The Pale Blue Sky

by Jack Lynch

Part 2 - Connor, Chapter 3

10 Years Old.

Two weeks after his birthday and two days before Christmas, Connor's father left. He never came back.

At its best, the relationship between Connor's mom and dad had been icy. At its worst, it was hostile and occasionally violent. His father's anger management issues were unchecked in spite of a lame attempt at counseling and the appearance of prescription bottles on the kitchen table. It promised to be a dark Christmas. Connor dreaded the prospects of faking smiles and cheeriness in the face of the gloom that beset them all.

When he woke up that morning and slowly dragged himself into the kitchen, he found his mother making waffles and singing. Actually singing! And waffles, too! His favorite breakfast.

He stood just inside the kitchen door, scanning the room, looking for his father. He wasn't there. "Mom?"

She turned from the waffle maker. She'd obviously been crying. Connor was confused because she also had a happy smile.

"Good morning, sunshine! Want some waffles?"

He tentatively slipped into his spot at the table. Humming, his mom cut the waffles into two portions and served them up. She put two plates on the table. The syrup and butter were already there along with a cold glass of milk for him, coffee for her. Concentrating his attention on the food in front of him, Connor drizzled the syrup on his waffle as his mother put a couple of slices of butter on top. He watched the butter melt but he kept his hands in his lap. He was afraid his dad was going to come in and ruin everything.

His mother didn't touch her waffle either. She put her hands in her lap and looked at Connor.

"Honey, I have some news." Connor looked at her. "Your father has decided to go away for awhile." Connor perked up instantly. "We decided it would be best if he lived somewhere else." Connor's eyes shot up. This was really great news! His heart beat wildly.

As he started to settle down a bit, he tried to contain his enthusiasm. Connor swallowed and tried to screw up enough courage to ask the big question.

"Is he coming back?" he asked in a small voice. He was afraid to hear the answer. Tomorrow? Next week? Next month? When?

Connor's mother looked down for a moment and then looked him directly in the eye. "No. Not for a long time. Maybe never."

His heart swelled. It was like a huge weight had been removed from the top of his head. What he really wanted to do was jump up and do a happy dance. He looked at his mom. She looked sort of sad. Not super sad, just kind of sad. He got up and went to her.

He put his arm around her shoulders and patted her head. "It's ok mom. It's gonna be all right. We'll be fine."

Tears ran down his mother's cheeks. She looked at him smiling through the tears and laughed. She hugged him back, laughed again, and wiped her eyes.

Connor sat back down and dove into that waffle as if he'd never eaten in his entire life.

Connor was on all fours in the bathtub. He was afraid to move. A hand softly but firmly applied pressure to the middle of his back forcing him to lean down onto his elbows. His mouth hovered just above the water. His naked butt was up in the air.

"They're ya go, bud. We'll just make sure you're all clean." He heard two hands rubbing a bar of soap back and forth to create lather. A moment later, the woman used her hands to scrub circles around and around on his butt cheeks. She paused, lathered up a washcloth, and said, "Just relax, ok?" Connor wasn't exactly sure what that meant but he kind of had an idea. He had been clenching his butt until now. He took a breath and tried to relax. He unclenched his butthole just as she took the washcloth and rubbed it down his crack to his nuts and back up again. When it touched his anus, he jumped. She steadied him with her other hand. Dipping the washcloth in the bath water, she swirled it around to release most of the soap, pulled it out of the water, and rung out the bath water over his butt.

"Ok! We're all done!" She said in a high bright voice. "Let's get you out!" She reached into the water and pulled the drain plug at the bottom of the tub. He looked up at her blankly.

It would have been ok if it had been his mom. But, it wasn't his mom. It was this lady. Judy.

Eight months had passed since Connor's dad had left. Since then, life had become much more pleasant. The new normal was light, full of laughter, and the aroma of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Connor loved the family the two of them had become.

His mother's cheeriness was unbroken except for the very occasional phone calls she got from his dad. Then, her mood darkened and she spoke in low, quiet tones. Fortunately it had been quite awhile since he'd called. Connor didn't miss him for a minute.

That summer, his mother had a group of friends over for a casual dinner. Connor played the perfect host, delivering drinks, clearing plates, and making pleasant conversation. Several of the women complimented Connor on his behavior. A couple of them told Connor how much they liked his new haircut. Recently, his mom had encouraged him to let it grow a little longer. His light blond hair now covered half of his ears and hung down over his forehead. Once in awhile he'd have to shake it out of his eyes.

As he was scrunching up some used napkins on the buffet table and straightening the toothpicks sticking out of a shot glass, he spied one of the women looking at him. This was the second time within just a few minutes that he'd caught her staring. Connor had been introduced to her earlier. Her name was Judy.

"Oh ya, Nurse Judy, right?" He said as he blushed a little.

He remembered Judy as the nurse who took care of him when at his recent check-up. Nurse Judy and his mom greeted each other warmly. They seemed to know each other from some exercise class they took together. Because of his age, his mom was able to stay for the check-up. She sat in a chair in the exam room while Nurse Judy did the initial examination. After requesting he remove his clothes down to just his briefs, she measured Connor's height and weight. He was now 4'10" and 68 pounds! Yay! After she took his blood pressure and listened to his heart beat, she asked him to jump up on the exam table to wait for the doctor.

