Shy Girl - Chapters 18+19

Chapter 18

The very first guests to arrive were Brian’s grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. They all treated Danica as part of the family. All together, they only took up seven of the eight rooms, so Danica offered the last one to her parents, who were still weirded out by the nudity thing.

Danica, Brian, Erica, and Derek were all there to do whatever they could to make the extended weekend a success. They did so naked because their guests were all naked, and that was the point of the B&B.

Even though Brian’s family all treated her as one of their own, Danica still wore a “my name is Danica” sticker so that they could remember her name. Plus, she figured that it was as good a uniform as any for now. Maybe in the future they’d get necklaces that had the name of the B&B and their names on them.

By the time her parents arrived, Danica had quite forgotten that she was a sight her parents weren’t quite prepared to see.

“You weren’t kidding,” her father commented.

Danica blushed slightly, but did her job without hesitation. “Welcome to the Bare Buns Bed and Breakfast. Your room is number eight, here’s your key. You’ve already had the tour, but if you want another, Brian would be happy to take you around…

“Um, breakfasts are included in the room cost, but we will serve lunch and dinner as well. The day’s menu and price are posted in the dinning room… Dinner’s at 6pm…

“I think that’s everything, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns,” Danica finished with a smile.

Derek stepped up behind them. “Would you like me to carry your bags to your room?”

“Uh… Sure,” Danica’s mom averted her gaze from where it was naturally drawn.

“Hey, Danica love,” Brian’s 70-year old nudist grandmother called as she made her way to the front desk. “I’ve come to talk with your parents as I’ve been told nobody ever really explained the whys and what abouts of nudism to them.”

“Aw grandma!” A boy of about eight impatiently tugged on her hand. “They already know how to take off their clothes, and you promised to watch me swim in the pool.”

“I’ll watch him Ma, you go ahead and have your conversation,” Brian’s aunt assured her. The entire naked family was beginning to congregate to decide if they wanted to go swimming, or explore the farm.

It was so strange for Danica’s parents to see this. Knowing something, and hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it was completely different. They asked Brian’s grandmother to give them a few minutes, and then they would be interested in what she had to say.

They went to their assigned room, changed into their bathing suits as they weren’t comfortable being naked in front of so many strangers, and rejoined Brian’s grandma.

She led them to an outdoor table and chairs (also bought at a flea market). “So, your first question is undoubtedly why. You wonder why do we all have to be naked when we could just as easily be wearing something.”

Danica’s parents exchanged looks, and nodded. “We thought we understood, but we really don’t.”

Grandma had over 40 years of experience answering this question, so she had an answer prepared.

“The short answer is, why not? Yet, that explains nothing. So, I will give you some of the various reasons. Some believe that this is how god intended us to live. Some believe that clothing is just uncomfortable. Some believe that this kind of exposure to the sun has health benefits, though some believe it to cause cancer. In one form or another, we all believe this to be natural, and it is. You’ll see.” She went on to explain every aspect of the nudist lifestyle, and answer all of their questions. By the end of the conversation, Danica’s parents felt much better about it, though they still weren’t prepared to take off their swimsuits.

The summer steadily passed, and soon, Danica felt as if she actually knew what she was doing, accounting and all! Her parents started having dinner with Brian’s parents at least once a week, and were now comfortable enough to go nude, and bring the twins with.

Word spread of their B&B to unexpected places, and Danica was surprised when she got a call from a member of Brian’s distant family in Europe requesting a room for two weeks next summer.

More and more, Danica knew that she had found her life’s work. Now, all she had to do was come up with activities to occupy guests during the winter, as she strongly felt that almost no one would want to stay in the middle of nowhere during winter unless they had something to do.

No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t think of anything feasible. She sighed.

At the end of the summer, Danica balanced out all of the money the B&B had made, including sales of the farm products such as the cheese and wines, minus Erica and Derek’s wages and operating expenses, and was depressed to discover that it had only earned about half of what it cost to start up.

“Why are you depressed, Danica?” Brian’s mom asked. “That’s wonderful news! It takes most new businesses about five years to pay off their start up costs. If next summer is as good as this one, we’ll be ahead of the game!”

“Game?” Danica wondered.

“Just an expression,” his mom chuckled.

“So, this is really okay?” Danica pressed.

“Yes, just think, the year after that, it’ll be nearly pure profit. Not bad for a “summer job”, and if you ever wish to travel, you’ll have all winter to do so.”

Danica thought this over. Maybe it wasn’t necessary to try to attract guests for the winter months after all. The phone rang.

“Bare Buns Bed and Breakfast, how may I help you?” Danica asked the caller.

“Danica love? It’s Brian’s grandmother. Is the B&B already booked for the Christmas holiday?”

“Uh… no,” Danica said uncertainly since she wasn’t sure she wanted to be open at that time.

