Chaperone

She looked at me for a second then down at herself and the dress she had on.

I just grabbed a wooden spoon and used it to point with. Out!

I fixed grilled cheese sandwiches and heated some tomato soup while she was upstairs. I was almost done when Mom came through the front door.

"Where were you?" I asked as I buttered some more bread and unwrapped another slice of cheese for her.

"At the hospital with mother." She dropped into a chair next to Kelsey at the table. "Father fell off a stepladder."

"He what?" I turned around. "Is he okay?"

"He broke his ankle. They're keeping him overnight and he'll have surgery tomorrow."

"But, other than that he's okay?"

She nodded.

"Is grandmother okay?" Kelsey asked.

That got another nod.

"She's fine. Upset because he's hurt, but fine otherwise."

"Thank God." I turned back to my sandwiches, flipping them onto a plate and turning off the heat underneath the pan. "What about you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Kevin, just a little tired. Sitting in a hospital waiting room hoping for good news isn't very restful."

I could agree with that.

THIRTEEN

Kelsey went with mom in the morning to be with grandmother while granddad had surgery. I, on the other hand, had class. Seriously wondering if I should just drop out because the degree wasn't really worth pursuing any longer, I spent the morning listlessly working on ideas for my final exam project for my graphic arts class. All I had were some assorted clipart images I was trying to assemble into something original and not succeeding very well. Like I said, originality isn't my forte.

After class I went home to find mom and Kelsey in the living room.

"How is granddad?" I asked as I walked in.

"He's fine." Mom said.

I looked at her.

"He's fine." She repeated herself.

"What about you? Are you fine?"

She nodded yes but I could see that she wasn't. Not really. The memory of dad's heart attack was probably very real in her head right then. And there wasn't anything I could do for her except let time do its thing.

I went in the office to sit at my desk and try to do some work on the computer, I still needed to figure out the appointment calendaring system. Seriously, I needed someone to help me figure it out. I couldn't enter anything on the calendar, clicking and typing did nothing. There were no tabs, no pull down menus, and none of the usual keyboard commands worked either. It was like I had a static image on my screen and no way to access it. In the meantime, I had even more social requests for Helen in my inbox and I had no idea what to do with them.

"Why isn't there a way to do this?" I grumped to myself as I moved the files into their own folder to get to later.

The worst part was that Helen had a dinner invitation on Saturday. With granddad laid up, I was either going to have to cancel it or chaperone her myself. And I had no idea how to do that either.

I was sitting there thinking of that when I realized that Marjory was in the same boat. And I didn't know what her schedule was at all. Reaching, I picked up the phone and dialed my grandmother. Hopefully Greg was awake.

"You can't enter anything, you have to send confirmation of acceptance and the association sets the meeting up." Greg told me after I drove over there.

We were looking at the screen on the computer as we talked. Greg had his left leg in a cast to his knee but insisted that he could sit up long enough to get me going on the correct path. To my eyes, he was pretty banged up and hurting even without the broken ankle but I needed the information he had as soon as possible.

"Okay." I looked at the calendar. "How?"

"Email the same person who sent the file to you. That's Helen's manager. He'll enter the acceptance on her calendar. If you have a date and time you prefer, send that as well. If that works for the Male, then her manager will set it up and email you back."

"And if it doesn't work for the Male?"

"If the date or time doesn't work, he'll check Helen's calendar and set it for a time when she's available and the Male is as well. You'll have to keep him informed of every appointment she has, doctor, dentist, and so on so there won't be a conflict from any of that."

"That seems like a roundabout way to do it."

He shook his head.

"It's not. The association is who sets it up, not you. Remember, you're not involved at all so the association has to be the liaison between Helen and the Male."

Oh, that made sense now that someone explained it to me.

"Okay, how do I know whether to accept or not?" I clicked on the folder in my email that had the files of the meeting requests in it.

Greg shifted slightly and pointed at the screen.

"Click on one. When it opens what you want to do is look through the details on what the Male is looking for and see if that matches what Helen is looking for."