A short time later a knock on the door preceded the doctor entering to perform the rest of the examination. Nurse Judy stayed to assist. As the exam continued her eyes seemed to rove over Connor's mostly naked body. He felt a little weird about it but forgot the whole thing shortly after the visit to the clinic.

Until now.

After dinner, the women sat around talking. The living room buzzed with conversation. Having collected all of the available plates and stacking them efficiently in the kitchen, Connor stood behind the chair his mom was sitting in.

Sitting kitty-corner from her, Judy asked, "How did Connor do with his booster shot?"

"Ya, good." his mother replied.

"I noticed a little redness in the crook of Connor's elbow. Do you think he could be getting a rash from the shot?"

Connor's Mom seemed unconcerned. "Oh, I dunno. He seems fine to me." Connor blushed. "Well, it's time for a bath and bedtime anyway. Connor?" She turned and looked up at him.

Judy jumped up, "Oh Carrie, let me give Connor a bath! I'll make sure he isn't getting a rash."

Preoccupied with her friends, Carrie gave a lazy wave with her wrist and said, "Sure. Be my guest."

Connor was mortified. "No, Mom!"

His mother was already deep in conversation with one of her other friends.

With a big smile, Judy nudged Connor's shoulder. "Come on. It'll be fun."

With his heart beating a mile a minute, she led him to the bathroom where she immediately began drawing the bath water. Connor just stood there not really knowing what to do.

After getting down on her knees to get the water just the right temperature, Judy smiled broadly and said, "Ok. Let's get you undressed."

Paralyzed, Connor just stood there while Judy unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off of his shoulders after which she pulled his arms through the sleeves. She directed him to take his shoes and socks off. Crouching down on her knees, she faced him directly and unbuttoned his pants.

"Here. Hold onto my shoulders," she said. With one arm on her shoulder, he lifted a leg as she pulled first one pants leg down and then the other. Once his pants were off, Connor could barely breathe as Judy pulled his underpants off. Naked.

He jumped into the tub with a splash. Grabbing one of the bath toys left over from when he was a little kid, a fat plastic tug boat, he started sailing it around mostly so he could keep it over his crotch. At Judy's request, he laid his head back so she could pour water over his head and shampoo his hair.

Once done, she said, "Turn over and I'll wash your back."

This was better because his penis was hidden and, besides, he didn't mind having his butt visible as much.

"Here honey. Get up on your knees," as she put her hand under him and pushed on his stomach to force him up on all fours.

With the water draining out of the tub, Connor stepped out just as Judy grabbed a towel and wrapped it around him. She roughly rubbed her hands up and down his body both to dry him off and to warm him up. She laid another towel on top of the closed toilet seat.

"Here, why don't you have a seat and I'll get your hair combed out?" Judy used a hand towel to partly dry his hair. It stuck up and out everywhere. He couldn't see himself in a mirror but knew it must have looked ridiculous. She grabbed a comb from a tray on top of the toilet tank. Sitting on her knees she carefully separated his hair into sections, and combed it out. As she did, she tipped his chin up a bit with her index finger.

Glancing down, she caught Connor's eyes staring up into her face. "My God! You've got beautiful eyes!" He couldn't help himself; he smiled.

Connor wasn't used to this kind of attention. Bath time was usually his own responsibility now that he was older. He had been super uncomfortable being naked around Judy and having his privates washed like that. But, it was over now and he enjoyed having his hair combed by someone else. It was mildly soothing.

"Honey, are you warm enough to let me take the towel off?"

Connor nodded. She unwrapped him urging him to stand for a moment so she could slide the towel away. When the towel was gone and Connor was completely naked again, Judy's eyes wandered all over his body. It felt weird and even more weirdly, kind of good. He sat back down on the toilet.

Still on her knees in front of Connor, she quietly said, "Let's bring your knee up, ok?"

As she said it, she took hold of his left calf and lifted his leg up so his foot was resting on the edge of the toilet seat. She gently pushed his knee to open his leg further.

Connor knew his dick and balls were just hanging there in front of her. He took a breath trying to stay calm. Judy took the bath towel and gently wiped it down the inside of his thigh. When it reached his dick, she bunched the towel up a bit more as she used it to lightly brush over his genitals. Careful to avoid touching him with her fingers, she used the towel to push his dick and balls to the side. She used another part of the towel to dry the tender skin where his thigh joined his abdomen. Slowly, she brought his left leg down. Wordlessly, she took his right leg and repeated the same activity.

Connor's tummy felt funny. He didn't know what to think. He felt really uncomfortable about Nurse Judy seeing him naked and all. But, another part of it felt nice.

Judy brought the towel back up and tickled his nose. "Ok, good look'n. Get your 'jams on and get ready for bed." He just looked at her, no expression on his face, and bolted out of the bathroom. Running naked to his bedroom, he turned, looked to see if she was following, and quickly closed the door.