Chapter 23

The next day after school, Sarah drove herself and Jess to a fast food place where they sat and talked. This time, Jess was far from speechless.

"Sarah, I don't need to go through what you did. I don't care if I'm not like Cinderella. I don't care if I don't date a lot of different guys. Remember, you caught more grief than I did just because you look so young."

"Yeah, you've never had that problem," Sarah acknowledged. "OK, Jess, what do you want to happen? What do you want to learn?"

"This may sound funny because of the way I've acted sometimes," Jess started out. "What I really want is to find a man that I love and that really loves me. If I could, I would get married the day after graduation and get pregnant right away."

"Seriously?"

"Look, you have a dad and a grandmother who have always shown you love. Me? Well, my little brother is pretty decent to me, but my idiot parents will probably turn him into a criminal before long."

"But he doesn't seem rebellious or anything," Sarah exclaimed in surprise.

"He's only fourteen. I can tell that he's just holding it all in," Jess countered. "Sarah, I just want to really belong to someone."

Sarah shook her head a little, then with an obvious air of worry, she cautioned "But if you're in such a hurry, you might end up with a loser."

"I'll bet you, your parents, and all of your friends won't let me," Jess said with a grin.

There was silence for a while, then Sarah let out an involuntary gasp, which she tried to hide.

"You thought of someone, didn't you?" Jess demanded. "Who?"

Shaking her head vigorously, Sarah grinned and said "Finish losing that weight and tighten up the tummy and the butt first. Then, their MIGHT be someone I can invite for a skinny dip."

"Skinny dip! I can't meet a guy that way!"

"Why not? After you spend evenings naked for the next few weeks, it won't bother you."

"What? Why?"

"Jess, I can understand that you don't want to go through what I did, but I'm afraid some of that is just fear talking. It feels so wonderful to have such a different attitude about everything. You need to feel at least a little of that."

"W ... will your dad be the only man?" Jess asked softly, looking up at Sarah with her head lowered.

"You faker! You're not modest! You can't wait to have Daddy see those double-Es again," Sarah accused.

"They are not that big!" Jess said emphatically.

A few people looked toward them after that outburst from Jess. She flamed up, then both girls broke into barely restrained giggles.

When they subsided, Jess said "I admit it. I like having Dan look at me. He makes me feel..."

"Desirable, that's what he makes ME feel," Sarah interjected.

"But he's your dad!"

"And... ?"

"Well, he shouldn't think of you that way."

"Why not? He's a man, I'm a woman. Jess, denying the feelings is what screws up families. It's how we manage those feelings that matters. Denying them won't work. I wish Daddy could be my first lover, but I know it won't happen."

"Well, there's no danger of me wanting MY dad," Jess snarled.

"But think about this, Jess," Sarah said seriously, "I'll bet he's struggling with his thoughts about you."

Jess responded quickly. "A couple of times, Mom almost clawed his eyes out when she didn't like the way he looked at me. Then, she screamed at me for being 'provocative'. I can't help how big they are! I sure wouldn't tease him on purpose. God! He's not even the same species as Dan. He couldn't be."

"You just proved what I was saying. There are natural attractions between family members. Anyway, we were just talking about how you are really an exhibitionist who just won't admit it, and..." Sarah stopped as she ducked the wadded up napkin that Jess threw.

"I think our 'Arlene' project is much more successful than we even thought," Julie said to lead off the Gang's weekly brunch. She proceeded to recount Arlene's visit in as much detail as she could remember. Then, she gave Dan's account of what happened that evening.

"There was never any doubt that she was a strong-minded woman," Phyllis commented. "That's good. Dan needs a real partner. There was always some danger with controlling her like we did. I never had a chance to tell you, Julie, but she came in to the club yesterday when I happened to be there. She wants a job."

"As far as I know, she has never worked during their marriage," Julie said in surprise. "Are you considering it?"

"Of course. Anything we can do to help her get back to feeling normal, we should do," Phyllis answered. "By the way, I would not be surprised if you all got visits from her."

