Chapter 8: Different House, Different Rules

“Mama? Mama?”

“Wha?”

“C’mon, Mama, time to wake up. If you sleep any longer, then you’ll be awake all night. Here, let’s sit up on the edge. Good. I brought you some water. That’s right. You have to be careful with those pain pills; they can dry you out.”

While drinking, a little water slipped out of the corner of her mouth and splashed down on her right breast. Lucia suddenly realized she was nude.

“Where are my clothes?”

“You fell across the bed and were asleep with your clothes on, so it was necessary to undress you and put you into bed.”

“Wait, who undressed me?”

“Gabe and I did it together.”

“I wasn’t dreaming, then. He saw between my legs, didn’t he?”

“Yes, Mama, briefly. I’m sorry; it seemed necessary at the time.”

“Hmm. I can’t believe I asked him to shave my pussy lips.”

“I guess you weren’t as addled as you pretended to be.”

“Mia, let me put it to you this way. Your husband is holding up your naked body close to his, with his strong arms easily supporting your shoulders and legs, with your butt hanging out at his waist, and your face turned up toward his. How wet are you?”

“Pretty wet, Mama. OK. I get it. Well, that naturally leads me to the next topic.

“Do you remember the doctor saying 15-minute soaks up to 90 minutes at a time?”

“I remember.”

“Gabe proposes we have a soak, then have dinner, then go back out to soak some more.”

“Excellent.”

“He also says it would be silly to put on and take off swimsuits while going back and forth, and there are towels out there in a cabinet for us so we aren’t out in the cold air with damp skin. Walking inside wearing dripping wet suits is foolish. I told him I would ask you if you would agree to this.”

“He just saw my whole body; why should I be shy now? What’s the point? And I’m naked already. Is the water hot?”

“It will be. In ten minutes, I believe.”

“That gives you two enough time to undress, then. The spa is through the door off the kitchen, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I’ll meet you there, then, in ten minutes. I’ll just take a quick shower so I’m ready, and I want to put my hair up, so it doesn’t get wet.”

The house layout was two bedrooms upstairs and two downstairs. They were using the upper two. At the top of the main stairs, a walkway with a low railing connected the two bedroom doors, with a view from the walkway over the great room below.

Mia came out of Lucia’s bedroom and leaned over the railing. Directly below her, she could see the “bearskin” rug, the fireplace, and part of the kitchen.

“Gabe! Would you come up to our bedroom, please.”

Once he arrived, she began speaking while undressing, which brought a smile to his face.

“Lucia remembers it all, including asking you for a shave. Yeah. She’s misled us to think she was loopy, and she admitted that being in your arms made her feel sexy. Well, of course it did!

“C’mon, you should undress too. Once we got that all cleared up, I brought up the spa-eat-spa schedule. She was all for it. Then I talked about skipping swimsuits. Her answer was along the lines of, you’ve seen her already; why be shy now. So, she’s going to meet us down there in ten minutes, wearing only a cap to keep her hair dry. I should have brought one. Dopey me.”

“I think, Mia, there’s supposed to be an electric hair dryer in a bathroom drawer. We’ll find out. I guess we’re good to go. I’ll head down there now and put the spa cover the rest of the way off.”

About fifteen minutes after that, Lucia was ready. Despite her brave talk, she felt apprehensive. The mirror had shown to her only her flaws as she fiddled with her hair to confine it under her cap. She was struggling with unfounded self-criticism but was at the same time eager to try the spa. And bathing in a swimsuit seemed like an idiotic idea, so...