Tea on Tuesday at Four

by Helena Mira

For years, Grace Grey and Elena Lincoln have met on Tuesday afternoons for a little tea and sympathy. As best friends, they have supported each other through thick and thin. But now that Grace's son Christian has finally met a girl, things are about to change.

2. Chapter 1

Tea on Tuesday at Four

Chapter 1

Grace

"Oh, Elena! I just couldn't believe my ears! And then my eyes! In fact, if Taylor hadn't been there as a witness, I'm not sure that I would be here telling the story to you! I might not believe it myself!"

I know that I'm gushing, but what can I say? Sunday morning I walked in on what could only be described as the most miraculous, impossible situation that I could have imagined. And now, I just have to tell Elena! She will be thrilled too, I'm sure.

"Darling," she says soothingly. "Settle down and tell me."

"I'm trying," I reply, taking a deep breath. "But I still have trouble believing it. If it had been Elliot, well, that is to be completely expected. But Christian!"

"What about Christian?"

Elena looks at me sharply, perhaps too sharply, but I scarcely notice. I am too busy trying to refocus my thoughts so that I can tell her coherently. After all these years of angst and uncertainty, I have proof that my beloved younger son is not gay. Taking another deep, this time cleansing, breath, I begin again.

"On Sunday morning, I received a phone call from Elliot," I say. "He had promised to be over for brunch that morning, but he wanted us to know that he was detained with important business in Vancouver."

"Female business, I'm sure." Elena rolls her eyes.

"I'm sure," I agree.

Normally, Elliot's philandering is a matter of concern, but right now I couldn't care less. It's Christian's relationship with women that is in my foremost mind.

"Anyway," I continue. "He suggested that I drop in on Christian. After all, I haven't see him in two weeks, since he has been so busy working with that environmental department at WSUV that he has been funding. He told me that he was back this weekend, flew down in the helicopter on Saturday night.

"So I drove over and Taylor, as always, met me at the door. But he would not let me see my son. Now, you know how protective Taylor is of Christian. I was afraid that something was dreadfully wrong. After all, it was ten in the morning. My son never sleeps late. And Taylor refused to let me go into the bedroom."

"Really?" says Elena emphatically.

Her shock is evident in her intonation. Yes, if there is anyone who knows my son as well as I do, it is Elena. I can't wait to get to the good part.

"Well, dear," I explain. "Then he informs me that my son is not alone. He has a visitor."

"Really?" she repeats, this time raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, indeed," I reply. "And now I don't know what to think. A visitor? In my son's bedroom? I'm shocked. I mean, who could it be? And you know what goes through my mind. Now granted, there's nothing really wrong with being gay, but one does hope for something better, no, make that easier. Yes, one hopes for an easier, more socially acceptable lifestyle for one's child. In that moment, I look at Taylor, who is looking very uneasy. And you know that Taylor is never uneasy."

"No, Grace," murmurs Elena. "He never looks uneasy. You must have been terrified. But finish your story, dear. You have me riveted."

I smile at her fondly. I can always count on Elena to sympathize, no better, empathize with my feelings for Christian. That has been one of the common bonds that has held us together all these years. She could very nearly be a second mother to him. And we have been torturing ourselves for years with this awful possibility. Oh, I am so pleased that I can now set her worries for him aside.

"Well," I say. "Christian comes out. I'm sure that he has overheard us. As usual, he is cool as a cucumber. He tells me that there is someone that he wants me to meet."

I take a breath and I notice that Elena is staring at me, silent and frozen in her place. Oh, her reaction is even better than I had expected!

"Out walks this lovely, brown-haired young woman," I say, unable to hide the pride in my voice. "She looks as though she is barely put together. And, poor child, she was blushing. Then, Christian introduces her as Anastasia Steele. Well, all I can say is that you could have knocked me over with a feather!"

I fall silent and look across the table at Elena, feeling great satisfaction. Elena is never without words and yet, there she sits before me, positively dumbfounded by my revelation. And to think that I had believed that nothing could shock her!

But, of course being my Elena, she is not quiet for long.

"So you think that they were doing it in the bedroom?" she asks slowly.

