Cora Sturgis was a musician. She'd been that as long as she could remember. It was, for her, piano at 3 and then lessons following quickly after. She loved play with the piano at first and then simply doing her lessons and playing the music that was involved with the lessons.

She developed a new musical love, when she reached junior high school. She was introduced to the violin. Her parents, always eager to encourage Cora's interest, bought her a basic violin model and she used it for years to come, only buying herself a first class violin, when she was older and working herself.

But in junior high school, once she'd begun her love affair with the violin, Cora was at an assembly and a man called 'the Fiddleman' gave them all a presentation.

He was dazzling. His name was Simon Neale and he played all different kinds of music on his violin that day. He called it, for some of the presentation, 'a fiddle' and played some blue grass. Cora liked that, the bounciness of it.

Then he changed styles and played some show tunes. Cora was entranced with that also. But she was hardly ready for his ascent into the classical repertory of violin music. Cora was dazzled. She hardly knew, up until then, that such music was real and available.

She began, at that point, a life time love affair with classical music, especially music for the violin.

On that occasion, at the junior high school, Simon joined the junior high school orchestra and gave pointers especially to the violin players.

Cora was really excited and struck up a friendship with the great violinist.

Simon, in those days, was a very busy musician but he did take Cora on as a student. Her parents had only limited means but Cora took an after school job to raise money for her lessons and studied with Simon for a year. It improved her technique and made her quite a good violinist.

As time went on, Simon moved around a great deal and there was no lingering relationship between the two of them but Cora kept tabs on his press releases.

It was only after a great deal of time that Simon seemed to fall out of view and she found no more notices about concerts and presentations by Simon.

Cora was, by then, doing her own advanced education and in the process of becoming a music teacher herself.

It can also be said that Cora Sturgis was a very practical woman. She was clear eyed and didn't tend to kid herself. She knew, almost from the start, that her violin talent was only a mediocre one. She was fine for the local orchestra, with whom she played but she wasn't a virtuoso. She came to grips with that and was fine with it.

In the ensuing years, Cora married and then divorced, as the relationship stalled, got stale and her husband, in mind at least, just kind of wandered off. She took her own name, Sturgis, again and dropped the married name. It had been one of the things that she and best friend Beth Sweeney talked about. It seemed to have the advantage of getting Cora back on track to live her life. It helped. So, then she was Cora Sturgis again, and found that she liked it.

With the constant help of her great friend, Beth, Cora took up her own life style, after the divorce and went on from there.

She and Beth shared an apartment for a number of years, until Beth herself got married, with Cora standing up for her.

Then Cora, job in hand, went on and got her own apartment, and after a bit, her own house. She adopted two kittens from the shelter, naming them Cello and Viola, and began to live a life that was good and full for herself.

She always had her music. She made sure that she had a first class stereo and enjoyed streaming music via the internet. She was constantly busy with her teaching and it was a joy in her life to encounter young musicians such as she had been, when she took lessons from the great Simon Neale.

She would certainly periodically comb the news to see if she could find any notices about Simon but there didn't seem to be any to be had anywhere.

The time of the year was approaching summer. It was getting hot and soon it would be time to turn on the house a/c. Cora was looking forward to her summer. It meant that the orchestra, that she was a member of, would be doing some performing locally. She liked that. She liked the other orchestra members and it was a treat for her to add her own playing to the orchestra's.

Cora, at that point in her life, was 28 years old. She was approaching that stage of beauty in a woman's life that began in the flowering of their late 20's and continued at least until the shades of her 60's were hard upon her. Cora was a beauty. She had sandy blonde hair, and was lithe like a dancer. She had a beautiful physique, well rounded butt and breasts that were not huge but pleasingly large.

It was also true that, following the disaster of her marriage, occurring when she was only 18 years old, Cora had been officially, as she told Beth time and again, 'off men'.

"I don't want to get involved!" Cora said.

"Yes, honey," Beth reasoned, when the two of them were alone, "But you need to get laid!"

