Chapter 1

North Carolina – 2005

JoAnn prided herself on always being up to date on the newest self-help books. Her bookshelves were filled with all the past bestsellers, particularly those that dealt with child rearing and family enrichment. Even so, she was a little apprehensive about buying the newest book to hit the bookstore shelves. Truth is, she had decided not to buy the book at all until she saw a glowing review on the Today Show while fixing breakfast for her husband and four kids one morning. Surely if the Today Show approved, it had to be good, she thought. When the author showed up on Oprah promoting her book, her decision was made.

“Thank God for Amazon,” she thought to herself as she placed the order. Somehow, she just didn’t think old Mrs. Simpson at Mansfield Books would understand.

Two days later the book with its inviting cover image of a young mother talking to her children arrived. Sitting at the kitchen counter she opened the brown carton.

Casual Family Nudity: The Answer to Today’s Problems by Dr. Samantha Levenson, Ph.D.

JoAnn and Robert Wilkins were about as average as any family can be. White, suburban, Conservative, staunch Republicans. Robert, 36, was an operations manager at a manufacturing company. JoAnn, 35, had been an ER nurse until five years ago when she was finally able to quit working full-time and be a stay-at-home mom. They had three daughters: Kristy 16, fraternal twins Jenny and Lynn, 14. Kevin, their son, was 15.

With four kids moving through their teen years, all the normal teen problems were rearing their ugly heads. Fights were increasing as Kristy and Kevin began asserting their independence. Busy schedules seemed to be squeezing family time into nonexistence. Their sex life was virtually a memory. On those few nights when Robert and JoAnn actually went to bed at the same time, they were usually too tired to do more than kiss goodnight.

As with most families, modesty around the house wasn’t planned. It just happened. On the weekends the three girls often ran around in pajamas or oversized t-shirts all morning. While in the early mornings, Kevin would walk to the bathroom in just his underpants. JoAnn usually wore a nightgown and an old pink robe until the kids left for school. Robert was always dressed when he came down for breakfast in a white shirt and dark-colored tie. Nudity simply did not happen.

JoAnn hid the book until Robert and the kids left for work and school the next day. She started reading a little after 9:00 AM on Friday morning. JoAnn became so engrossed in the book, taking time to double-check the author’s data on their home computer that she was surprised when the front door slammed shut, announcing the kids returning from school. She was fascinated. Intrigued. Hooked and had just finished.

The author had completed dozens of studies of families just like hers. Conservative. Kids. Sexless marriages. Families caught in the rush of everyday life but devoid of joy or happiness. Every study, every single one, suggested that casual family nudity solved a myriad of problems. Communication improved. Self-image improved. Sex life improved. Family time increased. Teenage pregnancies decreased.

JoAnn, sweet little conservative Republican JoAnn, was hooked. Casual Family Nudity: The Answer to Today’s Problems Authored by Dr. Samantha Levenson, was the answer to her family’s problems.

Saturday morning, as Robert read the Wall Street Journal in the breakfast nook JoAnn handed her husband the book and requested that he read it immediately.

Now, Robert had been married to JoAnn for seventeen years. He knew his wife. He knew that when she ‘requested’ he do something, then he damn well better do it. He picked up the book which had several yellow sticky notes attached and shut himself in his office. With a fresh cup of coffee, he settled down in his old leather recliner and started reading the book.

Robert learned the basics of speed reading when he was a college freshman. In an hour and a half, he closed the book and leaned back in his recliner to digest what he had just read. He had read a couple of sections twice and fired up the office computer to check the author out, finding that she was legit. She had a Ph.D. and taught at a university.

Obviously, JoAnn was interested in trying this. Now he had to decide if he wanted to do it. He could say no, and JoAnn would begrudgingly accept it. Or he could say yes and could require his wife, daughters, and son, to be nude whenever they were home. An angry wife or naked teenage girls? Decisions. Decisions.

He called JoAnn into the den and shut the door.

“What did you think?” she asked, apprehensively, watching her husband’s face.

Standing next to his recliner he picked up the book.

“Her ideas seem sound,” he replied. “But it’s a little radical.”

JoAnn stood in front of him just a foot of space between them. She took the book from his hands and looked him in the eyes. Her pretty face looking up at him showed genuine concern.

“I know. But Robert, I’m scared. Every single problem she described we have. Our kids are growing more and more distant, and we hardly ever talk anymore.”

“Do you really think that nudism will solve all these problems?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she said quietly. “But I think we should try it ... Don’t you?”

“I don’t know. If we do this, I think we have to follow the program completely. All of her studies show that a half-hearted attempt causes more problems than it solves.”

“Yea. I know.” JoAnn said her voice was stronger now, more confident.

“JoAnn, you’re here more than I am. This conflict with the kids hits you more than anyone. You would have to be naked whenever you’re at home. No matter who’s here, no matter what’s happening. Are you willing to do that?”