"Oh. I hope she calls first," Nancy said nervously. "What if she connects the girls with Rebecca?"

"I think we should just tell her about Rebecca," Carole spoke up. "She has seemed to accept everything that she has learned about the project, even the sex with Dan. It would be the respectful thing to do. She seems to want to establish some, uh, equality with us. We should help her."

"Do you want to be the one to tell her?" Claire teased.

"I think we should pay Rebecca to go to her house, or meet her at the club and tell her," was Carole's answer.

"For that, she might actually accept double rate," Nancy joked.

Although she refused double rate, Rebecca did make known her displeasure with her assigned task. After some hard bargaining, she got agreement that Nancy would invite Arlene over in the evening. Rebecca could then tell the story in a home environment with the girls around.

Arlene was certainly surprised to see her aerobic dance friend standing back as Nancy greeted her. Rebecca stepped forward and introduced herself, followed by "I need to explain my involvement with Nancy and Julie and their other friends. I also have to tell you how I have been involved all along with what we put you through."

"So, are you the mastermind behind it all?" Arlene asked in a neutral voice.

"Actually, no. Julie and the others came up with all of the ideas. I just evaluated them, raised cautions, and made suggestions. I have to tell you that the Gang really forced me into getting to know you at aerobics. That was way outside of normal professional conduct."

Arlene just nodded her head thoughtfully, then to Nancy's and Rebecca's amazement, she held out both arms and moved toward them. It was clear that she wanted to hug them both.

After a short but warm hug, Arlene told Rebecca "Thank you for risking your professional credibility for my sake. I think a lot of people did things that were very, uh, unusual to try to, uh, wake me up. It worked. I can't be angry about any plots or tricks or secrecy. Just look what you all kept me from losing.

"Now, Rebecca, when you talked about your girls, your eyes always sparkled. I'd like to meet them."

"Well, they're swimming, as usual. Or, at least they're out by the pool."

"Pool? In this weather?"

"Oh, I had a bubble put over it for the winter," Nancy explained. "I think the girls were born with gills."

Rebecca warned "They, uh, don't have anything on. Once we let them swim naked, it's like pulling teeth to get them to put suits on."

"Not so long ago, I would have been indignant about that, wouldn't I?" Arlene said with a trace of bitterness. "Now ... do you mind if I join them?"

That had been a spur of the moment idea on Arlene's part. She was delighted by the shocked reactions from Nancy and Rebecca.

"But..." Rebecca started to say, before a look from Nancy cut her off. Arlene thought she detected a mischievous twinkle in Nancy's eye, but it was just momentary.

"Maybe I should meet them first," Arlene said, very much regretting her impulsive suggestion.

"Oh, I think it would thrill them to meet Sarah's mom just like they met Sarah," Nancy teased.

"You mean... ?"

At that point, Rebecca interrupted. "You knew, didn't you, that Sarah spent almost two months naked?"

"Yes, she told me. I just didn't..."

"That brought it home in a different way, didn't it?" Rebecca asked gently.

Blushing a little, Arlene admitted "It sure did."

"Arlene, I apologize," Rebecca said, snapping a quick glare at her aunt. "We were about to pull a trick on you, and it was not polite. Sean will be here in a little while to swim with us."

"And he would have found me naked in the pool," Arlene finished. She grinned and looked over at Nancy. "That would have been a good trick. Oh! you mean you let the girls swim naked with him? Is he naked, too?"

"All of us," Rebecca assured Arlene. "I'll be happy to explain my thinking, but we need to have a little more time. Now, you are very welcome to join us, but I'm not sure you are ready for that."

"Well, being naked is not really a big deal for me any more," Arlene pointed out, bristling a little.

"No, it's not, Arlene. But the first time with a male other than your husband should only be done after a little more consideration. I'm sure Nancy would welcome you any time. Seriously, though, if you decide it is something you want to do, then you, Dan, and Sarah all come. It would be better."

