Chapter 13

Sunday proved to be very interesting at Fran's house. Melanie (Mel), Fran's doctor, was a former dorm mate and casual sex partner. When Carson talked her through the plan, she was enthusiastic, but had a great many questions. When she ran out of questions, she insisted it be tried out on someone besides Fran first. To no ones surprise, Carson volunteered.

They decide just to do his elbow as a test, in case they ran into a problem. They also did not want to use up too much of the supply of fabric and fixative. After applying a thick layer of the heavy gel they chose to protect the skin, then laying on ordinary trash bag plastic, the application went very well. Mel's interest was in the rigidity of the final cast, and she was more than pleased. After just an hour of curing, it seemed as rigid as steel.

Two hours after application, it hit them. They had not thought about removal! There was considerable laughing and head scratching before they discovered another wonderful characteristic of the fabric. For all its strength, the fabric was no harder to cut than a plaster cast.

By all codes of medical ethics, there should have followed extensive testing, extending far beyond Fran's time in the cast. Without Mel saying a word, Fran wrote up a very nice-sounding legal waiver of liability, printed several copies, and signed them all. Then, she insisted they get on with it.

The elbow cast was first, and Mel repeated over and over that Fran dare not straighten her elbow. She warned that the urge would be overwhelming, but it could set her back to the starting point. The men worked quickly to immobilize her elbow as quickly as possible. Even so, she was crying from the frustration of wanting to straighten her arm, yet not daring. It took only a few strips of fabric to do the minimum job, but they added several more for safety.

For the massive cast on her left arm and shoulder, they decided to proceed in sections. They first cut off the old one to the middle of her upper arm, then immobilized the elbow and wrist. They used the minimum of strips for that section, wanting to overlay more strips to connect it all together. For the short time her shoulder was free, Fran once again shed tears of frustration and determination.

Fran spent most of her time remarking about how light the cast was and how good it felt to let the air reach her skin. She kept it up until it was time for the last critical test, a shower. Mel just wanted to observe, so it was Ryan's job to assist Fran. As they walked down the hall, she paused briefly in her step and glanced back at Carson. Ryan thought she might invite Carson to come along and watch, but the moment passed. She was not ready yet.

Just as with Julia present in the hospital, Fran did not seem at all concerned about being naked. She continued to rave about the improved comfort of the cast, and actually moaned when she felt the water reaching her skin through the mesh of the fabric.

As Ryan finished drying her after a long shower, she made as if to leave the bathroom without waiting for any clothes. Again, she caught herself in mid-step, and Ryan pulled on her lightweight shorts and a tube top.

Later in the evening, they had not even heard Carson's car start up when Fran almost screamed at Ryan. "Oh, God! I've never needed it so bad!," her fractured grammar a testament to her level of excitement. This time he was able to give her three orgasms, the last as intense as any he had seen from her.

In the afterglow, as Ryan was shutting off the lights, she said, barely audibly, "I'm ready."

"For what, Sweetheart?"

"For Carson to, uh, wipe my ass."

The Ventris were getting reading for a nice sunday dinner. Paul was helping set the table, naked of course, when he turned around and there stood Barbara and Elaine. Barbara was blushing and Elaine was grinning, and both were trying their hardest to look only at his face.

His sisters! Both of them! Paul had to admit that if he needed to get comfortable, this was a good step. But dammit! Norma seemed like she was playing a game. Maybe for women, at least for her, baring themselves could be playful, teasing. But for a man, at least for him, hanging his dick out for all to see was a more serious proposition.

Maybe it was the fact that his organ was external, exposed, and vulnerable. Knowing how much a blow could hurt, a guy was just naturally protective of it. The thought of permanent harm or even amputation was too horrible to contemplate, but always in the back of every man's mind.

Maybe it was the fact that an exposed penis was a public meter of a man's state of sexual arousal. He was supposed to be in control. Showing any swelling was a sign of vulnerability, and the fear of a sudden hardon was never far from his thinking.

Paul's relationship with his sisters, especially Barbara, was close, deep, and complicated. Despite her size, Barbara had always affected him sexually, and he had always let her know that. It had actually been very important to her. The normal sibling sexual attraction was probably stronger between the three because of their closeness, and it was something they had worked hard to keep control of.

In a way, baring himself to his sisters was something he welcomed. Even as surprised and upset as he was now, he could sense that same feeling of greater closeness that he had noticed before while naked. But his unveiling to them should have been done reverently, not as a trick, or a trap.

Norma knew she had made a mistake when she saw the hurt look in Paul's eyes. It affected her more than a slap to the face. She did not want to break down and cry, so she concocted an excuse and left the room. In the bathroom, she struggled to fight back tears and composed herself enough to return to the others. She would not make a big apology scene. That was not their way. It would be worked out later, but her job now was to behave as normally as possible.

