Chapter 21: A Perfect Job for Ruthie

January ended on an ominous note for both Mike and Ruthie.

Mike received an e-mail from his sister Colleen telling him that his parents had held a garage sale and sold off about half of their furniture. Even more disconcerting was the news that Mr. Sinclair had given Mike's sister all of his LP's and instructed her to sell them on the Internet. She found a collector that bought the entire collection, along with the record player. Once the sale was final and the records were shipped to the buyer, Mr. Sinclair told his daughter that she needed to declare the sale as income in her own name and that he would reimburse her if she had to pay any taxes.

Mike talked to Colleen on the phone about what was happening to his parents. She was very worried, especially after disposing the LP's. The collection was one of their father's most prized possessions and would be irreplaceable, but he seemed very glad to be rid of it. At the end of their conversation she commented:

"It's pretty obvious Dad's liquidating. He's trying to get rid of everything in the house that anybody could want. At the rate he's going, I wouldn't put it past him to pawn the car."

While Mike was worrying about his parents' vanishing finances, it seemed that both of Ruthie's parents were determined to pressure her already rattled nerves. During their usual Friday conversation at the end of January, Ruthie's mother relayed several pieces of bad news in a single day: that a cousin in Sinaloa had been murdered and was found hanging from a bridge, that her hours at work had been cut and she probably would have to move to a one-room apartment, and that Gerardo's baby had a genetic problem and was in the hospital.

Worst of all, Ruthie's younger cousin Alex disappeared for several days and then showed up seriously beaten. Ruthie suspected the worst, that Alex had been "jumped" into the gang he was hoping to join. Ruthie's mother doubted that, but admitted that Alex was getting into some serious trouble and his parents were in total denial about it. Anyhow, something was not well between Ruthie's uncle and his wife, because he was gone most of the time. Ruthie suspected her uncle's absence must have been part of the reason he seemed so detached from what was happening to his youngest son.

The problems at home were wearing on Doña Lisette. She was less pleasant to talk to than ever. Her reaction was what Ruthie expected: she assumed that God was angry at her for some reason and it was up to her to figure out what she had done wrong. She speculated over the phone that perhaps her faith was being tested because the "end times" was approaching. Ruthie rolled her eyes, but as always, held her tongue.

Nor was the re-surfacing of Ruthie's father, Jake Burns, doing anything to reduce her anxiety. He talked to her a couple of times and started dropping hints that she needed to leave California and move to Nebraska. On the surface he was trying to be practical, but Ruthie knew that he had an ulterior motive. If he could get his daughter to return to his house, he would have a free babysitter to look after Jake Jr. while he went out with his new girlfriend. Oh yes ... just what Ruthie needed, to go to Lincoln and sit home on the weekends taking care of Debra's kid.

By the end of January, Ruthie dreaded talking to either of her parents. Each was totally screwed up and both were projecting their problems and anxieties onto their daughter through guilt-tripping her. At times Ruthie wished she could somehow force Jake and Lisette to get back together so they make each other's life miserable instead of making hers miserable. More often she just wished they'd both vanish. She was very resentful that life had made her the offspring of such a pair of idiots.

The ominous news from his parents' house prompted Mike to treasure his relationship with Ruthie more than ever. He was careful to make sure that she was always happy with him, even if that meant leaving her alone at times. As much as he would have liked her to be in his room continuously, he tried not to pressure her to come over, knowing that pressuring her to spend time with him would have the opposite result. He understood that he needed to be careful not to smother her or take up too much of her time ... that she needed space and there were times she needed to be by herself. That was the most valuable lesson that he managed to carry away from his relationship with Lisa: that the moment Ruthie felt obligated to spend time with him against her wishes, that would be the beginning of the end of the relationship. She would have to want to spend time with him. He was smart enough to know that.

Although she spent somewhat less time with him than she had the previous semester, Ruthie still was with Mike a lot and continued to rely on him for transportation, walking her back and forth to the library after dark, and as a companion during most of her meals. He also remained the only person with whom she really could have a conversation and who could help keep her thoughts grounded in reality. Mike's willingness to hear Ruthie out was especially important any day she had talked to either of her parents, because she suffered mood swings and depression after hanging up. It was only because of Mike that Ruthie could keep her anxiety attacks under control.

During the first month of the semester, Ruthie and Jen established their routine in the room. The novelty of being naked around Jen wore off within a couple of days; Ruthie was able to be naked in her side of the room as much as she wanted and not have to worry about disapproving stares or unpleasant comments. She felt very grateful to have a roommate around whom she could be herself.

Jen's habit of hanging out in the room wearing only a shirt helped Ruthie feel at ease being totally nude. Jen's attitude about nudity was much more casual than Ruthie's. Ruthie was a true nudist, determined to be naked as much as possible, just for the sake of being naked. Even if she was cold or there was risk involved, she still wanted to be naked. For Jen the issue was simply a matter of comfort. She had no particular desire to be outside in the nude, using a swimming suit did not bother her, and she did wear her "knickers" during the day. At the beginning Ruthie described some of her streaking adventures to her roommate. Jen responded that she had never streaked just for the fun of it. Two years before she once rode on her bicycle "starkers" as part of a demonstration against global warming, but she was with a bunch of other people and the protest only lasted a few minutes. She found Ruthie's fascination with having nude outdoor adventures very odd, but had the courtesy not to criticize.