"Oh, yes," I reply. "You know that I have been through this scenario with Elliot several times. Of course, unlike Christian, now that I think about it, he has always had the decency to look uncomfortable when caught. On the other hand, Christian looking absolutely pleased with himself."

"Interesting," Elena comments, recovering her composure. "So what did you find out about the little slut . . . um . . . young lady?"

I give her my best look of displeasure. It would never have occurred to me that this girl was a "slut." She had none of the looks of Elliot's dates. There was nothing brazen or brash about her. In fact, she just seemed to project innocence. But of course Elena hasn't seen her. I will forgive her. I suppose that anyone would jump to this conclusion. After all, this young lady had clearly just spent the night in my son's bed. Perhaps she thinks that some some kind of seductress has gotten her claws in my boy. I decide to explain it to her.

"She seemed to be a rather gentle, innocent creature," I begin.

"Very innocent, I'm sure."

I catch the sarcasm in her voice and know that I need to cut to the chase.

"She's rather young," I start again. "In fact, she's only graduating from the university this week. That is how she met Christian. She went to his office a week or so ago to interview him for the student newspaper. He is conferring the degrees at the commencement this week. I think that it must have been love at first sight."

Now Elena really looks shocked again. I feel a little miffed. Why can't my darling son fall in love at first sight? She didn't see how he looked at her when she came out of the bedroom. He looked at her so fondly, so tenderly. But then there was something about her. Was it her sweet little face? Her big, blue eyes were looking at me with such deep embarrassment. Clearly, nothing like this had ever happened to her before.

"You know," I say, perhaps a little more stiffly than necessary. "She is a very pretty little thing. And so sweet! I said everything that I could think of to try and make her feel better. She was just . . . bewildered. I guess that she didn't realize that my son likes nothing more than to project his own power. Of course, he felt no shame in presenting her to me."

"Maybe the girl was mortified that her lover's mother had nearly caught them in the act," said Elena drily. "Christian may believe that he is the master of the universe, but it sounds as though this little tart knows her place. How many one night stands get to meet the family?"

"She was not a one night stand!" I reply defensively. "She is not that kind of girl. And if you could have seen Christian with her, you would know that he didn't think of her that way. In fact, he's staying in Portland right now, at the Heathman. He certainly doesn't have to. He could easily fly up there on Thursday for the ceremony. No, I think that he is there to spend a little more time with her."

"It has nothing to do with the grant?" asks Elena.

She seems to have recovered her usual cool demeanor once more. I wonder where this is going.

"I guess that it could," I admit reluctantly. "But I don't see why it couldn't also be to have some time with her."

Elena smiles sympathetically now.

"Oh, Grace darling," she says gently. "Please don't get me wrong. I know that this revelation about Christian has you thrilled, but you don't want to get ahead of yourself. If this girl turns out to be nothing but a little gold-digger, I don't want to see you disappointed."

I look into her dark eyes and realize that she really is concerned for my feelings. And of course, she's right. I can feel my euphoria deflate a little. Carrick warned me of the same thing on Sunday when I told him. I dismissed him because he was a man and couldn't possibly understand. But now Elena's words ground me.

"You're right, I suppose," I say grudgingly. "But I have been waiting years for evidence that my son was even capable of falling in love with a woman or anyone for that matter. After everything he endured as a child before we adopted him. And then there's the fact that he won't let us touch him. The idea that he and that woman were able to . . . You know, she must have touched him. Well, there must be something special about her for him."

Elena nods thoughtfully. She seems to be having some kind of internal struggle. It's as if she wants to say something, but doesn't want to hurt me. Poor Elena. Over the years she has been so careful to couch her insights so as not to injure my feelings. She knows how I feel about my son. And I know that she doesn't want to see either of us hurt.

After her dreadful experience with Linc, she seemed to have lost all of her trust in others. Looking at her now, I can see that she is struggling with this issue again. Perhaps she doesn't trust the girl. Or, maybe she doesn't trust my interpretation of the situation. But she doesn't know. A mother just knows these things about her children.

