Southern Exposure

Many thanks to jellybelly2 for first editing and improving this story from a previous version.

Special thanks to defiantly_me for further edits and for suggestions that made it much better.

The husbands of Doreen's friends were tired of hearing about Ted. Their wives almost always talked about him when they were driving home from any gathering that included the couple.

The theme was always "Why can't you be more like Ted?" with such variations as "Did you see the way that Ted looked after Doreen?" and "Ted knows how to treat a woman."

The subject of Ted also came up when the girls got together. Her friends marveled at how thoughtful Ted was and how attentive to her and eager to do anything she asked. One time one of them asked whether he was like all the time.

"I wish," said Doreen. "No, he's just the typical thoughtless husband at home, but I don't complain, because the important thing to me is how he treats me when others are around."

Her friends agreed they'd be happy with a similar arrangement, but Doreen was lucky. They could talk until they were blue in the face, but their husbands would never change.

"Luck had nothing to do with Ted being the way he is," said Doreen. "Five years ago, he used to be just like your husbands. I found a way to change him."

The others all wanted to know how, but Doreen said she wouldn't tell them, because each husband was different. What worked for her might not work for them. All she was telling them was there were solutions out there, and if they wanted to go beyond complaining, they would find them.

******************

Five years before she told them this, there was a night that totally exasperated Doreen.

"How could you just stand there when you saw that my boob was about to fall out of my dress?" she asked Ted on the drive home from a party. "I didn't expect you to know that a seam had come apart or what to do, but you could have at least said something to me."

"I'm sorry," said Ted. "I just froze. I know I should have done something or said something, but I felt like a statue."

"You're always freezing," said Doreen. "Whenever I need you to get my back, you turn into a refrigerator. You get cold, and I get humiliated."

"I've always been that way," said Ted. "You can ask my parents. I was the kid watching from the outside. I never jumped into anything."

"But you're a grown man now," said Doreen, "and I know you're a take-charge guy at the office. You wouldn't be doing so well if you just stood on the sidelines."

"Why do you turn into that kid again when we're out together and always just when I need you most. You know how I put myself out to save you any kind of embarrassment. It's automatic for me because you're the man I love. What's wrong with you?"

"I honestly don't know," said Ted. "You're right that I don't hesitate to jump into things at work. I used to be painfully shy and never wanted to attract attention. Maybe I still get like that when it's something personal. I guess it's just the way I am."

"I won't even dignify that answer with a response. All I'll say is I'm getting awful tired of you being the way you are if it means you're out to lunch when I need you the most."

***************

A few weeks later, Doreen and Ted were having a picnic on the beach. It was a freakish, warm Indian summer day. The remote area where they liked to go was nearly deserted. It was cut off from nearby beaches by large rock formations on both sides.

Doreen had discovered the pathway into the area when she was a teenager. In those days, it was a well-known nudist spot during the summer, and she and her girlfriends had made some educational observations there.

Today, they saw no one except for a young couple at the other end that seemed to be busy on their blanket with their mouths and their hands. Doreen and Ted were sitting on their beach chairs watching the surf and chilling with a glass of wine when they heard voices. It was the couple, and they were yelling at each other so loud that the sound carried down to them -- even though the words couldn't be made out.

They looked over and saw one of the two jump up and scream some words at the other one and stomp away toward the water. Then the figure began walking down the beach in their direction. As it got closer, they saw it was a young woman.

"Oh no!" said Doreen. "It's Carina."

"Who?" asked Ted.

"Carina," said Doreen. "She's a student of mine, and she's bad news. I think she's in a girl gang. I had to flunk her, and she came to my room during planning period and threatened me. I reported it to the assistant principal, and she may have been suspended. I hope she doesn't spot me."

But the girl walking by the water noticed the couple, and as soon as she recognized Doreen, she made a beeline for her. Doreen got out of her chair, but Ted didn't.

"Are you here to spy on me, Mrs. Nelson?" were the first words Carina said when she came up to them. "So you can tell Mr. Evans and make more trouble for me."

Doreen noticed she was slurring her words. She and her friend must have been drinking.

