Chapter 20

The girls formed a tight blue ring around the semi-naked girls, shielding them from prying cellphones. Cat and Bullet were eager to stay in the circle. Linh stuck to my side, barnacle-wise, worming her sexy self under my left arm and hanging on for dear life.

“How did you come to be here, Linh?”

“My father sold me to a ‘labor merchant’ in Hanoi five years ago and he smuggled me in. The bastard wanted a virgin to sell. I was just ten, of course I was a virgin!”

“Five years ago. You’re actually fifteen. The documents I took from Sun say otherwise, Linh Lan Trong, my nearly naked, not-really-eighteen cutie. Tell me more.”

“The passport and birth certificates are real, actual and not forged. Nuyen bribed an official to issue and register them with the government, but not all of the information is true. Crooked Commies are a dime a dozen.” She sighed, “Same as June Kim. She’s just a year older, same deal with the papers, official, valid and not accurate. A North Korean uncle sold her for spending money in Ho Chi Minh City when she was eleven. Nuyen found a corrupt official in the South Korean consulate to say she was from Seoul. I guess all poor, prepubescent Asian girls are the same, worthless on our own, sellable inventory. Sun bought us as a pair to work in the clothing factory. The other bidder operated a Bangkok whorehouse. But for Sun’s ambition, we’d be dead by now.”

“You’re very alive and I intend to keep you that way.” I used a small version of the voice. “Does it make my little virgin wet to be outside dressed like this?”

“I’m on fire! You are the only man to see me absolutely naked ever.” Linh sputtered, “And now everyone who cares to look can see my pussy when the wind blows.”

“Good. I’ll fuck the fire out very soon. There’s the SUV with Karen and her crew. We have work to do.” The group swarmed to the supply car. “You are not to leave my side. I want access. Understand?” I felt her nod.

The Baxters started passing out bags of samples to the blue dressed girls. “Amy, you are overseer out there. Cat and Bullet are your guards and demonstration models. Caralyn, Ellie and the Bakers are to stay here for now. Irina, leave Cat’s nipple clamps with Ellie.”

I thought being in pairs would be best. Using the full voice, I gave the order of battle. “Pair up: Leah/Jenny, Yumi/Sam, Diane/Jane, Jean/Patty, Suki/Irina, Mika/Max, with Eve helping if a pair gets swamped. All of you will freely assist your ‘shoppers’ even if it means helping them change or changing your own clothes in public. No Exceptions. Set a good example. Stay naked until you need more sets. Get Emma or Nell to take your place and walk proudly back here with your dress over your arm if you still have it.”

Twelve blue-clad girls grabbed their samples, leading the quaking Cat and Bullet into the crowd. Amy and Eve followed, chatting airily about the dozens of girls waiting with apprehensive Moms in the square.

“Those are the Bingham-Hampton girls. “Eve pointed, “Those are the Carver girls already stripping off. I’m really glad the Tanners and Baxters brought digital cameras. There are a lot more girls than we saw before. I see Bay Shore Prep and Madison Science and Math girls, too. This could get serious. Those girls go to Hamilton. There will be challenges.”

Amy called Rose. “We may be in a fix here. Can you rush over fifty ‘S’ sized, ‘D+’ sets with silver cellophane halter-tops instead of the crops? We have extra schoolgirls showing up. We need variety to make the new rival schools compete harder.”

“Sounds like fun. They’re on the way. Nettie can switch out the tops in the cab. You want her to leave the pinks? More calling cards, too.”

“No, we’ll need them tomorrow. Are you sure you can do this without delaying something else?”

“The other projects are almost done and this is more fun. Keep them but send Nettie back.” Rose assured her before hanging up, “We think of this as an investment in future business. Worth every minute.”

Blue girls began to need more sets as Eve and Amy watched Cat and Bullet take their places. Eve laughed, “They are enjoying this more than they admit to themselves. The Moms are catching the fever as fast as the girls who were already terminal.”

“Who are those people over by the tapestries? They aren’t in the pictures.” Amy motioned forward. “Oh! Every one has their hair in a bun. Those little things are the real ballerina chorus. Go back and get more ‘D+’ sets, ‘S’ size. You’ll need eleven. I’ll give them S/W broaches now and break the ice.”