That sent the two of them into a spate of giggles and ended with Cora asserting that 'I don't really need to get 'laid' as you so delicately put it."

"Yes," Beth said, "But if I can only judge by my honey, Raymond, getting laid is one of life's great adventures."

Cora joined Beth in another laugh and then said, wistfully: "Well, it wasn't that way with Andy. It just wasn't and doesn't seem to be worth all the fuss."

Beth, a very demonstrative person, simply hugged Cora at that point and said: "Oh, my poor baby!"

"Yes," Cora answered, once the embrace was over, "But I have my music and both Cello and Viola and my home and my life is very fine."

"Well, honey," Beth followed with, "I hope that you at least play with yourself."

"Not going to give you that information, Ms Nosy!" Cora said, grinning.

"Then I'm coming over one night and I'm gonna play with Ms Prissy Cora Sturgis myself!" Beth said with a laugh.

"I'll file that one away!" Cora said, kissing Beth on the cheek.

It was a conversation that they had time after time and always ended in the same way.

LIGHTNING STRIKES:

Cora took the same route to school everyday. She realized that she could almost drive it automatically. She went onto the James Street bypass and went up to school off of that road.

One of the things that bothered her, while driving that road was the appearance at times, but lately more often, of a ragged and dirty man who stood and begged at the light that led to the James Street on ramp.

It always made Cora shake her head in wonder that someone would let themselves get into that kind of shape. She said as much out loud to herself any number of time, as she passed that light and saw the man, matted hair, long, long unkempt beard, bleary eyes and ragged, dirty clothes, up close.

She even mentioned it to Beth, when they were having tea one day.

Beth simply looked at Cora and said softly: "You mean, you don't know?"

"Don't know what?" Cora said. This was the first time that she'd mentioned that individual to Beth. They hadn't talked about it before.

"Who that is?" Beth said.

"Of course I don't!" Cora said. "Who is it?"

"That's Simon Neale!" Beth said.

Cora was simply struck dumb.

"Beth Sweeney, are you putting me on?" Cora said, trying to contain her surprise.

"No, I mean it," Beth said. "It's Simon Neale. I thought that you knew that and simply wasn't interested, you know."

Cora was shocked and let the subject drop but it was on her mind, indelibly impressed and it rattled around her mind all the rest of the day.

She ruminated about it the next morning, over a cup of coffee. She even talked to Viola about it, who was sitting on the other breakfast table chair and staring at Cora.

(Viola was always there to share cream cheese with Cora at breakfast time. It was almost a ritual with the two of them. Cello wasn't a cream cheese fiend, like her sister Viola!)

"What should I do, Vi?" Cora asked.

Viola made a cat noise and Cora said, "Yes, I've been thinking that too. I just don't know."

Her thoughts, however, pushed her mind back to those days of learning the violin and how great it was. She remembered, as she sat there, the way that Simon Neale played, and then shared his talent with them, especially with her. It sat in her mind and kind of dominated her thinking.

She decided that she'd at least drive out to the James intersection and see if it really, really was Simon Neale.

He was there, as she approached. She looked around and no one else was there at all. She was pleased, and this time she kicked herself for ever not realizing that it was indeed Simon Neale.

Cora Sturgis made a significant decision, as she approached the light at the James Street Bypass ramp. She got to the intersection and stopped the car. Then she opened her window and looked up at him.

The man had a blank look on his face and was wondering what this woman wanted.

"Simon," she said, and then he stared at her even harder. "It's me, Cora Sturgis."

What she said next was, in its effect, earth shaking: "Get in the car, Simon."

He did.

She realized right away that he smelled terrible. She didn't try to hide her disgust, and with a 'Whew!' opened the windows.

Cora had thought about this a great deal. In the course of her thoughts and a 'talk' with Viola and Cello, she realized how important Simon Neale had been to her life, getting her started in the major direction of music, that had so dominated her life from that point on, transforming her from a curious junior high girl to what she was today, a musician.

