The Small Brass Key

Once he was comfortable, he picked up the unnumbered seventh diary and opened it at the first page. He had a very clear idea of how the story was going to end; now he needed to find out how it had begun. The page he had read had forever altered his picture of his perfect wife, and their perfect life together. He needed to know the details of how that had happened, and he hoped the diary would provide them. Instead of reading the events in reverse order, he chose their chronological order.

For a while, he had considered driving straight to the Sheraton Hotel, going up to room 412, and having it out with his wife. He quickly decided that doing so would likely be a recipe for disaster, as either he would be a prime candidate for a traffic accident in his haste to get there, or he would be unable to control himself if he did make the trip in one piece. His only other option would have been to phone her, but he was afraid he would have broken down when he heard her voice, and he was too much of a man to want to wimp out that way.

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The top of the first page was dated from early June, just over six months earlier. He began to read it, carefully looking for anything that might relate to the devastating information that Glenda had written on the last page.

None of the entries covering the summer months contained anything that could help him understand his wife, and the plans that she had made. There were several mentions of her happiness with her life, her husband, and the way her career had taken off in the time since she had been accepted for tenure. Everything he read should have made him happy and proud, confident in his marriage, but he knew how the story would end when he got to the final page. That knowledge soured every good thing he read.

In early September, Glenda finally made an entry to her diary that included something that was related to what Patrick was looking for. He sat up in the chair and reread the pertinent portion of the entry twice.

September 8th. Dear Diary;

... My new teaching assistant stopped by my office today. He is a little taller than I am, maybe an inch or so, and has black hair, dark eyes, and a short scruffy beard, more of an unshaven look. He introduced himself as Anthony Romano, and he reminds me of someone, a movie star maybe. He left me a printout of his marks and he seems well qualified....

Patrick began reading the diary more carefully now, looking for any other mentions of Anthony Romano, the teaching assistant. There was nothing in the next two entries, which contained only thoughts about her classes and how they seemed to be going. It seemed that she was quite content, although perhaps a bit nervous about how she would handle one of the large classes that she had. There were over 100 students in it, and she wondered how she would be able to accommodate that many.

September 15th. Dear Diary;

... Anthony is now helping me with my large class. He takes questions from the students when I get busy setting up materials for my lecture. I noticed that my female students seem quite taken by him. I heard two of them discussing him as they left the class, mentioning that he looked a lot like Leonardo DiCaprio. That must be why he seemed familiar to me....

As he continued reading, the mentions of Anthony Romano became more frequent. He was reading even more carefully now, pausing at times to reread certain passages.

September 20th. Dear Diary;

The classes are settling down now. A couple of students dropped out; I think they may have felt the course would be too difficult for them. I noticed that as I give my lectures Anthony finds himself a seat in one of the front rows where he seems to spend all of his time watching me. I'll have to give him more work to do....

September 24th. Dear Diary;

... I had about three hours clear this afternoon and was working on setting some reading assignments when Anthony came by my office. He stayed to help, and the job went quickly with both of us making copies and selecting articles to include.

The entry continued with a long paragraph in which she mentioned her intention to talk to Patrick about where children might fit into their future. It was the first entry he had found that mentioned that subject.

September 30th. Dear Diary;

I caught Anthony staring at me again during a lecture. I looked at him and frowned, and I'm sure he knew what I meant by that, but he just grinned and continued watching me. At the end of every class, he is approached by at least a couple of the female students, who ask him questions about the lecture. None of them seems to want to come to me for information. I'm guessing they're more interested in him than getting help. Overall, my students seem to be doing well, which pleases me greatly. It's not like I haven't lectured before, but now that I'm a full professor I feel more pressure to have my students succeed.

There were several entries in a row with no mention of Anthony, although they did show that her classes seemed to be proceeding very well. She was happy and upbeat in all of the entries, and mentioned her firm decision to talk to Patrick about their plans. He remembered that it was sometime in the fall when they had their first long talk about their shared desire to have at least one child. Glenda wanted to finish her first year as a full professor without the concerns and responsibilities of a pregnancy, so they decided to wait until the end of the school year to begin trying to conceive.

October 8th. Dear Diary;

I'm so excited! Patrick and I have made a commitment to have children and I'm planning to go off the pill as soon as the spring semester ends. I mentioned all of this to Anthony, and he seems so happy for us. We were in my office, and he came over to where I was sitting behind my desk, took my hand and pulled me up to my feet and then gave me a very big hug. He caught me by surprise, and when he didn't seem anxious to let me go, I had to push him back gently and remind him that my office door was open, and anyone could walk by.

October 10th. Dear Diary;

... Anthony came by my office this afternoon and I have to admit that I'm a bit concerned. I didn't see him come in, and didn't realize he was there until I heard the door close and lock. When I looked up at him, he was smiling at me and said, "Now no one can walk by and see us." I told him clearly to open the door, and he did. He hung around for about 15 minutes before he finally left. Now I'm wondering what he intended when he locked the door.

