Julia, Audrey, and Melissa returned to find Rod staring off into space on the living-room couch.
The women looked at one another, wondering if their master plan had gone horribly wrong. Why wasn't he chatting up Isabel and making her feel comfortable around him? Was she so appalled at his sheik-like ways that she couldn't bear the sight of him? Melissa, at least, had thought that Rod was actually becoming more or less friendly with her stern aunt, insofar as
anyone
could get friendly with her.
When she noticed that he didn't respond to her, "Hey, what's up?" she stalked over to him, stood right in front of him, and waved a hand before his face.
"Uh, Earth to Rod—are you there?" she said sharply.
He snapped out of his funk and stared up at her as if he had never seen her before.
"You okay, guy?" she said, now getting a bit concerned.
A dreamy smile came over his face. "Yeah, just fine," he said.
"Where's Aunt Isabel?"
"Up in her room."
"What's she doing there?"
"Um, resting, I guess."
"Resting? Why aren't you—?"
"Well, she had a little accident."
"Accident? What the hell do you mean? Is she all right?"
"Sure, she's all right. She just sprained or twisted her ankle."
"What! How?"
"She slipped on the stairs. I came up and caught her before she could fall."
Julia, who was transfixed while listening to this dialogue, now almost shrieked in terror.
"Omigod! She almost fell down the stairs? And you caught her? My stars, Rod, you saved her life!"
He blushed in sudden embarrassment. "Oh, I don't know about that."
"Well, it sure sounds like it! Is she all right? Do you think we should take her to the hospital?"
"I don't think she's hurt very badly," he demurred.
Julia hardly heard him, for she was already flying up the stairs to take stock of the situation. Without even bothering to knock, she burst into Isabel's room, clutching her heart as she saw her sister lying placidly on the bed.
"Isabel, are you all right? Are you in pain?"
Isabel, still groggy from sleep—she seemed to have rested very well—blinked a few times and said, "I'm fine, dear. Your young man" (
my young man?
) "has been enormously helpful."
"He said you almost tumbled down the stairs. You could have died!"
"Well, I suppose there was a remote chance of that, but certainly there was the likelihood that I could have been seriously injured. So I suppose that nice young man saved me from that."
"Oh, Isabel!" Julia cried, her eyes filling with tears. "Does it hurt?"
"Not very much. I've had a nice rest, so maybe I should get up and join the rest of you downstairs."
By this time, all the others in the household had tramped up the stairs to see how Isabel was doing. When she saw Rod standing behind Julia's daughters, she called to him:
"Rod, dear, perhaps you can help me stand up."
Melissa looked at Audrey, stupefied.
Rod, dear?
Rod approached the bed stiffly. As Isabel threw aside the blankets covering her, he slid her legs gently over the edge of the bed, then took her extended arm and helped her to her feet. She was a little wobbly and said, "You may need to stay with me and accompany me down the stairs."
"I can carry you!" he said enthusiastically.
She gave him a sharp look and said, "That won't be necessary. Just let me use you as a kind of crutch, and we'll be fine."
And so it happened. As the three other women gazed in wonder, Rod carefully led Isabel step by step down the stairs. He placed her on the couch in the living room while the others stalked slowly down like zombies, watching the whole thing with disbelieving eyes.
As Isabel sat strong and upright on the couch, Julia said, "I'd best start getting dinner ready."
"I'll help you, Mom," Melissa said quickly.
"Me, too," Audrey said, although she was pretty useless in the kitchen.
Rod, as expected, led Isabel to the dining table when dinner was served. Afterward, he led her back to the couch and sat beside her. Each time he did this, he couldn't help feel the swell of one warm, round breast pressing up against his side—something that made him confused and light-headed. Once she was sitting down, she patted the space next to her and said to Rod, "Please keep me company, dear." She actually smiled when she did so.
That caused Melissa and Audrey to come dangerously close to bursting out in hysterical laughter, but they managed to control themselves. For her part, Julia just watched the proceedings in a daze.
Melissa boldly placed herself on the other side of Rod, as if to claim at least a share of him.
You may, by some miracle, have won Aunt Isabel over, but I'm still your best girl!
They watched an old suspense movie that proved surprisingly gripping, even if they had all had seen it at least once before. Then they all decided it was time for bed; and Rod did his duty where Isabel was concerned—and more than his duty. Disregarding her token objections, he now gathered her up in his arms and carried her slowly up the stairs, once again followed by his three other women. He lowered her gently on the bed and would have given her a little kiss on the mouth, were it not that Julia was gazing intensely at them from the threshold of the room. So he just wished her a good night's sleep and left her alone.
The follow-up to this series of events came two nights later.
By this time, Julia was going pretty much insane with frustrated desire, and she had pleaded with Rod to sneak into her bedroom once it was certain that Isabel had fallen asleep. As they doffed their nightclothes (Julia had been wearing her usual nightgown, Rod his underwear) and got down to the serious business of reacquainting themselves with each other's bodies, a strange sound came to their ears.
Rod, stopping short as he was sucking Julia's nipple, raised his head and said, "What on earth's that?"
Julia, initially irritated at Rod, listened sharply and let out a quiet chuckle. "Omigod, I don't believe it!"
"Believe what?" Rod said, perplexed.
"Do you have any idea what that is?" Julia said teasingly.
"What? Tell me!"
To Rod's surprise, Julia got up from the bed. "Maybe we should find out for ourselves."
She was heading out the door, silently urging Rod to follow.
"Julia, are you crazy!" he said in a fierce whisper. "You're naked!" Maybe the girls wouldn't mind seeing their mother nude, but Isabel . . .
"Come on," she said. "I think it's time."
Time for what?
Rod thought, utterly baffled, as he willy-nilly got up from the bed and, as if hypnotized, followed Julia out the door.
She was heading toward Isabel's room.
"Julia, what on earth do you think you're doing!"
Rod whispered, even more agitated than before.
"Trust me, it'll be fine," Julia said. And she blandly opened the door.
Isabel lay there on her back, one hand between her legs and the other kneading a breast. She was naked, having tossed her nightgown carelessly to the floor. She was moaning surprisingly loudly, and for some seconds didn't even realize that her bedroom had been invaded.
Only when Rod and Julia were all but standing directly over her did she become aware that she was not alone. At first she let out a little shriek, but otherwise she did little but gaze up at the pair, breathing heavily.
Julia bent down on her knees and reached out to stroke Isabel's face. With heartfelt gentleness she said, "Isabel, dear, would you like Rod to . . . help you?"
Rod was convinced that Isabel would fly into a rage and demand that the two of them exit stage left immediately. She opened her mouth as if to do just that, but then her expression suddenly changed. Looking over at Rod, her eyes bulged at his hugely erect member; then she nodded blankly, placing both hands at her sides as if preparing for an operation.
"Come over here, Rod," Julia said, beckoning him with her hand. "Come and help her."
Rod did come over. He gasped as he saw the creature lying supine before him. She was radiantly beautiful, was Isabel: her hair draped all around her face and shoulders, her breasts full and heaving, her stomach charmingly round, her thighs sturdy but shapely, and her calves elegantly curved. And, like all the Waters women, she had a thick, luxuriant bush—now dabbed with her juices—that had never felt the cruel razor's touch.