Chapter 2

Gail Murtaugh wanted that house so badly she could taste it, but she was nervous about the things she had heard about Corona Heights. She could never find out anything definite, just rumors, impressions and vague references. Somehow, no one had ever actually seen or done anything, nor did they personally know anyone who had.

Like so many parents, she was ready to send her kids to private school after the experiences of the last couple of years. Oh, things weren't terrible, but she could see why Sean, her oldest boy, had lost interest, and Ethan, her twelve-year-old, seemed to be heading that way. Rachel, her fourteen-year-old, was doing all right grade-wise, but she preferred to act like the air heads on all of the TV shows. Gail suspected that the girl had a serious side, but it was definitely not cool to let it show.

This year, the school had added another social sciences class for Sean's junior grade. At least they called it social sciences. What it was turning out to be was one more half-baked sex ed/family life class. How the hell was that going to help him get a job? Or get into college, she should be so lucky.

Gail had married well. Very, very well as it turned out. Now, she could afford to live in the Heights, the house she wanted costing much less than the one she had lived in since her divorce. Her lawyer was working to make sure the reduction in housing value did not reduce the value of her trust fund. Corona Heights had a strict upper limit on the size and purchase price of houses within it. Since all homes changing hands were bought from the owners by an arm of the foundation that ran it and then sold to the new owners, there was good control of the market values.

The divorce had been the dominant factor in her life for three years, now. She had worked hard to be a good wife and mother, and she had thought she was succeeding. Of course, she knew her weight had gone up steadily, but she gave Stan all the sex he wanted - not as much as she wanted, but she never turned him down and she would do anything. She believed that she was an enthusiastic, talented sex partner.

Stan, though, had found a better, younger, much slimmer model, and it broke her heart. She found out that money was a very poor bed partner. It did, however, take away her worries about how she would live for the rest of her life. Stan had done insanely well in mergers and acquisitions. The not-so-small fortune that he put in trust for her and the kids was hardly noticed by him.

It had taken until very recently for her to even admit to herself that the divorce had been painful for Stan, also. She knew that he had loved her and probably still did. It was just that her generous body that once satisfied, even thrilled him, he had begun to be ashamed of. In the lofty circles in which he moved, beauty was a requirement for partners. Had she been honest with herself, the relative seclusion that Stan had kept her in for the few years before the divorce foretold what was coming. It had been a long time since she had appeared at an event of any kind, and most of his associates and important contacts had never met her.

Being the private wife could easily have depressed her, but Gail was a naturally upbeat person. A 'jolly fat girl' she now bitterly told herself. She had family and friends that valued her and she had a great relationship with her kids. Part of life was so good that she did not work hard enough to protect the other part. She just did not think through how hard it would be to lose that part.

In truth, though, Gail knew that there was only so much that she could do to battle genetics. She just did not have a slender build. In her teens, she was voluptuous, with a beautiful face and the huge mammaries that were so important in those years. Her waist was never tiny, her ass never tight, and her thighs never slim. Still, things were in good proportion, she was graceful and style-conscious, and she had perfect skin.

Among the tolls taken on women's bodies by pregnancy are expansion of hips and breasts and thickening of the waist and limbs. Some women are less able to counteract these tendencies than others. Gail used that excuse, never seriously testing whether she could have fended off or lost the weight. In reality, even her high school graduation size would not have satisfied Stan's new tastes for glamour and sex appeal. Still, much of the hell of the post-divorce years was because of her own recriminations.

Nor had the divorce jarred her awake and caused her to attack her problem. Rather, she had slowly succumbed to the 'food as comfort' syndrome. She had not ballooned, but she weighed at least twenty-five more than at the time of the separation.

Corona Heights was purely Gail's idea. None of the kids wanted to leave their schools, their community, or their friends. She had toured it numerous times and spent as much time as she could manage visiting friends who lived there, attending events, or just shopping. She even went to some kids soccer and baseball games, mainly to talk to the parents. The place just had a feel to it that to her was right. She thought there was a noticeable difference in the general behavior of the teens she encountered 'out there' from her current community.

