Chapter 10

When Beth led Andy down the stairs naked that Sunday morning, he saw Julia, and tried to retreat, but Beth was having none of it. Julia's reassuring smile and Beth's firm lead somehow got him to the living room. Seeing his mother lying on the sofa with her arm over her eyes was enough to force the thought of his nakedness from his mind.

One of Andy's biggest recent fears was Gretchen's health. He did not think he could have kept her schedule, and did not understand how she could. He had done everything possible to ease her load, but there was only so much he could do. Now, his fears had been realized. It was obvious from looking at her that she had collapsed from exhaustion.

At least Gretchen had been able to marshal some humor when she noticed his lack of clothes. When Julia left, they all started trying to talk her out of going to work that day. None of the three was confident they could persuade her, and they were right. The bonus money looming just a few weeks away dominated her thinking. In addition, her natural sense of responsibility led to a commitment to the company that was unjustified by their treatment of her.

Andy insisted he was driving her to the store, and he, Beth, and Carla ganged up enough to overcome Gretchen's objections to that. Without her knowledge, he got some reading and study material into the car. When he dropped her off, he parked in the ramp and surreptitiously found her department supervisor. He informed the supervisor of his mother's fragile condition, and gave her his cell number. Then, he parked himself in the now-closed restaurant and settled in for what he hoped would be an eight-hour wait.

Though he hoped she would make it through her shift, Andy did not expect her to, and he was proven correct. At 2:30, the supervisor called and told him Gretchen had collapsed. He was able to convince the supervisor not to call an ambulance, knowing how badly that would affect his mother.

There were wheelchairs available in the store, and he basically ordered the supervisor, who was actually quite sympathetic, to take her to the parking ramp exit door, where he picked her up. Putting her in the reclined passenger seat, he wrapped her in the blanket that was always in the trunk. She was conscious, but extremely light-headed.

Stopping at the first convenience store, he got some orange juice and some cheese sticks, for blood sugar and protein hits. Eating was the last thing she wanted to do, but he got very stern, threatening to take her to the ER. That was enough to start her sipping the juice. By the time they were halfway home, she was nibbling on the cheese, and he could see some color returning to her face.

Scrupulously avoiding any 'I told you so's, ' Carla and Beth got Gretchen in bed, and kept badgering her to eat and drink. Carla took time out to gleefully remind Andy that he was supposed to be naked. Distracted by concern for his mother, he just shrugged, stripped, and tossed Carla his clothes.

At about seven o'clock, Julia called, asked if Gretchen had gotten home yet, and said she and her husband wanted to come over and talk to them. Beth took the call, and explained what had happened to her mother. She could hear from Julia's voice that she was not surprised.

"Beth," Julia said, "I know she is feeling awful right now, but that makes it even more important that we come over. Can she at least talk with us for a little while?" Puzzled about the possible reason, Beth told them to come ahead. She informed Carla, but not Andy.

When Julia and Frank arrived, Carla let them in, and Beth stood guard at the stairway to prevent Andy from going up to get dressed. Having already figured out that his body was no longer his own, he gave in with very little fight, and went in to greet the visitors while Carla went to get her sister.

"Julia," Gretchen joked as she sat down, "You're going to think I live in this old bathrobe."

"You're just lucky you're not in a hospital gown with an IV in your arm," Julia replied sternly. With a sigh, Gretchen nodded her admission that Julia had been right. Julia smiled and took Gretchen's hand to soften the mood, and said "I don't think you will have any more of these problems."

"Gretchen," Julia went on, "Frank is the top boss of Transformations. We want to offer you a job as the head of Transformations' food service." She then quoted a salary figure that was far more than Gretchen's best year ever. The shock from the rest of her day seemed like nothing compared to the impact of Julia's statement.

When she could trust herself to speak, Gretchen sputtered "But... but I've never done it... I... I'm still studying. How do you know I can?"

Her response reinforced Julia's decision to make the offer. The woman worried first about doing the job right. That was a rare find. "Gretchen, I make a living reading people. The things that make Andy perfect for us, he inherited from you. I don't think it matters how much you know or don't know. You will do whatever it takes to do the job well. I just know it."

"There is another family," Julia continued, "where we went after the son and ended up hiring both the mother and father. I think you will enjoy meeting them. Oh, you should be aware: for this job, you will have to get just as comfortable with the nudity as Andy will."

In almost a dreamy voice, Gretchen said "For that job, I'll work my department at the store naked."

"That brings up another point - a condition we're putting on the offer. You will have to call and quit the store as of right now. We don't want to have to wait for our food service manager to get out of the hospital."

"I... I'll lose a lot of money in bonuses and pay," Gretchen objected, "and they'll be terribly short-handed."

