“Mary! You´re back. Come here and be kissed.”
“Hi, Saul. Did you miss my cooking?”
“Saul,” Tom said, “You mean this woman can cook? What have we been missing?”
“Not much, you loves. I´m glad to be back. We had a wonderful time, but it´s good to be home.”
Mary and Ken settled at the table for the meeting.
“The big thing is the Introduction,” Anne began. “Heather?”
“So far, everything seems to be going all right. We have plenty of stock for all the things we´re going to show, and production is under way. Alex will pass among you with proofs of the catalog we´ll be distributing. The meeting rooms and our bedrooms are set in the hotels. We´ve hired a Road Manager, who seems to be on top of all that. Press invitations are ready to go on the mailing date, and you and Saul have already approved the press releases and the press package. There´s really only one or two things that worry me.
“One is the models. Right now, we´ve arranged for models at each city. I´ve decided to call the New York agency and see if we could save anything by using the same models in all four shows, even if we have to fly them around. If nothing else, we might benefit from their knowing the routine.”
“Let us know what you find out. What´s the other thing?”
“Our plan now is for each model to do the runway bit, then walk down and through the audience and backstage. That´s going to cost us extra, because the agents are worried someone might manhandle the girls. The question is whether to drop that bit or not.”
“Should we simply play it safe?” Anne asked. “What do we gain by doing this?”
Saul answered, “I thought the audience would get a chance to see the stuff at least a little closer. See how it looks on the skin. That´s all I had in mind.”
“Can we do that another way?”
Alex offered, “We could have a video camera on the runway. Show close-ups on a big screen behind where Anne stands. Use different ranges of close-ups, some very, some not so. Like, I know one outfit that´s so convincing we ought to show a close-up of the nipples, just to prove we haven´t cheated.”
“Good idea. Heather what do you think?”
“Get on it, please, Alex. Wish I´d mentioned it to you sooner.”
“Heather, I have one for you.”
“What, Tom?”
“You know me, the construction guy. Are you going to have enough time to make the costume changes if you run as planned? Have you tried it out, or have you just guess-timated it?”
“I hadn´t thought that through, I´ll admit. We plan two changes for each girl or guy. What they wear at the start we have plenty of time for. I´ve done some trials, see how long it takes to put on each outfit. That´s what I´ve used for timing. I´m trying to avoid having to wash anyone – takes too long. Since the colors are opaque, I can just lay them over in most cases.”
“Why don´t we do a complete dress rehearsal?” Anne asked. “We have enough materials, don´t we, Heather”
“Yes, sure. How´re we going to get enough people? We´re all of us going to be busy backstage except Anne and Saul, who´re the presenters. Mary, I´ve got you hopping around like a flea on a hot brick.”
“Okay with me, Heather. Got Ken in there, too?”
“You bet.”
“Hey, I know,” Sigrid said. “Tom, how many guests do we have for Labor Day? Why can´t we use moms and dads? I´ll bet it would be a trip and a half.”
“We´ve got a full house, twelve guests. But that´s only six extra women.”
Ken said, “We´ve got room for another two couples.”
Anne said, “Look, we only need rooms for Alex and Will´s folks. We can´t get more than eighteen or twenty on the Big Bed, but we could …”
“Look, Anne,” Saul said, “Let´s just ask everyone. Steve, Sarah, Jimmy and Mei-Ling. We´ll figure out the details later.”
“That´s still only nine women,” Heather noted.
Mary said, with a grin, “Put some of the guys in drag. Saul, can you see your dad in that evening gown?”
“He´d love it.”
“There´s another problem,” Tom said. “If we keep putting on shindigs like this, we´ll have to start charging admission.”
Mary spoke up. “Ken and I met some interesting people on vacation. They´re Jim and Denise Positano. He´s the buyer for a good-size chain of up-scale women´s boutiques. He saw our Breastworks line – Mom and I were wearing them at the disco – and I gave him the catalog. He wants to know if we´d like to sell through his stores. I expect him to call next week.”
“Ask them up,” Saul said. “We can talk, at least.”
