you ARE the probationary employee around here.  And since you will be helping her with the household duties, she is going to be your boss too.”

This was getting to be too much.  The maid was my boss?  I flashed back to when I was working in television, the eager assistants hoping to break into the business getting us lunch, doing our errands.  I had sunk a long ways, but it could be worse, and I wasn’t eager to explore the job world any longer.  Besides, there was a little bit of me that enjoyed the new attitude displayed by Ann.  “Sorry, Mrs. Lopez.”

Maria giggled a little and said, “That’s okay.”

Maria and Ann discussed Maria’s trip back to Central America while I finished cleaning up the kitchen.  Ann telling Maria that she would have to train me on the ways of the household.  Even though the details of what I was going to be doing was rather vague when I agreed to work for the Moores, I didn’t really expect to be doing so much cleaning and such, but that’s what looked like would be needed, so that was what I was going to be doing.

After Ann quickly finished her lunch, she said she was going out to inspect the X5 and quickly disappeared.  Maria wasted no time asserting her status.  “Next time, no tomato on mine.”

“Yes, Mrs. Lopez,” I said, looking at her, trying to maintain my cool.

“Good.  Clean up these plates.”

I couldn’t believe she was ordering me to do this like she owned the place.  “What the…”  Before I could go any further, Ann had already returned.

“Mike, are you sure you cleaned my car?”  Her voice was full of disgust and she noticed the tomato slices that Maria had left on her plate, one of them with an obvious bite taken out of it.  “You don’t like tomato, Maria?”

“No, Ann, it make my stomach hurt.  I told him not again.”

“Good.  I’m sure he won’t.  I hate to see any food wasted.  You eat it, Mike.  You said you didn’t bring anything with you.”

“Yeah, but a tomato…”  I could see that the already agitated Ann didn’t want to hear my protest.  “…will be very good.  We all know about the starving kids who would love a tomato,” I weakly joked.  I took Maria’s leftovers and ate the two tomato slices.  They weren’t that bad and I tried not to think about the one that had a gap from Maria’s bite.  Anyway, I had worse things on the horizon.

“I want to show you what you missed on the car.  Follow me.”  We went into the garage where Ann slipped on a pair of older sandals and I put on my sneakers, then I trailed after Ann to the driveway where I had left it for her inspection.  She proceeded to show me a small streak here and there that a quick wipe erased.  And then she showed me a couple of pieces of grass on the carpet and a minuscule amount of sand left in a cup holder and some other dirt far underneath the seats.  “Do it right, then take Maria home.”  Ann turned and quickly walked back into the house.  I furiously cleaned the spots she pointed out then returned to the house where Maria and Ann were already saying goodbye.

“I’ll see you at nine, Maria,” Ann said, giving her maid a hug.  “Make sure you open the door for her, Mike,” Ann instructed, enjoying her little power trip.  “Before you come back, you need to go to the store.  Here is a list of things I need.”  Ann handed me a grocery list and a hundred dollar bill.  “Hurry up, you’ve got a lot of work to do around here.”

I escorted Maria out to my old beater of a Camry and opened the passenger door for her.  “Sorry about the mess, Mrs. Lopez,” I said as the older woman slid into the seat.  Maria must have been in her late forties, plump and somewhat matronly.  She wore glasses and her teeth were somewhat crooked.  She favored print dresses that she probably picked up at garage sales, and always wore pantyhose and those ugly back nursing shoes with the thick soles.  She directed me to her house, nothing else being said except this way or that.  When we pulled up to the small place on a busy street, she waited for me to get out of the car and open the door for her.  “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said trying to be friendly.

“Yes, you have much to learn.”  Maria walked up the cracked cement sidewalk to her home as a teenage girl came out the door to greet her mother and eyed me suspiciously.

I drove to the grocery store and tore up and down the aisles as fast as I could.  I knew it wouldn’t be fast enough for Ann, especially after she called me twice on my cell phone adding items that she had forgotten to list.  Never mind that they were at the other end of the store.  I returned to the house and carried the groceries into the kitchen.  Ann emerged from her office and started looking through the bags of groceries to assess my purchases.

“Store must have been busy,” she said, inspecting the romaine lettuce I had purchased.

“Yes, Mrs. Moore, I went as quickly as possible.”

“I’m sure you did.  These grapes taste like crap.”  She had eaten a test grape then took the rest and threw them into the garbage can.  “Don’t you know how to pick out fruit?”

“I thought so, Mrs. Moore.  It’s hard to tell with grapes.”

“How much were they?”

I scanned the register receipt.  “Three ninety eight.”

“Did you get the little spiral notebook?”

“Yes, Mrs. Moore.”  I was getting nervous and off balance finding myself disappointed that I had let Ann down.

“All right.  Add the three ninety-eight to this morning’s five dollar fine.  That’s part of your job to keep track of the penalties you are assessed.”

