Chapter 6

I awoke early in the morning, earlier than usual. Maybe it was the strange bed or it could have been the strange surroundings. It took a minute for everything to come flooding back to me. Remembering everything I saw and everything I did yesterday was like someone throwing a bucket of cold water in my face.

I got up and went to the bathroom. When I did I heard Mr. Barr taking a shower. I went downstairs and made coffee. After going back and forth in my mind I decided to go ahead and make his breakfast. If he didn't want it I could always eat it. And breakfast was one meal I could cook without having to go to cooking school.

He came down just as I was putting his breakfast on the table. He actually smiled!

I found myself blushing, not because I was naked, but because he obviously appreciated my efforts.

I pulled out his chair and finished serving him. I asked if I could have a cup of coffee. He said, "Of course. You may prepare breakfast for yourself if you like."

I smiled and said, "Just coffee. I'm not used to eating. I don't miss food much anymore. But I miss coffee."

He got a funny look on his face. But he didn't say anything.

I poured a cup of coffee and joined him at the table. He finished his bacon and eggs and I asked if he wanted anything else. He shook his head and said, "Thank you. That was very good."

I got up and cleared away his dishes. I was conscious of the way he was watching me but I was beginning to get used to it. I returned to the table, poured us both another cup of coffee and sat down across from him.

He stared at me for a few minutes as if trying to read my mind. I smiled and said, "You're wasting your time. There's nothing there."

He didn't smile. He simply said, "That was my first impression."

There was a long pause and he said, "Don't let it go to your head. But I'm having second thoughts. I'm beginning to wonder if I judged you too harshly."

I sighed and responded quietly, "I wish that I could say you did. But that would be a lie. You were right. All those terrible things you said about me are true. There may be extenuating circumstances here and there along the way. There may be things that I could point to and say, 'That's why I'm so fucked up.' But there was nothing in my life that could excuse the way I've lived my life. An army of people have risen above far worse circumstances than I have lived through and made something of themselves.

"No. I'm exactly who you said I was. I'm exactly what you said I was. But suddenly someone is holding out a straw. I see a way out of being who I have been. I promise you, Mr. Barr. I'm going to grab that straw. I'm going to be someone else. I'm going to be the person you are trying to make me into. I want you to know that I really appreciate this chance. You won't be sorry."

He stared at me for a minute before he said, "I believe you."

For some reason those three words meant a lot to me. He looked at his watch and stood up. He started to leave but turned back and asked, "Aren't you even upset with me for raping your daughter?"

I chuckled and replied, "I know I'm supposed to be. But you have to admit, she's one of the happiest rape victims in the world."

He laughed and added, "Her mother didn't seem too traumatized either."

I blushed again. I said, "I had an epiphany yesterday. And I thought about it long and hard in bed last night. I learned a lot about myself. Thank you, Mr. Barr."

He nodded. Then he said, "Tyler. Call me Tyler."

I felt honored! He asked me to use his first name! I realized how strange my reaction was to such a simple thing. But I didn't give a damn. I grinned from ear to ear and said, "Thank you, Tyler."

He smiled, said goodbye and left for his office.

I cleaned up the kitchen just in time to greet Erin as she came stumbling down the stairs still half asleep. I offered to make her breakfast but she wasn't in the habit of eating either. So we sat together and had a cup of coffee.

It took us several minutes to relax and begin to talk about the things we did yesterday. At first we talked more about our new clothes and the four hours at the spa. She was just as excited after having all night to let everything sink in as she was last night when it was happening.

She loved having a closet full of new clothes. She didn't enjoy the plucking or the electrolysis. But now that it was done she liked the effect. She's glad she experienced it, every bit of it. She didn't have to tell me how much she enjoyed the massage. I was on a table nearby and she was quite vocal during her massage.

