Rebuilding Eden Ch. 04

"And you want to bring Trev along with you on this?"

"Smart naked dude caught that. Yep. Trev may not want to leave his paper job. Dunno. But he could help with grounds and maintenance. He actually is really good with repairing broken shit."

Strangely, I thought these two could work out, if we can control for language and sexual innuendo. "So why do you want to leave your current jobs? Chels, sounds like you want to work with kids, families, that sort of thing." Chels nodded her head and smiled affirming that.

"That's right. Love the idea of that."

I nodded, "but Kel, as for you, why change to here? Isn't this the same as a car dealership? And we may not be able to pay as well."

She looked uncomfortable for a moment. She then looked me in the eye, "money doesn't matter that much, dude. I hate the dealership. I like people - meeting new people, seeing people, chatting with people - so you would think that a dealership would be awesome. But no. Those sales guys there are old uber-creepy asses. Kinda make my skin crawl."

"They treat you poorly?"

She paused as she looked away. I glanced at Chels who seemed uncharacteristically sober, and even very mature, supportively looking at her friend, even putting her hand on Kel's shoulder.

Then Kel looked me right in the eyes again and got serious. "This is the fourth time we have spoken, you and me. The first time and this time, my girls were fully on display." With that comment she cupped the underside of her breasts, lifting them, actually really putting them on display, locking eyes with me as if to make sure I understood.

"Not once have you looked at them, at least that I could see. When you talk to me, today and during your open house, you talk to my eyes." She stared at me again for a moment as if to emphasize the point. "My boobs are covered every day there and that's the only place they speak to. They stare at them. They make dumb-ass annoying comments. Kinda fuckin' tired of it, y'know? I know they are pretty big and all, but I am more than my boobs, man."

"You absolutely are."

And that is how we hired our first employees - a chatty front desk girl who could turn on polite on a dime, an equally chatty assistant activities girl who we were working with to control language, and the nearly mute part-time maintenance grounds guy.

++++

Cami and I finally had a chance to sit down and talk about Jeanette and Gary. She reassured me that Beth and she were ok with it, well at least in theory. Once it happened, we all needed to re-evaluate the situation, including Gary and Jeanette.

The conversation quickly turned to her parents. She seemed much more stressed about it as opposed to me having sex with Jeanette. I suppose it sort of made sense.

She snuggled up to me and spilled out all of her fears. Her dad would look at her with disappointment. Her mom would think she is a slut. Her parents would not want her to ever speak to them again - she already felt this overwhelming loneliness and sadness at the thought. Elise seemed to have come to accept it, but she wasn't sure how her parents would do. And with a lack of information, the narrative she was constructing was terribly frightening.

Elise planned to return about the same time as her parents so she could be a support for her sister. Cami explained that she initially thought Elise would PROBABLY come around, but she wasn't sure. And lo and behold, it took about an hour for Elise to fully support her sister's choices and happiness. But Cami had initially held off telling Elise as she was more afraid that Elise would then push Cami to tell her parents. Which of course is exactly what happened. But no matter the outcome, it was the right choice.

That night, the night before her parents were going to arrive, Beth and I put Cami between us in the bed and we both just held her. She was restless, so we all were.

At about 10 in the morning, their SUV pulled up outside. We had planned for Cami to meet them with Elise in tow, who had arrived an hour earlier. Beth and I would wait in the lodge and eventually come out once Cami signaled for us to do that.

Jeanette even came over that morning and sat with us, to be a moral support for Cami. Our little family had really formed.

Cami walked out to them, naked as usual, with Elise beside her in t-shirt and shorts. Elise, who seemed to have no intention of adopting her sister's lifestyle choices, may eventually convert over, but it wasn't about her. It was about Cami inviting her parents into her world - to be accepted and supported by them.

We could not hear the conversation, but the body language and facial expressions told us everything we needed to know. Acceptance and support were not going to happen that day.

Elise stood right next to Cami as Cami spoke to her increasingly very upset parents. I could see the initial reaction shift from shock to anger. And seemingly it settled on disgust in her father's face. Her mother seemed somewhat quiet, but obviously not supportive of Cami.

