Chapter 4

“What do you see, you fucker?”

“My conclusion is that you were always ambivalent. She was your mother and you naturally loved her, but she made few signs of loving you back. Interest, yes, but love, no. The second baby got treated better because of the medication she was taking, then the third one got all the care and attention that was missing before, because the drugs were keeping her craziness tendencies in check. Probably the alcohol later negated her medication, and she acted crazy at the wheel; that was probably why she crashed the car and died.”

Sharlene was staring at me, furious at what I was revealing, but the other two were nodding to themselves, for it all made sense to them. She tensed as if she was going to come at me, but her breasts suddenly had erect nipples and she stiffened. She was getting off on the terrible truth that she had been suppressing for years.

I made a decision, for the good of us all.

“Ladies, that will be all for today. You have had an emotional shock at being drugged and deposited here, with a lot to take in; plus this first topic has caused mental anguish. The rest of the day will be for yourselves and myself to amuse ourselves as you see fit. There is TV, board games, and also a selection of books to read, and your own bedrooms to retire to when you want privacy. May I suggest you devise signs to identify your own bedroom doors, even if it is only using felt-tip pen to have your name printed on the door. The showers are available whenever you feel like one, and this lounge is available for anyone to simply sit down and relax. Please don’t turn the TV sound up high, or you may disturb other residents in the apartment.”

I must have sounded like a travel guide imparting advice to passing tourists.

Cherry asked, “Where do we find felt-tip pens?”

“The study rooms have a number of pens, if you care to look,” I revealed.

“Fuck! I should have thought of that.”

“Cherry? This is something I should have alluded to earlier with Sharlene. Swearing is a no-no; so first warning of a punishment: Swearing is not sociable and therefore is not acceptable in this program. Stop all the swearwords or you will be punished. The trick to avoiding this punishment is to think before you speak. Okay?”

“No swearing at all?” Cherry asked in amazement.

“Not where swearing is the intention. You might want to say, “my cunt is sore for some reason”, and that is a factual statement, not swearing, but if you call a sister, “You cunt!” that is unacceptable. Are we all clear about that? This is social and behavioural improvement, ladies, so get with the program.”

Belatedly, I recalled a fact about lighting that should be known.

“I should have said before: Ladies, the lighting controls in this apartment are not simple on/off switches. Each light is changed in illumination by a rotary knob, so that you can turn down the lighting brightness in your bedroom to a level that suits you at any time. The corridor lights will be turned to a very low level overnight, enabling you to find your way to the kitchen or lounge or whatever, instead of complete darkness.”

“Cool,” remarked Charlie. “I like it.”

Sharlene had just put her finger to her lips, and a thought came to her.

“Excuse me, I must go check something in my bedroom.”

She walked off swiftly leaving the rest wondering what had got into her. She was back within a few minutes and stood in front of me, forgetful of her nakedness. She then demanded of me, “Where the H ... heck is my lipstick? It is not in my bedside drawer unit.”

I put my finger to my own lips and remarked, “Lipstick? What do you need lipstick for?”

“To look good, stupid!”

“I see. Who are you wanting to look good for?”

That made her think about her current circumstances. She came up with the best she could devise.

“Me; to look good for me.”

“Why? I think I look acceptable, but I don’t see the need for lipstick on my face. You look good already, Sharlene, so why do you need lipstick as well? Have you a need to convince someone?”

She halted and looked at me again.

“You think I look good like this? Without any make-up at all?”

“Your body looks very attractive without a shred of clothing. Why shouldn’t your face also be equally attractive without make-up? What would you want to cover up or enhance?”

Cherry put in, “You are losing the argument, Sharl. Don’t push it further, or you’ll have to admit making yourself look attractive for him.”

Sharlene blushed to her roots and glared at Cherry.

“Just because I like to look nice doesn’t mean anything more, Cherry.”

“I know, but you were arguing about who you were dolling yourself up for. Unless we are going out, it is for him, and him only.” She pointed in my direction.

