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The first version of this episode was corrupted and half of the content was missing. Sorry for that.
Friday went by in a blur. I know I followed in class, I know I ate with Mindy who was excited as hell to have me sleepover. To be honest, I was too.
Now, writing these lines, I can't tell you why I was excited. As an adult, a sleepover with friends is something you usually do when they are too drunk to go home. I say they because even as an adult, I don't really drink, but then again, when I was writing this, I was 19, so not yet of drinking age.
Now that I think about it, I think it's funny that I have no problem with social nudity then and now, but I won't drink until I am 21, and perhaps not even then.
To each his or her own, right?
Now, I found it weird, on those secluded steps, that I wasn't even thinking about the fact that I would probably be nude for a whole weekend, merely hours after rediscovering naturism.
Well, maybe weird isn't the right word. Fine, I was always the type to jump both feet in without thinking and then to get out at the first sign of trouble, provided it wasn't social.
That came out wrong. Provided it wasn't socializing with strangers. I had no problems with friends.
I was almost counting the minutes to the end of class, so I would jump on the bus and go home packing for the weekend.
I knew now to pack! Well, so I thought. We had gone camping in the past, and well, my part was simple. My parents even picked most of my clothes, something I didn't have to worry about for this occasion. I just had to think about the books, toys or other stuff I wanted to bring. They handle toothbrushes, hairbrushes, pillows and camping gear.
To my surprise, however, my parents picked me up at school, waving at me in the little spot between the exit and the buses.
"Mom, dad?"
"We finished early and packed. Ready to go?", my mom asked
"Wow, you guys are in a hurry"
"Julie, we've been waiting for 8 years to go back", said my dad.
I smiled and joined them in the car. The seat next to me was filled with suitcases. At the back of the car was the bicycle rack, with our three bikes.
"We have your bear, we have your pillow, we even packed a PJ and some clothes in case you change your mind over the weekend"
"And my badminton racquet?"
They looked at each other. "We forgot", says my mom. "Do you want us to fetch it?"
I thought, and chances were slim that Clara would need hers at the same time as Mindy and I would want to play.
"N'ah. Next time?", I tell my mom.
"Next time", replies my mom, smiling.
We get to the resort, but my father doesn't get in yet. Instead, he turns to me.
"Sugar, I just want to tell you something. I am so glad to have you back. I don't know where you were, but just being able to have a conversation with you is incredible. And just to be clear, if I had the choice between your coldness and naturism and us having a textile relationship. I would take the former without any hesitation", he said
"Textile means non-naturist", my mother added
"Mindy told me. Thanks dad. I don't really know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything kiddo. What did I tell you that you owed us?"
"Nothing"
"Jack shit. You didn't choose to be born, sugar"
"Fine, no dessert for me!", he said, going to the intercom to talk to the reception desk. The gate opened, and we came in, as a family, where I first experienced social nudity with strangers, just 48 hours ago.
My mom and I got out of the car next to the entrance, while my father went in to settle records and get the key to the cabin.
"Julie, would you mind if I undressed right away instead of waiting for the cabin, I always liked riding in the car nude."
"You did?"
"I guess it's the thrill of the forbidden.", she said, smiling
"I don't mind. Do you mind if I join you?"
"Of course not, I would be delighted!"
We both undressed, aside from the car, and as my mother suggested, I put them on my seat to serve as a makeshift towel.
I couldn't avoid looking at my mother undressing. I had seen her nude, but not removing her clothes. I had done the same, but in reverse with Clara. I guess children learn by imitation and what I learned that day is how to more gracefully remove panties.
It's stupid, isn't it? But I was removing them wrong, and that day, I learned how to do it right and never went back.
Dad came back only when we were both back in the car, and smiled when he saw us. He kissed mom on the lips, and gently placed his hand in approval on my knee, smiling.
"It's weird, the guy who grew up in a naturist resort is the only one still clothed", he says, smiling.
"Wait, you did?", I asked confusedly, as my father drove, really slowly.
That means that my grandparents and my uncle and aunt were naturists?
"Yeah, but not all of my life. We moved when I was barely older than you are. Tara was 8 or 9 and Jim was what, 6 or 7? We moved to another city without any naturist resorts around. I missed it, Tara moved on and I think Jim ended up like you, forgetting we were naturists"
"Really?"
"Tara did go on vacation once with, what was his name?"
"You mean uncle Sam?", I reply
But they both laugh. "No, the guy before him"
So, Tara wasn't always with Sam. As a child, adult couples seemed, I don't know, permanent? I couldn't even imagine my parents not being married to each other.
But there, I asked a stupid question.
"Were you each other's first boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"That's a complicated question, sugar. We are here. Do you want to unpack with us, and I can explain inside?", said my dad.
I nodded, and helped them empty the car into the cabin, which was both smaller than I hoped, and bigger than I expected.
It did have two beds, but they were in the same room. I would be sleeping, tomorrow at least, in the same bedroom as my parents, and it was also the kitchen and the living room. Only the restroom was apart, in a corner, and next to it was the single closet.
