Timing is everything

So there we were in the Abbey today. Alex, bless his little emo heart, brought me lunch (homemade mac & cheese. Yes, yes I do have the best boy in the world) and was perched upon the toe of my boot as we talked about his upcoming birthday scene. Now one of the more charming little rituals we share is the pre-scene “to do” list. I always make a point to give him a list of tasks and jobs to do before we play. These may range from what to wear or what items to have in his possession to requiring him to get enough sleep before hand. While he never really is quite sure what I have up my sleeve (save that I’m going to kick his ass nine ways to Sunday) he knows that he must follow all the instructions to the letter. This is also a grand way to help build that pre-scene tension by dropping slightly threatening hints as to what may (or may not) go down.

“I’ll pick you up at 6, have your boot blacking kit with you. Oh and have you ever gone into shock before?”

Chin resting on my knee as he listened intently, who should call but my friend Jester. You remember Jester? He is the guy who knows how to kill a man with like a taco sauce packet and is my general go-to guy when it comes to needing ideas on how to do really, really terrible things to someone. Answering the phone, Alex cocks his head to one side and looks at me with a look of worry as he listens to my side of the conversation.

“Hey Jester, what’s that? You have some more ideas for my interrogation scene? Needles, under the fingernails you say?........Uh huh......Conducts electricity you say?......Damn, that sounds like it would hurt like a son of a bitch......Like what, a 30 gauge or would you need something smaller?.....Banned by the Geneva Convention? Really?.......Cool, thanks for the tip. Bye”


Hanging up, the boy stares at me. Mouth agape and pale with fear. “Please tell me you planned that call to happen!”
Calmly, “nope”
“I’m ……so…………… screwed………”

I just have to laugh when the universe throws me a bone like this. The trust Alex puts in my hands when we play is an amazing thing. He knows that I will push his limits, hard, but in the end return him safely and in one piece. However that slight tint of fear, that unsure worry about as to just how I’m going to go about doing it. Well that, dear readers, makes the giving of trust all the more sweet. Yes, Jester’s call was totally out of the blue, but the timing could not have been more perfect.