[Editorial note: This chapter references events that take place in Chapters 1-3 of “Ben’s Turn”, which all occur after the end of “Katie’s Surprises”. You can read those if you want more context.]

The next day, Wednesday, was to prove just as memorable, albeit for different reasons.

On Tuesday morning, when Katie had phoned Mom at the office to announce my continued fever, Mom informed her that she had to leave unexpectedly that afternoon on another business trip. She asked if Katie could continue looking after me and check in with the doctor’s office to see what they recommended. I was a little miffed that, at 18, Mom still thought I needed a “babysitter” but was feeling too ill to care much. And, of course, I was more than happy to spend more time with Katie, even if she did seem a bit aloof after our quasi-amorous adventure of that morning. Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite as I would have liked.

Katie spoke by phone with Jill Smith, the nurse practitioner at Village Pediatrics, and they agreed that I should come back in the following morning (Wednesday) at 10:00. But Katie had another job interview then, so she asked my twin sister Liz to drive me there. Liz, who had coincidentally just come back from taking Katie’s own brother Ben to the doctor, had agreed (a bit too readily, in my opinion). For reasons that I didn’t quite understand, Liz seemed to revel in her newfound role of Katie’s co-caregiver and spent the rest of the afternoon next door with Ben, who had apparently caught the same strep bug that I had had the previous week.

After dinner, I took a shower and ended up plopping into bed, too tired to even put on underwear, much less pyjamas. I spent a fitful night, unable to get comfortable and alternating between bouts of chills and sweating. By the time I woke on Wednesday morning, I sensed that the infection had spread to my right ear and felt pretty awful. I was too achy to even get out of bed.

Liz came into my room at around 8:00 to check in on me. She was already dressed in jeans and a yellow polo shirt and had that “big sister” look that I always found so annoying. But still, it was nice to know that she cared. She put her hand on my forehead and frowned.

“How are you feeling? she asked in an adult tone that I wasn’t accustomed to hearing from her.

“Not great,” I answered honestly.

“You’re burning up. It’s a good thing we already have an appointment for you at the doctor’s office.” She picked up the glass of water from the nightstand and handed it to me. “Here, try to drink as much as you can. I’ll find something to help you feel better.”

I took a few sips of water then lay back down on the sweat-stained pillow. I could hear Liz rummaging around in Mom’s bathroom. My heart started racing when she reappeared a few minutes later and I saw what she was carrying. In her left hand were a couple of pills, presumably Tylenol, as promised. But in her right hand, she was holding up a thermometer. The tip was already coated in Vaseline, leaving no doubt about how she intended to use it.

“Before I give you Tylenol, I want to take your temperature,” Liz said matter-of-factly when she saw me staring at the instrument. I noted her use of the word “want” rather than “need”.

“Liz, I really don’t think that’s necessary. I’m sure they’ll check everything when I go in for my appointment.” My penis stiffened slightly at the prospect having one of the nurses at Village Pediatrics take my temperature, but I wasn’t sure about having my sister do it again.

“Well, since you’re the one who’s sick, I’m in charge. So, I’ll decide what’s necessary and what’s not. Turn over onto your tummy.”

I was a bit taken aback by her assertiveness and wondered vaguely if it had anything to do with her experience the day before with Ben. But I still made no effort to move. Liz placed the pills and the thermometer on a tissue on the nightstand before turning back to face me. Without warning, she took hold of the covers and pulled them down and completely off, leaving them bunched on the floor at the foot of the bed. I’m not sure who was surprised the most: me, having Liz take control and expose me on the now-bare white sheet of my twin bed; or Liz, discovering that I had been total naked under the covers. She stared for a moment at my semi-erect penis with a strange look on her face.

“Now you can turn over, unless of course you want me to take your temperature in the diaper position,” she said with a little smile creeping onto her face.

Still a bit in shock by her assertiveness, I finally acquiesced and turned over. It was humiliating to be treated that way, but I figured it would have been worse to remain exposed. And part of me, deep inside, didn’t really mind being taken care of.

Her clinical demeanour having returned, Liz picked up the thermometer and sat down on the side of the bed. She spread my buttocks with her thumb and forefinger, then gently but firmly pushed the cold thermometer inside. I could feel the familiar sensation as the tip headed deep into my rectum before finally coming to a stop. It was strangely comforting despite the embarrassing situation. My penis involuntarily pressed against the bedsheet underneath me. Thankfully, it was hidden from view.

“There. Let’s just leave that in place five minutes so we can see what your temp is,” she said while patting my butt. Her condescension was palpable.

Just then the front doorbell rang.

“Oh, that must be Claire! She promised to return the cassettes I lent her last week. Try not to move while I go answer.”

With that, Liz got up and ran out of my room, leaving the door open on her way out. I was now alone with my thoughts and feeling somewhat vulnerable on the bare bed.

Claire had been one of our classmates and was part of Liz’s small friend group (which also included Debra, it occurred to me). I had had lots of classes with her throughout high school. She was very smart, especially at math, and had been accepted in the engineering program at one of the Ivy League schools. She definitely fit the part, with her small breasts and large glasses giving her a slightly nerdy, bookish look.

I began to worry when I heard the two of them talking in hushed voices downstairs. Dread then set in when Liz said, “Come on. Let’s take these up to my room. You can pop in and say ‘hi’ to him.”

“No, no, no!” I thought to myself, now in full panic mode. How could Liz do that?