There were her lingering thoughts of 'thanks' for that life transformation that he'd been such a large part of and now she was just unwilling to let this situation go by and not at least try to do something.

She turned to look at him, taking in his shagginess and his general dirty outward appearance. He smelled as though he hadn't had a shower or a bath in ages, which in this case was pretty much true.

"Simon," she said, "I hate to say it but you smell terrible!"

He said a very soft: "Sorry."

She put out a hand and said: "But we're going to take care of that, honey."

"Yes," he said compliantly. "Take care of that."

Cora was, by the time that she got home, completely determined to clean this man up. She'd at least do that and set him on his feet again. She was also determined to do whatever it took to accomplish that goal.

She had a two car garage, which left one side of the garage empty, since she only had her one car.

"Wait here," she said, after they both got out of the car. He did what she told him to do.

She came back in a few minutes with a yellow, silk robe that she was holding in her hands.

"Okay," she said, trying to be al business, "Let's get these clothes off. I'm going to throw them away."

"Yes, thank you," he said, softly, very compliantly.

She worked at it and he let her. After a few minutes, she had his coat off and his shirt. She had a garbage bag there that she was putting the filthy clothes into. She saved the shirt aside to wash it but coat was in tatters and went into the bag.

Once the shirt was off and in the laundry pile, he was naked to the waist and she could see how skinny he'd become and how completely dirty he was. She only shook her head and went on with the process.

"I've got to do this, Simon," she said, unbuckling his belt. He only nodded in agreement, letting her do what she was intent upon.

She slid his trousers down, discovering that they too could be washed and set them aside on the laundry pile.

He wore only boxer shorts and they were, like his socks, which she took off, and the coat so disreputable that she threw them away too.

It left him standing there naked and fairly thin, for the next few seconds. Cora, in her role now as the care giver, a role that, she discovered, she was good at, simply took in his nakedness without comment. It only made her more determined to get this man, so important, so giving in her life, cleaned up.

She helped him put on the yellow robe. He smiled and said a soft: "Thank you, Cora. This is very kind."

"You look good in yellow!" she said with a grin, the first levity about the situation for her.

"Yes, yellow!" he said.

"Will look better, when I get you cleaned up," she said next, and he shook his head in agreement.

Cora didn't have much more of a plan than getting Simon into the shower and getting him cleaned up. She was simply taking the situation as it came along.

She took him to the master suite and, with him standing and watching, went and got the shower turned on and at the right temperature.

During all of the cleaning up time, both Cello and Viola were omnipresent, trying to sniff at this person and see if they liked him or not. After the shower, however, they decided he was indeed a friend, smelling like their Cora and they took to him.

She turned to him then and nodded. He stood there. It was as though he was returning to the listless state that she found him in at that intersection.

She realized that, as crazy as it possibly was, more help from her was going to be needed.

The thought flashed across her mind that if anyone would have told her about doing this, she simply would have laughed and not believed them. But she was in a 'whatever it takes to help straighten him out' mood.

With that mindset, she unbuttoned her blouse and took it off. Simon just stared at her, as she took her bra off and set it aside on her blouse.

In a totally business-like fashion, she unbuttoned her jeans and pushed them down and off, taking her sandals off and setting them aside. It left her in her violet panties. She decided to leave them on, it was her one stab at modesty, although what she did next, completely contradicted that stab at modesty.

She took Simon by the arm and, removing the yellow robe, pulled him into the shower with her.

Once they were in the shower, she turned him so that his front was to her and was super-surprised to see that he had an erection. While she was gaping at his erection and the water had rendered her violet panties totally transparent, he simply began to cum all over her.

He got red in the face and said a quick: "Sorry!"

Cora's first reaction, which she followed was to laugh and say: "That's okay. It's only normal."

She took over then and began to wash him. She used a wash cloth and a bath sponge and continued until he was now squeaky clean.

Once the washing was done and she was preparing to wash his incredibly long hair, she noticed that he had a stand up erection again.

"Sorry," he said again.

