Week 7: Late June

Saturday

Greg had no trouble picking Laura out in the small crowd standing at the curb. It still seemed discourteous to him not to meet her in the terminal, but since he could no longer go down the concourse, and since she had only a carry-on bag, she had been able to convince him. Using their cell phones, they had been able to get the timing just right. It was late Saturday morning, and the airport traffic was light. She could only stay for one night, but with Rick's perks, she was used to these short trips.

One thing he would not do, though, was simply pull up and let her into the car. He jumped out to give her a big hug before opening the passenger door for her. He took her bag and tossed it onto the back seat. In the few brief moments of the hug, he reflected how different each woman felt in his arms. The overwhelming impression he had of Laura was 'healthy.' She was certainly an attractive woman, with a nicely-featured, intelligent face. Her figure was that of an athlete, substantial in the shoulders, hips, and thighs, but certainly not heavy. She wore an above-the-knee denim skirt, sandals, and a golf shirt, and she definitely stood out. He thought she would probably look great without... Damn! What was wrong with him? Had he just seen too much naked female flesh? Was that all he could think of now?

As with the whole family, Laura had always treated him very well. She had not looked down on him as a bratty kid, even when he probably deserved it. For his part, he had joined the family at most of her volleyball and soccer matches. At 5'8', she was neither the perfect spiker nor setter, but did everything well enough that she was never rotated out. In soccer, she did not possess blinding speed, but her defensive zone was impenetrable. He could still remember the trail of fallen opponents she tended to leave behind. Typical of many first children, she was an over-achiever, barely missing valedictorian honors, and having her choice of several academic scholarship offers.

As they drove, she questioned him about Shannon's plan with the same kind of skepticism shown by everyone before they actually met her. He went over in detail her diet and workout schedule and her weight loss progress. He described the GED program and how far along she was. Deciding she deserved the same courtesy he had shown Ted, he told her about the nudity.

"Laura, one very important and very effective part of Shannon's plan is that she has been naked since she came to my place."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Dead serious. It was not my idea, and, as you can imagine, it has been traumatic at times. You cannot believe the changes that have occurred, though, and we all believe the nudity has been a key." He spent a little time explaining the re-birthing concept.

"But haven't Mom and Dad been to visit her. How would Dad ever do that? Even Mom must have had a terrible time with that."

"You don't know the half of it." He told her of the Saturday night naked get-togethers and how they came about. He was completely surprised when she broke into all-out laughter.

When she calmed down enough to notice his puzzlement, she told him, "Try not to get us into an accident, but look." She pulled her skirt above her waist on the side toward him, and pulled the side of her panties down, exposing her hip and the top of her thigh. "What do you see?"

"A very sexy, nicely tanned hip. Why?"

"Thanks, but look again. No tan line! And I did not get this all-over tan by myself in the back yard."

"You mean?"

"Rick and I have been having skinny dipping pool parties with friends for years. We have vacationed at some nude beaches and enjoyed it immensely."

"But, how? I mean, your family is so modest and proper!"

"You know, Greg, I think the oldest child is always rebelling and pushing at restrictions. I really didn't do anything against Mom and Dad while I lived there - I loved them too much. When I met Rick, he definitely had the California beach attitude toward exposure. I was very, very reluctant at first, but it was a harmless form of breaking away from my parents' values, and I came to enjoy it very much. Mom and Dad naked! This I have got to see!"

"And Ted, too. Once he saw Shannon, he had to join the family gathering. Your mother, by the way, is now a borderline exhibitionist. She has even shaved her pussy in support of Shannon. I don't know if you knew, but Shannon had her hair permanently removed."

"Greg, do you know how unbelievable this conversation is to me. I am amazed. Excited, too. And you think Shannon is on the way to changing for good?"

"Yes, I do, and so does Julia, my psychiatrist friend. Not all is so rosy, though. Ted's marriage is in deep trouble." He went on to explain that whole situation.

"I am so glad I decided to come out. This is going to be a landmark family gathering, for sure. I am just sorry Rick couldn't join me. Are you going to be there tonight?"

"Caroline has forbidden me to miss any of the family sessions."

"Good! I want to get a good look at all my men!"

He blushed furiously at that, but continued filling her in on all that had happened. He decided not to leave anything out. She alternated between shock, tears, and gleeful laughter as he related the various incidents. He told her of Shannon's thirst for affection and for sexual play. "Laura, some of what I have told you is very private, but I think it will help you to know exactly what you are stepping into."

"I appreciate that, and I promise to be discrete about what I know. I don't know how to thank you for what you have done for Shannon - for our whole family, in fact."

"If I can give anything back for all your family has given me, it won't make a dent in what I really owe."

When they pulled up to his house, she stepped from the car and casually stripped off her clothes, laying them on the front seat. Seeing his surprised expression, she said "If this is the way the family supports Shannon, I'm not going to be the one to break with tradition. We may not have been the closest of sisters, but I have still ached for her all these bad years." She turned toward him and spread her arms. "Well, what do you think?"

"Wow!" was all he could get out, and that seemed enough for her. What he thought was that if she had a sword and a helmet, she would make a perfect Amozon.

Shannon had been overjoyed when Laura decided to visit. In some ways, Laura was the hardest of the family to meet this way because of the age difference. She had always respected, and later envied Laura, and Laura's approval was very important to her. She was apprehensive as she waited in the family room. The last phone conversation had not been as warm as she would have liked.