October 11th. Dear Diary;

I was preparing questions for a quiz for my first year class when Anthony dropped in today. He stayed to help, and it really made the job easier. He apologized for closing the door yesterday, and I told him it was okay. When I asked him why he seems so interested in me, he said that he enjoyed the company of mature women much more than girls his age. I told him I was happily married, but I have to admit that I found what he said very flattering. To think he would potentially be more interested in me than in some of the sexy young women in our college stirs me in ways that I find surprising....

October 13th. Dear Diary;

... I expected Anthony to stop by my office today, but he didn't. I was a little disappointed, as I wanted to talk with him some more about what he said about being interested in mature women....

October 15th. Dear Diary;

... There were a number of students in my office today when Anthony came in. I was hoping he would hang around until the last one left, but he was gone when I finished discussing essay topics with the last group....

October 16th. Dear Diary;

... Today I finally got a chance to speak with Anthony. He asked if he could close the door, 'so we wouldn't be disturbed', and I went along with it. I was able ask him about why he found mature women more interesting, and he said his first sexual experiences had been with a 40-year-old widow who lived next door to him. He claims he finds girls his age don't know what they want, not like a mature woman.

I was standing, leaning against my desk, and while he was talking he walked over to me. Before I had any time to think about it, he put his arms around me and pulled me to him. He was very gentle and it felt quite good. If I had ever had doubts about him finding me attractive, the fact that I could feel his hard erection pressing against my thigh dispelled them.

I wanted to show him that I wasn't angry with him, so I let him hold me for almost a minute before I gently pushed back against him. He immediately released me, but caught me completely by surprise when he leaned forward and kissed me on the lips. It was a very short kiss, and he stepped back before I could break the kiss myself. He turned and left my office without either of us saying anything. I realize now that I should have called him on his actions, and told him again that I'm a happily married woman. I didn't though, and now I find myself reliving the moment whenever I let my mind wander....

Patrick was disturbed by this entry, as it showed him that while Anthony was continually pushing the envelope, Glenda was not responding in a way that he felt was appropriate. He left the book open on his chair while he went to get himself a fresh can of Coke. He was soon back in his chair with the book in his hands, prepared to continue reading about the apparent seduction of his wife.

October 20th. Dear Diary;

... Late this afternoon, just before I was going to leave my office and go home, Anthony appeared in the doorway and asked me if I was busy. As soon as I said that I wasn't, he came in and locked the door behind him. He ignored me completely when I asked him to open the door, and instead he came straight to me. He took my hands in his and said that he'd been thinking of me constantly over the last four days.

He said he wanted another kiss, a longer one. I told him that I wasn't a widow looking for a lover, and that it was improper for him to be pursuing me this way. He said he understood, but asked again for a kiss, saying it would be in celebration of his birthday. I thought it would be the easiest way to get rid of him, so I agreed, and I'm wishing now that I hadn't. The kiss lasted about a minute, and I have to admit it got pretty steamy. He finally broke the kiss; I know it should have been me to do that.

I didn't know what to say, so I apologized for not having a birthday card I could give him. He smiled, and said that it was okay; his birthday had been in July. I should have been mad at him for conning me, but all I could do was laugh at his trick to get me to kiss him. He thanked me for the wonderful kiss and then left my office. I don't know what it is about him, but I'm afraid he may be getting to me. I'll have to be more careful around him in the future.

The next three entries made no mention of Anthony. Glenda was kept busy correcting a small test she had given her largest class, and marking the essays her students had submitted. Patrick found it odd that Anthony wasn't involved in these two tasks, but there was no clue in the diary entries as to why he wasn't.

October 30th. Dear Diary;

For the first time I'm at a loss on how to tell you about my life. I guess the only thing I can do is describe what happened today. I don't know how I will be able to handle facing Patrick when he gets home, as I'm afraid that he'll be able to take one look at me and know what happened.

It all started when Anthony walked into my office this afternoon. I was busy reading and didn't hear him walk in, and he surprised me with his cheerful 'Hello'. When I looked up, he was closing and locking my office door. For some reason, I didn't say a word to him about that.

When he got to my desk, he reached down and gently took my hands and pulled me up beside him. He didn't give me a chance to say a word before he took me in his arms and began to kiss me. I'm so ashamed. There is no excuse for me not putting an end to it the moment it started, but it was as though he had turned on a switch inside of me. Within seconds I was returning his kiss, and I got into it so much that at first I almost didn't realize he had brought his hands from around my back and had begun to gently massage my breasts.

As soon as I realized what he was doing, I pushed him away and broke the kiss. He just smiled and said, "Don't even try to suggest that you didn't enjoy that." I didn't say anything right away and he said, "I knew it."

When I finally found my voice, I told him to leave. He gave me a sly smile and said he'd see me tomorrow. I realize that I'm not handling this situation with Anthony properly. He's making it so hard on me, and I'm sure he knows it. Maybe I should talk to Patrick about it, but I just know that he wouldn't be too happy with the way I've let things develop. The worst part is that I find myself thinking about Anthony from time to time, and how I could feel his erection pressing against me again today.

The entire entry for the day was this description of how Anthony had felt up his wife, and when he finished reading it for the third time Patrick realized that he was once again angry enough to have lost control if Anthony had been in front of him. He had never thought he was capable of extreme violence until that moment.

