Well Made and Enduring Pt. 03

On the fundraising side, a surprising amount of money had come in the form of small donations. Primary schools and scout troops held collections and donation jars were placed in stores and restaurants. This money was going to establishing Cloudrest as a recognized historical site. Like many obvious things, it simply needed the right people to notice, such as the Governor. Other money came from corporate sponsorships and Elspeth was actively looking for nontraditional methods.

It was a challenge. For example, HGTV was negotiating to do a whole season of room design competitions, but the bare bones of the house were still in the demolition phase. There was interest in doing lumberjack competitions, felling some of the many marked trees, but someone would have to clear the competition area and deal with the tree once it was down. Mixed in with all of this were requests to do more mundane things like count the trees and the fish in the river.

It came as a shock one day, that Elspeth realized she was enjoying it all.

Chapter 14: Going Solo

Naturally, it was too good to last. Elspeth could see the signs as they came, meaning when Dr. Richards arrived. It started right after the election. Dr. Richards was a bit manic preparing for her first City Council meeting. Two weeks later, for the second meeting, it was worse. At the end of March, Dr. Richards collected Elspeth and headed to Boston for some team building. By itself, that was a story worth telling.

Dr. Richards had spent a day in Concord reorganizing things just before the second Council meeting. After two weeks in Boston, she drove up to Nashua and spent half a day buying things like an old SUV and a boat with a trailer. That she never went to see Cloudrest was telling. Instead, she took Elspeth to meet the available members of FDC's Boston branch at Fenway Park. Elspeth had been there once or twice, probably twice, so it was not a new experience. Not quite.

The Irish style bar was old hat. Dr. Richards and Elspeth had conducted business in half a dozen of them during the South Boston negotiations. In this bar, Elspeth spent the time sipping white wine and watching Dr. Richards watch her people. After years of practice, Elspeth could almost read what was going on in Dr. Richards' head. It was a shock when Elspeth realized that the person Dr. Richards wanted to talk with was not present. That could only mean Veronica.

Sure enough, the next day Dr. Richards contacted Vivian and Veronica for another meeting. This one proved to be newsworthy―literally. The meeting was at the Union St. Oyster Bar, near the Capital. Before 1960, The Kennedy brothers had a regular booth, so politics was in the air. Politics attracts political reporters and this was no exception. Elspeth soon realized that she was one of the ones the reporters were homing on. This was a new and unwelcome experience.

A tray of oysters on half-shell had just arrived when the first pair of reporters approached. Vivian was surprised, but neither Dr. Richards nor Veronica even twitched. Instead, Dr. Richards finished an oyster, set the shell in the discard pile, and turned to handle the Press. The sight of Dr. Richards' casual assumption of her authority made something deep within Elspeth clench a little.

Dr. Richards told the reporters to go play pool while her group ate dinner. Afterward, she would play one―only one―of them for the right to a quick interview. For Elspeth, the tension ruined the taste of food but heightened other hungers. Politics is about power and Dr. Richards personified power for Elspeth.

Half an hour later, Dr. Richards played a game of 9-ball with a reporter named Brighton Bartkowski. She was good, but he was a bit better, at least with a cue. The interview was strictly softballs. B Bart did not even mention the wedding until the interview was over and the camera put away. Elspeth lingered just long enough to tell him that this should have been his lead question.

When they returned to the office, Dr. Richards announced a meeting at ten o'clock the next morning. In addition to Vivian, Veronica, and Harold Johnson from Boston, Elspeth would attend, as would Doris Miller and Howard Cockerham from Concord. The gist of the meeting took only seconds to unfold―Dr. Richards was creating a limited partnership, with the six of them serving as officers.

From that simple beginning, structure emerged. Concord would have two branches, legal and lobbying, with a third in Manchester, civil consulting. Boston would have a new lobbying division, a different sort of legal, statistical consulting, and security. Finally, Nashua would have a small division for Dr. Richards' personal projects. Hammering out the rough details took several hours, barely stopping for pizza at one o'clock.

It would have gone on past six, except Dr. Richards called a halt. She claimed that they had a good start and details would take time. She wished them all luck in setting things up. As she said this, Dr. Richards started passing out envelopes. They contained rough by-laws to discuss in the first biannual meeting in May.