But after avoiding the subject for half an hour we were forced to discuss the sex. I needed to know how she felt after she slept on it and had time to think. She experienced a lot of things that no sixteen year old girl should have to experience yesterday. Come to think of it, most grown women would be hard pressed to deal with what those men and Karen did to her yesterday.

Erin was embarrassed to be talking to me about it. But finally she said, "Mom, I know I should be curled up in a ball under my bed right now, crying and trying to get someone to dial 911. But you saw how much I enjoyed the things we did. I must have had a hundred orgasms yesterday!

"And do you want to know a secret? When they led us around that snooty spa naked, and when Karen made us stand around naked in the boutique and try on clothes in the aisle, god! I even came then! I had an orgasm taking off a dress in the aisle of that boutique. I fought it. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. But there was no holding back. I could never live in a nudist camp. I'd walk around all day with two little hard ons!"

She looked down and exclaimed, "Look at them. They're hard now just from thinking about it!"

I looked at her nipples. They were obviously hard as rocks. I walked around the table, bent down and kissed the top of her head and said, "I love you, you little slut."

She laughed and said, "I love you too, mom. I'll take that in the spirit I'm sure it was meant."

I took our coffee cups into the kitchen to clean up. There weren't many dishes so I washed them by hand. I was just finishing up when Karen walked in.

She examined the kitchen. I could see that she approved. She said, "Tyler called me. He told me what you did this morning. You might just be trainable after all."

She smiled when she said it, though. She was teasing. I blushed and replied, "Perhaps, with enough good beatings."

She sent us up to get ready to go out. She ordered Erin to wear one of her school outfits.

Shit! I forgot all about school!

Erin had, too. She has been skipping school a lot lately. She used to be a pretty fair student several years back. But she started losing interest. Unfortunately, as long as she passed I didn't pay much attention. Half the time I didn't even look at the grades on her report card.

It got worse this past year. She was always complaining, justifiably, that she had nothing to wear. All of her clothes were dirty. When I did do laundry she still complained because her clothes were old and shabby and way out of date. The other kids made fun of her because of the way she dressed.

Even if I sympathized there wasn't anything I could do about it. I never had any money. Now she had a wardrobe and apparently she had two guardians that were going to be better parents to her than I ever was.

That sudden realization swept over me like a tidal wave and the shame of it overwhelmed me. I suddenly fell to my knees and covered my face with my hands. I was nearly hysterical.

I'm not sure how long I would have acted out like that if Karen didn't haul off and kick me right in the ass.

I rolled over and looked up at her in shock. She snarled, "Quit feeling sorry for yourself, you selfish bitch! Yeah. You've been a bad mother. Everyone accepts that. Let's see if we can change it. Maybe all you needed was a good kick in the ass to be better at that, too."

They pulled me to my feet and Karen shoved me towards the stairs. I walked ahead of her rubbing my ass and exclaimed under my breath, "That hurt!"

"Yeah. But you had it coming. And you feel better now, don't you?"

I grunted noncommittally.

She laughed and said, "If you really need to have a pity party I'll schedule one for you. Until you get to the party I don't want you dwelling on the past and feeling sorry for yourself. That isn't the way to correct your behavior. So shape up or I'll kick your sexy ass all the way to the principal's office."

It's been seventeen years since I quit school and I still get cold inside at the very mention of the principal's office! Even now I cannot enter a school office without being made to feel like a powerless little girl.

Erin and I hurried along to the bathroom and took a quick shower. Then came the hard part. We got out our new makeup kits and helped each other trying to reproduce the results that the professionals achieved at the spa yesterday.

It wasn't easy. But between us we remembered most of what they taught us. With a little practice it would become more natural, I hope. It took us almost half an hour this first time doing it ourselves. But the results turned out to be pretty impressive.

We went to our room and quickly selected something to wear. That task was easier for Erin. She had a selection of outfits selected for her school wardrobe. They were stylish and attractive. My most conservative dress now was a flirty little summer dress that left little to the imagination.