She had managed to meet several single mothers. They seemed to feel secure and even a valued part of the town. Every parent she had met was high on the school system. Of course, she could verify its excellence just from independent research and numerous competitions. There were tours of the various schools offered on specific days and she had gone to the middle and high schools. She did not think the students would be able to fake that upbeat, contented feeling just for visitors.

From what she knew, she was ready to move the next day. The house was everything they needed. But what about the rumors. The most consistent of the rumors was nudity, some requirement that everyone had to appear naked at times in front of other people. There were others more salacious, but she gave them little credence. Would she have to appear nude somewhere? With her body? That would be a deal breaker, for sure.

There was one other big problem - Stan would have to approve. Actually, she got along with him quite well, although she did not see him much. But if the kids objected vehemently, he might side with them. She had heard that there were lots of waivers, permissions, and contracts to sign before purchasing. If any of those really had anything to do with nudity or sexual activity involving the children, as some rumors suggested, he might never agree.

Well, it was time to find out. If it was true about the nudity and the sex, she might as well find out about it right now so she could quit wishing. "I'm ready to take the first step toward moving here. I think. I have heard that there are some, uh, special requirements. Could you tell me what they are?" Gail asked the young man who was showing her around.

He was probably still in high school or just out. She had been advised that he was not authorized to do any real estate transactions and could only answer questions in restricted areas. For all of that, he had been more polite and friendly than most professionals that she had dealt with. She had enjoyed being with him, except that the contrast with her own Sean was not very encouraging.

Young men - boys - had escorted her on several of her house-hunting jaunts and they had all had that same effect on her - they made Sean look bad. The one today, though, had an extra polish and a surprise air of poise and confidence for what she assumed was his age.

"Let's head over to the Admin Center and find some answers to your questions, shall we?" Rob, her guide, asked.

He walked her across the front of the admin building and showed her the glassed in area where they would be meeting, making her verify that no one could see in. They entered the building and went to the security station. Her hand print was taken and she was asked to acknowledge and agree to the video and audio monitoring.

She could not help but be impressed by the room they entered, the one they had tried to look into from outside. It was so light that it looked like the glass wall that she knew was transparent was not even there. She wondered why she was in such a large room, but that was not the most important thing on her mind just then.

"Step over to this station," Rob said, and we'll get you started toward answering some of your questions. The display she saw was accompanied by a voice reading the same words.

'In order to ensure consistency and complete disclosure, these carefully prepared presentations will be used to answer all possible questions. This is not a criticism of your well-trained hosts.' There was more and they were asked to acknowledge with a hand print, which they did.

Next, they were presented with 'If you proceed toward residence, the person with you now will be your escort through the entire process. Males will have female escorts and vice versa.

'The first requirement is that you undress completely before proceeding with any more information. In the future, as you move toward residence, you will be in this RTAC section numerous times. You will be required to disrobe immediately upon entry every time, with few exceptions.

'The requirement to disrobe now is one of several tests to see if it is worth your while to proceed any farther with your plans. If you cannot meet this requirement, your plans will be suspended for at least six months.

'When you are nude and ready to proceed, please verify with your hand print. You escort will also need to verify that you have complied.'

Gail reread the last section, her mind telling her that she must have been badly distracted by the people walking right in front of her, just on the other side of the glass, some seeming to stare right at her.

But, no. The second reading, and the third, yielded the same meaning. All of the rumors and innuendo must have been true. She felt sadness overwhelm her. Her dream of living here was ended. Or course, there was no way she could bare herself to this boy. And the message implied that there would be other times, maybe more people.

"So, what I heard was true, then?" she said as tears started. "But it doesn't seem possible! Everything about this place is so nice, so classy, so ... so perfect. Then you have some sleazy requirement like that!"