"And what's that?" I opened the first one.

"You have to ask Helen what she thinks she's missing right now. Unlike Marjory she changes her need a lot."

"Changes her need? Like how?"

"Sometimes they have an itch they need to scratch. For instance, and I think I told you about this once, at one point Marjory was feeling stressed from all the requests she was getting and wanted someone to just have a relaxing afternoon with occasionally. Have lunch, see a movie, things like that, on an infrequent basis. We were looking and not finding anyone. One day a new Male sent a meeting request. He's single, travels a lot, and doesn't have any family in the area. He was looking for someone to spend time with when he's home. We accepted and the association set up a dinner meeting where Marjory and Peter hit it off. Now whenever he's home he lets me know directly and I tell her manager to calendar them."

"And you go with her?"

"Not always. For that particular Male, I don't need to be there and I'm just a third wheel who gets in the way of them enjoying their outing together. Since they only rarely sleep together, I'm not needed to return her. Marjory is fairly low key in that regard and she has enough control over herself on the days they do sleep together to get herself home, just like on the days when she sleeps with you." He looked at me his face grim and serious.

"Helen isn't like that, she's aggressive and her males are too. Someone has to be there with her every time."

It was a hint that the someone he was talking about was going to have to be me. It also put me on notice that her Males weren't looking to just spend an afternoon with her having lunch or watching a movie.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing when I'm her chaperone." I turned in my chair to face him directly.

"It's not difficult. You drive and be present. If they decide to go off on their own, you let them. When Helen wants to leave, you drive."

"What do I do in the meantime? When they're off by themselves I mean."

"Wait. If there are other people there, you can talk and socialize with them until Helen is ready to go. If not, read a book or do something like that."

That didn't seem too difficult.

"It's not easy." Greg warned me. "You know what they're doing and you're involved emotionally with one of them."

Abruptly he seemed to switched subjects.

"Do you know what role play is?"

I nodded yes. Who didn't?

"Okay, sometimes there may be some role play, or they could have sex right in front of you, because that excites the Male. If it happens you have to be able to control yourself and not turn into an asshole. Sometimes I still have trouble with it and I've been Marjory's chaperone a long time."

"You need to be aware that if you don't keep a lid on your emotions it'll ruin Helen's life because all her Males will abandon her. Jealousy and possessiveness on your part will get Helen kicked out of the association too. Think of what that will mean for her need."

Yeah, I could see that and it wasn't a pretty picture to contemplate.

"It's worse on the drive home." He threw that in there as well.

"Why?" I couldn't see how.

"Because you know what she's been doing and now you have her to yourself again. Every dark street or alley will look like a great place to just pull over and park so you can satisfy yourself. You can't give in to that impulse no matter how much you want to. Trust me, you'll want to. Don't."

"Why not?" I was confused.

"Because you're not just another Male. Treating her that way will make her think of you like you're just another Male and you'll lose her. There's no turning back from that point. There's no way to fix it and no apology will be enough to make her love you again. She doesn't love her Males but she loves you. Don't be just another Male. Don't ever be just another Male."

"Oh." I looked at the screen with the file. "You've been chaperoning Helen, has she told you what she wants to change? If anything?"

Greg shook his head no.

"She hasn't said anything to me. She wouldn't because I'm not the one who manages her calendar. What I do know is that Helen frequently sees new Males. Sometimes for just an initial meeting, sometimes only to be courted once or twice. It changes based on her need and you have to ask her about it. If you do, and her need changes, she'll tell you. Then you look for a Male that fits that need."

"Like what? What has she told you?"

"She doesn't tell me, she tells, or used to tell, her manager."

"Can you give me a hint about what that could be?"

"I don't really know. Like I said, she didn't tell me. You have to ask her, then go through the files to see if there's a Male who matches what she needs."

"Can't she do that herself?"

He shook his head again.

"She's not allowed because it could lead her to second guessing her selections or more likely just picking them all. You have to be the one to control her, she won't control herself. Actually, she can't, her training eliminated her ability to do that. It's why she needs a chaperone. Without one, all she'll do is follow her training and find the Male."