Barbara, the older sister, had obviously picked up the signals. She still looked only at Paul's face and told him "I think this was a bad idea. We'll leave."

On one level, that was exactly what Paul wanted. However, Norma had gone to some trouble to set up this encounter, obviously wanting to help him. She was already feeling terrible about his reaction, and if they left, it would be worse. Besides, his sisters deserved at least an explanation for why he was naked. He could not just let them leave still wondering what was going on.

Paul's mind cycled through those thoughts quickly, and he came up with the conclusion that he should not have felt hurt. Norma would never do anything purposely to hurt him. She had misjudged, and that was certainly forgivable. The last few weeks had been the high point in their relationship, and that was too valuable a prize to surrender because he was a little thin skinned.

Barabara was still waiting for him to respond, so he put his hands on both sides of her face and kissed her. Then his said, "It's OK, Sis. Everything's fine." Using his hands to tilt her face downward, he told her. "Take a good look at it and get it over with."

She blushed brightly, then giggled. "I'll bet you can guess how long I've wanted to see that. Why couldn't this have happened twenty-five years ago."

"It could have, Baby. You know that. Remember, we decided it shouldn't, and for back then, we were probably right." He wrapped in her in a firm hug, then said "Now, I have a little patching up to do, then we can eat and you can hear all about Transformations." Elaine had been standing just behind Barabara, and she moved in for her hug before Paul went off to see Norma. As he walked away, he could feel his sisters' eyes burning into his backside.

He caught Norma unawares and wrapped her in a hug from behind, kissing her behind the ear. "Everything's OK, Honey," he assured her.

"Your eyes said different," she responded softly. "I don't know why, but we'll talk later. Sweetheart, you know I wouldn't hurt you on purpose."

"I know. I know."

With Paul's momentary hurt resolved, dinner proceeded in the usual warm family fashion as the story of Transformations and the Ventris' involvement unfolded. As with everyone else who heard the story, the sisters went through disbelief, then enthusiasm, then joy for the good fortune of Paul's contract.

Predictably, it was Elaine who piped up "Now, let me get this straight. It was Mark they came after, right? Then Norma got involved, right? Finally, Paul got this nice contract. OK, then how come only Paul is naked?" and the two sisters laughed. Norma and Mark talked over each other explaining that they already had their turns, but the sisters, joined by Becks and Tori, started the chant of 'Take it off!'

To Mark's consternation, Norma dragged him from the room, and they returned without clothes. Despite all the 'practice, ' Mark reverted to his first days and sprung one. Both of his aunts assured him they understood, and they complimented him on how nice he looked without coming right out and saying 'nice cock' as they undoubtedly meant it.

The visit turned out to last several hours, with Elaine leaving first. Before she left, she hugged Paul again and told him "Pablo, you really do look great. I wish my Jerry took this good care of himself." Then, half in fun and half in lust, she ran her hands over his chest, then over his ass cheeks. Finally, staring intently in his eyes, she grasped his soft penis in both hands and told him "I hope you know this is what I really wanted in me every night. I knew anyone else I found would be second best." With a quick peck, she let go of him, turned, and left. He was not nearly as soft as she walked out the door.

Barbara noticed the redirection of Paul's blood flow and grinned at him. She also had a serious look as she took his arm and led him to the living room love seat. As if by a signal, Norma and the kids disappeared. Sitting down, Barbara sat tight to him and pulled his arm around her. She laid her head on his bare shoulder and idly played with his chest hairs.

"Baby, I've already got a problem, and you're not helping at all. I love you to death, but this is embarrassing," Paul complained. She looked up at him with such sadness that he relented and wrapped his other arm around her for a hug. "I guess if you don't mind, I can stand it."

"Mind? You don't know how many nights I fantasized what that looked like - and what it would feel like in me."

"Been a rough few years for you, hasn't it?" Paul commiserated, anxious to change the subject. She nodded and her caressing hand moved lower.

"Pablo, Transformations sounds like just what I need."

"Oh, you aren't that bad, Baby."

"I could always depend on you for an ego boost, couldn't I? Well, I think this is the first time you've had to lie. It isn't just the weight. I feel like I've given up, and I don't know how to get restarted. If I just had the money, I'd sign up right now."

"You mean you'd go naked? With me and Mark and several others guys?"

"Mm, hmm. Sometimes I feel so down, nothing could make it any worse. Besides, it sounds like your women are going to be treated better than they have been in their whole lives."

Wondering whether he should even suggest it, Paul told her "Each employee is entitled to one scholarship. I haven't used mine. If you were serious, you could have it."