"No, Carina," Doreen said, "we're just having a nice picnic, and we didn't even know you were here."

"Sure," said Carina. "You're just minding your own business and not making trouble for anyone, are you, you bitch?" With that, she jumped at Doreen and grabbed her hair and pulled her down into the sand.

"Ted!" yelled Doreen as she went down, and Ted jumped up. He looked down and saw his wife and the girl rolling around in the sand. The girl was slapping Doreen hard on the face and pulling at her bathing suit top. In a second it was off. The girl was much larger than Doreen.

As Ted watched, the girl grabbed Doreen's suit bottom and began pulling it down.

"Ted!" screamed Doreen, but Ted didn't move. He stood as if in a trance.

The girl got the suit off and pulled Doreen over her lap and began spanking her as Doreen screamed and Ted watched. Then she began sticking her fingers between Doreen's legs.

"Ted, goddammit! Get her off of me! She's hurting me. Ted!"

Finally, he seemed to hear her voice and moved to the two women, but he couldn't seem to decide what to do.

"Grab her hair and pull it!" screamed Doreen as she struggled to get free.

Ted reached for the hair but the girl moved her head away. He tried again, but again she ducked. Finally, he grabbed a bunch of hair and pulled back hard. The girl screamed and released Doreen, who jumped up and ran back a few steps.

"Hold her there, Ted!" Doreen yelled. "Don't let go of her whatever you do. When you see I've disappeared from sight on the pathway, you can let her go and bring the rest of the stuff to the car."

Doreen pulled her suit back on and gathered up some of their picnic and began walking toward the path, sobbing loudly as she went. Ted held onto the girl by her hair and felt her swaying but not trying to get free. In a few seconds, he couldn't hear Doreen's sobs over the sound of the surf. When he saw Doreen disappear from sight, he let go of the girl. She ran back to her friend.

Ted collected the rest of their gear and followed Doreen, who was sitting in the car looking straight ahead. She wasn't making a sound, but tears were running down her face.

"I'm sorry, Doreen."

"Shut up, Ted!"

Those were the last words she spoke to him until the following night.

***************

When he came home from work, she was pleasant, and she made small talk through dinner. But once they had cleared the plates, her mood darkened. She motioned for him to sit down at the table.

"Did you know that Carina pushed sand up my vagina and anus?" she said. "No, don't say anything. Did you hear me screaming your name? Why did you just stand there? She could have really hurt me badly. This wasn't just something embarrassing. She was dangerous. Couldn't you tell? Now you can say something."

"I don't know what to say, except how sorry I am," he said. "You are right. I should have jumped in and pulled her away immediately. I'm so ashamed. I've thought about it a hundred times and asked myself why I didn't do anything, but I can't come up with an answer."

"That's exactly what I thought you would say," said Doreen, "but it's not good enough. I asked you to work on this freezing of yours and waited for you to do something, but you never have. Yes, you're always sorry and tell me you love me. So why can't you change?

"I've been thinking about it since yesterday and decided that I can't leave it to you anymore. I need to find out what's holding you back. I have an idea already, but I have to think about it some more. I should be able to tell you in a couple of days. If you come up with anything before that, tell me. I'm willing to try anything."

Two nights later at dinner, she asked him if he had thought of anything, but he said no.

"I think I have the answer," she said, "and it's actually very simple. I don't think you are motivated enough. What do you think of that?"

"I don't know," he said. "I don't think I can love you more than I do already, and I think I've proven that in many ways."

"I know," she said, "and love is a great motivator. Many of the things I do are because of my love for you. But sometimes love doesn't work, and you have to find other motivations.

"Do you really want to change this habit enough that you'll let me help you? Think a moment before you answer. I don't want to be overly dramatic, but after what's happened, I think the future of our marriage depends on what you answer."

"Of course I'll let you help me," he said. "I don't have to think about that for one second, even without your threat. I know something has to be done."

"Okay," she said. "I'm going to work on the motivation idea. I'll let you know when I've come up with something."

