Chapter 4

There were still several weeks of school left when Lindsey moved back home, but the girl who showed up in school seemed like a different person than the one who threw up in the girls' bathroom because of a false rumor. Her friends watched in wonder as she set out to instantly learn and do everything she'd missed the last four years.

Trish, Janie, and Caitlin were more than happy to introduce her to the 'in' stores and to educate her on the clothes that were right for a teen. Still retaining her deeply-ingrained modesty, she drew the line at the racier styles, but still took a huge step forward fashion-wise. Neither did she blow all her new money on clothes. She bought just enough to give her some variety for the rest of the year.

Wearing some of her new clothes was almost a bigger challenge than buying them. One morning, Floyd saw her first as she came down to the kitchen in a revealing new top. His penis was long-neglected for anything but peeing, and because of his dreadful physical condition, his libido had been dampened to the point where lack of sex with his wife was not a big deal to him. Lindsey's sexuality, while never flaunted around her father, was the biggest sexual stimulant in his life, and a source of huge guilt. What he considered his sinful, incestuous thoughts had been manageable until he saw her new outfit. His dormant member moved spontaneously, pushing outward against his slacks. His brain farted, unsure whether to compliment her, scold her, or look away.

Mary suffered no such uncertainty in her reaction. "No! No! No!" she shrieked. "You can't wear that! It's indecent!" All thoughts of their agreement about her free choice of clothes were forgotten.

Mary's reaction was pretty much what Lindsey had expected, and she had steeled herself for it. "No Mother! That's what's indecent," she replied as she walked over and patted Mary's sagging belly.

It was intended to be inflammatory, and it was highly successful. Mary went off, raging about indecency, sin, nudity, and ingratitude of children. Trying not to seem insolent, Lindsey stood and watched her mother with a blank expression. When the woman ran down from exhaustion, she asked, "So, does that mean the deal's off, Mother? Am I moving out this weekend?"

Despite her intention to remain respectful, Lindsey felt a flash of triumph as she watched her mother balance the horror of her daughter's 'indecent exposure' against the ultimate horror of her moving out. It was no contest, and Mary burst into sobs and left the room in as close to a run as she could get. "I hope it makes you happy to hurt your mother like that," Floyd spat out in a feeble attempt at being fatherly and in control.

As soon as Lindsey left for school in her new top, Floyd went upstairs to talk to his wife. He loved his wife, without a doubt. The physical appeal may have died out already for both of them, but the feelings that had grown up over the years remained. It genuinely hurt him to see Mary's anguish over Lindsey's independence. He himself did not see that the things she was doing were that terrible. In fact, when he thought about it calmly, he was quite proud of the way she was still living by the principles they had taught her, by and large.

What bothered Mary, Floyd knew, was the loss of control. He had never reasoned out all the deeper implications of Mary atoning for her own sexual 'failings' by keeping her daughter from them. He just assumed that's the way his wife was. She certainly controlled him, a fact that bothered him surprisingly little. By and large it was comfortable for him to cede the minutiae of family life to her. If she bossed him around in the process, well... To put it coarsely, Floyd was pussy-whipped, with the pussy no longer employed.

Floyd's life had more than its share of minutiae, which he managed very successfully as a portfolio officer at a bank. He had risen to a level where he made a very nice income for the family, leaving Mary's part-time job as a way for her to get out of the house.

The biggest single parental mistake the Halls had made with Lindsey was failing to start the de-parenting process. As with many, many couples, they took the job of raising her so seriously, that they forgot the ultimate objective: to produce a well-rounded, self-sufficient, independent adult who would continue to be a loving part of their lives. To them, signs of independence from Lindsey were signs of rebellion, and thus, sin.

Mary, in particular, did not think fondly of the time when Lindsey walked down the aisle to start her life with another man. Sadly, that seemed to her like the end, rather than a natural progression. Success as a mother involved making sure her daughter always 'did the right thing.' The making sure never had an end, in Mary's mind. College, job, family - those things for Lindsey were for after her mothering job was done. The end of that job was never truly acknowledged by Mary.

Her monomaniacal focus on making her daughter perfect did not make Mary a bad person, just misguided and sadly unbalanced. What it did make her was a miserable person. Her own abuses and excesses had caused what she most feared - her daughter had broken away. The fact that she remained at home kept Mary from a total breakdown, but she recognized and felt the loss of control acutely.

That Lindsey as the firstborn bore the unfair brunt of Mary's control urges should not have been a surprise. Mary knew intimately the 'sins' she had to protect her daughter from. When it came to her son, though, she had no idea what to do. Men being like deities to her, there really were no sins to keep him from, were there? Not knowing what to do, she did nothing but adore him. The recent revelations of Brett's sexual capers should have sent Mary into all-night prayer vigils, and certainly should have caused some clamping down. What they caused instead was confusion, and even more agony over her inability to control her daughter.