Eve picked up her sets and trotted back to Amy who had already engaged the dancers.

“What’s my part in our sales pitch, Mark?” Karen asked eagerly, “I hope it is as exciting as Cat’s job.”

“Will the necklace chains fit around your waist like a belt?”

“Sure. All of us have a necklace and a belt. Why?”

“Excellent! You and Toon, will strip completely naked right here and now. Make Cat look over-dressed.” I leered, “Don’t make me wait. You wanted exciting.”

“Master wants us naked at Lincoln Center at lunchtime on a Tuesday. Make him happy.” She was already bare. Caralyn Thomas was still a wet-dream fantasy. “You know we’ll have fun.”

Karen hesitated, a little ill at ease because her family pizzeria was closer than Zephyr House, then took a deep breath and handed her dress and panties to Carol.

“Wear your belt chains and add a S/S broach just above your pussy.” That chore consumed less than a minute. “Your part of the sales pitch is to wander through the areas you visited yesterday and let the girls inside know we’re here with free samples. One look at you and the Moms will think half naked is great and sign the dotted line.”

I cautioned. “If anyone touches you, get away. Keep your Federal ID wallets in your hands. Eyes open, tits out. Go. Have fun.” I watched them disappear into Julliard.

“Ellie, strip to your panties. Nothing but collar, one nipple clamp and shoulder bag. Leave the other clamp here. Follow. Take pictures. Don’t think, do. Go!” She went with grin.

“Beth, take my phone and get a picture of those two guys in cop suits stalking Emma. Hurry. Make sure they notice. Walk quickly back.”

Beth made sure they noticed. She ran up flicked their hats off, shouted ‘Cheese!’ and took the pictures, singly and together. “Sloppiest cops I ever saw.” She shouted and ran back to the SUV.

The idiots chased the hats and then chased Beth, Cat forgotten.

I ran face recog while Beth laughed. “If those slobs are ‘Abdul Shemirani’ and ‘Esteban Rodriguez’, I’ll eat their hats.”

“You’ll go hungry. Those two are the McCoy Brothers, Marvin and Melvin, dumb as rocks but vicious hitmen for the ‘Rebels’. Somebody ratted us out.”

I remembered a line item on the Reverend’s credit card statement, a big Zodiac with a 40 hp Johnson. I triggered the information dump to Billings immediately and called Belle. “Piper here. Where is everybody?”

“Mike and Norm are in the truck down by Avenue D. Nell and Emma are with you. Nat and Smitty are with me in the bus. Belinda is on her way to you with a new girl we picked up this morning.”

“Where are Freddie and Marty? And what’s up with the new girl?”

“I got a call from above this morning. Spex and Bear were ordered to take a flight out of LaGuardia to Boston. The voice on the phone said they were going to change planes and go to St. Louis to set up a team like we have here. She is Tina Karlson, whiz kid Ranger from Fort Benning.”

“She got here mighty damn fast. This is fishy, straight up. Have Nat call them now. They are not to get on that plane and it is not to leave the ground. Period. There is an eminent threat. Make the NYPD look on Long Island Sound for a yellow Zodiac and sink it on sight. The guy has SAMs, I’m certain. You hit the storage space now; I’ll have the ‘probable cause’ in a minute. Expect resistance. Don’t call your guys in DC. They are compromised. Someone didn’t know to share. I should know already. That was a mistake. Call Billings. You have a mole.”

“Shit! Talk to me later. We have dirty work to do. Belinda has orders to keep the new girl in the dark, by the way. Put your earpiece in and clue Blender. Belle out.”

I never got a chance to talk to Blender.

Several things happened in the next few minutes. The McCoys settled their disagreement and approached the SUV with a brash swagger. A cab pulled to the curb and disgorged June and Luz with the nipple jewelry. As the cab drove off, the pair removed their over-sized shirts. Both were wearing panties and dresses in regular cellophane, complete with collars. Next, Nettie’s cab stopped long enough for her to hand several bags of samples to her air-clad friends. “The small bag is for you. The rest, for Amy. Gotta go.” And she was off, laughing her wild Irish ass off.