"Grace," she answers kindly. "I'm sure that you are right and that she is a very nice girl. And maybe Christian does have feelings for her. I have an idea. Why don't you ask Christian to bring her home to meet the whole family? If he's willing to take that step, then perhaps there is something more to this then just one night stand."

"That's not a bad idea," I reply. "I'll consider it."

"And if you spend more time with her," she adds. "Then it will give you the opportunity to assess her and her worthiness of Christian. We wouldn't want to see him hurt now, would we?"

"Of course, you're right," I admit. "That's why you are such a good friend. I can always count on you to be honest with me. Even if your honesty rains a bit only parade."

"Good," she says smiling. "Now I must get going. I have a dinner meeting to prepare for."

"Yes, dear, of course," I reply, but I'm actually feeling a bit distracted now.

I watch as she walks away confidently. Elena is always so confident and in control. I frown. So why did she seem so unnerved as I was talking about Christian and his young lady? I suppose that she was just as stunned as I was. She and I have no secrets where Christian is concerned. Since the day we met, she has been nothing but a true friend and confidante. She has always been there for me.

I recall our first meeting. She and her husband had just moved to Bellevue. It was one of those afternoon charity events, more of a family thing really, but she wanted to meet some people in town. We were there with the kids. I noticed her sitting off by herself, watching the boys playing, rough housing as usual. I walked over and introduced myself.

"You have a lovely family," she had said.

"Thank you," I replied proudly. "All three adopted, all from very different circumstances. But we love them all the same."

"I imagine that you would," she said.

"Do you have children?"

"No," she answered, with a bit of sadness in her voice. "That's not possible for us."

She's never explained to me why that is, but since it seems to be a painful subject for her, I've never pursued it. It was painful for me when I discovered shortly after we were married that I was pregnant and then had an ectopic pregnancy. I had lost the other ovaries to cysts when I was a teenager, so that was it. Fortunately, Carrick helped me to see it through and we immediately began the legal maze of adoption.

Elena and Linc never even thought of adoption. Well, she did but Linc wanted no part part of another man's child in his home. Pity. It would have done her a world of good to have her own children to love. Instead, she has been living somewhat vicariously through me. For the past fifteen years, she has shared my sorrows and joys about all of the children, but she has taken a special interest in Christian.

I asked her about his life before us once and she told me that she felt bad for the boy who didn't think that he deserved to be loved. Of course, she knew that my poor Christian hated to be touched and always believed that he was a such bad boy. And then of course he was determined to live up to the label. She listened to all of my trials with him and celebrated his successes with me. I really don't know what I would have done for all of these years without her loving support and guidance.

Despite the fact that she never had any children of her own, her advice regarding Christian has always been right on target. When he was a teenager and brawling constantly, she told me to back off and I did. It seemed that once I was no longer reinforcing that his self-image of a bad kid, that he was able to pull himself together and become, if not a good kid, then at least a successful kid. We were so proud when he got into Harvard!

And then when he left Harvard, she was there for him again. Needless to say, Carrick and I were furious. I still can't believe that she lent him the money to get started. Of course, I have never told Carrick. That would have been the end of our friendship. Carrick would never have continued to support our friendship if he knew that she was encouraging him not to finish his degree. When I see how successful he is today, I can only think "God bless Elena Lincoln." Where would my son be today if it wasn't for her?"

Elena

Lying in the gutter, that's where he'd be, I think, if it hadn't been for me. I've made Christian Grey into everything that he is today. He has been mine to control since the moment I slapped him across the face at the age of fifteen. Even now, he thinks that he is a Dom. But he is really nothing without me. Nothing.

Jesus, tea with Grace is more trying every week. But today was the worst. She was gushing. Yes, really gushing, like a schoolgirl over the little tramp that Christian brought home from Portland. The whole thing sounds ridiculous, like some nightmare out of a Harlequin romance or something. Rich, playboy bachelor meets impoverished little college student and takes her to bed.

Christian told me about her a week ago. The clumsy, little waif falls into his office and somehow manages to enchant him. Yeah, right. She's another pale, little brown-haired girl who looks like his mother. She's sweet and passive and managed to royally piss him off by asking him if he was gay. He should have spanked her and fucked her on his desk right then and there, like he wanted to. Then he would have gotten her out of his system and I wouldn't have had to listen to Grace going on about her.