Elise then jumped into the fray, defending her sister, yelling at her father. Cami jumped back in. I couldn't see tears from our vantage point, but I could tell they were there. Maybe even for Elise too. I got up to move to the door.

"No Tom. Please. You will only make it much worse. Elise is there." Beth's eyes pleaded with me as much as her voice did. I silently nodded and sat down again. Beth was right of course, but it still killed me to watch her in pain. Beth held my hand as we watched, with me feeling very helpless.

Then Elise did something I did not expect. She very quickly, in a frenzied state of frustration, stripped out of her clothes, with panties, bra, t-shirt, and shorts all quickly piling up at her feet. Her mother seemed to fall apart at that point, covering her face. Her father's face turned bright red. And a very naked Elise then reached out and held Cami's hand in obvious solidarity.

Elise just became one of my favorite people. I almost teared up.

After more heated exchanges between Elise and Cami on one side and their father on the other, he finally threw his hands up in the air, yelled at their mother, they both got into the car and drove away.

Elise immediately brought her sister into a deep long-lasting hug and just held her as Cami seemed to be sobbing while being physically and emotionally supported by her sister.

Beth and I quickly walked out, Jeanette right behind us.

Both Elise's and Cami's eyes were red and puffy.

"I am so sorry . .." I began. Cami looked at me, came over and just fell into my arms.

"Not anyone's fault." She said quietly, voice cracking, into my neck. "It had to eventually happen."

Elise stood uncomfortably behind her, casually putting her arms over her naked form hiding some of herself from view. Beth saw her, walked to her, and put her arm around Elise's back. Elise gave a sad smile in appreciation.

Elise left her pile of clothes in the grass in front of the lodge - either forgotten or just ignored - as we all moved into the lodge. Everyone hugged Cami again, and then she sat beside Beth who wrapped her arms around her.

Every person needs their mother's comfort. In this case, her mother was the one who caused the pain, so Beth stepped into that role. As weird as our situation was, somehow this seemed very much exactly as it should be - Beth holding a crumbling Cami.

We sat in silence for a few moments.

"The fucking bastard," Elise mumbled.

We sat for maybe five more minutes, before Cami spoke.

"I am going to lay down for a bit." She got up and walked over to Elise, who immediately got up.

"I love you," Elise said.

"I know. I love you too." She then added, "and thank you so much."

"I will always be there," Elise merely replied, barely controlled emotion etched on both of their faces.

Cami came to me, kissed my cheek, and then started walking towards the stairs. Beth got up and walked with her.

"Beth, please know I really can't bring myself to talk about anything right now."

"Who said anything about talking?" She smiled warmly at her, wrapped her arm around Cami's shoulders and walked up with her.

Jeanette finally said her goodbyes, even hugging slightly uncomfortable Elise in emotional support, and then headed out.

Elise sat back down, still looking uncomfortable.

"Would you like me to get your clothing?" I asked.

She smiled at me, "no thank you." She added, "I am doing this for Cami. She is one thousand times more important than the very real embarrassment I am feeling right now."

I nodded, "You do not need my approval when you support your sister like you did, but you have my eternal admiration and appreciation." She smiled a sad smile and nodded.

"And incidentally you have nothing to be embarrassed about."

She looked at me bemused. "Oh I believe I really do."

"Why?" I asked, remaining seated across from her.

Her look then shifted to puzzled, "because I am naked."

"Are you embarrassed because you are naked, or because I am here and can see you naked?"

She sat for a moment.

"I guess because you can see me naked."

"I see. But you look fantastic like this." I shrugged. Hopefully I didn't just creep her out.

She sighed, "Thank you for your words, but that said, I am not as pretty as . . ."

"Why do all women compare themselves to other women?" I interrupted, a little exasperated. "I can say with all honesty, I prefer people, my friends, others naked. And it is not just so I can ogle others sexually, but there is just something really lovely about someone in their natural state. They are beautiful just as they are. Free. Not hidden."

She seemed to be processing so I continued.

