The Housekeeper - Chapter 34 Part 3 of 3

The Housekeeper

By Karen Singer

Chapter 34 Part 3 of 3

Joseph Halifax sat wide-eyed and frightened on the floor.  The woman had woken him up and handed him a bowl of homemade stew.  It tasted incredible!  Best tasting meal he had eaten in a while.  But then, he was frightened for his life just then.  He was sure anything would taste good. 

He desperately wanted to ask what she wanted… what she was after, but he dared not say anything for fear of being shocked again.  In the back of his mind, he knew the answer had to be money.  So why didn’t she just come out and say so? 

He still didn’t know how he had gotten here.  He still didn’t remember anything after leaving his office last night.  At least he thought it had been last night.  He wasn’t totally sure of anything.

He watched the woman and a young teenage girl moving around the kitchen, doing dishes together!  Was the girl her daughter?  What demented things was a woman like that teaching to her kid?  If it was her kid.  He could see them talking together, but they were keeping their voices low so that he couldn’t really hear them. 

He finished eating and eventually the woman noticed.  She came over and stood back from him.  “Set the bowl and your spoon down and move away,” she commanded. 

He did as he was told… obviously she was taking every precaution to prevent him from attacking her.  He sat there and watched as she picked up his bowl and carried them back to the kitchen… where the girl cleaned them.  And he watched as the woman stayed in the kitchen and started… cooking!  She was at it quite a while before she came back to him again.  By that time, the house was starting to smell pretty good.  He looked up at her to see what she would order next. 

“Sit in the chair, Mr. Halifax,” she ordered. 

Too late, he saw the remote control in her hand again, and he was too slow to react before he again felt the searing pain in his neck.  He hurried to sit down.  He never once gave a thought to touching the collar around his neck.

“Stand up!” Janice ordered.  And it started all over again.

It didn’t take as long this time, but then, Janice knew it shouldn’t.  Still, her voice had grown more than a bit weary by the time he was once again under her control – the hard way.  And once he got to that state, she introduced him to the impossible, impenetrable wall that would lock all his will power to defy her away… and make sure that her will would always override his will… and that he would always remain under her control.  Every time he ever stood up… every time he ever sat down… that wall would grow just a tiny bit thicker… a tiny bit stronger… even though the wall had started out as being impossible to break through in the first place.  It was simply… insurance.  Insurance, just like the commands that he could never do anything to hurt her… or even let anyone else know about her… or even let anyone else know about what went on in the cabin.  That was all classified information that he was never allowed to divulge to anyone.  Ever!

When she had finished, she didn’t wake him up, she kept him hypnotized and completely under her control.  She found the cell phone that had been in his jacket pocket.  “You said you were supposed to spend the weekend with Lisa?” she asked.  She saw a smile and his eyes seemed to focus on something in the far distance. 

“Yes,” he replied, his mind obviously on the woman he had intended to tarry with.

“Call her,” Janice said.  “Tell her an important business opportunity suddenly came up yesterday afternoon so you couldn’t meet her last night.  Then I want you to completely break off your relationship with her.  Tell her you’re not going to be seeing her anymore.  Tell her you have someone else in your life now.  Then I want you to hang up on her.  Do you understand?”  The look on his face was somewhat troubled.  Obviously, he liked the woman.

“Yes,” he replied, although even under her control, he didn’t sound happy.

“Take your phone,” she said as she held it out.  “And call her. 

As much as the normal Joseph Halifax would have balked at doing it, this Joseph Halifax had no choice in the matter.  Even though he was disappointed at not seeing the woman again, just as Janice had ordered.  He made the call, and quickly broke off the relationship – hanging up the phone in the midst of the woman’s complaints.  That fast, that easy, the relationship had been broken.

“What other plans did you have for the weekend?” Janice asked.

He shook his head.  “None.  Just Lisa.”

“Was there anyone at all that you were supposed to call or see this weekend?”

Again he shook his head.  “Not till Monday.”

Janice was glad.  She had gotten very lucky.  “By Monday morning, you will be back once again in your office, and I can assure you that you will be feeling perfectly happy and well rested.  I can assure you of that.”

There was no change in his expression as she took the phone away from him again.

The river raged dangerously as Stan cast his fishing line into the water.  He was only standing knee deep in the current, but it was already threatening to wash him away.  For the last few years, he and Roger had always fished together.  He had a few other friends he had fished with in the past, but they weren’t close and he hardly ever actually saw them.  As much as he enjoyed fishing, even alone, it was times like this when he would feel a lot more comfortable to have someone else around to fish with.  All the rain this year had made fishing a downright dangerous pastime. 

But as much as he wanted Roger around just then, he also wasn’t sure if he wanted Roger around at all.  Lately, Roger had been acting nothing but crazy.  Bizarre!  And that wasn’t even considering the fact that he now couldn’t help worrying over whether he and Jennifer were getting back together again.  He liked Jennifer – more than a lot!  He didn’t want her and Roger hooking back up again now.

What the heck had happened between them when they had gone “shopping” together?  What had Jennifer done with him so that she was insistent that he now “owed” her something?  He was betting it had something to do with what had gone on in the changing room… or more likely changing rooms!  He could just imagine them both getting undressed in those small places and…  Well, his imagination was conjuring up all too many things that they might have done in there. 

Damn them both!