Sharlene gave up arguing, and said nothing more about lipsticks, and didn’t suggest a lipstick in her handbag. I was surprised the subject of handbags didn’t arise before now. The possibility at last drifted into her head and she brought it up.

“I should have a lipstick in my purse, so where have you hidden our handbags?”

I deliberately looked flustered and puzzled, as if the thought had only now come to me. I frowned.

“I have no idea. You came with your clothes and shoes on, but no handbags. They must have remained in whatever conveyance you arrived in, and gone off with that vehicle. So I am sorry, I can’t help you there.”

Charlie put a hand to her mouth in alarm.

“Sharl, that’s not all that was in our purses.”

Sharlene looked at her in confusion, then realised.

“Damn! That is awkward.”

I pretended to be at a loss as to what they were talking about.

“Ladies? Can you tell me what is missing?”

Sharlene retorted, “No! It has nothing to do with you.”

Cherry snidely remarked, “At least, not yet.”

I put on my confused expression, but said nothing, and I was pointedly ignored. I changed the subject.

“What shall we think about for our evening meal? If it is left to me, it may be toasted cheese, or a pizza from the freezer.” I left them thinking I was useless in the kitchen, which I am decidedly not. You don’t survive as a bachelor without learning how to cook a range of dishes far beyond the simplest items, unless you can afford to eat out all the time. My student days were not financially stable, so I learned.

“Men! Utterly useless in the home!” declared Charlotte.

I smiled inwardly. This was what I wanted. Preparing meals would keep them busy in this cooped-up apartment. Perhaps I should mention laundry.

“Oh, by the way, ladies, there is a small utility room off the kitchen. It has a dishwasher, clothes washer and a clothes drier. I thought I should mention that in case we run out of bedding. I think there is a change of bedclothes for each bed in there, but perhaps you should check on that.”

“No laundry service to the door?”

“Nope. Isolation city here, remember?” I was adamant, though I knew we would have grocery deliveries later. No need to mention it now.

They decided to investigate the utility room, and see what bedding was stored there. Charlotte came back to ask me, “This apartment; does the temperature stay the same, or reduce overnight?”

“As far as I am aware, Charlie, it stays the same all the time. There is probably a thermostat control somewhere, but if you remain naked, a steady comfortable temperature is best, isn’t it?”

I gestured at her naked body, and she came aware again that she was naked in front of me; she had temporarily forgotten, and her nipples perked up.

“Oh!”

I reassured her, “Nothing to concern yourself about, Charlie. We are both naked, and getting used to being this way. It is almost like at a naturist resort. Are you fine now?”

I got a smile. “Yep, and you are still cute! Will you need me to trim your hair for you?”

“As it gets longer, it will indeed need a trim, as will the hair of you girls. It all depends on how long you take to change into pleasant young women who will fit into any decent society.”

“Hmm ... will you have to fuck me from time to time, if I am naughty?”

“Perhaps. Is that what you want?”

“Yes and no. I like being fucked, and the idea of being fucked by you appeals to me.”

“BUT,” I told her, “You have to want to be fucked by me only; no-one else. This program aims to turn you from a promiscuous slut into a one-man woman in future. I hope you can manage it.”

“Eh? You want me to desire you only? Always? Always and forever?” There was an underlying hankering there for a stable life, but I let it pass.

“That is not exactly what I meant. The idea is that when you want to be with a man, it should be that man only; not fucking around with other men whenever one takes your fancy.”

“But I like fucking!”

“Then you find a man who likes fucking you, and you can both enjoy life together; preferably married, though nowadays not every couple that stay together permanently and have kids get married. Some feel that a formal ceremony is not needed to reinforce commitment.”

“You are a funny guy to be a kidnapper. You are trying to make us better women.”

“You have it right. I am trying to make you three better women, any way I can.”

“You see me as a woman, not as a girl? My Daddy still sees me as a child, his baby girl.”

“Nothing wrong with that, as long as he also recognises you are a woman on your own terms. If I have kids, I will look on my daughters as little girls for most of their lives, because I love them as my youngsters.”