“Bob, if it’ll save this family, I’ll do anything,” she said with a nod of her head.

“What about the chapters on sex?” he asked. “JoAnn, you don’t even like the lights on when we do it. This Doctor lady says we can’t close the doors. And what about the open masturbation?”

“Bob, I know it’ll be hard,” she replied. “But she convinced me. You know how many of these types of books I’ve read. Most of them are nothing more than psychobabble. But this one is different. The data is real. The studies she cited are in-depth. I’m absolutely convinced that, radical as it is, this book has the answer for our family.”

Robert stood looking at his beautiful petite wife standing there in her old robe. Her eyes fixed on his face. It looked as if she had brushed the tangles out of her long dark chestnut hair, and was she wearing makeup?

“Okay. I’m willing. But if we do it, we have to go all the way. No backing out. No bending the rules. This book will be our Bible.”

“You’re right. Let’s do it!” JoAnn replied.

Together they each took a deep breath and walked into the living room. It was 11:15 on Saturday morning. Kristy had just gotten up. She was sitting at the dining room table eating a bowl of cereal and reading Teen Vogue. Their oldest daughter wore loose-fitting pajama pants and a faded green sports bra. Her dark brown hair was an unkept unbrushed halo around her head as she hunched over the magazine and mindlessly spooned cereal into her mouth.

Over on the couch, their attention on a wildlife program on TV, sat his middle girl Jenny in shorts and a pink Hello Kitty t-shirt, legs folded under her. Lynn, the youngest twin sat next to her sister, in a pajama top and little white panties.

Kevin was upstairs in his room doing who knows what.

Robert yelled up to Kevin, who came down wearing jeans and a Dragon-con T-shirt. JoAnn gathered all the kids around the dining room table.

“Kids, we have an announcement to make,” began Robert. “I’m not really sure where to begin...”

He paused to look at the faces of his four kids, bored, eyes focused on him, expectant. His wife saved him.

“Your dad and I read a new book about family enrichment,” JoAnn said, cutting in, “and we’ve decided we’re going to follow its guidelines.”

“Okay,” responded Kristy. “So let me guess. Now we have to eat dinner together every day and at night tuck each other in bed?”

The other girls laughed, smirks on their teen faces.

“It’s not ‘The Book’ is it?” asked Kevin apprehensively.

“I don’t know, Kevin,” responded Robert. “What is ‘The Book’?”

“Doug’s mother read a book about nudism and now he has to strip naked every time he goes home!”

“What? No Way!” Jenny said loudly, her high-pitched young voice hurting Robert’s ears.

“Really?” laughed Kristy. “Maybe I should start walking home with him. We could stop by his house for a Coke!”

JoAnn ignored her eldest for the moment.

“What does he think of being naked at home?” asked JoAnn.

“Oh my God, mom!” said Jenny. “That is what you’re talking about!”

“Jenny, don’t cuss!” Robert barked at his middle girl.

“You are, aren’t you?” demanded Kevin.

“You’re not serious, are you?” asked Kristy. Her blue eyes got bigger as she focused on her parents.

“What? I don’t understand?” whined Lynn who was looking at her older sister and then at her mom.

Everybody was talking at once.

“Enough!” Robert said in a firm voice. “Be quiet! We can’t all talk at once.” He raised his hand palm out in the universal stop sign.

Everyone settled down.

JoAnn could feel the tension emanating from the table. She continued.

“Now then. Yes. That’s the book we’re talking about. It’s called Casual Family Nudity and the proposed solution it suggests seems to solve many of the problems that families like ours are dealing with.”

“But...” Kristy tried to speak.

“Enough! Don’t interrupt me! You’ll all get a chance to speak. Kevin, what does Doug think about it? JoAnn said.

“I don’t know,” he replied after a moment’s hesitation. “He doesn’t talk about what happens at home much now.”

“How’d you find out?” Robert asked.

“He was sick for a few days a couple of weeks ago. I had to take his homework to him. His mom answered the door, naked!”

Kevin was looking off into the distance toward the backyard as he recalled his visit.

“I didn’t know what to do, but she invited me in as if she was dressed. She smiled and sent me right up to Doug’s room. He was in bed. We talked some and he was embarrassed that I’d seen his mom naked.” Kevin smiled as he said the last part.

Kevin had his family’s attention.

“Anyway, he told me all about it. Said everyone had to be naked whenever they were at home. I told him I didn’t know how he could do that. He said it was really tough at first, but that after a couple of days, he got used to being naked in front of his parents and sisters and it was pretty cool.”

“Their whole family is naked?” asked Lynn.

“Yeah, I guess, that’s what he said,” replied Kevin. “I only saw Doug and his mom, both were naked.”

“Kristy? Jenny? Do y’all have anything to say?” asked JoAnn, her small-town North Carolina accent suddenly more pronounced.

They were silent for a minute.

