“M-mom,” Toby stammered.
“There you are darling,” his mother smiled sweetly, “I was starting to think you’d got lost.”
Toby felt a pang of guilt and regret at staying back after class to talk to Sophia. Part of him wanted to chicken out but he crushed the thought as soon as it entered his head. This was ridiculous, he was a grown man and if he wanted to go on a date he bloody well would. He needed to finally stand up for himself and if he didn’t do it now he probably never would.
“I need to tell you something,” he stated, sounding more confident than he felt.
His mother shifted in her chair and peered at him over her sunglasses; her eyes brimmed with curiosity and just a hint of menace.
‘Oh really, do tell,’ she purred.
“I’m going out on friday, with a girl from my class.”
Toby braced himself for the bombardment he knew was coming. It wouldn’t be easy, but he resolved that no matter how she tried to guilt trip him, he wouldn’t let it change his mind. However to Toby’s immense surprise, there was no angry outburst or dismissive comments. In fact, his Mother seemed to be absolutely delighted by the news.
‘Oh honey, that’s so wonderful, good for you!’ she beamed ‘I’ll tell you what, how about you go fetch Mommy another glass of wine and tell me all about her.’
For a moment Toby was too stunned to reply. He’d been so certain she was going to react badly, he hadn’t really considered how to respond if she took the news well.
‘Er… yeah, sure,’ was about all Toby could muster as he spun around and hurried to the kitchen before his Mother could change her mind.
As Toby took a fresh wine glass and filled it with his Mother’s favourite vintage, he was practically giddy with excitement. This had been the best day of his life by a country mile! First the prospect of a date with the girl of his dreams and now his ultra-controlling Mother seemed to have realised he was a grown man as well! Truly he had never been happier, though perhaps if he’d seen the storm that darkened his Mother’s face as he left, he’d have realised things may not turn out quite as smoothly as he hoped.
***********************************************
Grace
The sharp blade of the stanley knife sliced effortlessly through the parcel tape, opening the package that Grace knew would change her son’s life forever. It had been three days since Toby had sauntered in an hour late from class and announced he was abandoning her. The selfish little cunt!
Of course he hadn’t used those exact words, but Grace knew that was pretty much the gist of it. He was ‘going out for dinner’ with some little tart he’d met on his course; without even bothering to ask his Mother’s permission! A dinner would no doubt turn into a relationship, then a house, then a family and eventually a life for him completely separate from the woman who’d spent the best years of her life raising him.
Since that boy was born she’d given him everything, and this was how he chose to repay her. Well if he thought Grace was just going to roll over and let him walk away from their perfect little family he had another thing coming!
She unpacked the box and placed the contents neatly on the table in front of her. Twenty small brown bottles filled with a clear liquid and several boxes of tablets, all of which were labelled Aphrobin, and a crisply folded, handwritten letter; it didn’t seem much, but if her friend were to be believed it was about to turn Toby’s life upside down.
Grace picked up the letter, unfolded it and read the beautifully written message within.
My Dearest Grace,
I am so glad you finally decided to take me up on my offer.
Aphrobin has been my life’s work and I can proudly say it is the most potent drug ever developed by Wexler Industries. I have no doubt it will revolutionise your life just as deeply as it has mine.
It worked miracles on my boy, turning him from a tear-away teenager to my daughter and I’s household pet in less than a year. I am certain you will see equally effective results and I very much look forward to seeing the two of you very soon.
Much Love,
Catherine x
Grace couldn’t suppress an amused smile at her friend’s concise, neutral tone. It was Catherine in a nutshell, you’d think she was writing to a prospective client as opposed to her best friend of over 25 years! But then again perhaps it should be expected, scientists aren’t exactly renowned for their social skills!
It had been obvious from the moment she broke the news of this new discovery that Aphrobin was something big. Normally Catherine didn’t speak of her work outside the laboratory, and if she did she was more likely than not to be venting her frustrations at her boring coworkers. But when she first spoke about this new wonder-drug, Grace could almost feel the excitement pouring off of her.
“Imagine taking the most powerful aphrodisiac in existence, and then combining it with a drug that severely impairs the brain’s capacity to make decisions. That is essentially what we have developed,” Catherine had explained “Of course we can’t create arousal where none exists, but any hidden or shameful desire can now be ruthlessly exploited to control a subject’s behaviour. Just think of the possibilities!”
To most of the scientists Catherine worked with the only ‘possibilities’ they were interested in were those they could use to make money. They discussed how the police or military might make use of it and their eyes lit up as they thought of the lucrative government contracts that were coming their way. Catherine however wasn’t interested in money; she saw the true potential of this new discovery. Power.
Fortunately the CEO of Wexler Industries shared Catherine’s view. Or at least he did after she started slipping him Aphrobin in his morning coffee! With his backing, Catherine had effectively taken control of the entire project. Now Aphrobin was sold exclusively to a network of very wealthy, powerful women who could use the drug as Catherine intended when she first dreamed up the idea; controlling and manipulating men into obeying their every command.
She had offered to supply Grace with the drug at the time, but Grace had turned her old friend down. While she loved to hear of the ways these powerful women were using it to take charge and dismantle the patriarchy one brick at a time, she didn’t need it in her own life. She had no trouble attracting men and wrapping them around her little finger by looks alone; and though there had been a flicker of interest when Catherine mentioned her plans for her wayward son, Toby was far too well behaved to require such drastic measures. Or at least he had been, until a few days ago.
Then came his little outburst and everything changed. Filled with white hot anger, Grace had rung Catherine as soon as she had a chance and asked if her offer was still on the table. Delighted to hear that it was, Grace wasted no time in having a box sent out to her. She knew she had to act quickly before this ‘Sophia’ bitch got her claws into her boy anymore than she already had.
Grace smiled as she thought of Toby playing his PlayStation upstairs, blissfully unaware that his life was about to change forever. She wasn’t angry with him anymore, it was hardly Toby’s fault he is so weak and easily led. It was just something in his nature. As his Mother, it was her job to guide him and make sure he didn’t get led astray or taken advantage of some girl he hardly knew. The supply of drugs laid out on the table would help her do just that. Really they were for his own good!