Ted did his best to be attentive to Doreen over the next several months. There were a few small incidents, but Ted was quick to notice and apologize before Doreen mentioned them. He was proud of himself for taking this small step in the right direction. Doreen didn't say anything more about motivating him, and he forgot about it.

**************

It was a June morning and already warm. Doreen and Ted had risen early to drive to a national park a couple of hours. Doreen told him she had thoroughly researched the park on the Internet to plan the outing. They arrived at 10 as the park was opening.

Doreen said that they should go to the ghost town first because there wasn't much shade there, and it would be too hot to visit later. Ted said as far as he was concerned, they could skip the ghost town.

Doreen insisted they go there and told him which direction to drive.

"How do you know?" he said. "Have you been here before?"

She looked out the window and didn't answer.

There wasn't much to the ghost town, just a couple of blocks of tumble-down wooden buildings and a wooden sidewalk. They walked down one side and took photos of each other in front of the saloon doors. At the end of the sidewalk, there was an open square that was all sand, and beyond that the boot hill. Ted had enough, but Doreen kept walking to the middle of the open space, where there was a statue of a man and a wooden structure. Ted trailed a few steps behind her.

He saw a man walking toward them from the cemetery.

"Hi," Doreen said to the man.

"Hi, Ma'am," he replied. "It was smart of you folks to come early today because it's going to be a scorcher. Usually, no one gets here until almost noon. Is there anything I can help you with? You look awfully familiar, ma'am."

Ted saw the man was dressed in a ranger's uniform.

"Is there anything else to see here besides those buildings we just walked by and that cemetery?" he asked.

"No, just this statue of somebody nobody remembers and the stocks there next to him," he said.

"What are the stocks for?" Doreen asked.

"In the Old West, they were for criminals," said the ranger. "Not the dangerous ones. Those went to the hoosegow. But for minor offenses, the judge would sentence you to the stocks.

"These have been restored. See how they open? The men and women being punished had to put their head in here and their hands in here. The top part was brought down, so they were trapped. They had to kneel in the dust for a few hours while everybody in town walked by and looked at them. If you had an enemy, he might slip up behind you while nobody was looking and kick you. It wasn't fun.

"It's probably the most popular thing in this ghost town. All the visitors want their pictures taken while pretending they're locked into it. We took away the rusty lock for safety. I've got to run now. Thanks for coming and supporting our national parks. Enjoy your day!"

"Thanks," said Doreen. "We'll see you later."

"I doubt it," he said. "I've got a big circuit to make. There are so few of us left because of layoffs that we all have to cover a lot more territory. I won't be back in this area for a few hours, but maybe I'll run into you someplace else."

Ted saw Doreen watching the man as he walked to his truck and drove off.

"Have you seen enough of the ghost town?" he said.

"Yes," she said, "but I want you to take a photo of me in the stocks."

"That's so corny," he said.

"I don't care," she said, handing him the camera and putting her bag down. She knelt down in the dust and put her head and hands in the grooves.

"I'm ready," she said, "but please lower that big piece of wood carefully." He brought down the top piece.

"Wow!" she said. "My wrists are small, but I think it would be hard to get my hands out. It wouldn't make any difference anyway, because my head could never get free. I'm ready for the picture. Take a couple. Now lift the top part up. There. It's good to get out of that thing. Now it's your turn."

"I don't really want a picture of me in that."

"It's for me," she said. "My picture is for you."

"Oh all right," he said, kneeling down. "But let's make it quick."

"This thing is heavy," she said.

It wasn't all that heavy, he thought. He had just lifted it.

"Okay, here it comes. Just a second."

He heard a metallic click, and a moment later she was in front of him snapping pictures.

She put the camera away and said, "Stay there for a second. I'll be right back."

As she quickly walked away, he said, "Wait! Where are you going?"

But she ignored him, and soon she was out of sight. He decided he wasn't going to wait there and lifted his head, but the piece above him didn't move. He was surprised because it didn't seem that heavy when he was lifting it. He tried several times, but it wouldn't budge. His neck hurt pushing against the wood, so he let his head slump down and looked at the ground.