We dressed quickly. Erin looked like a chic, trendy young coed. I looked like her prostitute mother. Well, maybe not like a prostitute. But I was certainly dressed inappropriately for a visit to the office of a high school.

Karen came in as we were finishing up. She inspected us and approved after touching up one of Erin's eyebrows to even them out.

I apologized for my earlier outburst.

Karen smiled and said, "Don't apologize. It was a sincere expression of the fact that you are aware of what you have been doing wrong and that you want to change. If you continue to progress as quickly as you seem to be you may earn the right to wear a grownup dress before long."

Erin grabbed her book bag and we went out to the car. Karen drove us to the high school. On the way she asked Erin how she felt about everything that happened to her yesterday.

Erin smiled at her in the mirror and said, "Turn around and take me back to the house. I'll show you."

Karen laughed. Then she started asking her about her school work and how much she has missed.

Erin wasn't so flippant about that. These last few years she has put almost no effort into schoolwork. This year she has been on the edge of dropping out all year. Now they are threatening to expel her for low grades and excessive absences. She just turned sixteen and legally she can quit if she wants. And she is old enough to flip hamburgers in a fast food restaurant.

She has gotten very tired of being poor and hungry and she has received no encouragement from me to do the right thing and stay in school. She has been out of school for nearly a week this time, I think. I haven't paid that much attention. And her only excuse is that I'm her mother.

We arrived at school just after the bell rang. The traffic had thinned out and the last of the students were filing in through the large double doors. I looked at that imposing building and I think that I was more nervous than Erin was about going in and facing the responsible adults upon whom the power to decide her future rested.

Karen went into the office with us and asked to speak to the principal. I got a few dirty looks from a couple of the women behind the counter. I wasn't certain if they recognized me or they were showing me how they felt about the way I was dressed.

Several of the women smiled at Karen and said hello to her. That surprised me. She smiled back and addressed them by name. Curious!

A few minutes later we were ushered into the principal's office and joined by one of the school counselors. I got more of those well deserved looks of barely contained disgust from both women.

Karen immediately took charge of the conversation. She explained that Erin was under new management and was about to turn over a new leaf. She also told them that there has been an intervention of sorts. She told them that I was receiving an intense remodeling of my own and would stop being an impediment to my daughter's education.

They looked at me and the inappropriate dress I chose to wear to this meeting and they were skeptical.

Karen started to explain, perhaps even defend me. But before she could speak I spoke for the first time. I said, "Mrs. Chapman, I don't have to tell you that I have been a terrible mother. I have raised my daughter pretty much the way I was raised. I know that's no excuse for my behavior. But it is for her. She's smart. I'm sure you know that. On the report cards that I have bothered to look at the teachers always said that she was intelligent and only needed to apply herself.

"I have always been her biggest problem. I didn't abuse her. And I think she knows that I love her. But I am certainly guilty of neglect. I don't imagine I have to tell you that. I've been a bad parent. But I'm going to change. I know she has missed a lot of school lately ... more than usual I mean. She wants to turn that around. She wants to be a good student now. Karen and Mr. Barr have taken it upon themselves to take care of her and make an attempt at straightening me out. Please, I'm begging you to give her a chance."

There was a look of surprise on the principal's face. She turned to Karen and asked, "Tyler is involved in this?!"

Karen nodded. Then she said, "Yes. He has already hired a couple of very good tutors. She will be brought up to class level before finals. I know that it's too late to raise her grades to an acceptable level. But she is just barely passing and I can promise that she'll do well on her finals. I can also promise that she will not miss any more days of school."

Mrs. Chapman and the counselor looked at each other for a moment. But it looked like Karen had a lot of influence here for some reason. I started to get my hopes up.

Mrs. Chapman ignored me. She sat back in her chair, looking down at the folder containing Erin's records. She didn't open it. She already knew it well. At last she looked up at Karen and said, "Erin has always frustrated me. I taught her when I was teaching elementary school. I was her fourth grade teacher. She was starting to head down the wrong track at that time. I don't think she remembers me."