Expecting Floyd to take the lead in disciplining his son was one of Mary's bigger mistakes, as well. The dynamics of Floyd's home life had been similar to his wife's except that Floyd's mother did control the boys. He himself had no template for fatherly discipline of male children. Mary was unequipped to do it, so Brett was more or less a free agent and they both focused their warped parenting urges on Lindsey.

The psychology of parenting was not on Floyd's mind as he huffed up the stairs to try and comfort his wife. As her neared the top, he thought once again that they should move to a house with a first floor master suite. They could easily afford it.

Mary was a sobbing mess, and Floyd did not try to talk or reason with her. Instead, he took her hand and prayed, his role as spiritual leader of the home giving her the most comfort of anything he could do. He prayed fervently for wisdom in handling their daughter, for comfort from the pain she inflicted, and for something to jar her from her sinful ways.

Having a fair degree of control over his hours at work, Floyd stayed with his wife and they talked. Once more, he dared to ask "Sweetheart, wouldn't if be better if we just let her move out?" The response had always been the same, and it did not change this time, either. He had come to the conclusion that if Lindsey did leave for good, his wife would end up institutionalized.

It was as if Mary knew in her heart that she was failing. Motherhood, however, was the only truly significant task in her life. Open acknowledgement of her failure as a mother made her worthless as a person. She fought that admission with everything that was in her. Even Lindsey did not realize how deadly the threat of her leaving was.

Getting his wife calmed and minimally functional for the day was all Floyd could reasonably hope to accomplish. When he had done all he could, he headed for the office.

Having quickly acquired a driver's license and a car with her settlement money, Lindsey at least had a means of escape from the turmoil of her home. It only made the situation worse that she spent most of her time at friends' homes, but she hungered for the calm and the honest love and consideration she found at other homes. Whether it was Trish, Terry, Eric, or Mark, she spent a good portion of most school nights with another family, most times for dinner, as well.

Though all her friend's homes were wonderful, her favorite was the Ventris'. The fact that their relationship went back to early childhood had a lot to do with that. It was the least affluent of all the places, but the atmosphere was the most healing for her. Norma was a big reason. Laughter was a constant, and she was the major instigator. Lindsey sometimes just watched Norma in disbelief, so opposite was she from her own mother. It was obvious Norma not only loved but liked her family. They were her friends.

Lindsey had never really experienced silliness from her parents, and it entranced her. The first time she saw Norma on the floor in a tickle fight with Tori, the ten-year-old, she ended up in tears. Norma saw it, understood why, and wrapped the girl in a hug that lasted at least ten minutes. The fact that it was Lindsey's longest hug ever by a factor of ten did nothing to diminish her tears, but helped attach her emotionally to Norma more than to any other person, ever.

Paul Ventri, Mark's father, was terribly overworked, trying to build his own business. Still, he started teasing Lindsey just like his own kids. That relationship with a man was mystifying to her, but he never let up, and little by little she came to cherish it. He was obviously an intelligent man, and that appealed to Lindsey. That he was able to cut loose and be silly with the others was a wonderful revelation.

Mark had always had a special place in Lindsey's heart. He was her old childhood buddy. Someone who knew the struggles she had at home. Someone who had helped her experience as much childhood fun as she could, given the strictures. The image of Mark standing outside the girls' bathroom, face angry and resolute over the injustice done to her, had given him a whole new place in her heart.

Mark was not a boy who was considered macho. Yet, in that one instant in her time of worst distress, he exuded a strength she had never before encountered. And he stuck with it. More than any of the others, he was the one she drew strength from. For a sixteen-year-old girl, that was the perfect mix for first love. Strangely, Lindsey did not fall madly in love. Whether or not it was because of the anti-dating, anti-sex pounding from her parents, her feelings did not evolve into the expected physical passion. Her friendship with Mark was renewed and deepened, becoming the equal of any friendship she had known. But, because the romantic component was apparently missing, they missed a lot of the emotional trauma young lovers had to wade through.

There was no question Mark would have willingly endured the young lovers' struggles. He was well and truly smitten with Lindsey. He had, however, the rare ability to sense where she was coming from, what she needed, and respond to her properly. Unlike many boys, who needed the romance to validate their status with women, Mark was surrounded by female affection. His mother and both sisters were open and lavish with touches, hugs, kisses, and cuddles. It was not that he didn't crave lovers' things from Lindsey, he just was not devastated because he didn't get them.