“I don’t understand how being naked is going to solve all our problems,” said Kristy. “I mean, we don’t even have any real problems. It’s not like we’re the Osbornes or anything!”

Robert was thinking. His oldest was right compared to other families in their small but growing community near Boone, NC, their life wasn’t bad. But his wife was right about the growing family conflict. He could do without it. His own brother, a police officer, had deployed months ago to Afghanistan with the Army National Guard as the wars on terror kicked into high gear, leaving his young wife and new daughter behind. That weighed on Bob and the extra responsibilities and worry. All this flashed through his head in a second.

JoAnn reached over and took her hand. “Kristy, according to this book, casual nudity promotes openness and communication in the family. A totally open atmosphere means that secrets are no longer necessary.”

“So, what do we have to do?” asked Jenny, always the practical one.

Robert took a deep breath. “Okay. Here are the rules. First, everyone in the family is required to be totally naked whenever they are in the house or the backyard, no matter who else is here. Any visitor has a choice of remaining dressed or joining us.”

He was ticking off his fingers watching the faces at the table.

“Second, all the doors will be removed from every room, even the bathrooms.”

Next finger and a glance at his wife.

“Third, sexual curiosity and exploration is expected and should not be viewed as embarrassing or prohibited. We will encourage you to explore your sexuality however you feel the need.”

He held 3 fingers in the air then dropped his hand waiting for the explosion.

The kids stared at him and JoAnn in stunned silence.

“What’s that mean?” asked Lynn.

“Which part, baby?” asked her mother encouragingly.

“The last part.”

Her older sister sat forward.

“It means if you’re naked and there are no doors you don’t have any privacy to do ... stuff,” said Kristy.

“It means,” responded JoAnn, “that as you grow older you will have certain very natural questions and feelings. There’s no reason to be ashamed or embarrassed about them.”

Robert could feel a tension building in his groin for some reason. His kids had not flipped out or stormed out of the room, yet.

“To be perfectly blunt,” said Robert, “it means there will be no sexual secrets in this family. You don’t need to hide the fact that you masturbate. You don’t need to be ashamed of it. It’s a natural response to a physical need. Our door will be removed as well, so you’ll be able to tell when your mom and I are having sex too.”

“Can we...” whispered Jenny.

“What Sweety?” asked her mother.

“Can we ... watch?”

“Well...” JoAnn looked to her husband.

“Yes,” replied Robert. “According to the book, there are to be no sexual secrets. You may watch us. You may watch each other. This house will be totally open from this day forward.”

Silence.

Everyone was still. Waiting.

“Do we have any kind of say in the matter?” asked Kristy, a frown on her pretty young face.

“No,” replied Bob. “According to Dr. Levenson, children will always vote ‘no’ even when they secretly want to vote yes because they are ashamed of their bodies. I’m afraid this is a decision that has been made by your mother and me.”

“So, we have no say in the matter?” Kristy asked.

“No.” both Robert and JoAnn spoke at once.

Silence.

“So now what?” asked Jenny. “When does this start?”

“Right now,” replied her mother. “According to Dr. Levenson, everyone should strip one at a time, beginning with the oldest. That’s you, dear.” JoAnn said turning to her husband.

Robert took a deep breath and stood up, stepping back from the table a couple of feet.

First, he pulled his shirt off and tossed it on the table. Watching his family, he unbuttoned his blue jeans and pushed them down to his ankles, then sat down to pull them all the way off before standing up again. Nudity was not a huge issue for Rob. He had camped and fished in the North Carolina wilderness since he was young where skinny dipping in lakes in rivers with friends was common.

Now he stood in front of his three daughters wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. Taking another deep breath, he slid his thumbs under his waistband and pushed them to the floor.

Sometimes it can be really embarrassing to be a man. Cocks seem to have minds of their own and Robert’s had decided to stand up proudly in front of his offspring. Seven inches of hard flesh stood straight out, a small bead of pre-cum peeking out of the circumcised tip.

Four sets of eyes as big as saucers stared at their father’s cock. Yes, even Kevin couldn’t help but look. Other than the occasional picture, none of his teen girls had ever seen a man’s organ before, as far as he knew. Now they were gazing at the giant piece of meat that sired them.

Robert stood uneasily before them for a moment before clearing his throat and sitting down again.

“Your turn,” he mumbled to his wife who also seemed to be thoroughly enraptured by her husband’s manhood.

“I have to admit,” she stated, “that I got up this morning expecting to have to do this. So, I sort of came prepared.”

With that, she unbelted her robe, slid it off her shoulders, and let it fall to the ground. In that one movement, she stood before her family totally nude.

JoAnn, like her three daughters, was petite. At age 35, barely 5’2”, her still firm breasts were only the size of an average apple. Her perky pink nipples, also, seemed to want to see all the action. Below her tight stomach was a closely shaved landing strip between two velvet lips. Kevin ducked his head, embarrassed to stare too long at his mother’s body.