"Sleazy?"

'Well, yes. I mean, asking me to ... to strip in front of a young guy like you!"

"Mrs. Murtaugh, did you consider that perhaps the reason the Heights is so perfect is BECAUSE of our requirements, not in spite of them?"

"I don't see how that could be."

"Are you not willing to at least talk about it for a few minutes?"

"Why is a good looking young guy like you so anxious to get a fat woman like me out of my clothes?"

Rob had been carefully drilled in the kinds of reactions he might run into. His response was to not try to argue or explain. "You have invested a lot of time and emotional energy into your investigation. Do you really want to throw all of that away so soon?"

Gail stood and cried. She knew that Rob was right. She shouldn't just give up. If she was honest with herself, had she not been quite sure all along that she would be required to be nude somewhere along the line?

She cried and thought, thought and cried. When with her head lowered she raised her eyes just enough to give Rob a sly look, he could read the signs. She would undress.

In the very large, nicely appointed bathroom, Gail stripped quickly, before she lost her nerve. Seeing the shower and the luxurious towels, she rinsed off quickly. As she dried, she thought how nice it would be to have a male look at her bare body again. Rob was a nice boy, and he would not do anything to frighten or insult her.

When she came out, Rob gave her a kindly smile, looking her right in the eyes. When he held out his hand to lead her to a display station against the outside wall, she got a major jolt. Three young men in a group chose that moment to walk by outside, right against the glass. Gail's mind told her that when they looked at her, they were just checking out their reflections. Still, her pulse raced and she pulled back against Rob's hand for a moment.

As the text scrolled across the display station at her direction, she was not paying as much attention as she should. First of all, she could not believe that she had stripped in front of Rob and was just standing here naked, trying to read this important information. It was such a ... normal ... mundane activity and nothing cataclysmic was happening.

She had been in such fear of anyone seeing her bare body. There was no doubt that she was ashamed of how she looked and did not want anyone to see the rolls and dimples, the shapeless buttocks, the almost indiscernable waist, the pendulous breasts. She shivered to think how she must look from behind. Yet, she was just 'there'. Whatever vague disaster she had feared had not yet occurred.

But did that mean that she could live with the other things she might have to do? The screen was saying something about... 'bodies available ... sexual stimulation... ' Before she could feel the disgust and shame she knew should be her reaction, she felt a flash of excitement. It had been a long time since anyone else had stimulated her sexually. What kind of place was this, anyway?

After Gail had read over some of the displays again, asked some questions, and been shown some additional information, Rob asked "Do you have enough information, now, to decide if you want to proceed."

"I ... I don't know ... I ... I want to find out more."

"So, you want to go on to the next step, then?"

"Yes. Yes, I do."

Gail soon wondered what she had let herself in for by going on to the next step. The number of interviews and medical examinations was daunting. The interviews were done at her home and the exams in a normal medical office. The children were each interviewed more than once, also, and that proved to be interesting. Sean was his expected belligerent self, and Ethan tried to emulate his big brother, with only limited success. In the end, they did the interviews, and the interviewers did not seem phased by their antics.

Rachel was at least cooperative and even managed to seem interested as things went on. The relationship between mother and daughter was still quite close, despite the girl choosing to 'dumb herself down'. Rachel was built a lot like Gail, but more slender at the same age. With curves, endowments, face, skin, and grace like her mother's, she was a very sexy fourteen-year-old. That added to Gail's panic to get moved into the Heights. Somehow, she felt that Rachel would have better influences there and might avoid being sucked into the 'bimbette' crowd.

And then, Gail was brought up against the deal breaker - the step that she thought was impossible for her to take. "Mrs. Murtaugh," the man's voice said, "we would like to schedule you for your assessment day. It will take the entire day. Would one week from today, Wednesday, work for you?"

"Y ... yes. The kids are old enough, but ... well, my oldest is, uh..."

