Chapter 16

I stopped short on my way back to the kitchen, and Leo overran me, crashing into my butt.

“Oh! Sorry, I’m sorry, Mary.”

“My fault. Go tell your father you are both welcome to stay for dinner. I have enough in the fridge to include you, and all day I’ve been hearing him wrestle and bang things in there.”

“Are you sure?”

I rolled my eyes.

“Don’t anger the naked girl, Leo. Get moving!”

He slipped away quickly. I couldn’t stop myself; I rubbed the spot on my ass where his hard-on had pushed into me during the collision. There would be a lot of macaroni for tonight’s late snack!

When Leo returned, I was planning the meal.

“I’m thinking for tonight we should have mashed potatoes.”

Brightly, he said, “Oh, I know how to make those, or is it them?”

“(Plural, I think.) OK, you’re on potato patrol.”

“My pleasure. Where is the box?”

“Box? What box?”

“You know, Mary, it says ‘Idahoan’ with a big picture on the outside.”

“You can’t be serious. You feed your father that instant stuff? What did he do to deserve this?”

He looked both embarrassed and confused. I took pity on him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you. For now, sit at the table and read this.” I handed him a cookbook, saying he should review the recipe.

Just then, Joy ran screaming through the house. Nick chased after her waving a metal-shafted flyswatter. Catching up, he shouldered her into the couch, with her tits on the seat cushions and her knees on the floor. He whacked her butt five times while she wriggled.

“Bitch! You forgot to count! I’m starting over.”

When he finished with eight blows, Nick pulled her to her feet.

“Let’s go, cunt. Your sloppy ass is going in the snow until it cools off and your attitude improves.”

Leo watched them go, open-mouthed, then looked at me.

“Is this what you were trying to explain to me, Mary?”

“Yes, Nick is doing exactly what Joy wants him to do. That’s why I didn’t intervene. I know this looks completely crazy. I don’t think you will easily understand Joy; for now, I just want you to know all of this is completely voluntary.”

“Joy is OK with it?”

“Exactly. Leo, this is very important. Joy explicitly asks for, she consents to every thing you will see. It thrills her. Imagine she’s acting in a play; she’s the damsel in distress. Between her pigtails, she’s enjoying the hell out of this. Sometimes, I punish her myself, because it satisfies her need to submit; she’s role playing.

“Leo, I can see this isn’t sitting well with you. Please, just trust us, trust me; this is the way our family works now, at least this month.”

I turned and took hold of both his hands.

“Just ride with it for a while. I want you to be comfortable around us, in spite of our weirdnesses. Please?”

“You have to know I can never be comfortable around you, Mary. Not as long as you’re naked.”

He shifted around in the chair, and I couldn’t help myself, glancing down at his overcrowded pants.

“Exactly. I’m sorry, I can’t help it. Maybe I should...”

“Don’t you say it, Leo. It’s OK; it’s a compliment, don’t you see? You have the same effect on me; it’s just not so visible. If you leave now, I’ll be crying in this kitchen.”

Joy walked in then, shivering, with tear tracks on her face.

“Hey! Leo, don’t go anywhere!”

She rushed up and kissed him on the cheek.

“Really, you shouldn’t worry about me; I’m doing what I want to do. Please stay for my sake and my sister’s sake.”

Leo put up his hands, palms out.

“OK, OK, I’ll stay!”

I couldn’t help myself; I rushed Leo and planted an extra-sloppy and ardent kiss on him.

“Type 3,” I whispered. Now the poor guy’s pants were really straining.

Mom and Dad arrived to a scene they were not expecting; obviously angered. On the other hand, they controlled themselves in front of Leo and Denny; I had a chance to explain.

“I apologize to you both, Mom and Dad, for what you see tonight. Before I go on, I want to acknowledge Leo’s help making dinner for us.

“What happened this morning was that we were caught by surprise when Mr. Graham and Leo...”

Denny grumbled, and I corrected myself.

“I’m sorry, he wants me to call him Denny. So they were at the door, and we girls were doing our chores naked. They saw us clearly through that window in the front door. We ran to our bedroom, and Nick let them in and offered coffee.”

He needed a little propping up, in case our parents were also mad at him.

“Joy and I had a brief discussion in our room. Since we were already seen, we came back out and explained to the Grahams about our restriction. I started more coffee while Nick explained everything to Leo.

“I guess there were many details, since Denny must have insisted on knowing how the equipment was damaged. I made lunch for everybody, and Joy stood with me in the kitchen while they ate. Denny asked more questions, then he went back to the laundry while Joy cleaned up, with help from Leo.”

Holly complained. “You had a guest cleaning our kitchen?”

“Mom, he volunteered. I couldn’t tell him ‘no.’ Just look at him!”

Holly narrowed her eyes and looked back and forth between us. Uh-oh!

“Denny was still busy, so we had a snowball fight in the afternoon. Joy and I defeated Leo and Nick; Ethan has the pictures to prove it.”

Joy was bouncing on her feet, reliving her special day. I saw Dad watching her and being infected by her mood and her particular talent for lighting up a room.

“Denny says he’s made temporary repairs to the washer and dryer. He needs to come back after he gets some parts. I had more discussions with Leo, and he explained that he usually made dinner for his dad. But my cooking must have impressed him, and I had an idea. What if Leo came over often and learned to cook with me?”

Bless him, Denny jumped in.

“If Leo can learn to cook like your daughter does, that would be great for me. Four nights a week, I come home from my regular job. I’m dead tired, and I appreciate Leo making our dinners. But neither of us can cook worth a damn. I told Mary I would agree to her plan, but ONLY if you consented, Holly and Sam.”

I couldn’t help it; I actually stopped breathing while waiting for their response. But, instead, it was Leo who spoke.

“Can I say something? Mary said something important to my dad. She told him if I could cook, a future partner would be so excited that she would sweep me off my feet, marry me, and take me off his hands.”