"Really? Oh, God! I talked brave, but... Dammit! I'll do it! I'm tired of everyone looking at me with pity. Back when I took care of myself, I was never beautiful, but at least people admired my conditioning and I could walk proud."

"You're wrong about not being beautiful, you know. I never lied about that," he assured her. "What about your job?"

"I think I could swing a leave of absence. With the settlement, I could make it for several months. It would be tight on the girls, but I think they would support me. How about you, Paul. Will you be able to stand what I've turned into?"

Paul had accumulated enough wisdom to not attempt a reply in words. Instead, he lifted her face with his hand and kissed her softly. Almost subconsciously, her hand snaked down and encircled his cock. She stroked up and down a few times before gasping and jerking her hand away.

"God, I'm sorry, Paul. I guess all those fantasies just took over there for a minute. Damn, it feels nice! I'd better get out of here before I let go completely. Say, can I come by tomorrow and bring the girls?" At his groan, she giggled, and they walked arm in arm to the door.

He had barely turned around from closing the door when Norma practically climbed onto him, trying to get high enough to descend onto his cock. "Don't worry, they'll stay upstairs," she assured him. The couple proceeded with the make-up sex before they got around to discussing what had gone wrong.

Being naked around women was not new for Eric, given his breakfast appearances at Dex's. But that was many months before, and Julia encouraged him to refresh his confidence. Given the sexual nature of their relationship, being naked in front of his mother was not difficult and probably did not greatly enhance his comfort level.

The night that Frank and Julia came to the Ventris' and Norma was naked had stuck in Julia's mind. After some thought, she decided a repeat of that scenario with each employee would be good conditioning for them. That is why Sandie was opening the door to the Waxman's that Sunday evening with Eric standing naked just behind her.

The visit was cordial and Eric managed to enter into the conversation, seeming to forget his nudity quite quickly. As they talked, Julia asked him what other exposure he was getting, and there really wasn't any. They talked of the possibility of family members, but they were pretty much alone in town.

They proceeded to talk through other women that could be enlisted to help Eric get 'acclimated.' The first, obvious candidates were Carol and Jessica Jensen, who had been with him at Dex's. That would be tough on Eric because he had a definite romantic interest in Jessica, but he agreed to having them over.

While trying to come up with other possibilities, the ideal solution occurred to Julia. All the employee families should exchange dinner visits, with the employees in the host families going naked. It was simple and productive, since the better the employees knew each other, the smoother the operation would be. She felt that exposure to more people would greatly improve the comfort level, and she continued to be concerned about that. How much they were able to help the women depended greatly on the confidence and state of mind of the staff.

As Frank and Julia were driving home, he turned to her and said, "Hey, Doc. We really should be in on this round robin dinner thing, you know." Julia looked at him in astonishment, then slapped her forehead dramatically.

"Here I've been preaching that getting naked should be no big deal, but when it comes down to us... You're right. I'll start inviting some folks right away.

They discussed whether they should have limited the dinner idea to just employees, rather than whole families. That, however, went against one of their strong criteria when building the staff: they did not want Transformations driving a wedge between any family members. The Ventri girls were the only children under sixteen in any of the families, and Julia did not think they would be adversely affected.

Monday after supper, which Carson again brought in, Ryan asked if Carson could take care of Fran for an hour or two while he handled some errands. Carson agreed eagerly. Fran had said she was ready, and Ryan had convinced her that tonight was the night. The plan was for him to call and say he was unavoidably delayed, asking if Carson could stay longer. Sometime while Ryan was gone, Fran would have to use the bathroom, and that would trigger the breakthrough.

As Ryan was leaving, Fran tried to signal him to help her to the bathroom before he left. With a mischievous shake of the head, Ryan refused. Fran almost panicked, with the reality of increased intimacy with Carson that much closer.

By the time Ryan called, Fran did not have to fake urgency. In fact she feared she might have waited too long. Thus, the tension in her voice was for good cause. "Carson, this is terrible to ask you, but will you help me to the bathroom. I just can't wait any longer."

"It's not terrible, Fran. Sure I'll help." Having watched the process, he unhooked her from the support frame and helped her to her feet just as he had seen Ryan do. Getting her mobile was considerably easier with the lighter casts.

When she was positioned in front of the toilet, almost dancing from her urgency, he turned his head as he pulled down her shorts and helped her sit. As badly as she had to go, it took many seconds before she could release. She mentally scolded herself for her childishness. Having always fancied herself a sexual sophisticate, she could not believe her fear of him hearing her go. And after that... But nature won out, and she let loose. It was far more embarrassing than she had even feared, but she was committed. She was able to suppress the groan of relief that tried to escape her, but not a big sigh.