I was going to have to pay for the grapes she didn’t want?

“And while you are at it.  Fifty cents for the tomatoes wasted on Maria’s sandwich.”
            I tried to protest.  “But the tomatoes didn’t go to waste…”
            “Quiet.  I don’t want any arguing.  If you are going to do that, then leave.  Now!”

I should have left, but I couldn’t.  Jeff had promised to pay me that evening my first week’s salary and I needed the money.  “No, Mrs. Moore, I won’t argue.”

“These bananas are a little green, but we’ll keep them…”

And on through the grocery sacks, many things earning a criticism.  By the time she was finished, I had been fined again, this time five fifty eight for purchasing the wrong deodorant for her.  She told me I could either take it back and get a refund or use it myself, but that she expected me to purchase the correct one before I returned in the morning.  It was a brand geared for women, so I didn’t want to use it.  And I needed it to exchange it for the correct kind (though I was sure I bought the correct one in the first place) so I wouldn’t be out of any more money.  The fine still stood even though I was going to make it right the next morning.

After I put away the groceries, I was told to vacuum and dust while Ann worked on a project.  As I cleaned, I began to dread the end of the school day when her children would come home and see me in my new role as their mom’s employee.  I hoped it would be low key, or even better, I would be dismissed before Nicole and Jordan came home.  I was vacuuming the formal living room when Nicole entered the house.  She was a senior, 18 years-old.  She stopped for a moment when she noticed me in the living room.  Gave me a little wave and then went to look for her mom.  Though Nicole seemed to always have liked me, she also had the air of privilege and possessed the same keen intelligence of her parents.

A minute later, Ann appeared, again looking displeased.  I shut off the vacuum.  “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Vacuuming,” I innocently said, knowing that this wasn’t the right answer.

“You didn’t see Nicole come home?”

“Yes, I saw her.”

“You work for the entire household, Mike, the entire family.  I know she is a friend of your son and that you’ve known her a long time, but you are now her employee and when she comes home from school or any other time, you will check and see if there is anything she needs.  Got it?”

I didn’t exactly agree to be working for her daughter, but I wasn’t about to argue with Ann.  “Got it, Mrs. Moore.”

I went into the kitchen where Nicole was sitting at the table.  Before I could say anything she said, “Mom said you work for me now.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Miss Nicole.”  Ann was standing right behind me.

“Yes, I work for your family now, Miss Nicole.”

“If there is anything you need, you just tell him.  And if you ever have any problems with him, if he disobeys you or does something wrong, you tell me so we can correct his behavior.”

I was red again, I felt like a dog or something.

“Okay, mom.”  Ann went over and gave her daughter a hug  “That’s my baby.  All right, I’m going to finish up my project.  Mike, after you’re done with Nicole, finish your vacuuming then clean the bathrooms.  I will warn you ahead of time, there will be fines for incompetence.”

“Yes, Mrs. Moore, I’ll get right on it.”

Ann left the room, I looked at Nicole who was staring at me with a smirk on her face, it was getting to be a familiar look.  “Is there anything I can get you, Miss Nicole?”

“This is kind of cool.  I’ve never really had anyone working for me before.”

“Well you do now.”
            “Did you forget something?”

 “…Miss Nicole.”

“Going to have to report that to mom.”

Whatever.  “So, is there anything that I can get for you, Miss Nicole?”

Nicole was still reveling in her power.  “Calling my mom Mrs. Moore, that’s weird…and me, Miss Nicole.”

“It’s a matter of respect, Miss Nicole.”

“I like it.  Well, employee Mike, I want some apple slices with peanut butter.”

I simply nodded my head and opened the fridge to prepare the apples.

“Make sure that you peel them, I don’t like the skin.”

I nodded my head trying to avoid the Miss Nicole thing.

“Did you hear me?”

“Yes, Miss Nicole, I heard you.”

I quickly prepared her snack as I needed to get to work on the cleaning as I knew that Ann would soon be expressing her impatience.  “Here you go, Miss Nicole,” I said, laying the plate on the table, peanut butter in the middle surrounded by her apple slices.

“Hey, that looks cool.”
            Finally, a compliment even if it was from a eighteen-year old.  “Thank you, Miss Nicole.  I need to go back to my cleaning.”

“All right.  But I might want something later.”

“Just let me know, Miss Nicole.  It will be my pleasure,” I lied.

I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning only stopping to fix another snack for Miss Nicole.  After an intense scrubbing and it was getting near five o’clock, I finally decided to tell Ann that I was finished with the three bathrooms of the house.  She was in the kitchen preparing dinner.

“Mrs. Moore, I’m finished with the bathrooms,” I said, feeling childish that I was reporting to her in such a manner.  I’m sure Maria never did such a thing.

“Fine.  I’ll check them when I get a chance.  Now, I want you to scrub the laundry room floor.”

