The League of Extraordinary Women - Part 1
This is a restart/ recast/ renewal of a series I abandoned a few years ago.
Shirley watched the young mother struggling to contain her tears. She'd seen this happen time and again over many years as she taught the virtues of breastfeeding to countless women. Either a young mother would have trouble producing enough milk or she might not have support at home to allow her to pump and store milk or there would be some other issue. Shirley had found ways to help so many young, and not so young, mothers deal with every kind of problem.
And Shirley wondered whether other La Leche League offices had found ways to deal with some of the more intimate issues that seemed to crop up with so many women the way she had, over the years. She remembered her own struggles, when she was so much younger. Shirley had given birth to a beautiful baby boy and had plenty of milk for him, but when he lost interest in the breast, her milk supply did not decrease and dry up as is commonly the case. She was happy to find La Leche League and the support she got there. She was encouraged to become a wet-nurse and to provide nature's perfect food for infants who would not otherwise get this vital nourishment. Shirley remembered how her husband had begun to lose interest in her from the time he found out she was expecting. She was stunned when theirs became a sexless marriage. And her husband was right up front about it. He wasn't sexually attracted to a woman once she had been through pregnancy and childbirth. He loved his wife and child, but sex was over. And as if to spite him, Shirley's milk never dried up.
Shirley had seen varying degrees of sexual abandonment, temporary and permanent, from so many husbands and the effects it had on the wives. Shirley spoke to the young mother and found the same familiar story. Her husband thought lactation was gross. He missed his fashion-model skinny wife. He wasn't a boob man and had actually called his wife a cow. He said he would get his jollies watching the skinny strippers in that dive downtown until she "got her figure back". Charming guy.
The young wife's name was Elise. Elise was about 30, an average-looking suburban housewife or office worker or teacher. She had "gotten her figure back" as far as Shirley could tell. Oh sure, her hips were a bit wider and rounder, but Elise had "tread milled" her thighs and stomach to their pre-baby dimensions. True, there were some stretch marks on her belly and her behind. And then there were Elise's breasts. She had gone from a barely-there A-cup nearly to a C-cup. And her tiny pink aureole and little rosebud nipples had morphed into deep coral circles atop new mounds of swollen breasts, topped by her now-elongated nipples, nearly always stiff and leaking. Elise was a prolific leaker. And her burgeoning breasts, in addition to being sore, sensitive, and very productive were surrounded by fine grey stretch marks. Elise's husband, Hector, had not tried to hide his upset at seeing what he thought of as damage to his previously waif-like lady. He loved his new son, but his wife was now just the woman who raised the boy and kept the house.
Shirley listened patiently, offering tissues to Elise as she wept. Shirley wept too. She shared the pain. She had been there. And there was more. Elise's voice became a whisper and she bowed her head to escape even Shirley's comforting gaze. She told, in halting words, of the feelings that would come over her, before, during and after breastfeeding or pumping her milk for storage. Elise was cautious to use only polite terms, but Shirley recognized Elise's description as the typical signs of arousal that so many women experience when their bodies are transformed into life-giving fountains for their babies.
Shirley spoke softly about how few women are comfortable with what is the most natural of things. Why should it be wrong that there is simultaneous maternal joy and sexual arousal? Or that lactation, "letting down", and suckling can be very sexually stimulating? Elise thought about the older woman's words.
"Well, great, I can climb the walls knowing that while no man is the slightest bit interested in me sexually, it's all natural."
"Elise, not all men find breastfeeding unappealing."
"Oh yeah, Shirley. Maybe some pervert will flash me in the park and we can hook up." Elise broke down in tears.
"No, Elise. There are many sweet men who find lactation to be sexy. I would like to share something with you. There is a private group of ladies from the League who have experienced what you have, or something like it. They meet after this session, after we are officially closed. It's a different sort of session. I can only invite you if you promise to be discrete about what you see from here on."
Elise was intrigued. As her session ended and the women left the various private areas and departed, Elise noticed a two women arriving and going upstairs. Shirley attended to some cleanup and then turned the lights off downstairs. She guided Elise upstairs to a large, cozy den with plush loveseats and a large sofa. The lights were low and it took a moment for Elise's eyes to adjust. There were two women and a man in the room. What on earth was a man doing here? Elise sat is a chair to the side and watched and listened.
The man was Steven. He was in his 40s, a tall, fit guy with thinning salt and pepper hair. He was speaking in very low tones to an older woman in a flowing robe while a woman about Elise's age sat near the couple. Shirley spoke up.