"We are aware of Sean's rebellion and belligerence, Mrs. Murtaugh. Therefore, we are scheduling a couple to be at your house while you are here for testing."

"Babysitters? That won't go over well."

"The man is an experienced enforcer, Mrs. Murtaugh. He will be specifically charged with keeping the boys under control. We will need your hand-printed permission for him to use any and all necessary force to carry out your wishes."

"Oh, my! I ... dammit! That kid needs someone to keep him in line for once. He's starting to act like a young tough."

"We know, Mrs. Murtaugh."

"There's time to send them to be with their father for that day."

"No, that won't work, Mrs. Murtaugh. We require the children to be at home that day."

"Oh, well, then, I'll sign."

"Now, Mrs. Murtaugh, there are some other things you need to know about your assessment day. First of all, you will be nude once you enter our facility until you leave." He waited for Gail's gasps to subside, then went right on. "You will be in the presence of numerous other people, male and female. You will have numerous monitoring devices attached to you, some a bit uncomfortable, some quite embarrassing. The testing will be extensive and exhausting."

"Will Rob..."

"Your escort, Rob, will pick you up at your home at 7:30am. The couple will be there at 7:00am to make sure that your children are up and present when you leave."

"Oh? Why do they need to be up?"

"That is the other requirement that you have to meet that day, Mrs. Murtaugh. When your escort arrives, you are to meet him completely naked, and your children are all to be in the room."

"Oh no! Oh, no! Oh, no!" Gail almost shouted as she started to cry. The man on the phone just waited her out, and she was able to say "I was ... I was willing to go through with everything, but that ... Sean is so, he blames me, you know! He's told me my getting fat broke up our home. I can't let him see how right he is! I can't, I can't. Oh, how can you ask that? Why do I have to do that?"

"Mrs. Murtaugh, these requirements have been established after years of study and experience. You know that the Foundation will have almost unlimited control over your body if you move in here. We have to know if you can live with that. This is a test. If you cannot pass this test, experience has shown that you will eventually default and have to be evicted from the Heights. Before you say anything else, will you come out here and talk to a counselor?"

"Will I have to ... to undress again?"

"Yes, Mrs. Murtaugh, you will have to undress."

"I don't know if it is worth it. Why should I humiliate myself one more time for nothing?"

"It's not for nothing, Mrs. Murtaugh. Your desire to move here is very strong and you have put a lot into the move already. Please. May I send Rob for you?"

"Rob? Oh, my escort." She paused for a long time, but finally said "When will he be here?"

Gail thought how different the setting was from the usual image of the shrink's office. They - she, Rob, and a woman dressed in lightweight 'business casual' clothes - were in the same glass-walled room where she had been before. Instead of a desk, couch, chairs, etc., as she would have expected with a counsellor, there were only a couple of small tables in the room and no place to sit.

As if everything else about the situation was not strange enough, having to stand there naked and try to talk to the two clothed people just made things even more surreal. There was no way to cover herself, and there was a constant stream of passersby outside the glass wall.

"Gail," the woman said, having gotten them to a first name basis quickly, "Rob has been looking at every part of your body for a few minutes, now. He also was with you for some time before when you were naked. Have you in any way been injured by your exposure to him? Have there been any long-term negative effects on you?"

"But Rob is a really nice boy."

"Well, it hasn't been easy," Rob said suddenly. "With a body like yours, it was all I could do not to look away. I can sure see why you're divorced."

Gail was too shocked by his outburst to react in any way before he went on with his vitriol. "One of the perks of this job is supposed to be a glimpse of pussy now and then. But with that belly of yours and those thighs, there's no proof you even have a pussy buried in there. I'll bet if you bent over, you couldn't even spread your legs far enough so I could see it. At your age, your boobs should be able to support themselves at least a little, without hanging down on your belly."