Alarms were going off in Elspeth's head. Sure enough, when she checked the list of officers and found they each held five percent of the company. Elspeth looked up and saw Dr. Richards watching. A simple shake of the head answered all of Elspeth's questions. Instead, they went to Dr. Richards' waiting car.

The rest of the evening was intensely physical. Now that Dr. Richards had a driver, she and Elspeth could sit together in the back seat. As soon as the doors closed, Elspeth handed over her panties. Smiling Dr. Richards put them in her purse but did not touch Elspeth at all. Instead, she had Elspeth sit correctly―feet on the floor, back straight, knees together, hands in lap, eyes forward―all the way home.

Dr. Richards was behind her driver, so he could not see anything, but Elspeth could just see something in the corner of her eye. Dr. Richards used her tablet with the right hand, but the left was under her skirt. The drive only took an hour, but Elspeth's goose was thoroughly cooked by the time the car pulled in front of the apartment building.

Johnson Lee gave Elspeth a wink as he helped her from the car. Dr. Richards told him that he could stay out because she intended to sleep in. Elspeth's knees were so weak she had trouble following Dr. Richards into the building, one space to Dr. Richards' left and two paces behind. In the elevator, Elspeth kept her heels together, hands clasped behind her back, shoulders back and eyes down.

In the apartment, Dr. Richards indicated a place on the living room floor. There, Elspeth waited, maintaining the same posture, while Dr. Richards changed clothes and visited the restroom. When she returned, Dr. Richards stood so close in front, that Elspeth could make out a bit of musk. Reaching around, Dr. Richards tapped Elspeth's elbow. Understanding, Elspeth brought her hands up to grasp opposite elbows. She did nothing else, though her breath rate increased. This posture was not one of an obedient schoolgirl, but that of a submissive.

Turning, Dr. Richards beckoned Elspeth to follow. As they moved to the restroom, Elspeth flushed as she realized that she would not be allowed to unclasp her hands for the necessary functions. Sure enough, Dr. Richards raised Elspeth's skirt so that she could sit. Patiently, Dr. Richards watched while Elspeth did her business, all her business.

Once finished Dr. Richards had Elspeth stand and bend over. Patting the urine dry was a little thing, but several handfuls of tissue were needed to clean the bowel movement. Next came a series of wet-wipes. While thoroughly cleaning Elspeth's backside, Dr. Richard's hands lingered at Elspeth's anus, then pressed a damp tissue into the pucker far enough for Elspeth to feel the chill. It was only a moment, but Elspeth's face felt like it was on fire, which amplified the shock of cold lotion.

Elspeth was beginning to feel the strain from being bent over, but Dr. Richards took her time applying a good deal of lotion on and between Elspeth's ass cheeks, finishing by rimming the anus with a fingernail. That cued Elspeth that the lotion was also going to be lubrication, as it was, followed by a string of anal beads.

During this process, Elspeth thought of Christine Collingsworth, locked her jaws, and struggled to keep still and silent. Finally, Dr. Richards allowed Elspeth to stand erect, only to spread her legs and receive a large pair of Kegel balls. No lubrication was needed for these. Indeed they were heavy enough that Elspeth needed to clench her vaginal muscles to prevent the balls from falling out.

Dr. Richards led her to a straight back chair in the dining area. Just to one side was a small round pillow. Dr. Richards sat and indicated her lap. Elspeth knelt on the pillow and lay on the lap, arms still held behind. With her left hand, Dr. Richards leaned over, picked up the hem of Elspeth's skirt, and grasped it and both of Elspeth's forearms. The right hand stroked Elspeth's exposed derriere. Dr. Richards spoke the first word either had said since Boston, "Count."

Elspeth almost lost control on the first swat. As it was, the word, "One" came out in three syllables. Dr. Richards chuckled, to Elspeth's chagrin. It made her unready for the next swat, which came up rather than down. The Kegel balls moved, causing Elspeth to drop the count. Dr. Richards tsked as she continued with two quick slaps on the left and right sides. Elspeth barely gasped out, "One." before the second arrived and, "Two." on an inhale.

At the tenth swat, Dr. Richards said, "Come." Elspeth was just starting to quiver when the string of balls started popping out of her anus. At that point, Elspeth lost it and the world spun to black. It was almost a minute later that she returned to consciousness. With one hand, Dr. Richards was stroking her hair and with the other, she was poking the Kegel balls. Dr. Richards said, "April fools." It was April second, but Elspeth understood completely.