"Is that?", asked my mom
"Same one we rented 15 years ago", my dad said.
"Wow, did you ask for it?"
"You know it baby!", he says, kissing my mother again. I looked away and began opening the suitcases, while my father undressed.
I wouldn't become an adult male, so I didn't watch him do it. Who cares how boys remove their clothing anyway?
When he was done, he confirmed with my mom that he could tell the story, and she approved, while placing food in the small fridge.
"So, we were each other's first boyfriend and girlfriend. "
"We met in high school", said my mom, but I already knew that story. I didn't want to listen to it when I first heard it, but I could remember it enough to nod.
"But I wasn't just her first boyfriend, I was also her third. And her fourth. And, well, her fifth"
"Sorry Julie. It took me a while to be sure he was going to be the right dad", she said, with a sad tone.
"Wait, I don't get it"
"We went to different technical colleges. Me locally, her in another state. She broke up with me, and dated Mark", my dad says, with a weird tone.
"But Mark wasn't your father. Something just drew me back to him when we graduated"
"She ran for me! Really. I had decided to concentrate on my studies, and she just came back running."
"Wait, were you a naturist too, Mom?"
"No, but I knew about your dad's history and interests. During that time we were apart, he joined a non-landed club"
I looked at her confused
"It's a club without a land", explained my dad. "They rent pools and gymnasiums"
"I see"
"We can bring you to ours next weekend if you'd like. There are different people, including sometimes kids your age", my mom explained
"We'll see", I just said.
"When she came back, I told her that I was more intent of being a naturist than before"
"And I told him I didn't care"
"But I told her she needed to be one too"
"And I told him I didn't care"
"Only she did care, and a lot, and after what, 3 weeks?"
"2 and a half", my mom said, laughing
"Yeah, 2 and a half weeks, she dumped me saying she would never be a naturist"
"Wow", I said
"I didn't have time to get attached again, so I just went on with my life, you know, sugar?"
But I didn't know, I didn't get that part of relationships, or well, relationships in general.
"But I still wanted him", mom said. "So I gathered my courage, and begged him to take me back. At the non-landed club"
I just looked at her.
"Yeah, I was playing volleyball, and from the corner of my eye, I see this stunningly beautiful woman, as nude as she is today, waving at me."
"At first, he didn't even recognize me"
"In those 2 and a half weeks, we hadn't been, well, intimate or anything. We were just catching up, and I was still in my finals. School for her was done, but not for me. Plus, she said she would never become a naturist"
"And so we talked, and I agreed to become a naturist. It was that simple. I haven't looked back since"
"And I became her 4th boyfriend, but then, we got married and had you"
"Wait, you were also her 5th?", I asked, confused
"When you were 6 months old, we were in a rough patch. Your mother lost her job, my company wasn't really picking up and we were about to lose our house. The one we still have, in case you are wondering"
"Really?"
"Oh, really. We fought too much, and it made you cry, so I moved in with a friend, at Mom's insistence"
"We were separated, for almost 3 months"
"But the stuff for my company was still in the basement. So, each day, I came back to work downstairs, while she looked for a job, with a baby. Let's just say it didn't work out. Only, I got a lucrative contract and the person I wanted to celebrate the most with was upstairs"
"He was nude, mind you, and I was not. He just ran upstairs, swept me off my feet and kissed me. You were asleep. I don't know, I guess his passion brought me back. We talked, and he offered me a job, basically. And we've been good ever since"
I looked at them. Such a story.
"Are all adults that complicated?"
"No, many are worse!", said my mom, laughing
"Really?"
"It varies. So, is the cabin too small for you?" my mother asked.
"It's small"
"The last time you slept here, you were four."
"In this bed?"
"That very same bed. You were excited because it was huge compared to yours!", said my dad.
But my mother had picked up the suntan lotion flasks. There were three!
"And make sure to cover your bum, and well, your lips"
"I don't want to taste suntan lotion", I said
"Not those"
"Oh", I said, looking down. However, she guided me, verbally. To make sure I didn't put any inside. I was concentrating so I missed my parents lathering up. My mom did my back, and my father's back, but I did my mom's.
"Now, as you can see, there's no TV in here. So we only have the stuff we brought", says my dad
"Ker plunk?", I asked
But of course, they did. Along with Jenga. It's stupid, but these were my favorite. Maybe it was the noise when everything fell down?
We had to wait 15 minutes before going out, so we played Ker Plunk for the first time in months. I had played alone, but that afternoon, on my bed, nude, with my parents, we played Ker Plunk and I could have died and felt happy on my way to heaven. Gone was my anger for them. Gone was my resentment.
Oh, I thought it was naturism, but honestly? I had just been given a chance to my parents and they took it.
When we finally got out in the sun, each with in effect a hand towel on our shoulder, I spotted Mindy, still clothed and with her backpack walking on the street. She had just arrived by bus.
I saluted her, and walked with her to her house, wishing a good afternoon to my parents.