"Case in point, I met this woman in her seventies, fully clothed, just a few weeks ago. I then saw her about a week later completely naked. My opinion of her did not change. She didn't look like a supermodel, but honestly I really preferred that she did not. I preferred that she just be herself. Charlotte is Charlotte, naked or clothed."

I then leaned forward for emphasis. "And you? Would it help for you to know that when we first met, your clothes on and everything, I thought you were a very pretty woman? And now that you are letting me see you without your clothes I still think you are a very pretty woman, actually I think even prettier. I prefer you like this, really."

She seemed to be at a loss for words, "but you do what is comfortable for you. Just note, I am a big fan of the beautiful all natural you."

She smiled, "I see what Cami sees in you now." She shook her head, "and thank you. I honestly believe you, I think."

"You should. I don't just say stuff." I then added, "so she told you about us?"

She intentionally dropped her arms at this point and seemed slightly more relaxed. Elise was a bit thicker than Cami, curvier for sure. Her breasts were much larger, as large as Beth's, with large nipples. She carried more weight around her middle, her hips, her thighs. She had the same body type as Kels. I loved her look - her pretty face, her natural body.

I brought myself out of admiring the artwork that was the physical Elise as she answered.

"Oh yes, she told me about a lot of things. I couldn't believe half of it, but I am seeing it all now in action. Beth going upstairs to comfort her. You obviously really caring for her." She paused again, "and of course seeing all of that and having my dad blow a gasket because one of his daughters found something that makes her happy, and my mom remaining silent in horror as she agreed with him, well I see why Cami is happy here. No judgment."

"No judgment," I agreed. "So you are remaining unclothed for now?"

"For now. In solidarity with Cami." She looked thoughtful, "what kind of nudism is it when you don't want to be naked in public necessarily but don't mind being naked with close friends and family?"

++++

Elise stayed that night. When I went upstairs, Cami was asleep. She must have been exhausted. Beth was holding her as the large spoon while Cami seemed to be hugging Beth's arm close to her. I slid in front of Cami and drifted off.

The next morning, I was the last to get up. Elise was still naked that morning but got dressed shortly before leaving. Tearful goodbyes followed between the sisters, with promises of very frequent phone calls in the coming days.

If anything, the trauma caused the sisters to become even closer. Cami reflected on how the moment that Elise stripped down, that she never felt as close to Elise as she had at that moment. It was an act of love that spoke to her more than any words.

We met with the longshore girls, Kel and Chels, to work through the cleaning process, the front desk duties, and brainstorm some activities for Cami and Chels to offer for families. The resulting list was long and both women were very excited.

Cami and Chels got along well and Kel seemed to fit in just fine too, kinda seeming to start to look to Beth as a bit of a mentor. That worked out great as those girls would best be suited to be split between the older woman, mostly for organizational reasons. Beth had emerged as the business person, so Kel's role in check-in and front desk sat squarely with her. Chels' doing more programmatic and recreational things aligned her well with Cami, who had quickly shifted to managing fun and engaging activities for guests.

Regardless of where the two girls were assigned, before long, the daughterless Beth probably was going to have three unofficial daughters in the younger girls and Cami.

Both Kel and Chels seemed to really fit into our little family. I saw this shift in the girls from salty and sarcastic to appearing to really enjoy themselves. Especially in Chels, who seemed to really come into her own at Eden Woods.

Trev planned to come out a handful of days a month to help repair and maintain things around the camp, but he was not going to leave his main job. I understood that he earned benefits at his company, and so I greatly respected the decision to stay there. Smart young man. Of course I learned all of this from Kel as the boy barely said anything any time I saw him..

"Hey naked boss, I have a question," Chels and I had just finished setting up her children's craft area in a newly built little shelter, a little up the hill from the water, near the lodge. The trees surrounded the shelter which helped with preventing too much direct sunshine for the little ones as they worked through their projects.

Chels had been coming over quite regularly to organize both her yoga/ exercise space and her kids crafts, planned-out games, and other activities. We actually decided to have Lawrence come back out and landscape this little area for both of them, not far apart - a flat roomy grassy area sitting on a small rise above the lake surrounded by some lovely flower beds for the exercise/ yoga spot and a small shelter with picnic tables for the children's craft area.

