Paul called his mother and made plans for he and Jenna to visit that weekend while his father went out to the bar with his friends. He figured that it would be easier to talk to Dana about the plan in person rather than trying it over the phone, so he only told her that they wanted to stop in.
They arrived around 7 pm and Carl was already gone. He wouldn't be back for hours so Jenna had recommended to Paul that they take a roundabout approach to the conversation. They sat at the kitchen table and talked first about work and wedding stuff, and after about an hour Jenna finally gave Paul the slight nod that he had been waiting for.
"If you'll both excuse me, I need to use the restroom." He got up and left the room, but once he had left the room he stopped around the corner and listened.
"So Dana," Jenna began, "I wanted to apologize for the stress I caused you with our last conversations."
"Oh, let's not even talk about that. You didn't do anything wrong and were just trying to help. You had no way of knowing that I am not normal."
"Dana, I don't want you thinking that. Lots of women don't know right away what their needs are or how to communicate them."
Dana's eyes flicked to the doorway to make sure that Paul wasn't coming back and then spoke with a lowered voice, "But we already proved that my problem is that my body won't respond correctly when Carl is involved. That's different."
Paul was glad that he was still close enough to hear that statement, because he could also hear the pain in her voice when she said it. He was sure now that they were doing the right thing. He couldn't let his mom feel so badly about herself if he could do anything about it.
Jenna said, "Let me show you something." She leaned across the table and put her hand on Dana's forearm and then firmly but slowly rubbed her hand up and down the arm. "This feels pretty normal, right?"
"Sure."
"Okay, well is this better or worse?" Jenna ran just the tips of her fingers lightly across the same arm.
"It's different, but I wouldn't say better or worse. Wait, is something wrong with me there, too? Should I be feeling something new?"
"No, I'm just trying to point out that the amount of pressure or type of touch can make a difference in your reactions. If I were to squeeze your arm very hard you would probably yell and pull away, right?"
"Of course, but that's not the same as a man trying intimate touches and my body rejecting them."
"What if we could prove that your body could respond to a man like you want it to?"
"How would you do that?"
Just then, Paul returned to the room. "So what are you ladies talking about?"
Dana turned slightly pink as Jenna replied, "We're talking about your mom's problem and how I think we can prove that she is perfectly normal. Dana, this is perfect, what if you let Paul touch your arm?"
"Oh, fine," Dana said, clearly relieved that nothing more was being suggested. She reached her arm out towards Paul.
Paul reached out and laid his hand on her arm. "Like this?" he asked as though he had no idea what had transpired while he was out of the room.
"No," Jenna corrected, "lightly, just using your fingers."
Paul adjusted and caressed Dana's arm with his fingers. "How is that?"
Dana looked slightly uncomfortable and said, "It's fine."
"Now close your eyes," Jenna suggested and Dana complied.
Paul continued to lightly stroke Dana's arm, using the barest of contact. Shortly, Dana snatched her arm back and opened her eyes.
"Okay," she said, that was nice, but that was just my arm, and doesn't really relate to bedroom activities.
Jenna replied, "That's not necessarily true. There are lots of places on a woman's body that a man can touch to make her feel good when they are being intimate. It's the type of touch and
the circumstances that make it feel good. I have another idea, close your eyes again."
Dana closed her eyes and held out her arm. Jenna looked at Paul and pointed to her own neck.
Paul reached over and ran an fingertip along his mother's neck, starting just below hear right ear. Dana flinched in startlement and looked at Paul with wide eyes.
"Hey," Jenna laughed, "I said eyes closed!"
"Sorry, I was just surprised. I thought he was going to touch my arm again. Are you sure this is appropriate?"
"Mom, it's just me trying to help you out. It's not like I'm some weirdo grabbing you, but if you want to stop it's no problem."
Dana figured that she was just being silly and so she closed her eyes and said, "Go ahead."