Skip Ahead to the Tea Party

[ Author's note -- this is a somewhat weird digression from the main themes and story, but I felt the need to get it out there. ]

Soon after her meeting with Emily, Sarah got a phone call at her office. "Hello?" she asked.

"Hello, can I speak with Sarah Osbourne please?" came the woman's voice from the other end.

"Speaking," replied Sarah.

"Hello," said the woman. "My name is Sherry Abe. I am an attorney at Abe and Christiansen, perhaps you've heard of us? In any case, I am currently representing Ms. Elizabeth Tyler. I understood that you and she had worked out a tentative agreement, and I would like to set an appointment to settle the details."

Sarah felt a thrill. Her heart beat a bit faster. "I see," she said. "Yes, that is true. Perhaps next week... how does Wednesday look for you?" They hashed out the details of the meeting and hung up.

The following Wednesday, Sarah left Angela in charge of her experiments, and walked downtown. Abe and Christiansen was a powerhouse, white-shoe law office with offices on the top floor of the tallest building in town. Sarah felt butterflies in her stomach as she rode up in the elevator. 'Maybe this is a mistake,' she thought. 'Well, I can always back out if I get too scared,' she reassured herself.

As she stepped off the elevator, she saw that the offices were designed to impress and intimidate. Wood panels and plush carpet were the foundation, and expensive art hung on the walls. There were no obvious doors. A sign reading "Abe and Christiansen" was hung behind a large desk. Also behind the desk sat an unusually beautiful secretary. She was wearing a perfectly tailored men's suit and tie. She had a headset.

"Professor Osbourne," she said instantly. "We've been expecting you. Please follow Debbie."

Sarah started to wonder who Debbie might be, when a previously hidden door opened from the wall to the right of the desk. In the doorway stood a buxom blonde, the sort of woman you might describe as all-American.

Debbie ushered her through the door and then led her wordlessly down the carpeted hallway. She swayed sexily as she walked. 'Probably the heels,' thought Sarah, and then she felt frumpy in her sensible flats and professorial clothes.

Debbie opened another door. "Here we are, ma'am."

Sarah entered the room. It was a conference room with large windows that looked down onto the town. 'Best view in town,' thought Sarah. At one end of a large table sat Elizabeth. She was sitting upright, in her most regal pose. To her left sat Emily, and to her right sat a petite Asian woman of about 40.

The Asian woman stood and gave her a warm, sincere smile. She had perfect teeth. "Hello. I am Sherry Abe. Why don't you have a seat down here near us, so we can talk more comfortably?"

Sarah walked cautiously down to the end of the table and sat next to Emily.

Sherry reached over and shook her hand, then took her seat again. "Now, this is probably pretty intimidating for you," she said, keeping her smile. "The whole place is designed for that, it's an advantage we have. But, this should be a friendly meeting, just to set expectations and arrangements. There's really nothing to be scared of."

"Thank you, Sherry," said Sarah. "I appreciate that."

"That said... there are some legal necessities. The discussion at hand is of an extremely personal nature to Ms. Tyler. She would be very distressed were any of it to leak out, under any circumstances, as I am sure you would be. So for your mutual protection, we've come up with a non-disclosure agreement."

Sherry slid a stack of papers over to Sarah. "Now, I am not your lawyer, and cannot advise you. I can tell you that this agreement merely covers secrecy. It's fairly blood-thirsty, I'm afraid" -- here she flashed her perfect teeth -- "but of course, that's of no consequence if you both keep your secrets. Ms. Tyler has already signed the agreement. I can give you a bit of time to read through it, if you like."

Sarah was already skimming the agreement. It did seem quite severe, but on the other hand, she did not see anything out of place. She took the proffered pen and signed.

"There are three copies, of course," said Sherry. Sarah signed them all, then tucked one copy into her purse.

Sherry seemed to relax. "Now we can get to the details of the agreement," she said. Sarah waited patiently.

"As I understand it," continued Sherry, "you've agreed to join our little cotillion, although under somewhat different conditions as the other girls. Let us say, maybe, more specific and, umm, ****?"

"No, Sherry," replied Sarah coolly. "If we are to do this, I think things should be called by their proper names. I'm not ashamed of what Elizabeth here has proposed, and nor should you be."

Sherry gave her a high-wattage smile. "So straightforward, I love it! I see why Liz was so insistent on this. Very well, then, Sarah. If you join our group, you will serve as a urinal and whipping girl at the first meeting. Lesbian sex will most likely be involved. For subsequent meetings, you will consent to at least the same, and perhaps more, depending on the needs and requests of the main members, primarily; and secondarily, your own. You can of course back out at any time before our party, and any time after the party -- but be warned, during the party you will have no recourse."

"Yes," Sarah said. "It does sound **** when you put it that way. Those are things I would consent to, but my main fear, I suppose, is that something outside the bounds would happen during this party."

"Understood," said Sherry. "It's hard to give perfect assurance here. You will not be permanently harmed, of course. The whipping may be painful but will not draw blood -- none of us would enjoy that in the slightest. Ms. Tyler is very strict concerning the care of her girls, and would never let something untoward occur."

Sherry continued. "One assurance we can make is that, if you wish, you may talk to the other participants, both past and current, to gauge our truthfulness. Now, I realize you may not feel completely comfortable believing her here, but this is one reason we've invited Emily to this meeting."

Emily spoke next. "Sarah, you'll be fine! At least, if you think fine means drinking a lot of piss!"

Sarah laughed at Emily's lack of a filter. "Let's proceed," she said.

Sherry continued. "This was not discussed earlier, but Elizabeth believes that your unusual position and goals may require extra commitment on your part. That is, in addition to serving at the tea parties, she requests your availability for extra, more personal events, to be done one-on-one with partners of her choosing."

"Her choosing?" said Sarah. "I am not sure about that..."

Elizabeth spoke up. "It would only be with the other principals, my dear. People you will already have served."

"I see," said Sarah. "In that case, modify the wording to that, and I will agree."