Of all the things Lindsey strove to catch up with, sports sat at the top of her list. When they were children, Mark and Lindsey had joined in neighborhood baseball games, unbeknownst to Mary. Mark remembered that Lindsey did not throw like a girl at all, and encouraged her to sign up for a summer softball league team. She was way behind most of the other girls in everything but natural ability and determination.

Largely at Mark's doing, Lindsey's athletic career became a community project, with Eric, Terry, Trish, and Jordan all pitching in. It turned out that Lindsey got on Jordan's team, so practicing together was a natural thing. Every night, right after school, one or more of her friends would practice with Lindsey for at least an hour, hitting, throwing, fielding.

One day when Terry was working with Lindsey in the Torvolds' huge yard, Alex came home early and was watching them. Looking at her with his practiced trainer's eye, he commented that she had a swimmer's build. Thinking about swimming, maybe competitively, made Lindsey nervous because of the tanks suits. They showed everything!

Modesty had been pounded into her for too long, and it was not that easy to recover. No sooner had the worry flitted across her mind than she mentally slapped herself. That was her mother's thinking! If swimmers all over the world wore those suits, what was wrong with them? She probably could not catch up with the other girls, but she wanted to try everything, and that was something she loved. By the end of the next day, Lindsey was enrolled in a swimming club.

Mark benefited from Lindsey's passion for sports. He was certainly no klutz, but sports for him had been fun, rather than a serious pursuit. Despite Paul's dedicated exercise routine, Mark had never gotten into it. At sixteen, he had passed his biggest growth spurt, which was exclusively vertical. At 5'10', he had wide shoulders and a fairly deep chest, but zero fat covering and not too much muscle, either.

Trish had been running for most of the past school year, and Lindsey decided to join her. At Mark's house, she had learned of Paul's running regimen, and in an unusually forward move, decided that Mark needed to run, also. Over time and because of the summer heat, her two running companions talked Lindsey into sexy running shorts and a jog bra as her standard outfit.

Naturally, Mary discovered the running outfit in the wash, as well as the tank suit for swimming. After the inevitable explosion, Lindsey started wearing the running outfit when she left the house. She also made it a point to don her tank suit at home before a session and take her clothes with her. Knowing she was twisting the knife a bit, she made it a point to be seen around the house in just the suit, or with only her upper or lower half covered by anything else.

Recognition and compliments are wonderful things. Lindsey received them in profusion from her friends, and particularly from Mark. A big reason for her more revealing garb at home was to see if she would get any positive comments there about her looks. It never happened.

When Brett was around, Lindsey made very sure to cover up. He had always been arrogant around her, but he blamed her for his name showing up on the website, and he became insufferable. Even though he was openly disdainful and cutting, her parents never corrected him.

By August, Lindsey had become a very good softball player, and was improving her times weekly in swimming. She had decided not to work during the summer, instead making workouts and practice her job. After the years of denial, she reveled in the exertion. She was also learning to be a competitor. Her naturally sweet nature was not conducive to winning, so she had to develop a 'game face.'

Because of his frequent runs with her, Mark was in much better shape than when school let out. He was still very thin, but his endurance was much better. Lindsey had started working out with weights to improve her swimming, and finally cajoled Mark into starting, although he was nonchalant in his approach.

Things at home were so bad that Lindsey and her friends all wondered why she stayed. Disapproval hung in the air whenever she was there. She spent as much time as possible away from home, and that generated more disapproval. The only thing keeping her from moving out was the certainty that her mother would suffer a complete collapse if she left.

Also by August, things were moving rapidly at Transformations. Some significant changes in strategy had occurred after more discussion and analysis. One big change was the decision to have only a women's facility and a men's facility. Both women's and men's programs would be run, accommodating all ages and needs together. It was decided the diversity would be a positive factor.

Originally, it was thought only a complete live-in approach would work. Recently, it was decided to take clients who would be away for work every day. There was considerable debate about loss of effectiveness because the immersion was not complete. With nothing else to base a decision on, a limited number of work-release clients was considered a valuable test.

The Transformations facility was within weeks of completion. The final design was very house-like, with men's and women's sides visually separated from each other. All services and utilities, such as kitchen and laundry, were positioned between the sides. Each side had a complete health club with Olympic pool, complete exercise room, basketball, racquetball, tennis, and running track. The clubs were enclosed with glass ceilings for sunlight penetration.

Three three-bedroom homes and four staff apartments were positioned near, but not attached to the main buildings. A variety of office and resource rooms were built in on each side, as well as small but nicely appointed sleeping rooms for twenty clients each.

Transformations was truly on the fast track, now. It was going to happen! Despite skepticism and concern from all involved, there was a waiting list of way more than a dozen. That's right. Almost twenty women were waiting to spend a pile of money to run around naked for a few months with boys and men supervising their makeover. Go figure!

