Just a few short days, and the Client will be ready for his first true session.
In the meantime, he sits in my Retreat Center and waits... marinating in a thick soup of anticipation, fear, and excitement. He does not know what is coming next or when it is coming. He is left to his own thoughts, unable to express or externalize them.
I have left a library of reading materials for him to peruse: The Book of Job. Ecclesiastes. The teachings of various Eastern mystics. The Leatherman's Handbook. Gay Soul. Ties That Bind. An edifying collection of works both sacred and profane--only it is for me to decide which is which. Magazines depicting men engaged in acts he has only dreamed of. Testimonials written by former clients, singing the praises of my techniques. Fictional accounts of Masters and the slaves who serve them.
And I call him. Every day or two, at all hours. The first few times, he let the phone ring and ring, only to answer at last--and hear the click as I hung up, not speaking a word. Now he answers quickly, though he still has heard no voice on the other end.
He is learning already. And, in observing his behavior from a distance, I learn more and more about him. Things he would never imagine that I know.
This is going to be most interesting.