I looked at my watch once again.  “How long were you planning on me working today?”

“…Mrs. Moore.”  Ann corrected.  She wasn’t going to let go of that.

“Mrs. Moore.”

“Until we’re done with you.”  She returned to preparing her meal.

We hadn’t discussed hours, but I assumed it was to be a regular hour gig.  Obviously, Ann had different thoughts.

“All right, Mrs. Moore.”

As I began to leave, Ann said, “Mike, this isn’t going to be easy.”

“I understand, Mrs. Moore.”

“And I mean scrub that floor, Mike.  Hands and knees, buff it clean.”

“Yes, Mrs. Moore.”  I glanced over at Nicole who was watching television, I’m sure she was laughing at me.  I got the necessary supplies and began cleaning the bright white tile floor.  I scrubbed for about five minutes when Ann appeared in the doorway.  Looking up from my kneeling position, she had one hand on her hip, the other hand a crooked finger indicating that I was to follow her.  She was imposing and the look on her face meant she disapproved of my cleaning job.

“Come on, Mike, let’s go,” she huffed.

Now what?  I stood and followed her with a dread of pupil going to the principal’s office.  First visit was the downstairs bathroom where Ann ran her finger along the edge of the basin and displayed the residue of cleaning powder that I hadn’t completely removed.  “This isn’t acceptable.  I thought you said this was clean.”

I didn’t know what to say.  I had never seen Ann this angry before, or even angry period.  She had hidden this side of her personality.  “I’m sorry Mrs. Moore…it won’t happen again.”

“It better not.  That’s a ten dollar penalty.”

“Ten dollars…”  I stopped, no need to escalate the issue.

“And the roll of tissue is to be folded like this.”  Ann demonstrated a small triangle on the tissue.  “That’s only going to cost you three dollars.  But each time I find that the tissue is not folded properly, you will be penalized.”  She stopped for a moment as I waited for the next criticism.  “Aren’t you going to write down those fines?”

“Oh, okay, Mrs. Moore.”  I pulled the spiral notebook and pen out of my pocket.  Ann had instructed me to carry those with me at all times, not only to note my fines, but in case she had something she wanted purchased or something to be recalled.

Gee, she expected me to check the paper every time anyone was in the bathroom?  I knew the upstairs bathrooms were the same.  I wanted to run ahead and fix them before I was penalized for them, but I didn’t have that chance as Ann told me to follow her.  We entered the master bathroom and the first thing Ann did was point at the toilet paper that wasn’t in a triangle and simply said, “That’s another three dollars.

She found a couple of hairs in the tub, a little dust underneath the cabinet and a handle that she didn’t think was suitably polished.  Another five dollars worth of fines.  Onto the children’s bathroom where I was informed that fines would be doubled.  Again, a few minor flaws that cost me another ten dollars.  While we were doing this, Jeff had arrived home.  We could hear him talking with Nicole, but the words were indistinguishable.  I could see Ann visibly brighten at the sound of her husband’s voice, I only wished he had arrived earlier to put her in a better mood.  Still, it wasn’t going to be easy to see Jeff in my new role.  And then I heard another male voice and realized that Nicole’s twin brother was home, an arrogant kid who was the typical popular jock at school type.

“Fix what I showed you, finish the floor downstairs while we eat.  After dinner, then you can meet with Jeff.”

“Yes, Mrs. Moore.”

Ann disappeared.  It wouldn’t take long to finish the bathrooms and that would only leave the laundry room.  I was looking forward to going home.  It had been a long day.

I finished the laundry room and avoided seeing Jeff.  After semi-hiding behind my chores, I could hear them finishing up with dinner that smelled so good, my stomach aching for a meal, Ann only allowing me a banana.  I had also bought a candy bar at the grocery store.  Ann was calling for me and I had no choice except to face the entire family.  I took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen where they all sat around the dining table.

“Hi Jeff,” I said,

Ann glared at me and cleared her throat reminding me of my error.

“I mean, hello Mr. Moore.”

“Hello, Mike.  How was your first day?”

It sucked.  “It was fine, Mr. Moore.”

“Mike,” Nicole said.  “Get me more cola.”   Jeff looked at his daughter with a bit of surprise, but the grins on everyone else’s face, except mine of course, relaxed his attitude.

“Yes, Miss Nicole,” I said, getting the soft drink from the refrigerator.

“Isn’t that cool, dad,” Nicole said.  “Our own employee.  Mom says we can boss him around all we want.”

“Oh she did, did she?”  Jeff was now smiling at his wife.

“Yep.  He has to keep our rooms clean.  Fetch us drinks and snacks.  Anything we want.”

“Well, Nicole, to a point, Mike has certain duties that he must attend to.”

“Oh, we know,” Jordan, Jeff and Ann’s son said.  “We know we have to share.”

“This is quite a change isn’t it Mike?  Still want to work for the Moore family?”