When he heard a noise, he lifted his head and saw Doreen walking toward him dragging something in the dirt and carrying a bag. She up to his head and sat down in the dust facing him.

"What the hell's going on Doreen?" he said. "Why won't this thing open?"

"Motivation," she said. "It took me a long time to work this out, but I think I've found the motivation for you.

"You were right. I've been here before and checked it out. I talked to the same ranger, and he told me that families with little kids usually don't come to the ghost town when it's this hot. The only people who show up are foreign tourists who are on a tight schedule and can't come back when it's cooler.

"I brought along a lock that fits these stocks in my purse. That's why you can't get out. I hid this in our trunk under a blanket."

She pointed to a long rubber hose that she had dragged to the stocks.

"When I came here before, I checked the fittings of the water spigot where they connect the sprinkler to dampen the dust, and I bought this hose to fit them. It worked, because I just connected it. This is a power nozzle on the end. Now I have to get you ready."

She got up and walked behind him, and he felt her hands on his shoes. He tried to kick, but she didn't have much trouble getting them off. For a while as she was wrestling his shorts and his underwear off, he was yelling loudly. When he realized nobody could hear him, he began pleading with her.

"This is silly, Doreen," he said. "You aren't going to accomplish anything and you could be arrested if the ranger comes back."

She ignored him as he went on trying to reason with her and struggling to avoid her hands. Finally, she gave a cry as his underwear cleared his feet, and she brought his shorts and underwear around to where he could see her holding them up.

"Are you satisfied, now?" he said. "I've never been so embarrassed. I hope nobody comes and reports us."

"I hope so too," she said, "because we're not finished."

He saw her pull a plastic container from her bag, open it and stick two of her fingers in. Then she walked behind him and disappeared from his vision. When he felt her touch his naked butt, he began kicking.

"Ooo!" she cried out. He could hear the delight in her voice.

"Your legs are wicked," she said and giggled. "I hope I don't get hurt while I'm getting this lube in you."

He couldn't see her hand behind him, so even though he tried to kick at her and move away from her, she finally managed to push two fingers into his anus. He felt her push deep into him, and then then she slowly pulled them out for a few seconds and once again pushed them in. They now went in smoothly, and he felt like his insides were all slimy and greasy.

"That should be enough," she said after she pulled them out the second time. "I got the smallest hose nozzle I could find."

When he heard that, he began to move his butt around and kick his legs more wildly. He heard her laughing.

"Wait until you see this, Ted," she said from behind him. "You have no idea how funny you look, but I've got it all on video, so we can watch it later. I even snuck around and got the expression on your face. It was priceless."

She stopped laughing and he heard her moving around behind him again. His kicking and shaking his butt had tired him, but when he felt something pressed against his anus, he went wild again.

The thing kept following him as he moved, and when he stopped for a moment, she pushed it in with no trouble because of the lube inside him. He began moving again, but she held on to the thing and kept pushing it deeper. Finally, she stopped and spoke.

"Don't move now. I'm going to be very careful because I don't want to hurt you. I've turned the nozzle control to the lowest setting. If you kick or move, the setting might slip. If it goes on high power, it might cause internal damage."

As she spoke, he felt warm water flowing into him. It didn't hurt, but it frightened him anyway.

"That's it," she said. "Try to stay calm as you fill up. The water is nice and warm, isn't it? The ground here gets so hot, it's like a water heater. The lube I pushed into you was mixed with some concentrated liquid detergent, so the warm water is turning your insides into a washing machine."

He felt his stomach enlarging from all the water filling him. When he was so full that the water started to come out around the nozzle, she pulled it carefully out of him.

"You can let go as soon as you want," she said, "although if you try to hold it in like you're doing, it will probably work better. Are you feeling embarrassed? Are you upset that I'm not getting you out of this situation?"

She came around in front of him and he saw her aiming the camera at his face.

"I'm only filming your facial expressions," she said. "You are really working hard to try to prevent the inevitable. I wonder what you'll look like when -- ooeeee! There it goes. It flew out like a canon. And there's another one And another one bites the dust. Your face is telling the whole story. Keep going. I'll be right back."