“Hi. I´m Al O´Malley.”
“You´re kidding. O´Malley?”
“Well, my grandfather called himself Johnson, but during the Roots thing, my dad found out our ancestors had been owned by a guy named O´Malley. We changed our name.”
“Hey, I´m sorry, I didn´t mean that. I meant, you´re Al O´Malley in Atlanta. I´m Harry Katz, Chicago. Saul´s dad.”
“For Christ´s sake! Harry, we´ve been trying to skin each other for years.”
“Well, you finally got me. Bare as a baby. How´s business?”
“Great. You sent me the first Still Waters catalog. Now we´re all family. Come meet Margaret, my wife.”
“Muriel, you got a minute? Come meet an old friend.”
“I´m Margaret. You´re the Katzes?”
“Margaret, you´ve got some nerve, wearing a virtual bathing suit to dinner.”
“Well, I didn´t wear anything the rest of the day, Muriel. What do you call what you´re wearing?”
“More fun, Margaret. Come sit next to me.”
.oOo.
At Ken´s house, Pat and Tina made breakfast.
“Uh ... have a good night, Tina?”
“You know I did. The doors were open and we didn´t pull the curtains between our rooms. We watched you two for a while. Listened, too.”
“That´s one reason we left the lights on. Glad you did, too ... You´ve changed a bit since the Fourth.”
“Boy, I´ll say. And thanks to you and Judith.”
“I suspect you´ve done most of it.”
“Well, and Fred, too. He´s kept me stirred up so much since then, I hardly get anything done when he´s around. Not that I mind, you understand. I haven´t had so much loving since we were first married.”
“Why´s that?”
“Well, you know. I let being wife-and-mother-and-pillar-of-the-community get between my legs instead of my husband.”
“I like the way you put that.”
“Somehow, we lost the fun of sex with each other. I think we´ve got that back. Now, well, our social life hasn´t changed much, but we´ve got a home that´s a lot happier ... You like watching, do you?”
“New discovery. And we like being watched. Wonderful. Makes me hot thinking of it.”
Dean spoke up. “Is there anything you´d like me to do about that?”
“God, I almost forgot you guys were here. Hang on a little while, love, will you? After breakfast.”
Fred said, “Pat, Tina´s a new woman. She looks better, she´s a lot happier, I think. And you can be sure I am. She´s got Heather sending her VeeCees all the time and seeing her around the house is better than going to the picture-show.”
“Are you saying I look like a dirty movie?”
“No. I´m saying you look like ... well, you look like every boy´s fantasy.”
“As long as I´m yours. Here´s your breakfast. Coffee?”
Pat said, “Hon, how´d you like the show last night?”
“Wonderful. I loved watching Tina. Especially when she was on top. Just like I love watching you when we do it.”
“Same here,” Fred said, “Seemed like last night, we´d screw some and look some and ...”
“Know what?” Tina said, “I don´t think we´ve ever lasted so long. We´d get real hot, then stop and watch you until we couldn´t hold still any more.”
“We did that, too. I saw you watching. Seemed to last forever. Dean and I loved it ... More coffee, toast, Tina?”
“No, plenty, thanks ... Fred! ... Hold still a minute.”
“Tina?”
“Yes, Pat?”
“How about we all ...”
“Yeah, great. Same bed, okay?”
“You keep that horny man away from me, though. Dean´s my only.”
“Count on it. We´re not sharing sex with anyone. Doesn´t mean we can´t share a bed, though. Can´t wait to see what it feels like.”
.oOo.
“Wow, Mei-Ling. Did you really travel like that?”
“Mary, why not? I look entirely respectable. Don´t I, Jimmy?” She wore a cotton cardigan over a virtual cheong-sam. The sweater was unbuttoned, but showed nothing other than the pattern on her skin. “Of course, Josh kept wanting to play with me,” she slipped the sweater off and put it aside.
“The flight attendant loved it,” Jimmy said, “but I don´t think she really understood what she was seeing.”
“Hey, kids!” Heather called. “Come on down to the pool.” The children shed their clothes where they stood and ran off.
“Sandy, I´m glad to see you.” Mei-Ling gave her a hug.
“Meet Judith Huxley, Heather´s mom.”
“You look heavenly, Mei-Ling. What a beautiful dress.”