“Show me what you bought.”

June pulled a handful of dainty circle clamps. Picture a perfectly round ‘Q’ with two straight tails, one a half inch long, ending in a small loop, the other, a quarter inch long ending in a tiny green jewel. Squeeze the tails together and the ‘O’ got larger. Slip it over a hard nipple and release. The circle shrinks and the nipple is captured securely. They were slightly adjustable for safety. “Pendants! You do good work, dear.”

With Luz, we quickly made ten of each available color combination. They all went into my pockets. “Cool. Now we can hang the broaches and see the nipples, too. Again, great choice!”

Ignoring the growing impatience of the rumpled impostors, I fastened a S/S broach to June and Luz’s neckwear, took several pictures and sent the technically naked girls to find Amy. “If any of my girls have a tit showing, put one of these on her and tell her she can not cover that boob until I take it off. Pick a combo she doesn’t have already. Scoot!”

That pushed Marv and Mel over the line. Babbling about ‘fucking naked slut bitches’, they went for their non-regulation sidearms, I said, “Anne, Carol, Strike.”

Less than ten seconds later, Beth and Linh were watching us put the seriously broken McCoys in the back seat of the SUV when Belinda drove up. The woman who pretended to be Tina Karlson erupted from the back seat like pus from a zit. “Stop hurting those men, you God Damned to Hell heathen sinners! They put me in charge here and I’m putting an end to this idolatry and Sodomite behavior this minute if I have to burn this town to the ground. Get those naked Whores Of Babylon here this instant you bastard ... Etc.” For the next five minutes the spittle spewing behemoth ranted non-stop. Hellfire, brimstone, racial cleansing, eternal torture, doing God’s work, a New Day Dawning, gays, lesbians, moral purification, re-education, and the Great Leadership got heavy mention.

I did not need to check her face through the system. This bleached blonde, over-made up, pie-faced troll was ugly enough to be the star of nightmares. Straining the buttons on an extra-large, cheap surplus store camouflage uniform, Doreen Erlichman, third fiddle in the Christian Soldiers For A New America, had come to New York to scour away the sinners and foreigners with her brand of final justice. This bitch was trouble. I told my little semi-naked partner to whom we were speaking.

Linh was not impressed. Beth had on her poker face.

Belinda frowned and touched her ear. I finally put my earpiece in and listened. Belle and the boys were in a pitched battle with a dozen or so Rambo rejects who had arrived seconds before to gear up. We did not need to plant evidence. The best we could do was add to the huge supply of weaponry already there.

I waited until the shooting stopped. “Piper here. Everyone OK?”

“We’re cool. They are approaching ambient temperature, all twenty-one of the assholes. Spex and Bear are safe. That’s a whole ‘nother tale.”

“Great. Better start mixing your load with what’s there. It’ll be weird if you only have ‘hot-from-Maryland’ stuff loaded. Send serial numbers from the locker and from the truck to Billings. Get someone to send faces. I’m out.” The earwig went into my pocket as Caralyn and Karen returned, naked, flushed and excited.

Doreen may have swallowed her tongue. Apparently, this was her worst nightmare.

I made them pose as they were while I took photos with my little Nikon. The buildings across the plaza were a nice accent. Full frontal nudity at Lincoln Center will be a great poster. They ignored the blue dresses hanging over the open SUV door in plain sight.

“Geez, Mark, that is fun! I’m dripping wet. Toon was great! We went everywhere acting like we were fully dressed. We made each other come in the ballerina’s green room. We needed you bad! There are a bunch of classes here today and tons of school tours. Not a boy anywhere. Sucks to be them.”

I had to shut her up or Karen would have babbled on forever. “Caralyn, where’s Ellie?”

“With her sister, taking pictures of topless Moms and daughters for the website, Master. I bet we have a hundred model releases and posting permissions already. Some of the Moms are working it like centerfolds. We were giving lessons.” She looked at the frothing Doreen. “What is that thing giving itself an aneurysm?”