Arlene could not stop her jaw from dropping in shock. It took her a moment to realize that her family had probably skinny dipped with a number of people over the summer. Her shoulders slumped a little. "I've still got some catching up to do, don't I?"

"Don't think that way," Rebecca said, taking Arlene's hand. "There is no 'catching up' that you have to do. You just need to decide what is right for you. Could we get together this week and talk about it? I'll call you in the morning."

"Th ... that would be good," Arlene agreed. "Oh, if the whole family came, it would include Jess."

Arlene was not sure how Phyllis arranged it, but the next noon, Arlene and Rebecca sat in the whirlpool in the women's locker room. Phyllis assured them that no one else would come in.

"You actually have the advantage on me," Rebecca said. "You have spent much more time naked."

"Even with your skinny dipping in Nancy's pool?"

"I have to confess that I have never gotten completely at ease with that," Rebecca admitted. "Look, we need to talk about you and nudity. You realize why you were naked at home, don't you?"

"Sure."

"And you realize why Julie and Phyllis and that other woman were naked around Dan?"

"It was to, um, break my control."

"That's essentially correct," Rebecca agreed. "Arlene, your husband is still the only man to see you naked. Do you really want to change that? I'm sure that Dan is more than willing to keep nudity as something private between the two of you from now on."

"The problem is, Rebecca, that I would still feel like the patient. I don't want to feel that way."

"I see. Nudity with the opposite sex has been involved in the projects for both your husband and your daughter. If you don't experience some of that, you will feel like you still aren't, uh, equal with them."

"I'll still be the patient," Arlene stated again with an emphatic nod.

Rebecca cogitated for a few moments, then decided to bait Arlene a little. "OK. Sarah's and Dan's nudity was something they experienced alone - without other family members. Is that what you feel you need to do?"

"Oh!" Arlene exclaimed with wide eyes. "I ... I hadn't thought of that."

"I think, Arlene, that you have always felt that you were a little, um, isolated from Dan's world. You would never have admitted it, but you knew instinctively that you were not a normal wife. Now, you are afraid that even after all of the changes, you won't have 'caught up'. As part of this whole process, Dan had sex with some other women. Do you need to have sex with other men to 'catch up'?"

Arlene's jaw dropped, and she started shaking her head vigorously. It took a while before she could say. "Rebecca! How can you even ask that?"

Rebecca just looked back with a raised eyebrow. Arlene composed herself eventually and sat thinking for quite a while. "Everything else was to correct what I did wrong - things I believed, but were wrong. There wouldn't be a good reason for me having sex with another man. The situations aren't the same, at all."

Rebecca nodded. "So you don't need to get even with Dan for cheating on you?" That was calculated to shock Arlene, and it did. She did not respond, so Rebecca went on. "The last thing I want is for the 'cure', if you will, to end up hurting the marriage that was cured."

At first, Rebecca was puzzled by the brief flash of ... approval? ... pride? ... that flashed on Arlene's face. Arlene ended her puzzlement, though. "Thank you, Rebecca, for treating me like an equal, not a patient."

"You deserve that respect, Arlene. Without breaking any confidences, I can tell you that I have dealt with a number of wives in situations similar to yours. You have made the most complete turnaround of all."

"Well, that was pretty much in spite of me."

"Not at all," Rebecca shot back. "I know it did not come easily, but you eventually became honest with yourself. Most of the other wives never made it. Now, you are determined to be as different as you can be. That is all because of your own strength."

"And my love for Dan," Arlene added immediately.

Hiding her delighted reaction, Rebecca declared "With just your new sexual relationship, Dan is ecstatic. You don't have to do anything more. You two are true partners, now."

"Well, maybe," Arlene said. "Somehow, I feel more like I'm Dan's woman. I used to feel like he was my, uh, possession. That sure has changed!"

"Do you resent that change?"

"No! He's ... he's ... I can tell why the girls feel the way they do about him. It's like he deserves to have more women belong to him. I feel privileged."

Unable to hide her reaction of surprise, Rebecca thought that she had perhaps heard the best ever definition of an alpha male. Time to resolve the initial question.