They walked into the living room.
“Oh. How wonderful. Who is that?” Mei-Ling asked.
“Me. Margaret O´Malley. Like it?”
“Wonderful. I never knew Will had done African-Americans. What´s he call it?”
“Persephone. He says the time she spent in Hades was like our time in slavery. Well, anyway, I think it´s great. We were here a few weeks ago. He made me wash off my VeeCees to pose, though. I was having so much fun with them, I almost refused.”
“I´m glad you didn´t. Come here where I can see you next to it ... Boy, he´s got the skin tones just perfect ... Maybe he´ll do me, too. You know, I´m just wild about VeeCees.”
“I saw you when you came in. Had me fooled.”
Anne walked past. “You should see what she wears to work.”
“What´s that?”
“We run a gallery of oriental erotic art. I design the Breastworks and we sell a lot of my own work, breast ornaments, erotic sculpture. I usually wear just tights and a bolero, so I can demonstrate the ornaments. I thought about leaving off the tights when it got hot this summer – I could use Virtual Stockings – but I stayed with tights.”
“Why? I think they´re wonderful.”
“Me, too. But I want customers to pay attention to my jewelry ... I think I´ll get some sun, but I need a shower first; get this dress off. Margaret, you´re bare already, how about washing my back?”
“Honey, I´ll wash anything you´ll let me.”
“Let´s go try it out.”
.oOo.
“Okay, meeting time,” Anne said. “We told you we were going to put you to work this weekend, so here´s the setup. Oh, and thanks to Tina and Muriel for organizing the KP. It´s going to make things a lot easier.
“We´re going to try to do rehearsals of the introduction on Saturday and Sunday and on Monday again if we need to. You´ll each have a starting outfit, and we´ll be putting two more on each of you as the show progresses. Saul and I will read the presentation script as the rest of you work, so we can be sure about timing. Only one thing. Two or three of you guys are going to have to wear dresses.”
“Me!”
“Me! ...”
All the male guests volunteered and a mild argument broke out over who should be chosen.
“Knock it off, guys,” Heather said. “You´ll draw lots. Winners do dress-ups. Losers wash backs afterwards.”
“How can you lose in a deal like that?” Jim asked.
Muriel asked, “If we´re working Saturday, what about Mary? Doesn´t she ride?”
“Yes, she and Ken and Sarah are excused. Since it´s just the first run-through it won´t matter much. We´ll have plenty of problems left over for when they´re here ... Muriel, do you and Harry mind missing synagogue?”
“No, Anne. Not in a good cause. We´re here to work with you.”
“Thanks. Oh, Jim, how are you doing with Victoria´s Secret?”
“Pretty good. They agree in principle, but a lot is going to depend on how the introduction goes. If it´s a success, you´re in.”
“That´s what we figured,” Saul said. “We´ve got to make a real splash.”
“Did you show them the product?”
“Yes, Anne, but only photographs. Denise offered to wear a virtual blouse, but I decided to wait. When it´s real, we can really sell them.”
“Will,” Anne said, “What´s happening with the stuff you´re doing for Al?”
“You´ve all seen Persephone. Oh, and Al, Harry wants that for the Katz Collection, just like I said he would, and just like the other Goddesses. You´ll have to fight that out with him.”
“He´s been trying to skin me for years ... I just might leave that to Margaret and Muriel. Maybe we can have the one you did of Muriel – Ruth, is it? – if we give up Persephone.”
Muriel muttered to Margaret, “Looks more like Jezebel to me. But who am I to argue?”
Mary said, “All horse trading has to be done through Still Waters Farms, guys. We want our cut.”
Pat said, “Uh, Will? If you´ve done Goddesses of them, how about me? And, I saw the picture you did for Ken and Mary´s bedroom. I love it. Would you consider a commission?”
“Me, too,” said Tina.
“I don´t know, Mom. I have a problem there.”
“What do you mean, a problem?”
Margaret intervened, “Pat, Will explained it when we were here before. He´s discovered he can´t really draw a woman´s sexuality unless he´s experienced it himself. He showed us a picture he´d done of you. It was technically great, but it lacks something.”
“Oh ... Oh ... well. My God, I´m blushing,” she laughed. “Will, you show me that picture later, will you?”