Most nights the two roommates had their "unwinding time" ritual. Ruthie noticed that Jen always looking towards the left when she stood at the window. Jen once explained that she was looking across the Pacific Ocean towards her home in New Zealand. She was so much anticipating going back. From what her roommate had told Ruthie about the country, she could certainly understand why. From way Jen had described New Zealand, it sounded like a true paradise compared to the crowded state of California.

During their "unwinding time" Ruthie never wore any clothing, even if she was cold. Jen usually wore just her t-shirt. If it was warm enough sometimes she stood at the window fully nude, which for Ruthie was a treat. Jen always stood with her hands or elbows on the windowsill. She leaned over and supported her weight with her arms.

As she sat on the bed just a few feet behind Jen, Ruthie's eyes usually were fixed on her roommate's large bare bottom. She never tired of looking at Jen's attractive figure. She loved studying Jen's butt whenever she had her back turned, not just during "unwinding time".

Jen always covered herself up with a blanket when she went to bed. However, she was a restless sleeper that moved about a lot in the night. Normally within an hour or so she had the covers wadded up and pushed to the floor. Ruthie suspected that was why she normally wore the t-shirt to sleep in, to avoid waking up cold in the middle of the night after she uncovered herself.

The room was dimly lit when they slept, because Jen liked having a nightlight near the door in case she needed to go to the bathroom. If Ruthie woke up in the middle of the night, she could stare at her roommate as much as she wanted in the faint illumination coming from the nightlight. Often, if Jen was sleeping with her back towards Ruthie, the freshman gently rubbed her clit and indulged in fantasy. There were times she imagined herself fondling and kissing those bottom-cheeks. She wanted to rub her face against Jen's backside, to feel the smooth soft skin of those lovely large mounds of flesh. There were times she fantasized about Jen sitting in a chair and making Ruthie kneel in front, instructing her to kiss the insides of her thick thighs and then ... slowly she would guide the freshman's face closer and closer to her lovely vulva...

"You be a good girl now, and make me cum..."

Ruthie rubbed herself faster and faster. Cum ... oh yes ... cum ... cum...

She always felt very guilty afterwards. It was a good thing Mike was not present to see what she was doing.

In spite of being a compatible roommate, Jen was not a gregarious person. It was clear that she never would warm up to Ruthie, although she always tried to treat her with respect. To some extent Jen indulged the freshman by letting her talk, which took up some of her time. She rightly saw Ruthie as a very vulnerable girl who had been traumatized by the atrocious treatment she had received the previous semester from Shannon. Even though Jen did not want Ruthie as a close friend, she did feel that Ruthie deserved to be treated decently.

There were times, however, when the girl's chatting about her major and her barista job got on her roommate's nerves. By the beginning of February Jen was just starting to contemplate how she could get Ruthie to talk less without hurting her feelings too badly. A nice option would be to see if there was any way she could get her to fill up some spare time in the afternoons and have her out of the room.

It turned out there was a possible solution. Jen was working as an assistant for one of the art department instructors and knew that he was looking for a student to pose for two of his classes: both of them life-drawing courses for beginners. There happened to be a shortage of models that semester because the Art Department had cut over-time and health benefits at the beginning of January, and several of the models working in the fall had quit to look for other jobs. That meant if Ruthie wanted, she could earn some additional money working for the art department.

Jen brought up the modeling job to Ruthie over lunch. She correctly assumed her roommate would be interested in any job that would actually pay her to not wear any clothing. It turned out there would be no conflict between Ruthie's class schedule and the hours she would be working in the art building. As soon as they were done eating, Jen suggested going over to the art building and introducing Ruthie to the art instructor. Ruthie agreed. Yes, she was very interested indeed.

Jen called the professor to make sure he was in his office and to give him the good news. "I think I found a model for you."

"Great! For which class?"

"Both. I'm bringing her over right now."

"Jen, you're the best!"

Upon overhearing that exchange, Ruthie realized she had just committed herself without knowing any details about her new job, not even how much she would be earning.

Jen led Ruthie into the art building and introduced her to an ordinary-looking man in his late 40s'. Ruthie noticed his eyes scanning her body with an approving expression. He asked her some questions about her experience with art, to which Ruthie admitted that she had no direct experience at all, just a few miscellaneous details picked up from her readings of ancient history and biblical studies. The professor then asked her how she felt about her body and nudity. Ruthie's heart pounded when she responded that she enjoyed being naked and was used to not wearing any clothing when alone at home.

"Well, this'll be a bit different. You won't be alone and you won't be at home. So you think you can handle it?"

"I don't see why not. I'd think it'd be kinda fun."

Ruthie's prospective boss directed her to a large classroom with about 40 easels. There were very large windows around the room that overlooked some tennis courts and a green space. There were no curtains on the windows, so anyone modeling would be in plain sight of people in the green space, especially at night. In the middle of the room there was a raised wooden platform that was about 2 feet higher than the floor. The professor pointed at it.

"This is the models' platform ... where you'll be spending most of your time working, at least for the next month. If the weather warms up in time, I might ask you to pose outside. So you're still sure you can handle it?"

"I don't see why not."

"One detail. We don't provide robes. You'll have to bring your own robe for breaks."

"I don't have a robe, but that'll be OK."