“Wonderful! Then allow me to book it, the whole thing, for two weeks. You see, we all have some time off then, though not all of us have the entire time off, anyway… We want to spend it there since the whole family can fit, and it’s easier than trying to gather at any one of our homes for any length of time.”

Danica took advantage of her momentary pause. “Of course, that sounds wonderful. Let me mark that on the calendar.”

“Oh thank you, you are such a dear. I’m so glad my grandson plans to marry you.”

“That’s sweet of you to say, grandma!” Danica purred in delight.

“I’ll let you go now, have a great day!”

“You too grandma!” Danica bade. She turned to Brian’s mom. “I love your mom!”

“My mom?”

“Yes, she just booked the B&B for Christmas, and she said she’s glad Brian plans to marry me.”

“Ah! Well, that would explain it,” Brian’s mom replied wryly.

Chapter 19

When Danica returned to school for eleventh grade along with Derek and Erica, Brian secretly began to work on plans to add on to Danica’s B&B. It was currently a one floor, rectangular building, and he thought that adding a small second floor to the building would be prudent. Necessary even.

He gathered most of the materials necessary to accomplish his goal the following spring, and the rest the spring after that. He confided in Derek, and secretly they recruited members of the boys and girls sports teams, and Danica’s dad, to help them build the addition. They did so during one entire weekend that Danica’s mom and Brian’s mom took Danica and Erica to stay at a spa in the cities for her birthday.

Danica returned to discover her surprise.

“Uh Brian? Why is there a second floor where there wasn’t one before?” She asked.

“I’ll show you.” He led her, Derek, and Erica up to the new addition. Derek smirked knowingly.

“Are you trying to tell me that you think we need to have a VIP suite?” Danica guessed.

“No, actually, I made this for us. All four of us. I figured that since you three were going to be graduating this June, it would be nice for us to have a place to live. Right here where we work,” Brian explained.

Danica had just turned 18, so she could legally move out of her parents’ house, but was she ready to take such a big step? Well yes, actually she was. She and Brian hadn’t actually spent a night apart since they discovered their parents would allow them to spend the night at each other’s houses, so living together was not a problem, but all four of them?

“What exactly do you mean by all four of us?” She asked.

Derek decided to answer. “Well, you see, my parents aren’t too keen on the idea of me not going to college. They think that I should choose a college sport team, and play so that I can eventually go pro. I have explained that I want to continue to work here, but as it’s only a summer job so far, they think I can do both. So anyway, I figure that if I move in here, I will be able to get some space from them, and maybe they will take my decisions more seriously.”

“Oh I see!” Erica grinned. She too had been having a hard time convincing her parents that she wanted to work at the B&B for at least the next few years of her life. They saw it as a job, whereas Erica saw it as her career of choice. After all, she was the “chef” in charge of the B&B’s food. What had started out as Danica’s dream had turned into an exciting dream for all of them, and they all spent plenty of time and energy planning out how to grow this business.

Erica continued, “If I move in here for the summer, my parents might be more inclined to accept my decisions.”

“Perhaps, but what about in the fall?” Danica asked.

Erica and Derek exchanged looks, and Erica replied, “We don’t plan to move out, if that’s what you mean. We are just saying that our parents will think it’s just for the summer.”

Danica and Brian were blessed with very understanding parents, but she had long known that Erica and Derek were not. They didn’t even know that the B&B was a dedicated nudist retreat. She frowned. “I still think that you should invite your parents here to see why you are both so willing to dedicate your lives to this ‘summer job.’ Maybe that way they can come to understand and accept your decision.”

“Come on Danica!” Erica growled in frustration. “They must know already how important this is to us. They were there to see how excited we were to build this place. They did hear us babble about this place as we got it set up and ready to be opened. They still hear us talk about this place approximately once in every four sentences! They just don’t care!”

“Actually,” Brian sided with Danica. “I think Danica’s idea is a good one. Let’s invite them to stay for a night about two weekends before you graduate. That way, they’ll be able to see this place, and experience it without the issue of nudity even coming up. Maybe then they’ll understand that this is not just some place you work at for us, it’s a place you work at with us.”

Derek looked at Erica. “It’s about the only way I am ever going to get an opportunity to explain things to my parents without having to deal with issues I know they wouldn’t understand.”

Erica sighed. “True…” She gave Derek a crafty look. “Maybe it would help both of our parents to accept our decision if we told them we were engaged.”

“How would that help?” Derek gave her a doubtful look. Erica gave him a look that said it should be obvious that their parents wouldn’t want them to have to break up just to obey their wishes.

*******

Two weekends before they graduated, Derek and Erica did invite their parents to spend a night at Danica’s B&B. The first thing they did was cover up the sign that said Bare Buns Bed and Breakfast – which Derek’s dad had not helped make – thankful that they hadn’t had time or energy to create other things, like stationary, with their logo on it.

“What happened to your sign?” Derek’s dad asked as soon as they arrived for their stay.