Frank spoke up at that point. "The short-handed part is their management problem, Gretchen. Julia tells me any credible M.D. she knows would declare you unfit for work after five minutes' examination. As for the lost money. How much would it be?" They spent a few minutes coming up with a figure, and Frank wrote out a check. "This will help in case you have any doubt that we are for real. Give me the number, and Julia will call the store in the morning and declare you medically unable to work."

The human mind, especially the exhausted human mind, can only absorb so much, and Gretchen had reached her limit. She fainted again. Julia and Carla got her stretched out on the sofa and brought her around. As consciousness returned, the tears followed, and went on for many, many minutes. To Julia, it was all just evidence of how close she had come to total collapse.

When Gretchen was able to sit up and speak again, she tried to apologize for fainting, then told Frank "I hope you realize how much this means to our family."

"I believe I do," Frank told her. "That's one reason we made the offer. We want people to whom the job is important."

"Well, you got that, for sure," Gretchen responded. "And I don't think it's just the money or the opportunity, either. I was thinking about it a lot at work, at least while I could still think," and she managed a chuckle. "What you're doing for the women - I think it's wonderful. I feel privileged to help the little I can."

"Oh, your help won't be little, at all," Frank assured her. "Diet and nutrition are essential parts of the life changes we will help them make. You and Yvonne, our nutritionist, will be the keys to that. And remember, when we open the men's side, your kitchen will serve them, too."

"My kitchen," Gretchen said softly, then teared up again. Composing herself, she went on, "You know, our family has not had many dreams come true. Now, something better than we could even dream just falls into our laps."

"But that's not the way it happened, at all, Gretchen," Frank insisted. "Andy went way out of his way to help someone in trouble, something he apparently does all the time. We happened to find out about it this time, and that led us to you. I've always hated that saying 'Nice guys finish last.' It gives me great satisfaction to change that perception once in a while."

Gretchen pulled her son into a warm hug, ignoring his nakedness. Then she said "I can't wait to get to class tomorrow. I can finally put in the effort I always wanted to."

The Waxmans stayed long enough to make sure Gretchen was all right, answering questions the whole time. When they were gone, Gretchen said "Andy, Honey, I need to get to bed. Could I get a nice massage, first?" Andy took her hand, helped her up, and let her lead him to her bedroom.

Once in her room, Gretchen took off her robe and hung it in the closet. Then, with a blush and a nervous look at Andy, she took a deep breath and shucked off her panties. Straightening up to face him, then grabbed the bottom of her Tee, seemed to pause that way for many seconds, then pulled it off over he head.

After tossing aside the shirt, she stood, hands at her sides, almost rigid. He could see how she was struggling, but knew it was something she had to get through. Finally, he could see the tension leave her, and she chuckled. "I don't know why that was so hard. Here you are, already naked, and earlier I was boasting how I'd gladly go naked for that job."

"Mom, if it was my approval you were worried about, well, you can see that you've got it."

"Oh!" She had been looking him in the face, but at his words, dropped her gaze to his rampant erection. When she looked back up to his face, she was grinning, and said "You mean your haggard old Mom caused that? I guess you DO need to get used to it."

"If I spend the whole year naked, the sight of you will still get to me, Mom. You are really sexy."

"I'd love to hear some more flattery, but I'd love that massage more. Can you wait while I take a quick shower?" She picked up the Tee and tossed it to him. "Feel free to use this for some 'stress relief'." He was too stunned to react as she walked past and kissed him on the cheek.

In a fog, Andy sat on the bed, trying to get his mind around what was happening. The only thing perfectly clear at the moment was that his cock was so hard it hurt. Almost absentmindedly, he ran his fingers over it. He was jerked to sudden awareness by the telltale tightness starting behind his scrotum. Impossible! No one could come just from that!

He would never know if he would have come from that minimal touching. Once the feeling started, his hand took over all on its own, pumping his shaft almost in a frenzy. It was probably less than a dozen strokes before he shot. Luckily the Tee was still in his other hand and he was able to catch his spend in it.

Gretchen took longer than Andy had expected to return to the room, but he did not mind the wait. As she walked in, her skin had a kind of glow to it. He wondered if she had put some kind of lotion all over herself, feeling a little irritation that it should have been his job.

When the covers were pulled back and she was stretched out on her stomach, Gretchen told Andy "I've wanted a massage like this forever, but I never had the nerve. Seems silly now, doesn't it?" As usual, he started at the base of her skull, but she reached up and grabbed one hand. With some unexplainable contortion, she managed to place his hand right on her ass cheek. "That's where I've been dying to feel your skin. Start there."

"Me too, Mom," he answered, and began working her bottom in earnest.

"Honey," she said after a minute, "I'm glad you used the shirt." He froze at her words. "The reason I took so long was I had to take care of myself, too."

He was finally able to get back to the massage, and went through his usual sequence. When he got back to her bottom, she had been still for quite a while, and he checked and found her asleep. Feeling just a little sheepish, he nevertheless began softly caressing her nicely rounded cheeks, reveling in the feel.