For the next two hours, as Elspeth serviced Dr. Richards, the Kegel balls were a constant presence. Every once in a while, Dr. Richards would stick a finger in, to test the temperature. When Elspeth was about to collapse, Dr. Richards had Elspeth slide halfway off the bed and put her head on the floor. Against Gravity, Elspeth had to force the heavy Kegal balls out.

The first was not too bad, but the second was a major effort. Elspeth almost passed out from the strain and the blood running to her head. Fortunately, Dr. Richards pulled her back into the bed and they both slept. In her dreams, Elspeth felt warm and comforted, but with aching breasts. She awoke to find Dr. Richards playing with her nipples.

After breakfast, Dr. Richards bound Elspeth's breasts with a figure eight of rope. Onto the upright nipples, Dr. Richards fastened a pair of round dial clamps. This was done in the bathroom, so Elspeth could see her breasts swell and turn purplish. Dr. Richards tested the sensitivity with the point of a fingernail. The breasts were bad enough, but the ends of Elspeth's nipples were insanely sensitive.

Dr. Richards chose a russet linen top for her. The rough fabric was maddening every time Elspeth moved, but the image in the mirror only looked like she was wearing a lifting bra. The pointed nipples did not show through the fabric. This was important because Dr. Richards gave Elspeth a long shopping list. She would be out and about for hours. Almost as an afterthought, Dr. Richards reinserted the Kegel balls.

The entire day was a trial. Dr. Richards was going to her family home in New Jersey, which was almost five hours each direction if the traffic was light. Elspeth's workload could almost fill the time, even without the shopping. Since it was a weekend, much of the normal business could reasonably be deferred. However, the shopping list was eclectic. In addition to the usual business and home supplies, there were things like a portable water filtration system, contour maps of Cloudrest and vicinity, and a solar battery charger.

Moving was an issue because of the Kegel balls and her tender nipples. Elspeth spent much of the day in her car, returning messages and trying to find everything with as few stops as possible. It was a revelation when she realized that many of the items could be found in a sporting goods store. Putting the supplies together with a recently purchased boat, Elspeth realized that Dr. Richards was planning to camp out at Cloudrest.

With this in mind, Elspeth began preparations for an extended period with Dr. Richards out of touch. As before, when Dr. Richards was away, the usual answer was sufficient―do it the way she would want it if she were here. For everything else, Elspeth made a list. From this, she culled a shorter list to actually ask about.

With a sense of accomplishment, Elspeth decided to try something she had heard about in college. She carried a load of laundry to the basement and loaded a machine. She perched on it, returning personal email, while the clothes washed. Each change of cycle caused a jerk, which the Kegel balls amplified. That was nothing compared to the spin cycle. Elspeth let the vibrations wrap around her as she stroked her tender nipples through the top. The jerk when the cycle ended put her over the top.

Elspeth imagined another woman, a tenant with a laundry basket full of clothes. Her eyes were wide and her mouth open. Felling languid and a bit slutty, Elspeth smiled and undid the buttons of her top. The woman gasped as Elspeth opened the top, showing her purple breasts and dark red nipple points. The woman set her laundry aside to reach a hand toward them. Elspeth smiled encouragingly, then winced as the first contact was too rough.

It did not take long for things to resolve. As before, the cycle change caused a jolt. Elspeth melted into the imagined woman's touch, accentuated by the Kegel balls and the final spin cycle. Thus, Elspeth created Kirsten. The name was enough like Christine to cause Elspeth to smile. They could discuss it later, over tea in Kirsten's apartment. Elspeth could even lift her skirt and allow Kirsten to touch the Kegel balls.

That would come later because Dr. Richards called to ask if Elspeth had eaten. Smiling at possible sexual wordplay on eating, Elspeth said she had not. Dr. Richards promised to bring Chinese food, so Elspeth had time to take her leave. Kirsten worked as a secretary, but the next day was Sunday and Dr. Richards would be gone, so...

Elspeth was still spinning the fantasy when she fell asleep.

Chapter 15: While the Cat's Away...

Dr. Richards arrived with a familiar face. The girl's name was Sarah Beiler. She was one of the Amish girls that stayed on after the wedding. The Amish called it Rumspringa, the time away from the community. It was a rite-of-passage, something a social science major like Elspeth well understood. It also made perfect sense. If Dr. Richards was going to rough it at Cloudrest, two is much safer than one.