“Sure, Mom ... Anne, as far as stuff for Al, I´ve done a couple of Erotics and Explicits, but Al and Margaret are the only models I have.”
“Will, suppose you come down to Atlanta?” Al suggested. “You might like to meet some of our friends.”
“Let me think about that, Al, okay?”
Ken said, “Al, you may find that, in his way, Will´s as conservative as Pat and Tina. But, I´m sure you´ll work something out.”
“Anne,” Tom asked for attention, “I need to raise something we talked about a while ago. We´re going to need more space. Heather needs it, and if we keep on expanding the art line, for that, too. Of course, that´s not even considering what happens if VeeCees and VeeJays take off. Ken came to me the other day, and we´ve got an idea.”
“Let´s have it.”
Ken began. “I´m going to start work expanding the stables, Anne. I´ve got a pretty big project in mind. Among other things, I need a general contractor who understands what I want. I also need someone who understands intelligent construction – networking, computers and all that. I think Tom can do that for me. At the same time, there´s a piece of land on the highway back of my house I´ve figured could be used for a general-purpose office building; the zoning´s already in place. My suggestion is, I build a building there to your specifications and rent it to you. Tom acts as contractor for me on my whole project and for you as well.”
“Tom, I take it you´re willing to do this?”
“Yes, Anne, we need the space, and I think the whole thing will pay off. There will be some minor advantages in networking the whole project at the same time, and we can help him with the software he needs. I figure we can charge Ken a reasonable fee to do his general contracting, and we can put that into the kitty. It´ll offset the cost of the building, too.”
“I´m not sure we ought to be in construction as well as art, graphics, clothing, jewelry and all the rest of the stuff.”
“Anne, I´m not proposing a new business, I´m just saying I can do some work that will benefit all of us, the whole family, the company. When the work is done, I´m still here to do what I´m doing now. In fact, I´ll only be expanding my present job to handle Ken´s needs. He´s not going to do it all at once, so I won´t be over my head. At least, not much.”
“Saul?”
“We need to know how the introduction turns out, Anne, before we commit for a new building. I don´t want to jump too fast.”
“Anyone else? ... Here´s my take on it. Nothing´s going to happen by next Wednesday, or whenever. Tom, you and Ken go ahead and plan an office building for us – just don´t spend any money you don´t need to. Right, Sigrid?”
“Right,”
“By the time we have the introduction, you´ll be ready on that; we can make a decision. And anyway, you can get going with what Ken needs.”
“Good, I like it.”
Ken said, “There´s another thing, Anne, and it may not be something we can decide today.”
“Sounds heavy. What?”
“I guess you know I´ve never put a name on the stables. Haven´t really thought about it. But earlier, when Al and Harry were horse trading ...”
“Me and Muriel, Ken,” Margaret said.
“Whatever. Mary said, ‘Still Waters Farms´. Would you have any problem letting us use that name? I like it.”
“So do I,” said Mary, “even though it was a slip of the tongue.”
“We´d better think about that, Ken. I don´t see any problem offhand, but we need to think about the legal side, talk to the lawyer.”
“Sure, I understand. Just think about it.”
“Anne,” Margaret asked, “Who is your lawyer?”
Anne named the firm. “They´re people Harry knows. Been okay so far.”
“Well, if you ever want a change, think of me.”
“Margaret,” Harry said, “These guys don´t mean anything to me. If the guys want to change firms it´s no skin off my neck.”
“Well, thanks, Harry. Of course, I don´t want to use unethical inducements ...”
“Like screwing Saul, you mean?” Anne asked with all innocence.
“Never. At least not where the Bar Association can see me. But also, I´m not exactly next door. Atlanta´s a long way away.”
“I don´t know, Margaret,” Harry said. “If the new products take off, this´ll be a nation-wide business. It is already, just on a smaller scale. Won´t matter where you are. And I don´t really think the local people could handle that.”
Saul sighed. “An awful lot´s going to change after the introduction.”
“Well, on the other hand, hon, maybe not,” Anne said.
“We´ll see, won´t we?”
.oOo.
Tom and Sigrid drove to the airport to pick up their parents. When they got back, the rest of the group was setting out dinner.
“Hey, everyone. Greetings!”
“Inge. Susan. Get comfortable and belly up.”