When she heard the front door and turned to see her sister walking naked toward her, she reacted instantly. She sprinted up the hall and engulfed the taller Laura in a fierce hug. As they hugged, she kept up a constant babble: "Oh, Sis, I'm so happy you're here. Thank you for coming. I'm so glad you understand..." and on and on. When she stopped for breath and pulled away, she took both of Laura's hands and spoke more gently, "Laura, I have so much to apologize for, I don't even know where to start. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Let's not even think about the bad stuff, OK? We've got to make up for a lot of good sister things we've missed, so let's get started."

With that, they headed for the pool, arms around each other. At the patio door, Shannon turned and said to Greg, "Hey, Greg, you're out of uniform. Get with it!" Shrugging and shaking his head, he went to his room and undressed, then set about fixing lunch.

When Greg called the women for lunch, Laura gave him a good once-over and said, "You look great, Greg. I'm glad to see you've kept up the workouts."

"That reminds me," Shannon interjected, "I haven't done mine yet today. Will you keep me company, Sis?"

"I'd be glad to. I want to see what's getting you all these great results."

"Oh, and I want you to see my 'before' pictures, too. They almost make me sick, but I want you to know where I've come from."

Greg mostly listened during lunchtime, enjoying the interplay of the two siblings just reunited. He wondered at the kind of love that could instantly wipe out years of bad treatment and resume a relationship as if it had never been broken. The two were not that physically alike. Laura obviously favored her father, and he thought she was a model for what Jordan would look like in twenty some years. Shannon had Caroline's more slender frame, although she was shorter. They both had the same active minds, though, and the stamp of a solid, loving family upbringing was evident in both.

After lunch, Shannon showed Laura the pictures and demonstrated her GED work. After an hour or so of chatting, they headed off to the gym. Laura was greatly impressed with Greg's setup. Shannon, feeling puckish, lead Laura right to the leg spread machine. As Laura started to place her legs in position, she stopped.

"OhMyGod! I can't do this naked! I feel like I'm in a porno pic!"

"Hey, you've got that furry fig leaf to hide you at least a little. Just think how I feel!" Laura's bush was trimmed fairly short, but she had not shaved her labia.

"I don't know how you stand it. Has anybody seen you exercising like this, I mean besides Greg?"

"Well, the kids have both..."

"You mean Terry has seen you like this!!? Shannon, how could you?" Shannon told her all about Terry's anatomy lesson and her time with him in general. She also told about having both kids naked with her.

"Wow! And here I thought I was the progressive one in the family just because I went nude once in a while. You've given me a lot to think about when ours get a little older. What you say makes a lot of sense. So just Greg and your kids have seen you this exposed?"

"Of course Alex has."

"Is that Alex as in Alexandra, or..."

"No, it's Alex as in Viking god. He's my trainer - Greg's best friend."

"You mean you have a strange man working with you like this? How could Greg do this to you? How can you stand it?"

"Oh, don't blame Greg. Alex is a perfect gentleman. I thought I would die of embarrassment at first, or just quit. He got me through it, and now I can relax with him and just talk. He even comes early on Tuesdays now and swims with me. Greg says I can start running outside now, and Alex has promised to run with me."

"Do I detect some pretty strong feelings there, Sis?"

"Don't I wish! Nah, that's just not going to happen. I mean he's this hunk of hunks and here I am, the Blob. I'll tell you what, though. Being around him makes me realize how badly I've screwed up."

"How's that?"

"If I hadn't wasted my life and my looks, I could have dreamed about marrying an Alex, or maybe a Greg. I will never, ever let myself go again. When I get slim and hard, I am going to stay that way. There's another reason I'm going to work out the rest of my life. I'm an addict, and I've discovered that exercise gives me kind of a fix that takes away stress and depression even better than drugs did."

"Shannon, I am so proud of you! You won't be sorry about the workouts, ever. It makes me feel so good when Rick goes nuts over my body. That makes all the pain and sweat worth it."

"Yeah, I just wish I had someone to drive nuts."

Laura came over and hugged her. "Just stick with what you're doing. There will be someone for you, I'm sure of it."

"Thanks for the encouragement." They worked out a while longer quietly. When they finished, Shannon offered Laura a massage and she accepted. They continued their conversation. "Laura, your body is so lovely! You inspire me." Laura thanked her and they chatted some more.

"Say, you're pretty good at this. Where did you learn how?" That introduced the whole subject of Julia. Laura was at first stunned to hear about Julia and Greg, but as they talked longer, she came to understand a bit more. They went to the pool instead of showering.

"Laura, do you think there is any way I could start some college courses with just a GED?"

"Of course there is. Colleges are always looking for motivated adult students. There are some good online options, too."

"I don't know how I will afford the money or the time, but I am not going to be stuck with high school jobs the rest of my life. My kids deserve a lot better than that."

As they had carefully planned, Laura and Shannon were standing naked in the foyer, arms tightly around each other, when Caroline and Jim entered. Caroline took one astonished look, but did not rush toward them, and did not say a word. Instead, she frantically shed her clothes, leaving them wherever they landed, resting one hand on Jim's shoulder for support as she hopped about. When she was naked, THEN she rushed her daughters and the hugging and tears began in earnest.

Through the tears, she was able to stammer out "You can't believe how thrilled I am to see you two together like this! It's like one more impossible dream come true!" Jim just stood by the door beaming.

"Dad, you don't look very surprised!" Laura finally said.