“Sure, Mr. Moore.”

“Clean off the table and wash the dishes.  Then in the office.”

Jeff rose from the table.  “Let’s watch some television.”

I watched him for a moment.  He was wearing dark slacks, dress shirt, blue socks, his shoes in the garage closet.  He moved with arrogant confidence.  It was hard to believe this man was in control of my life at the moment.  I had beaten him many times on the golf course as Jeff wasn’t athletic.  In fact, physically, he was kind of soft with a slight belly around his middle.  But he never lost that attitude and could dig the knife in whenever needed.  I finished up my chores as the Moore family relaxed on the sofas.  Jeff and the kids watching a movie, Ann thumbing through a decorating magazine.  When I was done, I went over and stood behind Jeff and said, “Mr. Moore, I’m finished.”

Jeff looked straight ahead as he firmly said, “Didn’t I tell you to go to the office when you were done?  Or are you just stupid?”

Stupid.  I felt ready to punch him as his kids laughed at the comment.  “Well excuse me, Mr. Moore.”  I couldn’t hid the sarcasm in my voice.  “I will go to the office now.”

“I’ll deal with you in a moment,” Jeff snapped.

I waited probably forty minutes before Jeff entered the office along with Ann.  I was sitting at the desk, moping about my situation   “Out of my seat, Mike” Jeff said.  “You’re not allowed to sit on our furniture.”

I stood up and Ann sat in the other chair.  “I don’t appreciate your attitude,” Jeff said as he imitated my “excuse me, Mr. Moore.”

“I’m sorry Jef…Mr. Moore.  I’m very tired and it’s been a long day.”

“I don’t give a damn about your day or your excuses.  You wanted to work for us and we were generous enough to give you a job.  If you don’t like it, then get lost.”

“It’s not that…”
            “And the way you are going, you’ll never make it through the probationary period anyhow.  I should fire you right now.”  Jeff was slinked back in his chair, his fingers interlocking, legs crossed as he studied my reaction.

I don’t know what it was, but I was about to cry.

“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”

“I…uh…I need the job, Mr. Moore.”

“I don’t like the Mr. Moore, just make it sir.”

“I need the job, sir.”  I was now calling my former pal, sir.

“I don’t know, honey.  I had to fine him a lot today.  I don’t know if he is worth the trouble.”  Ann was enjoying this, watching her husband put me through the ringer.

“True, from what Ann has told me, by the end of the week, you’ll be owing us money.”

“You were serious about the fines?”

“Of course we were, idiot,” Ann said.

I blushed from being called an idiot.  Jeff said, “Mike, you have to show us that you really want the job,”

“And how should I do that, sir?”
            “Think of something.”

I wasn’t sure what he wanted, but I sensed this was going to take another direction.  For some reason, I was desperate to work for them.  “I really really want the job, sir…Mrs. Moore.”

“You can call me, ma’am, matches the sir.”

“Ma’am.”

Jeff got an evil little smile on his face.  “Beg for your job.  Show us how much you care, how badly you need to work for us.”

I had tears in my eyes as I sniveled, “Please, sir, ma’am, may I work for you.  I’ll do whatever I can for you.”

Ann was grinning as she said, “I think the little baby is crying…wah…wah…wah”

Jeff laughed.   “You know, when I see someone beg, I think they should demonstrate proper respect for their superiors.”

Ann piped in with, “Yes, kneel and beg for your job.”

By now, I no longer cared.  I fell to my knees, sinking into the carpet and said, “I beg you, sir, ma’am, may I please keep my job?”

Ann also had her legs crossed and was bouncing her leg up and down.  I think the whole scene was getting her excited.  “I don’t know, dear, do we allow him to work for us?” she said dramatically.

Jeff was staring down at me, seriously contemplating something.  “I don’t know…I suppose we can give it a little more time.”

“You’re so kind, honey.”  Ann was sitting next to Jeff and leaned over and gave him a kiss.  “Show Jeff your appreciation for his kindness.”

“What do you mean, ma’am?” 

“Kiss his feet and say thank you, kind and generous sir for giving this old washed-up loser a job.”

“What?  Are you kidding?”

“Just do it,” Ann sneered.

I looked up at Jeff who shrugged his shoulders as if to say, what can I do about it.  I knew this was a now or never moment and was strangely excited by the whole situation.  Not kissing Jeff’s feet, that was way beyond anything I had imagined, but I wouldn’t mind kissing Ann’s pretty feet.  I crawled forward and quickly kissed the top of Jeff’s socked foot and said, “Thank you for your kindness and generosity, sir in giving this old, washed-up loser a job,” just as Nicole appeared in the doorway.

“What are you guys doing?”

I couldn’t see her reaction, but it must have been amazing to see me in this position.  And how much did she hear?  It was true, I was a washed-up loser.

“Is he kissing your feet, dad?”