The men wandered around, getting acquainted. Eventually they all settled down to eat sweet corn, hamburgers and salad.
“We missed you Memorial Day,” Muriel said.
“We decided to spend it together,” Susan said.
“After you got together at New Years you decided you liked it, right?”
Doug said, “Never was any doubt of that, Muriel, we just had trouble getting organized. Sigrid broke the ice for us, bless her.”
“Actually,” Inge said, “we´ve had so much fun, we get together just about every weekend, one place or another. We only live an hour´s drive apart.”
“But we couldn´t resist your call for help,” Eric added. “We´re here this weekend, and I´m looking forward to it.”
Sigrid leaned against Tom and whispered, “So am I. I´m going to get your dad.”
.oOo.
The evening was relaxed; Saturday breakfast a lazy romp on the cushions. The two couples from Ken´s house wandered in looking very happy. They sat naked on the cushions like the rest and took some gentle ribbing.
“You guys are really taking a chance, coming in here looking that smug and satisfied in the morning,” Harry said.
“Well, Harry, we earned it,” Fred admitted. “We´re still monogamous, but man! We´re sure enjoying being part of a loving environment.”
“Give it a try here, some night,” Margaret said. “You can always ‘Just say No.´”
“Boo. Hiss” – a chorus of disapproval for the expression.
“Well, you´re right. We might, we might not. Just have to see, Margaret. I must say, I wouldn´t mind watching you in action,” Tina said. “You´re just so ... what? You´re probably the most exuberant woman when it comes to sex I´ve ever met. Or, I miss my guess.”
“You´re right, Tina,” Sandy said.
“Thank you one and all. It´s good to be appreciated.”
.oOo.
“All right, everyone,” Anne called out. “Report to Heather for your first outfits. You can help each other put them on, since that´s not time-dependant. When you´re all ready, we´ll start.”
When they had all returned, dressed in their VeeCees, Anne said, “Saul and I will read the spiel, you do the walk-and-turns, then go back for your change. This time, if something goes wrong, just yell out ‘Stop´ and we´ll see what needs to be done.”
The first part of the rehearsal went as expected. Soon after the costume changes began, however, Heather called a stop.
“Stuff isn´t curing fast enough. We have to wait too long and then they´re late.”
Pat said, “How about hair dryers? Blow us dry and see if it cures.”
The rounded up hair dryers and found they helped speed curing of the colors on cool parts of the body.
After another stop, Will was assigned to touch-up work, painting in places where the patterns did not quite reach or match in the haste of changing. Heather told him, with a grin, “Will, I don´t want art. I want NOW.”
They finished in time for lunch, and by general agreement showered and started again. Things went better this time, with only a few stops, none of major consequence. When they were done with the second run-through, they were exhausted. They showered and went to sit in the afternoon sun. Eventually, Mary, Ken and Sarah came in and joined them.
“How´d the rehearsal go?” Mary asked.
“We did two of them. I think we´ve got most of the problems licked,” Anne replied.
Will asked, “How was the show? Sorry I couldn´t come.”
“Went well,” Ken said, “the girls were fine and the audience loved the new routines. They were so proud of themselves.”
“Really makes me feel good,” Sarah said. “Last fall, they were a bunch of snot-nosed kids. In just a year, they´re acting like women.”
“Young women,” Mary said. “They´re a lot more sure of themselves, but they´ve got a way to go. And a lot still to learn about horses.”
“Well, at least that´ll keep them coming back,” Saul said.
Sarah added, “We´re going to have to think of a program for the ones who want to go further than just what we´re doing now.”
“Mary, How´d you do?” Lucy asked.
“Took two firsts and a second today. Some new people there. Very good. I just wasn´t as good. I´ll win the next one, though.”
When people began drifting off to the Big Bed that evening, Pat said to Tina, “What do you think? You two want to go watch?”
Tina looked at Fred. “Why not? Let´s go.”
.oOo.
“Tina, what did you think about watching everyone last night?” Pat said at breakfast.
“Real turn on, Pat.”
Fred said, “Really got me turned on, too, Pat. All those loving bodies.”
“I loved the way those two children just slept right through it, curled up with Mei-Ling. She says sometimes they hold each other while ...”
“Well, it´s not my way, but they´re wonderful, happy children.” Tina said.
“We talked last night, Dean and I.”