November 2nd. Dear Diary;

... I think I have finally got past worrying about how I would react in front of Patrick. That first night was the hardest. Every time I spoke to Patrick, or he looked at me, I was sure that he was going to figure out what had happened in my office. At one point, he asked if something was bothering me, as I guess I was behaving a little abnormally under the pressure. He accepted my denial without question, and I found myself thinking of how easily I had been able to hide things from my husband. I hope I never have to do it again...

November 6th. Dear Diary;

It has been a few days since I last saw Anthony in private. He has been at the classes where he is contracted to assist me, and I notice that he is still staring at me. When he catches my eye he grins at me, and I know I blushed the first couple of times that happened. I find myself wondering how I'll handle it the next time he shows up in my office alone...

November 8th. Dear Diary;

Anthony dropped into my office this afternoon, but there were a couple of other students already there. I happened to look up as he turned to leave, and he threw me a kiss and then grinned at me. I'm sure the other students didn't see it as they were both standing with their backs to him, but I wish he would be more considerate of my position....

I received an invitation to attend a series of seminars in Columbus just after the New Year. It looks interesting, and I think I will attend if I can. I ordered the information package....

November 9th. Dear Diary;

Yesterday was another day that is going to be very difficult to write about. Once again I am very unhappy with both Anthony's and my own behavior, and I'm wondering where all of this will end up, if I don't do something about it soon.

In the morning, I had a couple of hours free, and I was hard at work when I heard the office door close and lock. I don't know how Anthony can sneak in like that, without me knowing. I asked him to open it, but he just ignored me. When he tried to pull me up from my seat, I resisted. Unfortunately, my resistance faded away as he kept it up. I thought, ' What harm can another little kiss do?' If only that was all of it.

There is no doubt that Anthony has mastered the art of kissing. It seemed like he was totally in command of my senses, not to mention my common sense, within just a few seconds. At the same time as he was switching his lips from mine to the sensitive spots on my neck, I felt his hands slide up under my blouse. As soon as his hands reached my bra, he pushed it up and began caressing my bare breasts.

There is no denying that I really got into the moment, and was really enjoying what he was doing to me. It was unbelievable how quickly he had me aroused. I've always enjoyed kissing, and the way he was teasing my breasts and nipples felt marvelous. If I had had the good sense to limit it to that, it wouldn't be so difficult to write this all down.

I can't say that I didn't notice what he was doing, but it's also true that I just couldn't stop him or myself. I felt his right hand leave my breast and then I knew he was fumbling with the button and zipper on my slacks. I didn't do anything to stop him, and within a few more seconds, he was sliding his hand under my panties. When his finger entered my vagina, it was too late for me to stop him, as I was already into the early stages of an orgasm.

His kisses, the wonderful way he was caressing my breasts with one hand, and the gentle movement of his other hand against my clit brought on one of the longest orgasms I've had in quite a while. As soon as I was back in control of myself, I pushed him away and ran into the bathroom. There were tears in my eyes as I was straightening up my clothes to their normal state. All I could think of was how angry Patrick would be if he had seen us or if he ever found out about this.

Just as I finished getting my slacks done up, Anthony walked into the doorway of the bathroom. He was sucking on the middle finger of his right hand, and as soon as I looked at him, he removed it and said that I tasted wonderful. I guess he could see that I was very upset, and he left as soon as he said that he wasn't going to apologize, and that he hoped we could do that again. I should have told him to not even think such a thing, but I was upset and didn't regain my voice until after he was gone.

The thing that really surprised me was how well I was able to handle myself in front of Patrick when he got home from work. I'm certain that he didn't suspect a thing, and I could hardly believe that I didn't feel under any strain as we talked over the course of the evening. Last night we made love, and it was as good as it has ever been. I think that maybe I was still feeling the effects of my high state of arousal from the morning. Either that or maybe I wanted to prove to myself that Anthony doesn't hold a candle to Patrick in the lovemaking department.

Once again, the whole day's entry centered on an episode with Anthony, and Patrick found himself reading it repeatedly as his anger once again grew. Finally, he turned the page and continued reading Glenda's diary.

For a full week there was no mention at all of Anthony or anything related to the developing relationship between Glenda and her TA. In fact, Patrick noticed a definite sense of contentment in her entries.

November 17th. Dear Diary;

God, I just don't know what is wrong with me. Anthony has developed a hold on me that I would never have imagined possible. I don't know whether it's his rugged good looks, or some defect in me, but I just can't seem to maintain control around him.

This afternoon he came into my office and sat on the corner of my desk. I told him we were going to have to talk about what happened the last time he was there, and he quickly agreed. He just watched me and smiled as I told them how wrong it was for us to be involved in any way. I reminded him that I was happily married, and that my position as a professor could be jeopardized if anyone were to find out what we had done.

As I spoke, he just nodded and smiled at me. When I was finished speaking I leaned back in my chair, confident that he understood my position. In spite of my reasoned approach, and my confidence that the situation had been resolved, I found myself getting aroused just watching him sitting there smiling at me. I know I was thinking about the sensation of his fingers as they caressed my nipples.