As she was bracing herself to ask him to wipe her, a whole new horror presented itself. She had to move her bowels! All their jokes about Carson wiping her ass really referred to just drying her pussy. She had not really grasped this possible reality, and she was mortified.

"Oh, God, Carson. This is terrible. I have to take a shit, and I can't wait. Ooooh, noooo!"

"Hey, Fran, look at me," he said, kneeling right in front of her. "You're helpless, and I'm your friend. Please don't be ashamed. It's something that happens, and I'm sure not going to think less of you because of it."

"But you'll have to wipe me!" she almost wailed.

His next statement grabbed at her heart like few things ever had. "Nothing I could do for you," he said quietly, "could ever really be bad." Her head had been down, but she looked up at him with moist eyes.

Fearing a surplus of emotion, Carson broke the mood by saying "Nevertheless, I think I will take elementary precautions," and he grabbed the room deodorant and squirted several times. Fran managed to chuckle as he left the room.

It was awkward, it was embarrassing to both of them, but it was strangely thrilling to Fran, especially after what he had said. Carried along by her good feelings, she decided to escalate right away.

"Let me help you up, then it will be easier to pull up your shorts," Carson said after the wiping was finished.

"Um, since you're being so nice, would it be terrible to ask you to help me shower?" she said in almost a little girl's voice. Carson reacted to this as almost a physical shock, unable to answer for several seconds.

"Are... are you sure you want me to see you like that - touch you like that?" he asked in disbelief.

"Your hands feel so nice, Carson. It's almost like... Don't you want to do it?"

"Oh, God, yes!" he blurted out before he could stop himself. Then he sobered and said "But I thought you..."

"Just think of it as being my substitute nurse, Carson. You made this wonderful new cast that lets me shower for real. If you see it as a reward, that's fine with me." She had been about to say something much more sentimental but held herself back.

The whole episode was affecting her far more strongly than she had expected, and it frightened her a bit. She found herself wanting Carson to touch her all over, to make her come and come and come. The reason she held back was for his sake, to her surprise. She had to be sure her feelings weren't just heightened by her helplessness. Carson was far too good a friend to crank him up and then shoot him down later. Before the next step, she needed to be sure. Julia! She had to talk to Julia.

She had to keep encouraging Carson as he washed her. He seemed deathly afraid of offending her by a wrong touch. If only he knew the kind of touch she really wanted. As he washed her, she was struck by the feeling conveyed through his hands. It took a while, but she figured out what is was - it was worship! The fact that he was in love with her had been no secret. The way he expressed that love was a revelation.

He asked if he should do her hair. When she told him it would take too long to dry and brush out, he said he would love to do that. As he was toweling her down, he asked where he could find clean clothes.

"Carson, you've seen everything now. Would it bother you if I just skipped the clothes?"

"That's the kind of bother men dream about," he replied, trying to make it sound like a joke, but ending up more like a prayer. Again, his feelings jolted her, and she was again on the brink of just giving in and letting him do everything.

The next hour was a turning point in Fran's life. Carson managed to get up behind her on the bed, and dried and brushed her hair until she almost fell asleep. Then, he asked if she had body lotion, and worked it into every inch of her skin. How she let him stop before he reached her pussy, she was not sure. He did rub lotion into her breasts, causing her nipples to try to blast off from their pads. He did not linger, though, and she was able to keep to her resolve, barely.

The thing that kept her disoriented was his touch. It was a lot like Ryan's only more so. The touch of many of her women had been gentle, tender, sensuous, and loving. Most of them had also been lustful. Carson's touch was all of those, but there was that feeling of awe, worship, reverence, or something she could not define.

"Carson, did you treat your wife like this?" she blurted out without thinking. He stiffened and stopped rubbing lotion on her leg. "I... I'm sorry. That was a bad question to ask. It's just... the way you make me feel..."

"Fran, is it 'cards-on-the-table' time, here? I mean, are you trying to figure out how you feel about me?" When she nodded, he went on. "Well that is an awfully painful subject. But if there is any chance for us to be more than friends, I will tell you anything. Is there honestly a chance, Fran?"

"You read women as well as you treat them, don't you. Yes, there is a chance. I've known you for years, but I never saw what you were really like. I never gave you a chance to show me, quite honestly. Then, along comes Ryan. Now, there is nothing between me and Ryan, so don't worry about that. But I was helpless, and couldn't keep him from showing me how he felt about me - about women. Carson, he loves women - treasures them. Just like I'm finding out you do. He made me start thinking about my assumptions about men. Two unsatisfactory relationships with women primed me for some serious thinking, too. Can you keep rubbing while we talk?"