“What about?”
“Pat asked me if I wanted to try the Big Bed, just for us two. Not loving anyone else. I really liked sharing the bed with you guys, but ...”
“Fred and I did, too. Only ...”
“Problem, Tina?”
“Pat, it was a real turn-on feeling you next to me, the way our legs touched when the guys were on top of us. I´ll never forget it. But not again.”
“I´m really sorry. I loved it. Why not?”
“I can´t really say why, Pat. It´s not that I´m afraid of going further ... I know what I want there.”
“Me, too, Pat,” Fred said. “I think we need to sit back a little. We´ve come a long way in a short time, and we sort of agreed last night, we´re going to stick to watching and let it go at that. Maybe later, when we understand what we´re feeling, we´ll think differently, but for now ...”
“If that´s what you feel, you won´t get any argument from me,” Dean said.
“Me, either ... Oh, is it all right if we still watch you?”
“Oh, please.”
.oOo.
“Judith,” Sigrid said in the living room Sunday morning, “Tell me about having babies.”
“Uh ... I think you already know the easy part. What exactly is it you want to know?”
“Hi, Sandy, join us? I just asked Judith a stupid question. What I mean is, you´ve had two. I want some, too, once we´ve graduated. What should I expect? Can I start before we graduate, maybe have one next summer? Or will I be sick and miserable just when I need to think about exams?”
“Not to mention running Still Waters´s accounting, and taking the CPA exam?”
“Well, yes.”
“No telling how you´ll react, especially the first time. Or, how long it will take for you to catch, though for young, healthy people it doesn´t usually take long. Couldn´t hurt to wait for the workload to ease up.”
“I´d start today if it weren´t for that.”
“I had three, Sigrid.” Sandy said. “Each one was different. I was a little sick with Frank and really sick with Ralph, never had a moment´s nausea with Anne, but labor was kind of a struggle.”
Judith continued, “Mine were both the same. Sick for about a month, then just fine. I was lucky to have easy births, too. Just sort of squeezed them out. But for that month, I wasn´t worth much.”
“Worst thing for me was losing the weight afterward,” Sandy said.
“There´s no problem about sex while I´m pregnant, is there?”
“No. Not at all. A lot of women find it better, maybe ‘cause they´re not worried about getting pregnant. Pete always says I´m wonderful when I´m carrying. Feel different. Can´t testify to that.”
“Joe said that, too. Warmer and wetter.”
“Boy, I´m really looking forward to it.”
“Only one thing I can guarantee you, Sigrid.”
“What, Judith?”
“It won´t be anything like you expect. Never seems to be.”
.oOo.
The rehearsal on Sunday went much more smoothly. The hair dryers howled, Will painted in the cracks, there were only a few minor problems. Mary and Ken joined in, making things even easier.
Afterwards, everyone showered gratefully and lay in the sun. In mid-afternoon, Inge lifted her head and said, “I got an idea. How about we all dress for dinner?”
“Are you serious?” someone retorted.
“Virtually.”
When dinner preparations were well advanced the women straggled off to dress. Anne wore the transparent skirt of a virtual dress, but only her snakes and treasured earrings above. Mei-Ling appeared with two ornate virtual dragons embracing her torso and nuzzling the base of her neck -- nothing else. Heather´s costume was a paisley pattern that covered her from neck to crotch, with virtual stockings of a pale color that picked up the background of her torso. Others wore antique 1920´s ball gowns, a wild variety of virtual fashion.
Sally Lin demanded a dress as well, but ended up choosing a lovely oriental landscape of trees and lakes with Mount Fuji rising between her childish breasts. She decided not to wear a skirt. “I look just fine without,” she said. No one disagreed. Josh proudly sported dragons front and back.
.oOo.
At supper, Anne said, “We talked it over after rehearsal. We won´t need another run-through tomorrow. If you want to, you can all go home. The bad news is that, if you do, we´re left with a mountain of food.”
“Just try and get rid of us now,” Muriel said. “Tomorrow, I´m going to toast.” There was a chorus of agreement.
“Well, I do want to say thanks to you all for your help and the way you´ve pitched in to do things and make it all easier.”
Sandy spoke up, “Anne, I can´t think of a better way to spend a holiday weekend than to come here and enjoy it with you. Besides, it´s the best value for the money anywhere.”