“Don’t worry about it, Nicole, we’ll be done in a moment.”  Jeff was not pleased by his daughter’s appearance.

“Can I make him kiss my feet too?” she eagerly asked.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Ann said, “go back to the television.”

“Sure.”

“And shut the door,” Ann added.

The door shut and Ann said, “Now, where were we?”

“Mike was thanking me.”  Jeff sounded pleased.

“That’s right,” Ann said.  “Do it again and mean it.  And Jeff has two feet.”

“Yes, ma’am.”  I once again kissed the top of Jeff’s crossed over foot, then scrunched over further and kissed the foot that was on the ground.  Jeff’s feet had a moderately strong aroma and it was enormously humiliating to be kissing them.  As I was doing this, Ann had picked up a digital camera from the desk. 

“Again,” she commanded, “I want a record of this.”

I once again kissed each foot, Ann taking a picture each time, making me pose so she could make sure my face could be clearly seen.

“All right, do the same for your Mistress,” Jeff said.

“What was that?” Ann asked, a curious excitement in her voice.

“It seems appropriate.  After all, we practically own him.  Ma’am is ok for public stuff, but Mistress Ann has a cool ring to it.  Not quite so matronly.”

“Yeah, I like it,” Ann mused.  “And that means, he should call you Master.”

“Yeah, whatever, Master or sir is fine.  Go on…” Jeff nudged me on my face cheek with his foot, “Kiss you Mistress’ feet.”

“Yes, Sir.”  I kissed the top of each of Ann’s feet while Jeff snapped a few pictures with the camera.

“I can’t wait until I show these to Joann,” Ann said with glee.

“Please don’t, Mistress.”

“Are you telling me what to do, Mike?”  She took her foot and bopped me on top of my head with it.
            “No, Mistress but…”

“You just do as your told and behave yourself and we’ll see about the pictures.  Can you imagine all the moms and dads at school seeing you kissing our feet?”  Ann and Jeff were both laughing.

“Yeah, that would make quite the impression.”  Jeff agreed.

“Ah, look at the little foot kisser, I think he’s going to cry some more.”  Ann loved rubbing it in.  “Joann was so right in leaving you.  I’m glad I encouraged her to do so.”

I had heard rumors that Ann was behind motivating Joann to leave me.  Ann had always been so nice previously to me, that I didn’t believe it.  Now, it was all too easy to believe.  So much for the image she projected.

“You have no idea how much we know about you,” Ann said.  “When Joann was planning the divorce, she asked for my help, which I gladly gave her knowing what a loser you are.  And Jeff here, being the computer expert, was kind enough to go through your entire computer history.”

I knew I was sunk.  The pornographic websites that I used to visit.  The movies and stories I downloaded.   I’m sure he found it all.  They say you tell about everything from a person from their computer and I know that Jeff was a computer expert.

“You are quite the kinky little pervert.  Female domination websites, chicks with dicks sites, all kinds of weird stuff.”

As Ann spoke, I felt myself go nearly dizzy as if she could see into my being.

“There won’t be any secrets, you’re going to tell us everything.  You’re going to live a lot of those things you fantasized about.”

“When Ann and I first talked about hiring you, we didn’t really know if it would come to this, but if it did, we thought it might be fun to have a wimp to kick around.  We need the help, and the one thing you are besides being perverted, is honest and reliable.  So no matter what, we figured we couldn’t lose.  But when Ann called me this morning telling me how easy it was to push you around, that you scarcely raised a voice in protest, that’s when I told her to go for it, to keep pushing you.  And since we knew that deep down you crave this sort of thing…well, here we are.  You on your knees, kissing our feet, crying like a baby begging for your job.  There are people in this world who rule, and those that serve, and I always got the feeling you were one of the servers, the pleasers.  It looks like I was right.”

I had my head down and was staring at the floor.  No longer sniveling, I knew that any submissive desires I had were about to explode.  Jeff put his foot under my chin and tilted my head up.  “Look at your Master when I’m talking to you, boy.  At least, when you have permission to look at us.”
            “Yeah, I’m not so sure I want the scumbag looking at me,” Ann chimed in.  “In fact, if I see you looking me in the eyes, you will be fined big time.  You keep your head bowed in my presence, look at my feet or something, like you do all the time anyway.”

Yes, it was true, I was always looking at Ann’s feet.  I had no idea that she had noticed.  I looked up at Jeff, his dark brown eyes intent as his wife’s eyes.  His foot still underneath my chin.  “You are now our slave, our servant.  You will do whatever you’re told, without question, without problems.  Quickly and to the best of your ability.  Is that understood?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good.  Ann and I will continue to fine you as we see fit.  We will also begin punishing you for your mistakes.  I would advise you to do your best because I would love to take a paddle to that wimp ass of yours which I will do anyway simply because I can.”