"No," she said, hardly thinking about it at all. "Let me do this."

This time, she took him in her hand, actually, this time, enjoying the way that it fit into her hand, indeed, filled her hand. She knew well enough that this hadn't started out as any kind of erotic thing, erotic match but it was that suddenly, and that thought filled her mind. She let her senses drift down into her hand and simply felt him, as she slid her hand up and down, beginning to jerk him off. He leaned against the shower stall, and, as before, came all over her. This time the event was accompanied by moans that he was making, as though realizing this pleasure for the first time. It set her to laughing again. This was part of the project that she'd never even considered. She also realized that she enjoyed doing it but kept that thought hidden.

"Hair now!" she said.

"Hair!" he said, agreeing but he was smiling at her.

"Yes, love," she said, to him, recognizing the smile, "We'll get this done and then I'll cut your hair and give you a shave."

"Thank you," he said.

She got out, throwing aside any thought of modesty and stepped out of her panties. He watched, never taking his eyes off of her. She toweled off and put on a robe. Then she gestured for him to step out of the shower and he did.

She used the towel on him next, only to find out that he was erect again. She giggled and he didn't say 'sorry' this time.

"Later," was all that she said and he nodded.

She had him dry then and went to fetch a chair. She sat him in the chair with the towel wrapped around his shoulders and in his lap.

"Less distracting that way," she thought.

Cora had spent some time, when she was young, as a hair dresser's assistant. Her specialty, at that time, was giving the hair cuts before the dresser did her magic. It was a skill that she now called up again and began to give Simon a hair cut.

Soon enough, she had hair all over the floor but he was emerging from the huge amount of tangled hair that he had. His hair was now shot through with gray and white but she thought that it made him look that much nicer.

She got the hair cut and gave him a mirror to see. He smiled and nodded and said a soft 'thank you'.

"Now the beard!" she said.

"Yes, the beard, '" he agreed.

"Simon is beginning to show through all of the tangle!" she said happily.

"Yes," he said then. "It's been so long."

She let the comment fall, realizing that there would be time for all of that later.

She had him sitting in the chair and first trimmed the long, long beard with scissors. Once she got it down closer to his chin, she used her own razor to hack it down, going over the thatch a few times. In the end, she had him totally emerged from the confines of his long hair and his long beard.

"Spiffy!" she said.

Simon smiled.

She suspected that he was erect again but didn't feel that she was up to more of those kinds of encounters with him without some time for thought first.

She gave him the yellow robe again and he put it on, while she went about cleaning up the bathroom floor, with the vacuum cleaner. When it was all tidied, with him sitting and watching her with interest, she put the vacuum away and turned to him.

"Hi, Simon!" she said. "It really is you!"

"Yes, it is!" he said, "And I can't even begin to find the words to say 'thank you' adequately. Sorry for my reactions in the shower.

She giggled. "No harm done," she said. "And it's not as if I didn't enjoy that."

He smiled.

"But let's see if we can get you something to wear, until I have your clothes washed. I was able to save your shirt and your pants."

"Thank you," he said.

She proceeded to dress next. She never asked him to look away and he didn't pretend to, watching her slip on a pair of panties and a bra, before her jeans and a tee shirt.

She went to her bureau then and produced a pair of boy-leg, white lace panties.

"These are the only things that I can think of for you," she said, grinning.

He nodded and she helped him step into the panties. They did indeed stretch to fit him. He looked at himself then in the mirror and grinned himself.

She had a pair of baggy running pants that he put on next and then it was a plain tee shirt. He was thin enough at that point that the tee shirt was fine on him.

"Fine!" she declared, as she took in the way that he looked. Then the thought occurred to her and she asked: "Hungry?"

"Haven't eaten regularly for days, maybe weeks," he said.

"Okay," she decided, "Let's do omelets and start light. Shall we?"

He looked at her then as though the thought just struck him for the first time and said: "Why? Cora?"

She knew what he was asking immediately.