“It was damaged in a storm, and I plan to fix it next weekend,” Derek lied.

“You just be sure they pay you for your work. It’s too easy to say ‘Hey we’re friends, you should fix it for free,’” his dad advised.

“That’s not really an issue,” Derek replied. He and Erica had decided the previous summer that they would not expect a set salary, but rather an equal share of the profit. That meant Derek was paid for any repair he made to the place, and it was in his best interest to keep the place in great shape.

“You may think it’s not an issue, but your friends will walk all over you if you let them. It’s just good business sense to maintain a professional attitude.”

“That’s true,” Erica’s dad agreed.

“We’ll talk more later,” Erica interrupted. “First, let Derek show you to your rooms, and then once you are settled, Brian and Danica will take you on a tour.”

“Wait, where will you be?” Erica’s mom asked.

“In the kitchen. Dinner is at 6pm. I’ll see you then,” Erica gave a wave, and left for the kitchen.

“Oh I see. The three of you have nothing better to do than show us around, but Erica has to work,” Erica’s dad grumbled.

“Believe me, when this place is full, Erica is usually the one with the most free time on her hands,” Danica replied.

“So, she’s a slacker?” Erica’s mom asked in a tone that indicated she believed this easily.

“No,” Danica suppressed a growl of frustration.

The parents were shown to their rooms, and then taken on a tour. Derek slipped away from them at the first opportunity, and went to help Erica in the kitchen.

At 6pm sharp, Danica and Brian led their guests into the dinning room, and were promptly seated at the big dinning table. The table was set for eight, which indicated that the four planned to eat with the parents.

“This whole place is beautiful in a rustic way,” Derek’s mom complimented. She didn’t mean anything negative by it either as she loved rustic décor.

Erica and Derek appeared with platters of food. She had kept things simple, a slowly roasted ham, vegetables, sauerkraut, and sourdough bread. Dinner was served with a delicious melomel for the adults, and kombucha for the “kids.” (All of whom were adults, but not of age to drink alcohol.)

 It didn’t take long for the two sets of parents, who had always been good friends, to gang up on their children.

“We realize that you wanted to show us this place because you still hope to weasel out of college, but don’t think for one second that we are going to let you throw away your lives like that!” Derek’s dad stated.

“No offense to you, Danica, we think you have a good business here, and we wish you luck with it, but our children have to think of their futures. They can’t possibly expect to live on whatever wage you can afford to pay them,” Erica’s dad added.

“Actually dad, we make more than you think,” Erica corrected him.

“That’s right!” Derek backed her up. “We were made equal partners in this B&B last summer, and if it is anything to go by, we can easily live well on what we make.”

The four parents exchanged surprised looks. “Partners?”

“Yes,” Danica confirmed. She handed them an accounting sheet that showed last summers profits, and what each partner earned.

“How is this living well?” Derek’s dad snorted. To be honest, Erica’s parents were impressed enough with the figure, but Derek’s dad had always earned much more, and he expected Derek to do even better.

Derek had expected this, and he was ready with an answer. “You have to take into account that all of our food is provided for by the B&B, and now that we have added the second floor, we have a free place to stay as well, so really, there’s not much we need to spend our money on. I’d say that’s a pretty good amount when you look at it that way.”

Derek’s dad absently tapped a finger on the table as he thought this over. It did make a significant difference, but he still wasn’t satisfied. “Even so, if you stay hidden in this place all your life, you will never find a woman willing to be your wife. If you go to college, even if it’s just for one year, then you’ll have an opportunity to meet a nice woman, and who knows, maybe she’ll have plans that don’t fit well with this little business.”

Derek looked at Erica. He hated it that his parents would never accept his being gay, and he hated that they would force him to go to college, somehow, if they knew this was a nudist resort. He also hated lying to them, but… “I’m marrying Erica!” He blurted out.

Erica knew he was going to say it before it fully crossed his mind, so she smiled at him as if she really were a blushing bride-to-be.

“What!” Erica’s parents demanded in unison with Derek’s.

“Yes, we decided it recently,” Erica said mostly honestly. “We haven’t set a date or anything since we figure that can be decided later.”

“Preferably to be decided after this summer is over,” Derek added.

“Ohhh!” Erica’s mother nodded several slow times in understanding. “So that’s why you two don’t want to go off to college. You don’t want to be apart.”

Danica and Brian exchanged a private grin. In actuality, Derek was still in love with Brian, though Erica was still in love with Derek. If the two of them ever did get married, it would be a good marriage, but based on mutual friendship rather than passionate love.

A thought occurred to Danica, once they all moved into the second floor of the B&B, the four of them could almost be considered one relationship. Brian’s mom had given her a book on polygamy once, and it’s new age counterpart, polyamorism. If they all continued to get along as well as they do now… Perhaps her wish for a world in which they could all be with the one they loved could exist.

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