Karen giggled and poked at Doreen. “My money says it is the Queen Breeder of the Morlocks having a bad body day.”

The sight of two completely naked girls talking about corrupting Mothers and Daughters fried her last nerve. Being touched by a naked shameless harlot tied it on a knot. Ms. Erlichman was losing what little control she had left.

I bet she ate her clutchmates the day she hatched.

I felt a tug on my shorts. “I’m tired of her, Mr. Allyn. I can make her be quiet. May I have some fun, too?”

“Go for it, Gentle Spirit.”

“Thank you.” Linh took four steps and was within reach of the rabid not-Tina. “Please shut up, you crazy bitch. You’re repeating yourself.”

Doreen lost it. “Cover your naked body, you whore abomination in God’s eyes! I’ll have you and animals like you in concentration camps.” Her biggest mistake, other than being born, was trying to slap the tiny girl.

Not quite as fast as the Bakers, Linh punched the loudmouth in the gut and chin, swept her legs out from under her, stomped both forearms and did a knee drop on the chest of the shocked woman. The breaking arms sounded like cracking celery. The ribs broke silently.

Linh gave me Erlichman’s Luger. I ran the numbers and found out it was registered to a certain Fritz Whitesides. Who knew he collected WWII memorabilia?

Belinda who had been giving the team a running commentary, less the nudity, laughed. “That was impressive. Belle wants us to load Doreen and the two phony cops in my car. I’m to go downtown and turn them over to Billings’ guys. Nell and Emma are to stay with you folks. They are guarding the crime scene at the storage facility.” She hesitated, frowning. “Spex and Bear are really going to St. Louis, but were supposed to be transferred tomorrow, after the real replacements arrived. Somebody in DC pulled the trigger early, attempting to steal a march on us.”

Blender parked close to us on the sidewalk and we muscled the McCoys out of our SUV and into hers. Then it took Belinda, Caralyn, Karen and me to move the moaning hippo on the ground.

We had them belted in and Blender drove away. “Toodles, girls. Tell me all about your day later.” And she was gone.

Jean Baxter strolled up, carrying her blue dress. “Had to give demos. We need more sets. It’s like a sale at Bloomingdale’s out there.”

Irina and Max came for more, both fully dressed. I set Linh on the hood of the SUV and stood between her legs. “Form a shield, girls. I promised to fuck Linh soon and she is overdue.” They formed up and blocked the view.

The wind blew her skirt up and I freed my rock hard dick, pressed it to her soaking cunt and pushed slowly. “Hurry, Mr. Allyn. Do it. Please.”

Her pussy, tight as Caralyn’s, put up much resistance but finally loosened enough for me to enter. Her cherry split under the steady pressure and I slid to the end in one long stroke. I stopped, balls deep, to let her cunt stretch and relax. It didn’t.

Linh looked me in the eyes and moaned. “Fuck me hard. Damn, it hurts so good.” Her hips began to rock, rubbing her prominent clit against my pubic hair. She got even tighter.

I had been horny ever since I had Eve in the shower. Linh was an enthusiastic little teenaged fucker and I let go. She got hammered through the hood and when she locked up the second time, I took off the nipple clamps, knowing what would happen when the blood flowed back. I wanted to be in her when she felt it. Linh short-circuited. Every sensation was so new to the girl, she converted it all to pleasure.

She squealed softly, spasmed wildly and passed out before I came. I unplugged and backed away, watching her quaking body.

Max stepped in, cradled Linh like a little rag doll and carried her to the car seat.

“That’s how a real man takes a cherry. Pay attention.” Some strange woman in a half-sheer pastel pink crop-top pushed an equally strange naked girl through the circle and to her knees in front of me and my cock. “Go ahead girl. Suck it. That is a real dick, not like that skinny-assed hipster you’ve been dating. He can’t fill your bikini, much less his. You haven’t seen it but your father has and I hate thinking that pencil prick could be your first.”

She didn’t stop there. “Do it. You’ve moaned and whined all night and your father and I are sick of it.” This odd person pushed the new naked girl until her open mouth closed over my dickhead. “Do it like the porn you download.”