"Find the Male?"

"It's a training command. Don't ever say it to her. Ever. Not unless you want a frantic and out of control sex starved fiend on your hands. The one time I accidentally said it, by the time Marjory was done with me I was raw, bleeding from where she bit and scratched me, and my tongue was numb. It stayed numb for three days. Don't make the mistake I did, never say those three words together."

He looked at me and got back to the subject at hand.

"You need to talk to Helen and then go through the files. You may not find anyone suitable. That's not a problem, just let her manager know that none of the current requests work for Helen at this time. If anyone else makes a meeting request for her, he'll send that file for you to review. When you get a new file, talk to Helen and see if her need has changed. If not, email her manager."

He closed his eyes for a long moment at that point. Which looked and sounded like a dismissal so I stood up.

"At least you're making appointments, I have to cancel all of Marjory's." He opened his eyes and reached for the computer keyboard.

"You don't have to do that." I stopped him. "I can chaperone Marjory if you and she don't mind."

"Don't worry about it. Marjory understands that she'll have to do without while I can't be there."

"Why should she have to? I'm here and I can help." I looked at him. "Unless you don't want me to."

"Not want you to? Kevin, you have no idea how helpful you've been in keeping Marjory satisfied even with the limited time you spend with her. She loves you. If you're willing to do this, ask Helen first. If she's okay with it, then we can work together on both schedules so there's no conflict between them. But, if Helen says no, then that means no. Don't try and go behind her back, you won't like the result."

FOURTEEN

"I am fine my love."

We were sitting in my office with the door closed. Originally I'd asked while we were in the living room with Kelsey but Helen had looked at me and then directly at my sister who was watching and listening. I got the hint, leading her into the office I closed the door behind us.

"Greg told me to ask you if your need had changed and whether you want to change your appointment calendar because of it."

"My love, I am fine." She replied again smoothly. "I am more concerned with you overextending yourself than anything else."

"Me?" I was suddenly confused. "I'm not doing anything."

"My love. You are going to school, working, and servicing three women at the same time. On top of that, you are starting a fashion consulting business and now you're going to be my chaperone. Your scent is becoming bitter because you are overworking yourself."

In other words, I was too stressed out and going in too many directions at once. Part of that was also an unstated concern that I wasn't paying enough attention to her like she needed me to. Too many other things, and women, were taking up too much of my time and she was feeling ignored because of it.

"I will heed your warning and see if I can do something about it. At the very least, I will graduate soon and then one of the things you're concerned about will be gone. I also hear you, even though you aren't saying it specifically, that your need for me is not being met. I will do something about that too. If that is still insufficient for you, please remind me again that you come before everything and everyone else."

I meant it. I would start paying her more attention than I had been. She was worth it.

"Thank you my love."

"Is there any other need you have?"

"Not at this time my love."

"Is your schedule sufficient for you?" I held up my hand. "Helen, I'm asking because I don't know the true level of your need. If you get greedy I won't know it. I also won't know if you're unsatisfied. You must tell me if your need is being sufficiently met, or not, with the number of Males you have right now."

"I am fine my love."

"In managing your calendar, I have several new pending requests for meetings with you. Would you like to accept some of them so you can socialize with new Males?"

"Not at this time my love."

"The two Males you are currently servicing are only half the number of Males you were servicing. Is there a reason for the reduction in your social activities?"

"My love, you are overextending yourself already. I cannot ask you to do more than you are already doing now."

Wow, I felt like I'd been slapped by a hefty dose of reality when she said that. Helen was curtailing her need because I was too busy to help her with it. Granddad had probably been just as busy with both her and grandmother to chaperone for. No wonder her calendar wasn't filled like she said it used to be.

"I already said I will change that. When I do, will you want to increase the number of Males you socialize with?"

"No my love."

"What about the Males that are asking to meet with you, should I tell them all no thank you on your behalf?"