I looked around desperately for something with which to cover my body. But the bedsheets were out of reach on the floor, and I didn’t dare try to stand up with the thermometer inside me. So, I remained rooted to the spot. The two women stopped briefly in Liz’s room then continued down the hall toward mine.

Claire’s eyes practically bulged from their sockets as she followed Liz into my room and saw me lying there naked. She blushed and was unable to suppress a nervous smile at the spectacle, though she quickly regained her composure.

“Hi, Luke! Liz told me you’re not well. I’m so sorry to hear,” Claire said as she came into the room. Her tone suggested that she wasn’t really sorry at all, and her eyes were glued to the glass protruding from between my cheeks.

“Hi, Claire” was all I could muster. My face must have been beet red despite the fever.

Liz sat down again on the bed to resume holding the thermometer. Claire also took a seat, at the head of the bed next to the pillow. Her hip was thus just inches from my face, and I could smell her perfume. Looking up, I could see the outline of her small right breast under her blouse; the nipple pressed against the fabric, which caused my penis to harden even more. She reached down and placed her hand on my forehead.

“He’s definitely warm,” she said to Liz. “It’s good that you’re monitoring his temperature. Ear infections can be really nasty, and it’s important to keep track of the fever accurately. When my little brother gets sick, my mom still uses the baby thermometer on him, as well. She says it’s the most reliable way for boys.”

I suppose that Claire was trying to make me feel more comfortable. But the fact that that her brother wasn’t even yet in junior high school just added to my shame of not having tried sooner to have my temperature taken like an adult. Mom had actually proposed switching me to oral when I was 13, but I was the one who asked to stay with the rectal method. At the time, I didn’t really understand why I wanted that; I just knew that I enjoyed those moments of intimacy with Mom. But I also realized that it was unusual for a teenager to have his temperature taken that way. So, to mask my real motive and save face, I told her at the time that I had read that rectal temperatures were more accurate. Mom agreed with me and never asked again if I wanted to switch.

Liz’s voice woke me from my daydream.

“Yeah, my mom says the same,” she replied to Claire, taking on that big-sister attitude again and continuing their disconcerting conversation as if I wasn’t even there. “I switched to oral when we were about 11, but she has kept taking Luke’s in his bottom. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to mind!”

“Well, I think it’s kind of cute.” added Claire, causing me to blush even more.

Liz finally removed the thermometer from my rectum and wiped it with a tissue. As usual, I felt a slight pang of regret as I felt the instrument leaving me. Holding it up to the light, Liz got that big sister look again.

“Your temperature has gone up almost a full degree since last night. It’s 102.6 now,” she announced in a tone that was somewhere between worry and delight.

Not wanting her to have an excuse to do something even more intrusive (like giving me a suppository, the way Katie had done a few days before) and hoping to encourage Liz and Claire to finally leave, I downplayed the reading by saying I didn’t feel that bad and that the staff at the doctor’s office would surely know what to do. I added that she had probably just forgotten to shake down the thermometer beforehand.

“Hmm, maybe you’re right, Luke,” Liz responded.

I thought I was in the clear until she began making the familiar snapping motions with her wrist and I realized that my plan had backfired.

“We’d better check it again, just to be sure,” she said as she verified the column of mercury. “There, it’s definitely below 96 now.”

I was fairly horrified at the prospect of being penetrated again, this time in front of a former classmate. But as if that wasn’t bad enough, Claire then chimed in.

“Can I do it?” she asked, once again addressing Liz as if I wasn’t there. “I used to take Ryan’s temperature when he was little.”

To my horror, Liz handed the thermometer to Claire, who seemed almost giddy in anticipation as she verified the mercury column. The two women traded places on the edge of the bed. I couldn’t see Claire’s face, but I felt her spread my buttock apart and push the thermometer back inside my rectum while Liz looked on approvingly. I have to admit, it was strangely pleasant, even though I felt helpless and embarrassed to be in that position.

“I’m not hurting you, am I?” Claire asked after the thermometer was in place. After I shook my head, she added, “That’s good, because I don’t want to do anything bad to this cute, smooth butt of yours!”

I was aware from PE showers at school that I had less hair on my body, including my backside, than most other young men my age. That had always been a source of embarrassment for me, so it was surprising (and somewhat reassuring) to think that a woman could actually find it attractive. And it had never even occurred to me that nerdy Claire would be thinking about something like that. My erection immediately strengthened.

After five minutes, Claire removed the thermometer and, to Liz’s evident satisfaction, confirmed my temperature of 102.6. I was relieved yet somehow disappointed that my early-morning ignominy was coming to an end. But Liz had one more minor indignity in store for me.

“Here, sit up and take these,” she ordered, holding the two Tylenol pills in her hand.

“Um, can’t you leave first?” I responded, acutely aware again of my erection and trying to salvage some dignity.

“No, Luke. You didn’t trust me with the thermometer, so I don’t trust you with the Tylenol,” she retorted with a smug look on her face. “Now, sit up and take your medicine like a good patient.”

In my feverish state, I really didn’t have the energy to fight, so ended up acquiescing. Both women stared as I slowly turned over and sat up. There was no point in hiding my erection, so I didn’t even try. I just took the pills and the glass of water and downed them as fast as I could.

“That’s a good boy. I’ll make some eggs for breakfast, so why don’t you come down when you’re dressed. We should leave for Village Pediatrics in about an hour.”

With that, the two women went downstairs, leaving me to wonder, not without some apprehension, what would be in store for me during the upcoming appointment at the doctor’s office.