Beth and Chels had gone shopping the day before to really make sure we had some fun things for kids to do during the day and honestly, Beth seemed very impressed as the usually salty pretty inappropriate Chels suddenly shifted into being thoughtful and creative as she thought ahead to what kids might enjoy. Her ideas were fantastic. Her sales pitch on the Eden Kids program really bowled us over. Very impressive and well thought out.

"Sure Chels, what's up?" I had perched on one of the picnic tables in the small shelter, which incidentally we chose to not be made of actual wood but rather a safe and non-splintery composite material. No one wants little wooden splinters in their ass. Well no one except those with a kink for pain.

She actually stood uncomfortably in front of me, a very different look for her. I got the feeling Chels had really mastered the art of wearing masks to hide some of what troubled her. Maybe even only Kel knew the real her.

"I have really only have ever had one job, the hair place, and the requirement there is to ask if the customers are pleased with everything when I am done. So I kinda know whether they are happy or think I did a shit job . . . sorry, like bad job with their hair." She had been practicing self-censoring at our prompting, and it was working. Mostly. "Know what I mean?"

I nodded and smiled, "so far, yes."

"Right, well I actually care more about here than there, or any other places really," she muttered the last bit. "And I want to please . . . like all of you. Because I like working here." She looked so uncharacteristically uncomfortable at this point. Maybe it was the being serious thing, as she and Kel 90% of the time acted like fun-loving teenage girls. Or maybe it was just that she never got vulnerable in front of anyone. "And I like you and the hot MILF and Cami. You have been nice. Super nice. And I don't want this to get fucked up . . . like screwed up like most other things I do or am part of, you know?"

"Are you asking if I am pleased with what you have been doing so far?"

She just nodded, looking very nervous.

"Chels, I honestly had my reservations about you and Kel, but I can see you care about doing a good job. You share our mission here - to make a very happy place for people who come here. You are obviously putting your all into this job and I love seeing how much you fit into the way we do things, Chels. I could not be more pleased."

She didn't smile, but just stoically listened.

"We are so glad you decided to join us on this, Chels. You are a hard worker, and such a creative and intelligent contributor to Eden Woods," I hesitated for a moment as what I was thinking felt a little over the line or something but decided to go ahead anyway. I am the new evangelist for total honesty after all. Hopefully she would take it the right way.

I reached out and held her hand for a moment, "And I could not be prouder of you, Chelsea. I love how you have become a part of my family here."

She looked at me, not quite shocked but maybe speechless, then wiped a tear from her eye, nodded her head, and walked to the edge of the shelter, "thanks Tom. Um glad. Gotta go now." Her voice cracked a little as she tried to leave, less than gracefully.

Finally free of the shelter, she quickly walked away.

Of course I was worried about her, so I started to follow her. Eventually I stopped and I stood watching her disappear into the woods, down a path. Going into the woods probably meant she wanted to be alone. All of the women in my life used that path for that purpose.

"All ok, boss?" Kel had walked behind me. She looked concerned.

"I don't know. Worried I said the wrong thing to your friend just now."

"What didja say?" Kel seemed to be feeling me out, maybe having noticed Chels leaving first. Maybe she even watched the whole thing.

"She asked me if she was doing a good job here." She nodded and motioned for me to continue. "And I told her we were happy that she came on staff, that she was doing great, that I was proud of her work, and that I was happy that you two had become part of our family here."

"Oh." Kel looked like she was processing, but she had a little bit of a sad look to her. I apparently had done something wrong.

"I honestly didn't say anything bad, I don't think, but maybe I did. I mean I only said positive things because I only feel positive things, about her and you really." She nodded seriously as she listened. "I honestly am going over the conversation in my mind and . . . "

"Tom," Kel was giving me a sad smile, stepped towards me and out of the blue gave me a hug. This was not Kel. Or the usual Kel. She pressed her entire body into mine, in an affectionate platonic sort of way.

"The only thing you did wrong is that she is not used to people being so supportive."

"If she doesn't like to hear . . ."