"My love, they will wait. If they find another more suitable while waiting, then they were not suitable for me to begin with."

In other words, the socializing requests I'd gotten were the association equivalent of the shotgun approach to dating. Statistically, that worked in the real world. The more women you asked out, the more likely it was that one of those women would accept. In this case, if it didn't they'd still be there if Helen changed her mind. If it did, they would withdraw their invitations on their own. Which ultimately meant there was at least one headache I didn't need to deal with right now. I took a deep breath, this time to prepare for the next question.

"Greg asked me to ask you whether you'd mind if I temporarily took over as Marjory's chaperone. I would do this only while Greg is healing and only if you permit it. If you will not permit me to do this, I will not."

She sat and looked at me. Her eyes went flat and her face blanked. I'd seen that look on her face before and it wasn't one I wanted to see right now.

"I told you, I heard you. This is not the same thing as me not giving you enough attention,"

She just continued to look at me stonefaced.

"Mom, grandmother has needs too. Right now she needs me to chaperone for her."

Still no response. I sighed loudly and got up. I was reaching for the doorknob when she spoke.

"My love?"

"Kevin." I opened the door as I said my own name. "My mother calls me Kevin."

I was almost out the door when she spoke again.

"Kevin?'

"Yes?"

"Do you need to do this for mother?"

"No. This is a debt I owe to granddad." I turned around to face her squarely rather than talk over my shoulder.

"And for mother?"

"You, are beautiful." With that I took one step backward and closed the door.

"Well?" Kelsey asked from where she still sat on the couch. The only difference between now and when mom and I went into my office was that now she had mom's puzzle book on her lap.

"I can't talk about it."

"Can't or won't?"

"Can't. Sorry Kel, it's not allowed. I didn't know or I wouldn't have said anything where you could hear."

"Can you tell me what mom's still doing in there?" She looked at the office door. "Or is that off limits too?"

"I don't know." I glanced over my shoulder. "I asked her if I could chaperone grandmother. She didn't like the idea. I tried to explain that I owe granddad for him chaperoning her, but I don't know if I got through to her or not."

"You want me to see if I can try to get her to see it from your point of view?"

I shook my head no.

"She needs to think about it and understand for herself that she owes granddad too. He's not just another Male and she needs to realize she's being selfish by not reciprocating now that grandmother needs someone to help her the same way."

She looked at the office door again.

"If she doesn't come out by the time you go to bed, I want you to do me a favor."

"Sure."

"I want you to sleep in her bed tonight."

She looked at me.

"I need her to know that I'm alone and not sleeping with someone else just because she's upset over what I asked her. I can't do that if you're in bed with me."

"I can sleep in my own room instead."

I shook my head.

"No. It's the symbolism. If you're with her, you can't be sneaking into bed with me when she's asleep. I told you in the beginning, I will not cheat on her. I meant it, I won't. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure she knows it."

"You should tell her that."

"Kel, if you're with her all night long in her bed, I won't have to because you'll be saying it for me."

"Oh." She stood up and headed for the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"To get changed into my PJ's."

"PJ's?" I didn't even know she had pajamas because I'd never seen them.

"You don't think I'm going to sleep with mom in her bed wearing just my underwear and a T shirt do you? What would the neighbors think if they found out?"

She came back down the stairs in a few minutes wearing actual pajamas, satin red ones with white piping on the edges. Stopping on the bottom step she looked at me and raised her hands in silent question. I shook my head to tell her than mom was still in the office. In a couple of steps she opened the door wide enough to slip through and close it behind her again.

I could hear her talking as I went past but I didn't stop to hear if mom replied. Instead I thumped my way upstairs, intentionally making my feet echo loudly with each step I took. I had class and a half day at the bookstore tomorrow and I needed to be well rested in the morning.

I went to bed alone for the second time in less than a month. Sometime in the early morning, well before dawn, Helen slipped into bed with me and cuddled against my back rather than my front. I knew it was her by the way she snuggled herself against me. Rather than say anything, I just pulled her arm around my chest and went back to sleep.