As I was looking up at Jeff, I began to feel genuine fear as he talked of the paddle realizing that he was serious about being a Master.  Despite his arrogant nature, I never suspected he would be into such a dark and kinky area.

“There is a lot we will have to be going over, but I don’t want to take the time right now.  I’m sure the kids are quite curious about what’s going on in here after Nicole saw you kissing my feet.”  Jeff was smiling.  “I guess that is something she is going to see a lot of.”

“Yes, what are we going to do about Nicole and Jordan?”  Ann asked.

“Like we have been.  Explain that Mike now works for us and that it is old-fashioned strict way of showing respect  It will work out, don’t worry about it, honey.  After all, they are now young adults.”

Ann smiled lovingly at her husband and got up from her chair and positioned herself on Jeff’s lap causing Jeff’s leg to jump around, his foot bumping into my face as if I wasn’t even there.  “Mmm, all of this is making me hot, lover, “ she cooed.

I had never even remotely seen this type of affection between them and it was, again, quite a contrast.

“You’re not looking at us, are you, scumbag?”  Ann asked, between long kisses.

“No, Mistress.”  I stared at the floor.

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this in front of him,” Ann questioned.  “He doesn’t deserve such a treat.”

“Have to disagree with you on that one, sweets.  He’s just a piece of shit property, this is a little way to remind him of what he is missing.  What it’s like for a real man and his woman to share intimacy.  I’m pretty sure once we’re done with him, he’ll never entertain the thought of a genuine relationship again.”

“True.”  Ann laughed.  “Not that he was much in bed before.  Isn’t that right, shithead?  Joann told me all about what a limp dick worthless lover you were.”

I didn’t say anything, I was too embarrassed at the truth of the statement.

“She asked you a question, do I have to get my belt off right now?” 

I believe Jeff was serious and wasn’t making a vague threat.

“No, Sir.  Mistress is correct.  I was…am a lousy lover.”

Jeff chuckled.  “I believe you, Mikey, I believe you.  I’ve never worried about you being around my wife.  All that time you spent with her when the kids played together, I never once thought, gee…is Mike screwing with Ann.  Not only because I knew that she didn’t like you, but that we both had a good idea that you were a wimp loser.  Repeat after me…I am a wimp loser.”

Quietly and with great dejection, I said, “I am a wimp loser.”  I looked up at Ann on Jeff’s lap.  They made a great looking couple.  The portrait of young suburbanite success.  They were embraced once again and thankfully they didn’t notice my glance.

“MMm, that was so nice,” Ann said, breaking apart their kiss.  “I’d better go out front.”  She smoothed her skirt and stood up while I remained with head bowed, keeping my eye on the floor.  “What are you going to do now?”

“I have some work to do, shouldn’t keep me up too late tonight.  But first, I was thinking that maybe I should punish that piece of crap down there.”  Jeff kicked me lightly in the ribs.  “So he gets an idea of what he can expect in the future.”

“What about the girls?  They’ll be sure to hear it.”

“Possibly.  We don’t have to tell them anything specific, something like dad is correcting the servant’s behavior.  Eventually, I’m sure they’ll be witnessing the discipline.”

“Or wanting to mete it out themselves…especially that Nicole.”  Ann giggled.  “She can be very tough.”

There was knocking at the door, this time it was Jordan yelling through the closed door.  “I can’t find my guitar.”

“Just a sec.” Ann said moving towards the door, “I wanted to watch you, babe.  Give me a couple of minutes with the kids, then I’ll be back.”

Ann left the room, Jordan peeking in and seeing me kneeling on the floor.  I heard him ask Ann what was going on, Ann simply saying that they were talking to Mike.  Jeff didn’t immediately say anything, letting me squirm in the moment as I stared at the floor, feeling his commanding presence over me.  Finally he said, “If you try to run away from us, we’ll be sure to ruin your life though it’s pretty much headed that way anyway.”

“Yes, Sir, I understand.” 

“But you probably like this anyway.”  Before I could say anything more, Ann returned.

“Okay, they seem to know that something is going on, so we’d better do this quick.  I’ll guard the door.”  Ann was excited as if she was kid on Christmas morning.

“Stand up, shithead.”

I was scared, so nervous I was nearly shaking.  “Please, Sir, do we have to do this?”

Ann laughed at my pitiful plea.  “I think the wimp is scared.”

“Stand up and drop your pants.”  Jeff’s voice was deep and serious and growing agitated.

I stood up and fumbled around with my belt and then dropped my jeans.  Despite my nerves and fear, I was also excited, my cock straining against my boxer shorts.

Jeff had a voice of disgust and impatience.  “Underwear too, idiot.”

“Geez, look how little he is even with all his excitement,” Ann said as I pulled down my underwear, both it and my jeans piling at my ankles.  I was looking down at the ground, but I could hear Jeff undo his belt buckle.

“Bend over the chair.”