When he had finished, Rob stalked into the bathroom, leaving Gail feeling destroyed. The woman stood motionless, waiting for Gail's reaction, which finally came. "Wh ... why did you let him say those horrible things? I can't believe ... he seemed so nice!"

"Well, you're still breathing, Gail. How can that be? Are you ready to kill yourself, now? It sounded like someone saying something bad about your body would have at least made you suicidal."

Gail just stared at the woman. "That ... that was all just an act? He was saying those things to ... to make a point?"

"Yes, he was," the woman said. "I have to tell you that he tried to quit to avoid having to do that. The only reason he did it was because I threatened to bring in another boy to say it, one you had never met."

Gail spun around and raced toward the bathroom. When she came out with her arm around Rob, both were tearful.

"The point is, Gail, that you have just experienced about the worst that Sean could do when he saw you naked. I know that you are already comfortable with Rob seeing your body, so it won't be quite the same that morning. It can't be. And because of your motherly feelings about Sean, there will be shocks and sensations that we can't duplicate. Still, I think we've made the point, haven't we?"

Gail was sober, lost in thought for quite a while. "You have an interesting way of making your point."

"Can you think of any line of argument that would have persuaded you?" Gail shook her head. "Then you see why I tried such a drastic measure. Gail, moving here is a dream, but not just for yourself. Your kids are slipping away into things that will hurt them. It is an all too typical problem in broken homes."

"One more thing my blimping out caused," Gail said bitterly. "The stuff Rob said - it's true, you know."

"Yes, Gail. It had to be true or it would not have shocked you. I truly am sorry about that. But I am not sorry that you can now stand naked in from of your sons and take whatever they say to you."

"Oh, I don't think ... I still..."

"Yes, you can, Mrs. Murtaugh," Rob said. "I'll be..."

"Gail. Please call me Gail. I think you know me that well by now."

"Only when no one else is around. It's procedure. Gail, when Sean and Ethan see you, I will be there, too. You know that I like you and care for you as a person. If you have to, think of what I am thinking, rather than Sean or Ethan. Don't let this stop you from moving here. Don't let anything stop you. What will happen to the kids if you stop?"

"Can ... will it really help the kids?"

"Gail," the woman said, "let me give you an example. Wednesday morning, before Sean comes down to see you, the man we send will give him a warning. He will warn him not to say anything bad to you or about you. The man is fierce enough to scare your son, believe me."

"What if Sean does say something?"

"You will authorize the couple to give him a spanking on his bare buttocks, right there in front of you and his sister, as well as the woman of the couple."

"Wow! Uh, what if he tells his dad?"

"From what we have discovered, we believe his father will concur."

"He ... he just sleeps in shorts. That means he'll be naked for the spanking."

"Whatever he shows up in. It will be quick and decisive. We believe there is a 70% probability that he will require that spanking. We believe he will consider the warning a challenge."

That was a lot for Gail to absorb, but she had another question. "I can't go around spanking him for everything he does, though. How else will moving here help?"

"A boy who says or does threatening or demeaning things to women has a rough go in school here. If caught, they are made to wear a yellow collar for however long their sentence is. The girls at school all know what it means. Additional infractions get a red, then a black collar. How many girls will accept a date with a boy wearing a collar?

"Oh, and skipping school here is very difficult. We send a patrol and they haul them to their first class in whatever they happen to be wearing when picked up."

Somewhere along the way, Gail had decided that it probably was not best to be hugging Rob, and she had dropped her arm from around him. She still stood quite close, though. "Rob, would you please step out for just a moment?" the woman asked.

"Gail," the woman said when Rob was gone, "it is quite common for women, especially single women, to fall in love with their young male escorts."

"I, I haven't ... I..." Gail stopped and stared, then dropped her eyes.

"Don't feel bad, Gail. We know it is likely to happen, and it actually is a positive thing. You don't have a man to go through this with, and Rob becomes a bit of a substitute. The most fortunate women have sons that are loving and supportive, but they cannot go through every step with their mother as the escort does. For other mothers, such as yourself, Rob is what you wish Sean would be, and that draws you to him."