With the current pushing hard against the back of his legs, he moved his right foot out a little further into the water to try to get to a better location for his next cast.  But in the process of shifting his weight across the slippery rocks, the raging water tore his leg right out from under him and he went down fast!  The water where he had been standing was only knee deep, but the moment he lost his balance the current started carrying him out toward the deeper part of the river.  His waders began filling up with water making it more difficult for him to get to his feet.  If it wasn’t for the belt snugged tightly around the top of them, the water would have rushed in and filled his waders in moments and it would have been impossible for him to get up.  He could have easily drowned.  As it was, it was all he could do to struggle back to the bank. 

He was wet… and scared!  He could have easily died, and nobody would ever know!  He needed someone to fish with so they could watch each other’s back.  He needed his fishing buddy back.  As much as he hated to admit it, the one fishing buddy he really wanted with him again was Roger. 

He could have died a few moments ago.  His situation had been somewhat dangerous.  Whatever was going on with Roger right now, Stan had the feeling that Roger was equally as scared.  He could have used a friend around to help him when he fell.  Despite how Roger continued to treat him, did Roger need a friend around to keep him… safe?  Sane?  Or at least to know that someone had his back if he needed it?  Despite everything Roger was doing to drive him away, Stan had the distinct feeling that Roger did need that kind of help.  He did need that friend to always stand by him – no matter what! 

Damn him!  What was going on in Roger’s life?  And… was Jennifer crawling back under the covers with him again?  Damn her too!

With a sigh, he threw his fishing pole into the back of his truck and started peeling off his waterlogged waders.  Roger had always been there for him in the past – even at the times when things hadn’t been going well for him.  Like the time he had gotten drunk and wound up in jail… Roger had been there to bail him out and console him.  Like the time when his mother had died… Roger had been right there at his side.  Like the time the last woman he had gone out with – and he was considering marrying, dumped him.  Just like Jennifer had done with Roger.  Roger had been there at his side to try to cheer him up and get him though all of it. 

He needed his fishing buddy back.  He needed his friend back.  Roger was going through something major bad right now.  Major weird!  And Stan still thought there was a lot more to it than just this business of him wanting to become a woman suddenly.  Totally weird!

One way or another, he was going to have to stand by Roger through all of this – no matter what was going on… no matter how much Roger tried to push him away.  He was going to stand by Roger and be the friend that Roger needed.  And like it or not, he was going to have to get to the bottom of Roger’s problems and find out what the heck was going on… and fix it!  Or he might never go fishing again!

But how?

He remembered that Jennifer had been trying to get Roger to show her what he looked like in some dress that evidently he had bought with her.  And evidently the dress had been one that he needed… for church!  As unbelievable as that sounded. 

So what the heck time did Roger leave for church anyway?

He had wanted to complain.  He had wanted to protest the moment she walked up to him after dinner and told him to sit in the chair.  But the sight of the remote control in her hand prevented him from saying anything.  But even as the thoughts of complaining were running through his head, his body was already moving for the chair the moment she had told him to go.  As he sat, his mind was already conjuring up the feel of the pain from the collar locked around his neck… that he dared not touch.  Knowing what was in store for him again, he was gripped with fear.  Why was she doing this to him?  But he didn’t have a chance to dwell on that for long, as the commands started coming again.  This time, he gave over to them as quickly as he could.  This time, he tried to blank his mind so he wouldn’t have to suffer what he knew she was capable of doing to him.

Janice was pleased with how fast Halifax was going under this time.  But these concentrated days… or weekends as this case was, often went that way.  It was why she always did it this way.  The first weekend she always concentrated on nothing but asserting her total control.  Next time, if all seemed to go well, she could move into new territory.  When he was sufficiently ready, she again reinforced all the commands she had given him before.  She reinforced the impossible wall that would grow stronger every time he stood up or sat down, and she reinforced her trigger that would immediately drop him into a deep hypnotic trance the moment she told him to sleep and obey. 

She dared not do anything more with him tonight.  She dared not do that kind of programming with him again too soon.  But hopefully, the hypnotic trigger would give her all the leverage with him that she would need… for now. 

Telling him to lay down on the plastic covered floor, she put him to sleep… a sound and happy sleep… for the rest of the night.  He wouldn’t awaken until she told him to wake up.  And then he would be wide awake, no longer hypnotized at all.  But that wouldn’t happen until tomorrow morning. 

She grabbed the plastic bucket that now smelled horribly and carried it into the bathroom and emptied it.  She rinsed it clean in the bathtub before bringing it back and setting it in place again.  He would most likely need it tomorrow morning after she woke him up.

She glanced around the large room.  Everything was moved and jumbled out of the way… yet everything was just as she wanted it.  She glanced into the kitchen.  Carol had done all the dishes and now the kitchen looked spotless… just as she liked.  Carol was sitting at the kitchen table with her school books… although Janice had a good idea that if she wasn’t there just then, Carol wouldn’t even touch the books. 

She walked over behind her daughter and put her arms around her.  Kissing her head, she said, “I love you.”

Carol turned her head back some.  “I love you too, Momma.”

“Want to try the hot tub for a little while?” Janice asked.

“Can we, Momma?”

“Why not?”

“I don’t have a bathing suit,” Carol noted.

Janice smiled.  “Neither do I.”

But Janice’s mind was going far past the little bit of naked time she and her daughter would spend in the hot tub together.  Last night, she had slept on the couch while Carol had occupied the large main bedroom.  Tonight, she would sleep with Carol in the big bed too.  She didn’t allow it often, but when she did, the extra tender loving she would engage in with Carol in the bed was going to be very welcome to both of them.  She knew that Carol loved that bit of motherly loving as well.  Carol loved the sex with her a lot.  Janice had long ago made sure of that.