“And there´s another thing. Will, we met this terrific African-American couple, Al and Margaret O´Malley.”
“O´What?” Alex asked.
“O´Malley. There were Irish slaveholders, too. Really, it was a laugh, but they´ve got a great sense of humor. I showed them the Nudes and Erotics and they want us to do some of African-Americans. They are both beautiful-looking and great fun.”
“Any idea what they do for a living?” Will asked. “Not that it really matters.”
“Margaret´s a lawyer in Atlanta. Does civil stuff. Al´s in some business or other. I can´t remember what.”
“I can´t either.” Ken said.
“You guys sleep together?” Saul asked.
“Only non-stop,” Mary said.
“Well, I guess that makes them family.”
“What´s family?”
“I say, family is us and Ken, and our folks. And since Sarah and Steve are our lovers, too, we probably have to include the guys you met.”
“Well, only provisionally,” Heather said.
“Why?” Anne asked.
“I haven´t met them. Now, that´s putting it a little personally, but you see what I mean.”
“This is kind of interesting,” Mary said. “I mean, do you have to be ‘family´ to work with us? Right now, everyone who´s part of Still Waters is family, as you defined it. That can´t last.”
“Right,” Heather said. “I need help. If we get half the business we project from VeeCees and VeeJays, I´m swamped.”
Saul said, “We´re spending a lot of money on the call center that takes orders from our catalogs. I´ve been wondering if we should take it on ourselves, but we´re not set up for that yet.”
“Okay,” Anne said, “we need a definition of ‘family.´ Let´s hear it.”
“I started it,” Saul said. “I´ll propose something. Family is the nine of us. That is: Mary, Anne – the founders – Tom, Alex, Will and me, and our true lovers. That includes Ken.”
“What about our folks?” Tom asked. “They´ve made this possible, and they´re a lot of help to us. Most of them are hell in bed, too.”
“Our parents are ‘family´”, Sigrid said.
“So, what about Sarah and Steve?” Anne asked.
“Them, too.” Alex said.
“On what criterion?” Anne asked. “Just because you say so?”
“What´s the trouble, Anne?” Will asked.
“No trouble, Will, I just want a definition that works automatically. Not one that has to be re-worked every time we meet someone new. For example, there´s Dan and Consuela, and Jimmy and Mei-Ling, and of course, these new folks that Ken and Mary met.”
“Couldn´t we vote?” Heather asked.
“You going to be the one to vote ‘No´ if Alex wants someone in?” Anne asked.
“Forget that. Anne´s right, we need a definition, not an opinion.”
“I´m the newest. Can I make a suggestion?” Ken asked.
“Of course.”
“Everyone we are close to, everyone who is part of the stew we live in has been with us on the Big Bed. How about saying that anyone we ask to join us on the Big Bed is ‘family?´”
Alex said, “With the exception of parents. They´re all family, no matter what.”
“Right.” Said Will.
“Is this agreed?” Anne asked. “I think it works, because we don´t ask just anyone onto the Big Bed. Those who join us there, I think we can trust and work with.”
“I got another problem,” Saul said.
“What now?” Anne asked.
“To keep the business running, we´re going to be hiring people we don´t want to sleep with. Does everyone who works with us, everyone we trust with our business secrets and even some of our personal secrets, have to be ‘family´? There are limits.”
“I guess that means we´re going to need someplace where those people can work. Offices.”
“Anne, if we make it, that´s what it will come to.”
“Things sure get complicated, Saul. Any comments?”
Mary said, “Guys, I like Ken´s idea. Obviously, we´re going to choose who we ask to screw us all. That´s what we´ve done all along. Sigrid, Heather, Ken, Sarah and Steve. So, Al and Margaret and Jim and Denise aren´t family until – unless – we all ask them to share the Big Bed.”
“And you and Anne chose us, Mary,” Tom said. “Have I ever said ‘Thank you?´”
Anne said it. “Every day and every night, Tom.”
“Can I change the subject?” Will asked. “Mary, when will your pictures be back from the lab?”
“Tomorrow. Why?”
“I want to see what Margaret looks like.”