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As I finished giving Chloe a tour of the house, my son came home. I introduced them. “Jonathan, this is Chloe. She’s going to be our new housekeeper. When your father and I are away, she’s in charge. Do what she says.”

He asked, “Your little sister is Lora, right? She kinda looks like you. Not as… grown up, though.” I noticed he was staring at the shape of one of Chloe’s nipples as it pushed against her thin bikini top.

She nodded, “Uh huh. She’s one of my three sisters. I think you’re in the same grade?”

“Yeah. She’s in most of the same classes. That reminds me, I need to do my homework.” As he ran upstairs, the bulge in his jeans told me homework was the last thing on his mind.

I told her, “Gerald might be offended if you look too sleazy, and I don’t really want my son seeing you like this. It’s too distracting. You should wear more conservative clothes, something that doesn’t show off your boobs or so much of your legs.”

“I don’t really have anything like that, except my winter clothes in the attic at home.”

I sighed. “Let’s go look in my closet. I think I have some things in your size.” I knew I had several dresses that would fit her, but they were from ten years and fifteen pounds ago. She dropped her running shorts and tried on half a dozen dresses in my bedroom.

She pointed to a cardboard box of random old things on the closet floor. “What’s that? Is that real gold?”

I looked in the box. “Yes, it’s a gold-plated cigarette holder. Gerald gave it to me for my 18th birthday, along with that gold-plated lighter. We quit smoking about 18 years ago, when I got pregnant with Jonathan.”

She stared at them a little while. I told her, “I guess you can have them, since I don’t smoke anymore.”

“Really? Thanks!” She put the holder in the corner of her mouth, then held it and waved it around like a wand. “Does this look sexy?”

I smiled. “That’s why Gerald gave it to me. Let’s get back to finding a dress you like.”

Gerald walked in the bedroom as she dropped her current dress to the floor. Chloe was only wearing a black thong and bikini top. She shrieked, “Eeeeeh!” She grabbed the dress and held it in front of her as I tried to explain, “Gerald, we… um… this is our new housekeeper, Chloe.” He turned and walked out quickly.

I followed him and said, “Chloe is from a poor family, and I was giving her some of my old clothes.”

His face was a little red and I saw one of his hands was clenched in a fist until he took a deep breath.