HIS FAVORITE TOY

Chapter 2

"How do you like that, Joey?" Mr. Jarvis asked as he watched me intently. I looked up at him and swallowed to let him know I was getting the medicine into me like he wanted. This brought a big smile to his face as he watched the satisfied look come over my face. The warm creamy medicine felt silky smooth as it slid down my throat. It seemed to leave a soothing coating along the inside of my throat as it made its way right down into my stomach.

"I like it Mr. Jarvis," I said as I looked up at him and smiled. I looked back down at the remainder of the liquid still in the bottom of the cup. "Can I have the rest?" I asked eagerly.

"Go ahead, Joey. Finish it, it's all for you," he said with a broad smile on his face. I slipped my lips around the edge of the plastic cup and tipped it up. There was enough medicine left for two good mouthfuls and I took one at a time and let the interesting new flavor sensation settle on my tongue for awhile before I swallowed. I savored the taste of the warm gooey fluid before I once again swallowed and let it slide smoothly down my throat. I tipped the glass up and let the final mouthful slip between my lips. I rolled the thick viscous fluid slowly all around the inside of my mouth before letting it settle right in the center of my tongue.

"Mmmmmm," I heard myself let out an unconscious little purr as the creamy medicine made its way down my throat to make a nice warm spot in the pit of my stomach.

"I guess you like that medicine," Mr. Jarvis said as he raised his big meaty hand and pointed to the cup still in my hand. "There's a little more left. See if you can get your tongue inside there and lick out those final drops."

"Yes sir," I said as I tipped the open end of the cup towards my mouth. Fortunately the plastic cup had a wide opening and was fairly shallow. It was pretty easy for me to run my tongue all around the inside edge and then even all around the bottom of the cup as I spotted a few stray silvery drops of the medicine there. With the cup now totally clean, I passed it back to Mr. Jarvis and sat there like a kitten that just finished lapping up a bowl of warm cream. He took the cup and sat there holding it as he just looked at me for a few seconds with a big smile on his face.

"So the medicine was okay, Joey?" he asked as he finally got up and walked back behind his desk and sat down. He quietly opened his desk drawer again and set the cup back inside before closing the drawer.

"I did, Mr. Jarvis. I've never tasted anything like that before. I wasn't sure at first but once I let the taste of it settle on my tongue ... well ... I really liked it!" He smiled and nodded when I said this. "And it was so creamy and soothing when it went down my throat. I ... I can still taste it." He looked at me with a pleased look on his face as I savored the interesting new flavor still lingering inside my mouth. "I had expected it to be cold and I was surprised to find that it was nice and warm. How did you do that?"

"Oh, that's my secret, Joey. I just want to make it as nice as I can for you to take the vitamins that you need. And besides, the medicine works best if you take it while it's warm too. If you let it get too cold, it doesn't work as well." He paused for a second as he looked at me with a more serious look on his face. "And speaking of secrets, this has to be our little secret, Joey. If the other boys found out, they'd want me to give them some vitamins too. And you especially can't say anything to the other councilors. This medicine is pretty hard to come by and if they found out I was giving it to you, well, we'd then have to start giving it to all the others equally too. If that were to happen, Joey, well, you just wouldn't be able to get it except maybe about once a week at best. And you do want more, don't you Joey?"

"Oh yes, sir!" I said with an anxious worried look on my face.

"That's good, Joey. If we keep this as our secret, I should be able to give you the amount that you need."

"How much do you think I need, Mr. Jarvis?"

"Oh, I think you need at least one good dose a day, maybe two on some days. I'll see what I can do to give you as much as you need," he said as he gave me a conspiratorial wink.

"Oh thank you, Mr. Jarvis!" I said excitedly. "I'll take as much as you think I should have."

"That's good, Joey. That's what I wanted to hear. So do you think you can keep this as our little secret?"

"Yes sir!" I said as I nodded emphatically.

"Good. Now since it's your first day with these new vitamins, I think you should probably have a second dose. Why don't you report back here after lunch at 1:00pm?"

"Yes sir. I'll be here."

"Okay good. Now you better go and do your chores. And remember, not a word to anyone," he said as he pointed his finger at me with a grave expression on his face.

"No sir, I promise," I said jubilantly as I bounded up out of my chair and reached for the door. The lock released automatically when I turned the handle from the inside. As I opened the door, I turned and saw him staring at me with a strange look and a soft smile on his face. "Thank you, Mr. Jarvis. Nobody's worried about me and been this nice to me in a long time."

"You're welcome, Joey. Don't worry, I'll take good care of you," he said with a funny leer on his face. "I'll give you just what you need."

I left his office and closed the door behind me. I hadn't felt this good in a long time. Mr. Jarvis was going to take special care of me. I had always been kind of afraid of him but now I saw the gentle caring side of him that I never knew existed. As I walked into the big farmhouse kitchen, I savored the delightful taste of the warm vitamins still lingering inside my mouth. With one o'clock only a few hours away, I was already looking forward to my next dose of medicine…