What was he thinking? I knew that he was down in Portland last week. And I knew that the story about working with the environmental department in Vancouver was a load of bull. I know because I had sent him up there the weekend before. I couldn't take it anymore. Christian had never questioned himself about a prospect before. Of course he had also never considered anyone who wasn't an established submissive before. I had trained him to have very particular tastes. If he didn't have a girl that he could beat the crap out of, she just wasn't worth his time. It took experience to meet his needs.

After he told me about his little escapade in the hardware store and then taking her out for coffee, I decided to egg him on a little. I didn't like the way that she had gotten under his skin. If she really were as inexperienced as he thought, then it wouldn't take much for him to chase her off. Well, it looks like the joke is on me for now.

Grace found her sleeping in his bedroom? What the hell was that about? Okay, so he got her to the apartment. But the submissives' bedroom is upstairs. I convinced him years ago never to sleep with a sub. It was too dangerous. I told him that she might touch him while he was sleeping. It's hard to say what was more shocking. The fact that he let her sleep in his bed or that he introduced her to Grace.

That took balls. Of course, his are a cast iron set, but still . . . And Grace liked her. But come to think of it, did she really like her? Or was she just so relieved that her precious boy wasn't gay that she would have liked any woman that he bedded? Funny thing about Grace is that she's not really homophobic, she just doesn't want her son to live "that lifestyle." Of course she has no idea of the real lifestyle that he lives. I wonder what she would think of that.

Well, now that I know about little Anastasia, I need to think of a way of dealing with her. Of course, I better be careful. I don't need to alienate him right now. I need to be his friend and confidante. That's the way I'll play it. I will simply ooze with concern and make like I am giving him advice to win her over. And then, I'll also subtly reinforce his need for possession and control. After all, he is the way that he is because of me. I just need to keep reminding him that he needs to stay true to himself and work with what he knows.

If this little chick is as sweet and innocent as Grace claims, it shouldn't take much to send her running for the nearest domestic violence shelter. So I'll give him a call. I'll play dumb about his little Sunday morning confrontation with Grace and see how the scenario plays out. Yes! I'm going to treat this like a scenario, just as I've always done. Christian may be the master of his universe, but I'm still his mistress, his Domme. He can't make a move without me and I plan to remind him of it.

He picks up on the first ring.

"Elena!" he says. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," I reply, playing dumb. "I was wondering if you would like to meet me for a drink tonight."

"Um, well, I'm not in town," he answers hesitantly. "Can I take a rain check? Is it anything important."

This doesn't sound good. Why didn't he just say that he wasn't around? Why the hesitation.

"No," I say innocently. "I just wanted to catch up. Have you thought any more about the girl that you met?"

Silence on the other end of the line. Oh, this is not good. Normally he is very forthcoming, even gregarious about his conquests. Especially, if I haven't met them yet.

"We'll, actually, I've done more than think about her," he replies. "I took your advice."

"Which advice?" I ask carefully.

"Well, first I sent her a set of first editions of Thomas Hardy books," he said. "You know, a little gift to soften her up."

"Most men send flowers or jewelry," I comment wryly.

"I thought she would like this better," he replies. "I wanted it to be a personalized gift."

"She must have appreciated that," I say. "You did say that she was an English major with a taste for the classics."

"Well, actually, not really," he says. "She liked them, but she thinks that they're too much."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," he sighs. "She wants to return them."

"That's an interesting reaction," I reply, trying to keep a neutral tone. "When did you see her?"

"Well, I had to rescue her on Friday night," he says. "She got herself drunk and was nearly molested by one of her male friends. Fortunately, she had drunk dialed me about the books so I was able to track her and save her from the asshole. She spent the night in my hotel room."

"Where you molested her?" I ask trying to keep my tone light.

"No, not at all," he replies easily as he falls for my line. "I put her to bed in my bed, but I didn't touch her. By the time I got her there, she had passed out."

"That does take most of the fun out of sex," I say wryly.