Only a few of the waiting women were from Julia's practice, and most were from out of town. When she had spread the word, the inquiries, then the deposits, came rolling in. She had reasoned that there was a need. Was there ever!

The current challenge was staffing, and Julia was taking the lead, there. The management team had decided to concentrate on the younger men for attendants and fill in with older staff and women as specific needs were identified. The little Nice Guys Club had been a natural starting point, and that was why Julia had just entered the Ventris' modest home.

Mark had spent a good deal of time describing his parents to Julia. She had purposely delayed meeting them, wanting to compare his description to her own impressions. When Mr. Ventri, Paul, opened the door, Julia reminded herself not to be too obvious in scoping them out.

It took an effort of will not to view this is a wasted visit. From Mark's description, she thought the chances were nearly zero. There had been a lot of discussion about just going on to another prospect, but on his own, Mark was a perfect candidate. It was decided to go ahead and try.

Mark and his sisters were specifically excluded from this meeting, and once the three adults were seated, Julia dove right in. "Please don't think me rude for getting right into the subject, but it has been a long day. As I told you on the phone, Mrs. Ventri, I am a practicing psychiatrist, an M.D. With a small group of extraordinary people, I am launching an innovative and controversial center to help people make drastic changes in their lives."

"The concepts we are implementing have been tested very successfully last year." At this point, she handed them a picture of Shannon in the swim suit from her first measurement session. After a pause, she gave them a wedding shot of Shannon and Alex, an oblique view that showed off Shannon's new figure to the maximum.

"Those pictures are of the same woman. A year ago May, she was a dropout, unmarried, addicted mother of two teenagers. She weighed 200 lbs, and had not held a job for more than four months. The wedding picture is from the following October. She weighed 128, could run three miles in under 30 minutes, and could bench press 100 lbs. She now has a G.E.D, and is enrolled in an on-line college degree program. She is why we believe our programs will work."

"Now, the reason I am here. We want to hire several High School or College aged guys. Friends of his recommended Mark, and we interviewed numerous other friends as well as teachers. There are several reasons we would like to hire him. First of all, he is totally friendly, courteous, and respectful, particularly to women and girls. He is an excellent conversationalist, knowledgeable on a surprising number of subjects for his age. He is a hard worker and honest to a fault. We know about the website, too. I can see your looks of pride, and you are completely justified in them."

"We are being extremely choosy in building our staff. The ones we hire will be paid very well. Once hired, they can be assured of a job during school, and during all breaks. That includes during college, if they attend a local school. We will invest a lot in training, and we want it to pay off for a long time." Julia paused to let the couple absorb the pay rate, which had obviously stunned them.

"Two other benefits you should be aware of: each new employee can have a relative or friend enrolled in one of our programs for free. Also, a foundation will underwrite partial scholarships at Addison University for our employees. The scholarships are designed to bring the cost of attending Addison down to the cost of attending the State U extension here. As you know, Addison is way up in the rankings in nearly every subject."

After that disclosure, Julia waited for the Ventris to digest the incentives. She knew that paying for their children's education was the major future concern for the couple. Paul had lost his accounting management job in a corporate merger. He had started his own CPA firm, but it was a struggle. Mark was an excellent student, and they longed to see him get a good education. His dream was to keep living at home and attend Addisson, but even the cost of tuition was beyond the family's current means.

"What is the job?" Julia asked rhetorically after a suitable pause. "Essentially a skilled attendant at one of our units where women will stay for a number of months while undergoing the changes they seek. I will talk more about specifics later. Are there any questions so far?"

Norma Ventri asked Julia if she would like something to drink, and Julia asked for water before continuing. There were a few questions about when the job would start, would Mark be paid during training, etc.

"Now comes the difficult part. From what Mark has told me of your family and your values, I believe it is highly doubtful you will let him take the job. My first inclination was to not even bother with this interview. However, we all believe he is perfect for the job. It would not be fair to prejudge your reaction."

"I am going to ask you to listen and ask questions as if Mark was going to take the job, even if you are shocked or offended at the conditions or requirements. Can you do that?" After several concerned, questioning looks between them, both parents nodded.

"Just remember, I am a well-regarded professional, not some shyster. If I introduced you to the others involved, you would see that they are legitimate, as well. Some of what I say will go very much against your beliefs. I just ask you to put those beliefs aside for a while."

"Our programs are based on what is called 'immersion therapy.' This involves keeping the clients in an isolated environment for a significant period of time. They are 'immersed' in the objective they are trying to achieve. Everything is designed to promote total concentration on the primary goal."

"We are starting with the program we can most easily fill with clients - women desperate to change their physical appearance. As you see in those pictures, results can be dramatic, but are not limited to bodily changes. Self-image and awareness of the world around them are also things we work on."