I shuffled over to the office chair that was in front of the desk and bent over the arms.  It was very uncomfortable, the arms hard and digging into my ribs though I’m sure that Jeff and Ann could care less.

“Comfortable, Mike?”  Jeff asked his voice filled with obvious happiness at my predicament.

“Not really, Sir.”

“Good.  I don’t want you to be and I want this punishment to be etched clearly on your mind.  You will not…”  Jeff wasted no time and delivered the first blow from the belt, it was firm landing with a loud splat. I gasped from the pain.  “…ever forget your place.”  Jeff punctuating the four words with four quick lashes of the belt.  There was no warm up and nothing erotic about being beaten by the man.

“Please, Sir, I won’t forget my place.”  I had squirmed and thrashed about as he hit me.

“Keep your voice down,” Jeff commanded giving me another brutal slash with the belt, this one causing me to involuntarily cry out.  “Shut up you stupid pig,” he said quietly but angrily.  “You’re not going to control yourself are you?  You are going to have to learn to take a beating without making a sound.  For now…”  Jeff reached down and pulled off one of socks, “you get this.”

Ann laughed and said, “Oh god, that is beautiful,” as Jeff stuffed the malodorous, damp sock into my mouth causing me to gag slightly as he pushed it in deep.

“You like that, darling?”

“Yes, it’s fantastic, sweets.”  Ann was backed up against the door, and I believe I detected a change in her voice and breathing as if she was excited.

“Get ready for more, pig.” 

I bent over and steeled myself.  Jeff laid the leather on thick and harsh.  One lash after the other in quick succession, my mind flashing white with pain as I moaned into the sock gag, spittle running down my face, tears forming in my eyes.  I was nearly hyperventilating from the agony and was praying that this would soon end.  I couldn’t believe how sadistic the mild-manner Jeff was as he continued my beating.  He finally stopped, I’m not sure how much time had passed, but it seemed like an eternity.  I could hear him breathing hard, my ass was throbbing and felt like it was swollen to twice its normal size.  The room was very quiet like everyone was exhausted from one long orgasm.  I didn’t dare move until I was told to.

Finally, Jeff said, “That was quite a workout.  Next time, maybe I’ll use one of Nicole’s riding crops that she loves to use on her horses.”

Ann seemed awed by the situation.  “Look at his ass.”

Jeff laughed.  “Goddamn, I did fuck him up, didn’t I?”  Jeff was moving around and picking up the camera from the desk.  He snapped a few pictures of my battered bottom.  “You’ll look at these everyday as a reminder of the power your Master has,” he said.

“Yes, Sir,” I mumbled, the sock still in my mouth.

“I’d better check out front.”  Before she did, Ann walked over and traced a finger across my bottom.  “Look at all those welts and bruises.  I wouldn’t want to make you mad, honey,” she said tenderly to Jeff.

“Yeah, can you imagine what I could do if I was angry?”

Ann snuggled up and gave Jeff a long hug and kiss.  “Mmm, yeah babe, I don’t know if I could imagine, but I wouldn’t want to be there.”  Ann gave me a hard slap with her bare hand on my tender and sensitive ass, which caused me to jump excessively.  She laughed and said, “Look at that, a little slap from me and he almost goes through the wall.  I’ll see you soon?”

“Yes, I’ll finish up with him and then will be out.” 

Ann left the room once again and I remained still.  Jeff ran the leather of his belt across my damaged ass.  “That was enjoyable and a warning to you that we’re not kidding around.  Understand?”

I mumbled another yes.

Laughing, Jeff pulled the sock from my mouth.  “Yuck, you got my sock all wet and there is drool on the chair.  I should beat your ass for that.”
            Broken, fearing it meant more whipping, I fell to my knees and started frantically kissing his feet, one bare, the other still with a sock.  “Please, Sir, please, Master, no more…I can’t take it.”

Jeff snickered as a kissed his feet.  “All right, if it means that much to you.  I’ve got better things to do right now than beat your ass.”

“Thank you, thank you, Sir.”

“But I like this groveling, Mike.  Very appropriate.”

If possible, I felt even more embarrassed in the manner I had totally debased myself.  This was someone who not long ago I had considered an equal, and now I was groveling and slobbering his feet with kisses, completely defeated.

“You know you look ridiculous.  Pants and underwear at your ankles, crawling around on the floor.  Take off my sock.”

I removed his sock.

“Kiss my foot.”  As I kissed his foot, he continued, “Whenever you remove our shoes, socks, stockings, you will kiss our feet to show your reverence and humbleness.  And you will be doing that often.  In fact, when you are here, you know our rule about no shoes in the house, whenever we enter or leave the house, you will remove or put on our shoes.  You will have a myriad of duties that we will get into later.  For now, pull up your pants.  Wipe the drool off the chair and come out front.”