"Is that how you put her to sleep, or are you just copping a feel?" Carla startled him by whispering from right behind him. His look must have been terribly guilty, for she quickly hugged him from behind. "Oh, don't worry, Sweetie. I don't think I could resist, either. Besides, if she was awake, she'd be hummin'. Could I talk you into doing that to me? I know mine's not as tight as Sis's, but it's still one of my best features."

At first thinking she was just teasing, Andy saw from her face that she was dead serious. Carefully covering his mother and switching off the light, he went across the hall to Carla's room to find her waiting for him, naked and facing the door. He stood motionless, looking at his aunt: motionless, except for his cock, which went from almost soft to unbendable in just a few seconds. Carla looked first at his face, then down at his crotch, whereupon she grinned widely.

As Carla pushed back the covers and lay down on her stomach, Andy could not help wondering what had happened to their little family, and where it would all lead. The new jobs for him and his mother were almost too good to believe. Now, he was seeing sides of all the women that he had never suspected.

As he knelt beside Carla and worked her back, she reached out and took hold of his still-hard penis. He gasped in shock, then saw the tears running silently down Carla's cheek. Her head was turned toward him, and very softly she said "Please! Just lay beside me, Sweetie. It would mean so much."

As he stretched out beside her, he forgot about massage and just caressed, paying particular attention to her buttocks, which were indeed very appealing. They talked for a long time, with her telling him of loneliness, frustration, and need. It was as if the lack of clothes somehow made communication easier and more important.

He tried to be as comforting as he could. It was difficult to ignore the gentle clasp and occasional strokes of her hand on his cock, but talk and touch was all they did. There seemed to be an understanding that if anything more was to happen, it would only be after they had discussed it openly and lovingly.

Chelly was back at work two days after her collapse, and stopped to see Fran on her regular rounds. Fran asked her to come back when she had a few minutes to talk. A little puzzled, Chelly nevertheless came back on her break, enjoying Fran's company as much as all the staff did.

"What do you think of Ryan?" Fran blurted out as soon as Chelly entered her room.

"He's about the nicest guy I've ever met," Chelly responded, thinking the question a bit strange. "Why?"

"I just wondered. I happen to know he's very interested in you."

"Oh? Did he tell you that?" Chelly asked.

"Of course not. He never would. But I can tell."

"So he's spent quite a bit of time with you, then?" Chelly asked.

"Yeah. You know he visits several patients after hours. Well, he's been putting off my bath so he can spend extra time with me."

"I suppose you're going to tell me you'd like him to continue with your baths," Chelly said, somewhat teasingly.

"Thank you for bringing it up. I was a little hesitant to ask. Yes, I would like to," Fran told her. "Why did you think I would?"

"You're the third woman with that request. Brandt's having a cow!"

Fran laughed, then told Chelly, "Yes, Ryan told me about his, uh, struggles with her. I guess things are better now."

"Are they ever. One of the other nurses eavesdropped when he told her off the night I collapsed. I assume you are the 'expert legal advice' that told him he could get her fired."

"Good guess. Glad to see he took my advice. I didn't think he would. It didn't fit his macho approach to things," Fran explained.

"Macho?" Chelly said with some surprise. "But he's a nurse!"

"Aha! So that's why you haven't shown much interest in him. Have you heard of the Army Rangers?"

"I guess. Aren't they like the Commandos, or the Navy Seals?"

"You got it. The toughest of the tough. Ryan was in the Rangers until a training accident disqualified him."

"You're kidding. He seems so gentle and thoughtful. I would never have guessed..." Chelly was obviously caught off guard by that news.

"You got that part right. I'll tell you, girl. There have only been a few men in my life who made me question my preference. He's at the top of the list."

"Your pref... Oh!"

"You didn't know? Ryan didn't mention it? Silly me! Of course he didn't. He lives by that old 'Loose lips... ' business." Fran did not say any more, just looked at Chelly with a question on her face.

"Oh. No, that's not a problem for me. God, you really surprise me about Ryan. I don't think anyone but you knows that about him. You'd think he'd brag about it, or something." After saying that, Chelly thought for a moment, then corrected herself. "No, he wouldn't brag. Come to think of it, he never talks about himself at all. How did you learn all this stuff?"

"Hmmmm. Guess that's why I've been a successful lawyer. Must be a natural talent. People just talk to me. Back to my original question. What do you think of him?"

"I... I just never thought of him as anything but someone I work with. I'm not sure I want to, either. I could never marry a nurse, and I'm not into relationships just for sex, so..."

"So what do you do for sex?" Fran asked. When Chelly just blushed, Fran apologized, but didn't completely let up. "I don't know if you're even looking for husband material, and I won't give away any more of his secrets. I'll just say this - if I was looking, I wouldn't look any further."