"Yeah," he agrees. "But I brought her up to Seattle, to Escala, on Saturday night. I got her to sign the NDA, took her on a tour of the playroom, and then we went through the rules. That was when I got the shock of my life."

"And what was that?"

"Elena, you won't believe this," he whispers.

"Try me," I say.

"She was a virgin," he says quietly.

I'm not sure of how to handle this, so I go with my gut.

"Did you say was a virgin, Christian?" I ask with a measured degree of sternness.

"Yes," he replies guiltily.

Good, I can control this. The correct measure of disapproval will undercut Grace's approval. I'm glad we had tea so I know the story.

"Christian," I say. "Don't think that I'm going all warm and fuzzy on you, but did you really smack the poor kid around and then deflower her?"

Silence.

"Not exactly," he replies. "It was . . . Well, it was vanilla."

"Really?" I can't hide my surprise.

"Well," he admits. "It was rough, but it was vanilla. I mean, I'm sure that she remembers where I've been. I fucked her pretty hard."

This is a revelation. I always thought that he needed to either beat or be beaten in order to get it off.

"Did you tie her up?" I ask.

"Not the first time," he says.

Interesting, I think. There must be something here that I am missing.

"So then you have bound her?"

"Yeah, a couple of times," he admits. "And I spanked her. I don't think that she liked it much. But it did turn her on."

"Really," I say, wanting to leave my response open ended.

Christian feels this compulsion to confide in me about all of his subs. It's part of why I let him move onto becoming a Dom. I enjoy hearing about his conquests. He exercises the power that I gave him. It's a real turn on. I'll have to call up Isaac next and work it out.

"I don't know what it is about this one, Elena," he says. "She's different. But it's not just because she was a virgin. It's not just because she never knew what our lifestyle was before she met me. She just doesn't get what it's all about."

"Maybe she won't be a good submissive," I suggest tentatively. "It's sounds like she doesn't understand us."

I subtly try to emphasize the us. I want to keep Christian onside. I need for him to remember that he and I come from the same place. This girl is the outsider. It's up to her to adapt to our world.

"I'm seeing her again tomorrow night," Christian says, interrupting my thoughts. "She's coming here for dinner so that we can go over the contract. You know, refine the soft limits."

I shake my head.

"Oh, Christian, you and your contract!" I say fondly. "The NDA makes perfect sense, but I still don't get your compulsion with putting all that shit in writing."

I sense his shrug.

"It's just the way that I want to do it," he says. "It gives me the control to set the boundaries in the relationship."

I laugh.

"Are you offering her a relationship or an employment opportunity?" I joke.

There is silence on the other end.

"The contract is so that these relationships are safe and sane for both of us," he replies testily. "And you know that I don't view my gifts to them as payment. I derive a great deal of pleasure from caring for them and keeping them safe."

Oh, here we go again, little Oedipus, I think. But I don't dare joke about it again. The last time I did, he told Flynn and he tried to turn it around on me. Hah! Like I'm anything like is crack whore mother.

"Calm down, Christian," I say soothingly. "You know that I always worry that these girls will take advantage of you and your generosity. You're absolutely right. This one sounds different. I don't want you to get your hopes up. It's very possible that she won't be able to live up to your expectations. I don't want to see you hurt."

"I can take care of myself, Elena," he answers. "I really want to make this work."

I don't want to hear any more. At least not now.

"Well, I'm sure that you still have work to do and so do I," I say. "I'll say goodnight. And please remember that I'm always here for you, whenever you need me."

"I know, Elena," he replies gratefully. "I don't know what I would do without you. You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

And don't you forget it, I think as I hang up.

However, I still feel a little uncertainty creep into my mind. Christian's behavior with this girl is most peculiar, even for him. I am not sure that she is not going to buy into the lifestyle. However, it is always possible that she doesn't fully understand what it is all about. If she didn't like being spanked, then the chances of her enjoying being whipped or caned are pretty slim. I don't see how Christian could give up the really hard stuff for any length of time.

I never did get to ask him about her sleeping in his bed at Escala. Of course, how could I without admitting that I discussed it with Grace. Funny, he didn't mention it. This is unusual. I know more about this situation from his mother than from him. He's hiding something from me. And I don't like that, not one bit.