"Will you give me a different escort?"

"Oh, no. That is the last thing we would do, Gail. I just wanted you to be aware of what was happening to you. You are intelligent and strong-willed enough to deal with it well."

"Hmmmmph! If that was true, why would I look like this?"

The woman looked very thoughtful for a few moments, then said "I am going to mention something that would not ordinarily be revealed to you yet. I think it is important to your determination to continue.

"It is highly probable that very soon after you move in, you will be assigned to a group. This group will be under a strictly controlled nutrition and exercise regimen. You will be forced to make a significant change in your body during that program."

"Forced?"

"Remember, your body will 'belong' to the Foundation."

As she had been instructed by phone the day before, Gail met the 'babysitting' couple at the front door at 6:55 that Wednesday morning. The scheduler had not exaggerated. The man, who asked to be called Jake, had the look of someone you just did not argue with. The woman, Kim, looked able to take care of herself, as well.

Kim was very kind, seeing how nervous Gail was. She came up to the master suite and chatted casually with Gail for a few minutes before Gail went to wake up the kids. Rachel grumped but agreed to get up. Ethan showed his usual inability to regain consciousness easily. Sean objected loudly, claiming that he did not have to get up just because someone from 'that fuckin' place' said so.

While Gail still stood there arguing with the boy, Jake stormed into the room and effortlessly lifted Sean out of bed. That caused Sean considerable panic because his morning hardon stuck through the fly of the boxers that were all he wore. Jake held the boy from behind by his arms and made him stand facing his mother for a moment, unable to cover himself with his hands.

Motioning with his head for Gail to leave, Jake said to Sean from behind, in a menacing voice "I was sent by 'that fuckin' place' with a partner to ride herd on you kids today, mostly because of you. Seems you can't be trusted to do what you're told. Now, we've gotten off to a bad start, so I suggest you rethink your attitude right now.

"When you come downstairs to see your mother off, which you WILL do at 7:30, you WILL NOT make any critical, cutting, or derogatory remarks about your mother or you will be sorry. Do you understand?" Sean, totally bewildered and more than a little angry, just grunted. He might have said more but the way his arms were clamped made it clear that this man could handle him very easily. Actually, he was so upset about his cock sticking right out at his mother that he could hardly think of anything else. He had seen her look down right at it.

As she left Sean's room, Gail was more than a little shook up at seeing her son's erection. She had stopped where he could not see her but where she still had a good side view of it. Not bad. Not bad at all. If she could just keep him from turning into such a prick! Well, she had other things to worry about. Sean was going to get more than even in just a few minutes. She could not help a shiver and a buckling of the knees.

Rob rang the bell promptly at 7:30. One by one, the kids arrived in the front room with the predictable expressions of shock and amazement. Sean was the last one, and he was still gawking when Rob began explaining where Gail was going and why. As Rob was talking, everyone could see Sean's expression changing to a sneer.

When Rob stopped talking, Sean could not hold it back. "Is this supposed to get me excited, or something - seeing you like that? Not hardly. More likely to ruin my day."

Jake moved as if he had the move all planned out, which he later disclosed that he did. Kim was almost as fast. Jake grabbed Sean and bent him forward with his stomach over a chair arm that was just the right height. At the same time, Kim pulled Sean's boxers down to his ankles.

Sean yelped and struggled, but Jake used some sort of pressure hold that convinced him to keep still. Kim started slapping his bare buttocks, alternating between them.

Rachel was absolutely transfixed. Along with his other unsavory behavior, Sean had been doing his best to destroy her self-confidence. It would take a few moments, but she would soon find herself clapping with glee. That is until she noticed that she could see the end of his penis flopping around from her oblique angle. When she noticed that it had stopped flopping, more of it was visible, and it was not hanging down any more, she stopped clapping or even breathing.