Erin smiled weakly and quietly said, "Yes, ma'am. I remember."

Mrs. Chapman continued, "She would come to school in dirty, disgraceful clothes and the other children, as children are wont to do, teased her mercilessly. I did what I could to protect her. But there is only so much a teacher can do. I tried talking to ... her mother. I scheduled meeting after meeting but she never showed up. I even tried to talk the principal into calling Social Services to visit the home. I was told to mind my own business.

"It was frustrating because I knew how intelligent Erin is. Her homework was seldom completed. But give her a problem to figure out and she could solve it effortlessly. Ask her to read anything, no matter how far above her grade level and she read it perfectly."

She turned to me and said, "Quite frankly, Mrs. Connolly, I would have loved to kick your ass. That desire has never left me."

I blushed in shame. But I responded, "I wish you had."

The principal turned back to Karen and said, "I owe you and Tyler more than I can ever repay. You saved my daughter when the police were incapable of helping. You saved me, because I could not have gone on if you hadn't done what you did. I would do anything to repay you. But I will be doing this for Erin. Not for you or Tyler. If she is willing to put in the effort to turn herself around I'm more than happy to help her all that I can. It's what I do here, though most of the kids don't realize it."

I exhaled loudly. I had been holding my breath for what must have been a very long time. Everyone looked at me. I blushed and said, "I'm sorry. I just ... I'm sorry."

Mrs. Chapman looked at me for a moment, trying to look inside of my head. Lately it seems like everyone is trying to read my mind.

Karen quietly said, "It isn't entirely her fault. I'm not saying she couldn't have or shouldn't have been a better mother. She most definitely could have. But she was raised the way she was raising her daughter. Someone needed to rap her nose with a rolled up newspaper to get her attention but no one ever did. Tyler has taken it upon himself to get her attention and I think you will notice an immediate improvement in Erin as a result."

Erin was given a note to take to her class and sent on her way. We gave the people in the office our new address and phone number. Then I followed Karen outside. As soon as we left the building, with tears of gratitude running down my cheeks I said, "Thank you. I appreciate what you did, what you are doing for Erin. She has a lot to overcome because of me."

Karen nodded but said only, "You're screwing up your makeup. Dry your eyes."

We returned to Tyler's house where my lessons began. Under Karen's close supervision I removed my dress and began to clean house like I have never cleaned house before. Although the house was already immaculate I was shown how to clean every nook and cranny the right way to keep it that way.

I stopped at lunch time to prepare a light lunch that we ate together. And then there was an embarrassing interruption at two o'clock when the man they hired to teach me to cook came to interview me. I wasn't enrolled in a class. A man would come to the house for two hours once a week to instruct me personally!

He asked me a hundred questions in order to determine what he had to work with. Before he left he asked Karen, "Will she always be dressed this way?"

Karen nodded and said, "If it bothers you, feel free to order her to relieve the tension."

The shock on his face almost made me laugh, despite my own shock at hearing her give him permission to have sex with me.

He looked back and forth between my body and Karen's face before asking, "Really?"

Karen smiled and replied, "Would you feel better if I left the room? You can have her now if you like."

"You don't mind?"

Karen shook her head and replied, "It's part of her job."

He exclaimed breathlessly, "I'll be damned!"

Then he put his briefcase back down on the floor and began unfasten his pants. I probably should have been furious, or at least very embarrassed. But after what I have been through already I was surprised at my own reaction. I was amused and titillated. I actually didn't mind that this man I just met was freeing his cock to have sex with me right here in the living room.

He pulled his pants down to his knees, sat back down and looked at me. I moved closer, watching his eyes as he feasted on my nude body.

He reached up and ran his hand over my body, gently exploring my breast and then quickly sliding down to cup my pussy. I was shocked when his finger entered me and I realized how moist I was down there.