"You were so important to me," she began explaining. "Setting me on my journey with my music. Helping me out. Encouraging me! That's the sort of kindness that needs to be repaid, if ever the situation presents itself. And in this case, it did!"

"How did you know?" he asked.

"My friend Beth Sweeney told me that it was you; I've passed you any number of times and didn't have a clue."

"I guess the way that I looked was against me!" he said.

"Yes," she agreed simply.

"Something to eat now," she said.

"Yes, thank you!" he answered.

She cooked, while he sat and watched her. When it was all ready, she cautioned him: "Now eat slowly! There will be plenty and I don't want you to get sick!"

"Yes, you're right," he agreed, and he did indeed eat slowly, enjoying every bite that he took.

While they were eating, the doorbell rang. A voice rang out then, opening the door, after using the bell: "It's me!"

It was Beth. She came in with the kind of closeness that had grown between the two of them. She entered and stopped dead in her tracks, once she in the kitchen doorway.

Cora smiled and said: "Beth Sweeney, you know Simon Neale, don't you?"

Beth stuttered and said a brief: "Yes, I do." She extended her hand and shook his, still staring at him.

"You look so different!" she said.

"Yes," he ventured, "All cleaned up, thanks to my angel here!"

Beth looked at Cora and Cora smiled.

"We'll talk later," Beth said.

"Yes!" Cora agreed and walked Beth to the door. Over her shoulder, Beth said: "Nice to see you, Simon."

"Thank you," he said, "I enjoyed it."

"You are a cross between an angel and a wonder woman!" Beth said, hugging Cora, who was grinning at her.

Cora went back then and said: "Sorry, we're such good friends that we tend to take liberties."

"That's okay by me," he said, finishing the meal that Cora had set before him.

"This was awfully good," he said, "I enjoyed it and I thank you."

"But you must be really tired," Cora ventured. "I imagine that you've been out there in all kinds of weather."

"Yes, I have," he said.

"Should l show you to your room?" she asked.

He was a bit shocked but then he said: "Yes, please do that. Um ... my room ... of course."

She showed him to the guest suite that she was giving him.

"I hope this is okay for you?" she asked.

"This is way beyond fine for me," he said.

"I need some sizes from you," she said then.

"Sizes?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, with a giggle in her voice, "Unless you intend to keep wearing my running pants, tee shirt and panties!"

He laughed and said: "Well, I will say that it's a treat but maybe something else would be a little better."

"Yes," she answered, "Exactly what I mean. I'll go shopping tomorrow. If you don't mind, I'll leave the door ajar. I think that Cello and Viola might come shopping in the night."

"Be glad to have them," he said. Turning to her then, he said: "I want to thank you for your kindness. It is a treasure for me in many ways."

Cora blushed but said: "You're certainly welcome."

She did remember, however, to get his 'sizes' before she left him for the night.

It was obvious to her that he was really, really done in by all of his standing around to beg for kindnesses from people. He slept long and late the next day. Since it was summer, Cora had time off but had only time in the morning to talk with Beth for a few minutes.

"How did it go last night?" Beth asked.

"Very quiet," Cora said, "Cello and Viola stayed with him; I guess, to kind of welcome him."

"How nice!" Beth said and then, with tears in her eyes, she hugged Cora and said: "Cora Sturgis, you are one of the angels of God on earth!"

"Thank you," Cora said, "I love you too, honey."

"So, what for today?" Beth asked.

"Shopping for some clothes for him this morning," Cora said.

"Undies?" Beth asked in a whisper.

"Yep!" Cora said, grinning.

"Can't wait until I can go shopping with you for his undies?" Beth asked, with a giggle.

"No, Ms Dirty Mind!" Cora said, giggling back. "The undies venture is all mine!"

"Enjoy!" Beth said, "Leaving for work." (She was a nurse and had a shift that morning.)

"I certainly will!" Cora said, grinning at her friend.

"We need to talk about this soon," Beth said. "I want details!"

"Yes, I'll do that. It's fairly amazing," Cora said and with a final hug, Beth left.