Sure enough, Monday morning Dr. Richards and Sarah left in the SUV while Johnson took the Infiniti back to New Jersey. Elspeth did her job, prepared for the inevitable questions directed to Dr. Richards, and hunkered down for the storm. It did not even take a day. By six o'clock, Elspeth was ready to swear off business. She set the phone to auto-reply and turned off the computer.

Elspeth's problem was that she wanted to get back to her fantasy about Kirsten, but the mood was not right. Elspeth could insert the Kegel balls, do exercises to stir them around, visualize how Kirsten looked, what scent she was wearing, how she bit her lip when she was preoccupied. What Elspeth could not manage was getting into the headspace where fondling herself felt like a lover's touch.

Still, it was an image worth preserving. Sighing in frustration, Elspeth pulled out her laptop and described the scene from the previous day. That led to describing a new scene, taking place right then, in a different apartment. It wasn't the same as exposing herself in the public laundry, but it was differently stimulating to flesh out a character and build a situation.

Before Elspeth realized it, several hours had gone by. When Mother Nature's call could no longer be ignored, she set the computer aside and went about her morning routine, even though it was two o'clock in the afternoon. Muesli porridge also works for lunch, if there is enough of it. It was past five when Elspeth reread her work. What had begun with a simple physical description of a fictional lover had grown into 20 pages of gibberish.

Elspeth was an Ivy League PhD. She knew dreck when she reread it. Yet, something stayed her hand as she moved to delete it all. On her third reading, she recognized worthwhile elements. Opening a notebook function, Elspeth started to extract a character and setting from her earlier flow of consciousness writing. Twenty pages quickly boiled down to four pages of notes in outline form. Starting from the supposed meeting in the laundry, Elspeth began to write.

The story came out at 2800 words. It described a chance meeting of two women in an apartment laundry. Told from Kirsten's point of view, it chronicled the feelings of a straight girl having her first lesbian encounter. At no point did the characters physically touch, but Kirsten ends the story thinking about how a touch might feel.

It was no prize winner, but Elspeth would have been willing to submit it for a grade. Nodding to herself, she opened a new folder and saved the story. The exercise raised a point in Elspeth's mind. If a fictitious lover was interesting, Dr. Richards must be fascinating. Elspeth started documenting what she knew of Dr. Richards' childhood and schooling. It was almost one in the morning that she realized she had not eaten since lunch. Eating curried lentils and rice, Elspeth mapped out some research, which would start with the ladies of the clubs.

Chapter 16: Business and Construction

Elspeth spent all of Monday talking to Dr. Richards' ladies. In addition to more usual subjects, Elspeth asked the ladies for events and people Dr. Richards had mentioned from her early life, and also things which the ladies had personally observed. While Elspeth did not yet intend to do a biography, the concept seemed to be in the air. In hindsight, she would recall that day as the launch of her literary career.

Tuesday went sideways rather abruptly. Dr. Richards called and said that she and Sarah were cutting the visit short. The story of getting lost was enough to tie Elspeth's stomach in knots, but it didn't last. After all, Dr. Richards was back again, safe. Instead, Elspeth made a note to get a GPS device. It would make an excellent Christmas gift, which cheered Elspeth considerably. Dr. Richards' gift was always difficult to buy.

Even with the extra day, their time together was short. Wednesday, after showing Elspeth where the SUV and boat would be housed, Dr. Richards went back to Boston by way of the Residence. Once she was on the road, Elspeth contacted her ladies and soon had a young man to take her across the river for her own fresh look at Cloudrest.

It was the same nephew who had edited the videos several weeks before, Trip Lusk. As they motored across the Merrimack River, Elspeth was surprised to find that his company was not objectionable. Trip reminded her of Ro Willingham, nerdy, competent, opinionated, with not a trace of a verbal filter, but also without a trace of arrogance.

It all came into focus when Trip deferred to Elspeth's knowledge of the lay of the land. That put him on a very short list of men in Elspeth's acquaintance. Many would assume Elspeth had no knowledge to add. Others would be too self-conscious to accept advice from a woman. Trip acted as if asking directions was the most normal thing in the world. On the way across the river, Elspeth toyed with the possibility that Trip might be part of her future. It was with a surprising degree of reluctance that Elspeth concluded that they would probably never see each other again.