“But you will recognise them as grown-up women?”

“Certainly. That is what they will be. My viewing of them as my little girls is an emotional view only. My head will recognise them and applaud them if they become women I can be proud of. I hope they do that.”

“Aww..., that’s nice!”

I concluded, “I think your Daddy secretly hopes to be proud of you, but you have done nothing so far for him to be proud of. Maybe that can change during your stay here.”

“How long?” she wanted to know.

“No idea. That is up to you three. It doesn’t conclude until all three of you are ready to graduate from this Detox school, or clinic as I prefer to call it. It will finish when it finishes.”

“That means that you are stuck here as well, doesn’t it?”

“Now that you mention it, that is so. We are all in this together. I can’t get out until you ladies are ready to get out.”

“Poor man!” Charlie got up from her chair, came closer and kissed my forehead. I was conscious of her large breasts in front of me, and did my best to restrain myself.

“That’s to commiserate with you; having to put up with us.”

As she turned and walked away, I muttered, “Well, that is a new way of putting it. I thought I was the villain of the piece. Am I also a victim?”

I stayed on my own till time for our evening meal, when the ladies informed me we were having meatloaf (tinned it had to be with the timescale) with two vegetables and mashed potatoes (out of a packet, I was certain). It was perfectly edible, at any rate, and I said so. Sharlene squirmed at the compliment, so I presumed it was her idea. I rubbed it in.

“If this is the standard you girls can produce at short notice, I am going to enjoy being stuck here with you. Someone has bright ideas for recipes. Whoever cooked it also managed to make it very tasty.”

Cherry grinned widely, so that established the practical culinary expert. Charlie looked thoughtful, so she may be thinking of coming up with something of her own. Good.

The girls had an early evening TV broadcast they liked to watch regularly, involving celebrities talking about themselves. I could survive without it, so I retired to my bedroom to read an adventure novel where I could take my mind to far-flung places, with unbelievable excitement taking place every few pages. To me, it was indeed unbelievable, as it was definitely not reality.

Reality was boring most of the time, just as this event was like war: interesting at times, mundane the rest of the time.

I had no thought for what the trio were up to for the rest of the evening. If they checked the front door, they would find it locked and no key obtainable from me. As for the windows, even if they could climb up to that height, there was nothing worth seeing and no-one to signal to, assuming they were desperate to escape. Escaping in the nude was not a good plan, especially at night in a quiet part of town. No, I did not expect an escape plan to succeed, or even get started. Practicalities would mitigate against it.

Around ten pm by my security-locked mobile phone, I did my rounds to see where each one of them was. They were lounging around in the lounge, watch an inane TV show, but half asleep as they lay. Sharlene had her legs splayed and unconsciously playing with her clit until I asked from behind, “How are you girls now? Time for bed, perhaps? Sharlene slammed her legs together and pretended to be interested in the TV to avoid a confrontation with me.

Cherry had been dozing and came half awake at my suggestion. Charlie was reading a women’s magazine from the magazine rack. She gave me a shy smile.

“Do we have to be up bright and early for a run round the block tomorrow, Jimmy?” she asked. I disabused her of that likelihood.

“Sorry, Charlie. No run around of any kind. Set your sights on a 9 a.m. start. Your bedside radio should have an alarm setting for that purpose. I am aiming for slightly earlier, so I can put on some coffee to waken us up properly. You can sleep easy, as I have no plans to invade a bedroom during the night. I need my beauty sleep too.”

“Still no clothes? Not even panties?”

“Nothing at present. We need to establish a base level that all are easy with, before we try any variations. These will come as you make measurable improvements.”

The first night was unmemorable. The beds were top quality in every way, so I slept well and probably so did they. I had the coffee perked and waiting for them, as well as a selection of cereals laid out for them to choose from. I go for the oatmeal porridge myself; it is good for your health, I am told. If they wanted a cooked breakfast, they could negotiate for it. I don’t intend to provide that plateful every morning with an incentive.