“Cappuccino nudo everyone?” Anne asked.
Later, in the living room, Tina said, “I want to ask a stupid question.”
“What does that mean?” Muriel replied.
“Well, I want to ask about something that interests me, but I don´t want you to think I´m turning into Mrs. Grundy again.”
“Ask away, Tina,” said Anne, “you´re covered.”
“Well, I´ve noticed a lot of sex between women while we´ve been here. Practically none between men. I´m curious about it. Naturally, I used to think it was wrong per se to touch another woman, or for a man to touch another man. I got over that lying next to Pat the other night. But you all seem to take the whole shebang for granted. What am I missing?”
“Can I take a stab at that?” Heather asked. No one objected. “When I first came here, I was a little surprised at that, myself. I hadn´t tried it, hadn´t planned to. When I did, it seemed a natural way to express the affection I feel for the other women in our family. And I found out a couple of other things pretty fast, too. It´s fun to make love to another woman, and to be made love to by one. Lots of fun. It´s different from screwing a man, but only different, not better or worse. And the other thing is, it tastes marvelous.”
There was laughter. Saul spoke up, “From my side, I don´t have anything against making love to a guy, it´s just that every time I get the ability, there´s a girl who wants to do it. For men, erections are relatively scarce. I like to put my assets where they ...”
Howls of laughter and abuse shut him up.
“Well,” Judith said, “it´s true that women are theoretically unlimited when it comes to orgasms. Not everyone, of course. I see a number of people who have difficulty having them at all, or who only come once a session. Not unusual. In fact, I suspect it´s more unusual to find a bunch of people who come as easily as we all seem to.”
“As far as I´m concerned,” Sigrid said, “loving any of our family, male or female, in any way is one more way to give love and get it. That´s what I like. That´s why I do it.”
Tina said, “Well, I guess that answers my question. I´m not sure where I´m going with all this. Fred and I have spent the nights talking as much as loving and sleeping and watching Pat and Dean.”
“That´s what it takes,” Sandy said. “Talk is the glue that holds families together. Open, honest talk with no holds barred. I´ll bet, if you looked into it, the reason why our kids are here, instead of bar-hopping and teasing each other, is that we talked them to death.”
“Mom, it sure helped. You and Dad forced me to think. Very dangerous.”
.oOo.
At lunch on Monday, the phone rang. “Mary? For you. Jerry Pinsky.”
Mary took the phone away from the pool area, talking with Jerry. When she came back, she was solemn.
“Jerry wants to meet with me this afternoon. He´s bringing Jane. He says it´s serious.”
“Here?”
“No, I told him we have guests. They´ll come to our house at two. Will you come, Anne? I have a feeling about this.”
“Saul, too, Mary. And Margaret.”
“Margaret? Yeah. Good idea. You too, Ken.”
“Of course.”
“Uh ... Shorts and tee-shirts should be good enough. It´s a holiday, for Christ´s sake.”
.oOo.
Mary met the Pinskis at the door. “Hi, Jane, Jerry. Come on in.”
Mary introduced Margaret as a guest, suggested Coke or drinks, which were refused, and offered seats. The room was warm, but fresh air wafted in through the open panels to the patio. Jane sat in front of the fireplace, her eyes riveted on the pastel of Mary above the mantel. When Mary spoke, Jane looked at her, but her eyes kept returning to the picture.
“Well, Jerry, what´s the problem?” she asked.
“Mary, I´m really sorry to interrupt your weekend. But there´s something we wanted to talk with you about that I didn´t think should wait. And, Anne, I´m glad you and the others from Still Waters are here, because it concerns you.
“This morning Jane came to me with a story. When I heard it, I knew that you are the people to talk with her about it. I´ve told her she needs to say to you the same things she said to me, and to listen to what you tell her. I don´t think I´ve said anything to Jane about what I think, because she needs to deal with this herself. Also, I have said nothing, nor has Jane, about this to her mother. I´m sorry to say she would not handle this in a way I could approve of ... Jane, go ahead,” he told her and sat back.
Mary intervened. “Jane, just one thing before you start. You´re on a spot here. It can´t seem otherwise to you. Please don´t forget that we´re friends here, your friends. Say what you want to say, don´t hesitate. We´ll listen and we´ll give you the best answers we have.”