Jeff left the room while I quickly cleaned up.  I wondered how much the twins heard, they must have heard the slapping of the leather on my skin; what would they think was going on?  I took a deep breath and walked out front.  Jeff and Ann, with his arm around Ann, were sitting on the couch between their children.  They all took glances at me then returned to watching television.  I was exhausted and wanted to go home.  I stood at the kitchen counter that bordered the casual room and waited for Jeff or Ann to say something, the room was eerily quiet, the daughters not their usual perky, loud selves.  I’m sure that they knew.

Finally, I had to say something.  “Is there anything else I need to do today?”

“I want a Popsicle,” Nicole said.

“Yes, Miss Nicole.”  I hurried to the refrigerator.  “What flavor, Miss Nicole?”

“I don’t know…strawberry.”

I retrieved the Popsicle and went into the room and handed it to her.  It meant walking in front of the rest of the family as Nicole was on the far side of the sectional.  As I handed it to her, Jeff showed his displeasure and error of my ways.

“You just got in our way.  Do you expect us to move our heads so you can do your work?”

“No, Sir.”  I was getting fearful again that he would punish me.

“You didn’t open it, stupid,” Nicole said.  No one said a work about her calling me stupid.

“Oh, sorry, Miss Nicole.”

I opened the package then knew I had to retreat to the other side of the room.  Jeff seemed to sense my dilemma.  “Crawl.  Keep yourself low enough so you don’t block our view.”

I fell to my belly to keep low enough, then squirmed across the floor to the laughter of the family, particularly the girls.

“That’s so funny,” Jordan said.

Nicole added, “This is way too cool.  Can I make him do something, dad?  Please…”

“Like what, honey?”

“I don’t know…make him bark or something.”

“All right, you can do that.”

“Bark, Mike, bark.”

“Woof…woof.”

This completely cracked up the girls, “That’s a good doggie,” Nicole said.  I glanced at Mike and Ann sharing a look that they knew Nicole was going to run with this.  She took the wrapper off the Popsicle and threw it onto the floor.

Ann started to say something about Nicole throwing her trash on the floor when Nicole said, “Fetch, doggie.”

I was still on my hands and knees and I turned and looked at Ann and Jeff with pleading and questioning eyes…did I have to do this?  I also glanced at the 18-year-old Nicole, who was looking at me with a challenge to disobey her, her brown eyes as intense as her mother’s.  Nicole was wearing shorts and a blouse, her bare feet rested right next to the wrapper on the floor.

Jeff calmly said with a smirk.  “Do what your told, Mike.”

I turned around crawled to pick up the wrapper.  As I reached for it, Nicole plopped her foot on top of it.  “Pick it up with your mouth, doggie, doggies don’t have hands.”

Ann laughed.  “Nicole, you are so mean.”

Nicole proudly said, “Yep and Mike is going to learn just how mean.”

“Don’t get carried away with yourself,” Jeff warned.

“I won’t, dad.”

Nicole’s foot was directly on top of the wrapper and I couldn’t get to it.  “What’s the matter, doggie, can’t you reach it.”
            “No, Miss Nicole.”

“Ask me nicely and maybe I’ll move my foot.”

“Miss Nicole, could you please move your foot.”  I glanced up at Ann and Jeff to see their reaction to all of this.  They appeared rapped on the television.

“I saw you look at me, Mike.  That’s another ten dollars,” Ann said.

“Yes, ma’am.  Please, Miss Nicole…”I begged.

She moved her foot enough to expose half the wrapper.  “With your mouth, doggie.”

When I leaned over to pick up the wrapper with my teeth Nicole took her foot and planted on my face covering my nose and mouth.  “Do you like my feet, doggie?  Do they smell good?”

Nicole’s feet had a strong odor, I knew she often wore sneakers without socks, and I wasn’t sure what to say.  “You have very nice feet, Miss Nicole.”
            “Yeah right, doggie,” she said, shoving my face with her foot, before pulling it back.  “Pick it up!” she ordered.

I picked up the wrapper.

“Crawl out of here and put it into the trash with your mouth.  No hands.”  Giggles from the others accompanied my humiliation as I crawled through the living room.

Her voice cheerful, Ann asked, “Nicole, where did you learn to be so mean?”

“It comes naturally, mom…Don’t use your hands to open the cabinet door, doggie.”

I was about to reach for the door when Nicole said that, instead, I pushed the door open with my nose and then dropped the Popsicle wrapper into the trash with my mouth, shutting the door with my nose.  I crawled back to the edge of the carpet and the hard wood floors.  Jeff said, “Get out here, Mike, you’re going to have a long day tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, standing.  No one even looked at me.  “Goodbye.”  Again, ignored, like I wasn’t even there.  This was humiliating, I wasn’t even worthy of human acknowledgement.  I left the house, went home, ate a quick dinner and collapsed into bed.  I was sure Jeff was right about one thing, tomorrow was going to be a hard day.