Cora went to do her shopping then at a local mall. She had gotten Simon's correct sizes and was able to buy some jeans, a pair of casual slacks, some tee shirts, socks, a belt and, of course, some underwear. She was giggly about that part of the task. She also made sure that she shopped for some shorts that were colorful.

"That is," she said to herself, "A kind of treat for me."

She'd left coffee out on the counter at home, ready for him to start it, and she found him, wearing still her clothes, sitting at the table in the kitchen and having a cup of coffee.

"Hi!" he said fairly brightly, as she came in.

"Hi to you!" she said in answer. "I have a pile of clothes for you to try on."

"You are a saint!" he said, getting up and accepting a hug from her.

"All clean!" he said, "Managed my own shower today, though the one yesterday was a truly great shower!"

Cora blushed, and he apologized but she refused to hear his apology about it. It left her giggling about his reference to the shower that they'd shared yesterday.

They spent some time that morning with him trying on the clothes.

It was such a strange thing. They treated it, the two of them, as though it were not a big thing that she'd stay and watch him try things on. He positively hooted, when he saw the shorts that she'd bought, though she was standing and blushing, while he looked them over.

"I'll go," she said.

"No need maybe," he said. "I think we're past that kind of reaction."

She stood her ground then and only agreed with what he'd said.

After he was settled with the clothes, she said to him: "It's summer and I don't have school, I teach music to junior high school children, but I still need to do my practicing. I hope that won't bother you?"

"No," he said, "That'll be fine. If you don't mind, I'll sit out on the patio."

Then as though to explain to her, he turned and said: "You see, I don't play any more."

"Oh," was all that she managed and hardly managed to hide her disappointment at this news from him.

He sat on the patio and did listen to her play. He had Cello and Viola as his companions, sitting with them in a screened room that connected to the family room of the house.

He said to himself: "She's very good but misses 'really great' by only a small margin. It sounds so nice."

He listened and wiped tears from his eyes periodically. Listening to her playing was obviously causing his own thoughts to wander into areas where he hadn't allowed the thoughts free reign in quite a while.

"Yes, she's good," he said.

"Sorry to be so long," she said, coming out later with a tray of tea and cookies for the two of them.

"You played wonderfully!" he said.

"Thank you," she responded. "So, you don't play."

"No," he said, "Not anymore! Not for a long time. It was difficult."

He seemed in no mood to say anything more about that and she let it lie.

"I think that we need to go to the store and buy you a new pair of shoes," she said.

"Oh, shoes," he said, as though he'd never thought of needing them.

"Yes," she said. "What kind do you prefer?"

"If it's all the same," he said, "I like loafers."

"Well," she said next, "Why don't we go and outfit you with a pair?"

He turned to her and said: "Your kindness knows no bounds!" He kissed her cheek.

"You were a major, major influence in my life," she said. "You made the music sing for me! I've never forgotten that nor what I actually 'owe' you, in a way, for setting me on a path that has been such a blessing for me." By the end of what she was saying, she had tears in her eyes, which she quickly wiped away.

They agreed then to make the trip to the shoe store. It didn't take them long to fit him out with a pair of loafers and also a pair of running shoes.

She truly enjoyed doing it. To her, it was as though this were a once in a lifetime opportunity to say 'thank you' to a major influence, a major blessing in her life. She grasped that opportunity readily and happily.

CHANGES:

After their trip to the shoe store, they settled down to a peaceful evening. They talked a while and had a quiet dinner, which Cora prepared.

To Cora it seemed as though things were still locked up inside of Simon and she was reluctant to try to pry anything from him, preferring instead to simply let him slip back into life gradually on his own terms.

He realized this and was thankful for her approach. During their chat that evening, he told her so.

"I know there are things, that are all wound up with what you were going through and I know that they are none of my business. I just want you to know that I'll help, if I can," she said to him that evening.

"I'm beginning to realize that full well," he said. "You're hospitality and goodness are truly overwhelming."