Jane looked back at the picture. “Mary, that´s you, isn´t it?”
“Yes, Jane. Will drew it and I´m very proud of it. What do you think?”
“It makes you look even more beautiful ... but ...”
“It´s the ‘but´ that you´re here about, isn´t it?” Anne offered.
Jane glanced at her then looked at her hands.
“Yesterday afternoon, I was out on my bike, and I stopped at the stables to see Henry.” She looked at Margaret. “He´s my horse.”
“After, I was sort of wandering around and I looked through the hedge at your house. Still Waters, I mean. I saw all of you, and a lot of others, with no clothes on. There were two of them who were ...”
“Were they making love, Jane?”
“Yes ... Well, I guess they were just kissing, but ... Anyway, I watched for a while, and I got scared someone would catch me, so I left ... But then, last night in the dark, I came back.”
“What happened then? What did you see?” Mary asked.
“I saw two people in the yard. They were fucking.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes, that´s all I saw ... But ... Mary, what´s going on? I told Dad this morning what I saw, and he told me I´d have to talk with you about it.”
“How do you feel about what you saw?”
“I don´t know ... I guess I´m confused. You´re always so good with us, all of you are. I always thought you liked me.” Jane was visibly upset; her eyes glistened.
“We do, Jane,” Saul said. “We´re proud of what you´ve done this last year.”
“But ...” Finally, Jane blurted, “How can you do that? How can you live like that?”
“Jane,” Mary said gently, “that picture is me. It´s me as I am, a woman. You know that I live with Ken, and you know that before that I lived with the rest of the people at Still Waters.”
“Yes. I know.”
“Jane, when I say that I live with these people, I mean that I sleep with them, too. No, let me be very clear. I have sex with them, Jane. I fuck them. And I enjoy it. I enjoy it because I love them, all of them.
“Jane, you were raped. It broke my heart when you told me. But sex isn´t like that.”
Margaret said, “Jane, can I say something?” The girl nodded. “You don´t know me, but you can see that I´m from a different way of life, ´cause I´m black. A lot of black girls get raped. But rape isn´t sex. It´s assault. It´s the worst kind, because it makes you feel dirty. It makes you feel like you´re something someone´s wiped his ass with. Now, doesn´t it?”
Jane took a deep breath and let it out slowly, audibly, trembling. Tears ran down her cheeks. Mary moved to end of the sofa where Jane sat. “Mind if I come a little closer?” Jane threw herself at Mary, and the two hugged for a moment. Mary gave Jane a tissue.
Jane looked at Margaret uncertainly. “Yes. That´s how I feel. How do you know? How could you know?”
“It happened to me, too, dear.”
“Oh, Margaret!” Anne said.
Jane looked at Margaret for a long time, saying nothing. Then, she looked at Mary again.
“But how can you all go around bare? How can you do those things like that? It´s dirty, it´s awful.”
“Why, Jane?” Mary asked her, her arm around her shoulders.
“Everyone says. All the guys talk about it like it´s dirty.”
“Do you suppose any of them have done it?”
“I know two guys who have. The ones who raped me.” Then, in a burst of honesty, “Well only one really did.”
“Doesn´t matter. The other one might as well have, considering how you feel about it.”
“Yeah.” She shuddered.
“Jane,” Anne said, “people who love each other don´t feel that way. We make love to each other with our bodies and with the way we live our lives together. It´s all one thing, and it´s all good, makes you feel good. I´m sure your folks feel that way.”
“Mom says sex is dirty.”
Anne looked at Jerry, who studied his knees. “I´m sorry to hear that. Your mom and dad are missing a lot. Do you have any idea who the people you saw in our yard were?”
“No. I saw you and Mary and ... No.”
“We´re having a family party this weekend, Jane. A few of those people are friends like Margaret and her husband. Most of them are our moms and dads. My mother and father are there, so are Saul´s and Mary´s. Right now, they´re probably all lying naked in the sun. The two you saw making love last night might have been my mom and dad.”
“Why?” It was not just a question, it was an appeal, an attempt to understand.
“There´s two things here. Not wearing clothes, and making love. Don´t confuse them, Jane. We – all of us – don´t wear clothes much because we feel comfortable without them. Not everyone feels that way, that´s why we have such a big, thick hedge. We don´t want to offend other people. Was this the first time you looked through the hedge?”