After a brief silence, Chelly seemed to ignore Fran's comments and said "I'm afraid I have to get back to work, Fran. I'll see that the assignment list gets changed." Fran thought she had probably offended the younger woman. Her intent, though, was to try to help Ryan. If Chelly was too dense or too wounded to recognize the perfect catch, well, she had tried.

Two of the next three nights, Julia was visiting Fran when Ryan came to give her her bath. They did not tease Fran as they had the first night, but they all had a good time. Fran lamented that it was a waste that they were there together because it just left too many more hours in the day all by herself. Ryan was a bit surprised at the interest Julia seemed to show in him.

Ryan did not let up on the sexual intensity of Fran's showers, and Julia did not seem the least embarrassed. In fact, the third night, Ryan suggested, and Fran enthusiastically agreed, that they should get her off before her shower. There was a little humorous byplay over who would do what to the patient. Ryan did not know whether to be pleased or insulted that his maleness was not a factor in the discussion. In the end, Julia drove the dildo while Ryan worked a nipple and her clit.

When she came, Fran started panting "More! More!" while she was still thrashing, and her two friends obliged by taken her to another of cataclysmic proportions.

After a shower that was more sensual and tender than sexual, Fran was lying in bed, still naked, when she wistfully said "God, how I wish I could get out of here! The Doc said I could, but I would have to have skilled around-the-clock care. Fat chance of finding that."

Julia was quiet and withdrawn for a minute, then asked Ryan "If I had a job for you afterward, would you take care of Fran until she's self-sufficient?"

"What kind of job?" Over the next hour, Julia explained everything about Transformations, first to amazement and incredulity, then to a barrage of questions from both Ryan and Fran. Showing remarkable patience, at the end Ryan asked "And my job would be... ?"

"Functionally, you would be our medical director. That title is usually reserved for an M.D., so we would have to call you something else." The whole discussion had left Ryan in a quandary. The idea of what they were trying to do intrigued him. The idea of being the head of something significant was appealing. The negative was his natural aversion to risk. Having been without a secure financial outlook while caring for his mother, he was loathe to take a chance on it again.

As the pluses and minuses whirled through Ryan's mind, the thing that loomed larger and larger was his discontent with the environment he was now in. Coupled with that was his growing admiration for Julia as a person and the awesome project she was undertaking. He may have been risk averse, but he was not indecisive, and he arrived at the inescapable fact that the offer was far better than where he was.

"I couldn't afford much of a cut from what I'm making now," he explained to Julia. When she gave him a number that was well beyond his current pay, that concern was eliminated.

Living with Fran had not been a significant factor in his decision, but he addressed it now. He was not concerned about himself - he would be a nurse doing nurse's work. He had done it before. "Fran," he asked, "do you really want a man living with you, wiping your pussy and ass, for six or seven weeks?"

"No, I don't," she responded mischievously, "but I would love to have Ryan Herwalt doing those things for me."

"How would I be paid while I was with you?"

"The insurance will be more than happy to pay. It's a lot less than the hospital bills. If there's any shortfall, I'll make it up myself. Since I hope to be able to do some work from home, I think the company would chip in, too."

"I'm supposed to give two weeks' notice. Can you wait that long?"

"Until now, I didn't think I had a chance of getting out that soon. But don't you think Brandt would jump at the chance to have you out of here?"

"But that would put a lot of pressure on Chelly and the others."

"See, always worrying about the others. That's why I want you wiping my ass," Fran said with a chuckle. "Go see Brandt and use the harrassment suit threat again. See what you can do."

From his early skepticism, Ryan had progressed to unabashed eagerness. Enough to make him use pressure tactics that were not his style. He was off the next two days, and Mrs. Brandt told him not to bother coming back for his next shift. He made a note to call Chelly and apologize for the extra work she would have to do.

Back in Fran's room, he dove right into the necessary preparations at Fran's house. She gave him a key, and he promised to have a bed and frame setup so she could be discharged the next noon. Everything else, they could work on as needed. Julia stayed through the whole exchange, more impressed by the minute with her new hire.

It ended up taking a frustrating day longer to get Fran into her own home. There was just too much paperwork and too many approvals. Ryan's pay was a big problem, but once he knew it was arranged, he assured Fran he had enough savings to carry him until the first check arrived.

Ryan spent a very busy day off, getting Fran's very nice condo ready for her. He ended up putting the hospital bed right in the family room. That room became quite crowded because he rented a recumbent exercise bike and set up a frame next to it to hook her shoulder cast to.

Ryan drove a pickup truck with a wide bench seat. It took some tricky turns, but there was plenty of room for the rigid left shoulder cast once she got in. All the way to her place, he used his arm to support as much of the weight as he could. Even so, she was exhausted once he got her home.