"Arlene, given that you are Dan's woman, shouldn't it be his decision whether you bare your body for any other men?" Sex with other men was not even worth mentioning.

"Oh!" Arlene just stared wide-eyed for a while, then broke into a broad smile. "That was simple. I should have figured that out myself."

'Aunt Nancy's gang is absolutely not going to believe this' was Rebecca's immediate thought. 'I need to talk to Dan, though.'

After leaving Arlene to do her workout at the club, Rebecca called Dan to meet her at a coffee shop near his office. There, she explained the conversation with Arlene.

"It may seem like the matter is all settled, Dan, but it's not. You will have to figure out how important it is to Arlene to indulge some of her new urges."

"So, I have to decide if it's important to her to bare herself, huh?"

"Yup."

"Suggestions?"

"Take a second honeymoon to a place with access to a clothing optional beach - somewhere that you are completely anonymous. Let her decide on the spot."

"I've been thinking about a trip like that. Mom is practically forcing the money on me."

Sarah made it a point to be at the Student Union early for her appointment with Troy. He had been puzzled when she called him, and Jess had been puzzled about why Sarah had to drop her off at home and leave for some unexplained appointment. Sarah would say absolutely nothing about where she was going.

When he joined her, she gave him a sisterly kiss on the cheek. As they sat down, she told him "I guess you're disappointed in the greeting, huh?"

"Oh, I know you don't want to get serious, yet," he responded with no trace of bitterness.

"You're ready to get married, aren't you?" she asked.

"Well, economically, no," he admitted. "But I wish I could find the woman to spend the rest of my life with."

"Isn't that a pretty strange attitude for a college guy?" Sarah challenged.

Troy shrugged. "Maybe growing up with four women, I don't feel the need to learn as much. I've got more important things I want to do than trying out one girlfriend after another. Besides, I guess I fall kinda hard, as you know."

"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't feel the same way," Sarah said softly.

"Oh, I'm OK. You never led me on, or anything. And maybe the unusual situation made me more, uh, vulnerable," Troy explained. "Say, why are we talking about my, um, love life?"

"My cousin Jess is not like me in a couple of ways. She's not built like me at all. She's more like Nancy - you know Nancy, right?" Troy nodded.

"Jess is my age, but if she had her way, she would get married right after graduation from high school. She doesn't need to 'spread her wings', she says."

"So, you want to set me up with your cousin, huh?"

"I just want to be up front with you. If I arrange something where you two meet, I want you to know that I am doing it on purpose," Sarah told him.

"Will you have this same conversation with her?"

"Oh, no! She needs to think it's 'love at first sight', or something romantic like that."

"But I don't?" he teased.

"Well, like you said, girls are no mystery to you, and..."

"That's not what I said at all, Sarah! You know how little experience I've had."

"Okay! Okay! I wanted you to know what Jess's attitude is. That way, if you meet her and are not at all impressed, you can be really careful not to encourage anything."

"That's ... that's very considerate of you," Troy acknowledged.

"I need to warn you. Jess is needy. She is trying to recover from the same kind of repressive mother that mine used to be. She didn't have my dad and my Grandma Julie, either. She really had nobody."

"Is she angry? Rebellious? Sullen?" Troy asked.

"Fortunately, no. I think living at our house has helped a lot. I would say that she is jealous, but it doesn't affect her attitude."

"So, if she finds someone, she will really fall for him," Troy mused.

"Exactly."

"Do you happen to have a picture?" he asked.

"The only reason I am giving you this is because I know what kind of character you have," Sarah cautioned. "I also know that nudity is no longer a shock to you." She handed him a tape from a video camera. "It's from Phyllis's camera. You can look at the tape the next time you're at the club.

"I don't have to tell you never to let anyone know I took that. I pretty much made Jess strip after school and stay that way for a couple of weeks. For reasons that I won't go into right now, my mom, naked, is in a few of the shots. I won't tell you to ignore them, but they just make the secrecy all the more important."