“Just once before. But, Mom says it´s wrong to go around without clothes on.”
“Some people think so. We don´t, and we´re not alone. And there are lots of people who go around naked and never have sex with each other. You know about Nudism, don´t you?”
Jane nodded.
Anne continued. “Look at Mary´s picture again. I can tell you like it – you can´t take your eyes off it.”
Jane grinned sheepishly, her tears half-dry, her eyes still glistening. She pressed closer to Mary. “You are beautiful.”
“Not everyone is,” Anne went on. “And not everyone who likes to not wear clothes is beautiful, Jane. It´s just that some of us are comfortable that way. Can you say what´s wrong with that, except that some people disagree with it?”
“I guess not. I mean I guess ...” She shrugged. “I guess I just don´t know.”
“That´s fine, leave it at that. Not knowing is better than knowing something that isn´t true,” Mary said. “But let´s talk a little about the sex part again, okay?”
Jane straightened up, nodded.
“One of the things I like about my picture, Jane, is that it says I enjoy sex. You can see that.”
“Yeah, I´ll say ... But that´s what I don´t get.”
“That I like looking like that?”
“Well, that you like sex, I guess ... I don´t understand how you ...”
“How I could possible enjoy something that has been nothing but horror for you.”
Jane looked at Mary, then at Margaret.
“Jane,” Margaret said, “it took me years to get over what happened to me. I had help – I hope you do, too. But I had to learn that the fault was not in me. It was the guy who did it who was bad, not me. I had to learn – all over again – that I am a good person, a loveable person. And I had my family who love me, a boyfriend who´s now my husband, and friends who love me, too. For what I am, not just because I am female.”
“I was never raped, Jane.” Mary said. “That will always be a difference between us. I´ve always believed that sex is a part of love. That you can love a lot of people, and there´s nothing wrong with sharing sex with those you love. That is me, Jane. Who I am, what I am. Can you accept that?”
“Yeah. Yes ... Yes, I can ... I don´t know about this sex stuff, though. I still don´t understand about it; there´s so much of it that´s nasty, ugly.”
“Some of that´s school, and that´s the way a lot of other people think about it and talk about it, Jane. After you´ve heard enough of that, you believe it. Try talking to some of us, Jane, get another point of view.”
Anne said, “There´s a lot in everything we see, Jane, that tells you sex is dirty. Movies, dirty jokes, TV ads, MTV, music, the kids who grab you in the halls at school. I don´t blame you for how you feel. It´s just not so.”
“Well, Anne,” Margaret said, “let´s be straight here. Jane, sex is not dirty. People make it dirty. Talk to Sigrid. She´s lived in places where sex isn´t dirty. Listen to what she found out. And talk to people who have open minds, like your friends here.”
Jerry spoke up. “Jane, how are you feeling? Are you any closer to what you needed when we came here?”
“Oh, Daddy. I´m so mixed up. You know I love Mary and all the others. It´s just so ...”
Mary hugged her. “Jane, talk to me. Talk to all of us. Come over here, if you want to talk.” She smiled at Jane. “Just give us warning so we´ll have clothes on when you get here, okay?”
Jane smiled back, laid her head on Mary´s shoulder and looked at the others. “Yes ... Yes, I will.” She sat up. “Daddy, take me home. I´m still a mess, but I feel better.” Before she left, she hugged everyone with honest affection.
When they were gone, Margaret said, “How´d she see through that hedge? Looks impenetrable to me.”
“We thought it was,” Saul said. “But never underestimate a curious female. Tom said this morning the system got triggered yesterday afternoon and last night, but there wasn´t anyone on the tape. You know we don´t use lights at night any more, just infra-red cameras. I´ll bet we find a place where the cameras don´t reach, and that there´s a hole there. Or, she was so deep into the hedge the camera couldn´t see her. We need to fix that. Maybe go back to lights. They scare people away.”
“Well, yes, but I suspect it won´t be a problem any more. I think her attraction to Mary is what made her snoop. You can probably fix that, if she´ll go on talking with you.”
Mary looked at Anne, “Looks like I´ve got to fill in where her mother leaves off.”
“Some. You´re not her mother, don´t have to be. Probably all she really needs is a friend.”