WTF! I gripped the rather cute strangers ears and face fucked the hell out of her. She learned to deep throat right there on the Lincoln Center plaza with her Mom looking on. It took a while but I spewed a load straight down her neck.

I picked the stunned little girl up by gripping her tits and set her ass where Linh had been. Spreading her legs as wide as they would go, I skewered her to the hilt in one thrust and proceeded to power fuck the panting, wheezing girl with no regard for her comfort, berserker Viking style.

Beth and Max were taking pictures. So was Mom!

Being used like a fucktoy in front of an audience must have had a prominent place in her fantasy pantheon. This stranger girl went crazy, screwing back harder and tighter. I was good at that game and upped the ante. “You like getting your first dick from a man who doesn’t even know your name and who doesn’t care? Your Mom and half of the Upper West Side watching a big cock stretch your drippy cunt to the breaking point?”

My girls were struggling to suppress the giggles. Detailed photographs were taken.

I kept up the pace. “I’ll bet you are as good as your Mom was her first time. My cock loves being in you. I can feel you clinch and pulse every time you come. Your Mom should be proud. You are a good fuck. With lots of practice, I can make you a legendary fuck.”

She came with a quiet wail when she felt my dick swell and fill her pussy to overflowing. I waited until her pussy pulses subsided, pushed her legs to her tits and took her ass cherry while her mother stared. “Might as well give her the full fucking experience, don’t you think? All three holes in one go. I’ll screw the tramp wide open. You don’t care if it hurts or not, do you? I don’t either. She’s nothing but a hot, wet place to stick my cock. Isn’t that what you want to see, your virgin daughter used as a helpless fucktool dickwarmer on the six o’clock news?”

The wild look on the mystery Mom’s face was either sympathy, astonishment or jealousy. Like I said, I can play this game.

Fortunately for both of us the new girl had dripped enough to lube an Oldsmobile and she was totally limp from the power of her last orgasm. I went in easily and began to pound her butt hard, pinching a nipple with one hand and rubbing her G-Spot and clit with the probing fingers of the other. Her cunt responded, trying to squeeze my finger off. I could feel the climax on my cock but never stopped pounding.

If it hurt, and it probably did, Mama’s little dick sucker got over it fast.

I released the tit, reached into a pocket and tossed a handful of boob pendants on the squirmy girl’s chest. Demonstrating the spring action, I tossed a W/W bangle to Irina. “Put this on Mom. She can’t take it off until she fucks her husband so stupid he’ll forget he had a daughter.”

The skewered teenager on the hood was coming yet again when I blasted for the third time. She moaned and wailed once before falling back, silent. I put a W/S nipple pendant on her right tit, saying, “That tit will remain exposed until I take the ring off. You may remove it to sleep or to restore circulation, but that boob must be bared to the public at all times. Am I being clear?”

“Yes, Dr. Allyn. Never covered, ever, even in school, or on the street. Never. Thank you.”

Max pulled off her panties and tied them on the girl leaking from two holes. “You’ll need these. Trust me.”

“Now, daughter of mine, go just as you are and find our regular clothes. Come back here before you get dressed if Dr. Allyn allows it.” Mom acted solicitous, “Was it like you dreamed? How do you feel? You are going to be sore down there soon and for a while, but any daughter of mine will recover and be ready for that practice he mentioned.”

“Yes, Mom, and a lot more. Will you be here when I get back or will you go home and do Daddy on the front lawn? I recommend an audience; it makes you want to show off more. If you see Mr. Hipster J. Pencildick, show him the door.” She shimmied her tits deliberately. “Can I have another bangle? I don’t mind being completely topless for a while. I want to be.”

I put on a S/S dangler on her left nipple. “Make sure to use lots of sunscreen. Sunburned tits are drag and those boobs are going to see a lot of sunlight.” She laughed and strutted into the crowd.

Linh cleaned my prick with an antibacterial wet wipe and stuffed it back into my shorts.

“That is one seriously bold girl. May I borrow your phone for a minute?”

Mystery Mom put it in my hand. The last group of photos and the video I emailed to my main hack-proof server before I erased them from hers. I then entered my cell number.

“My number is in your phone. The actual defloration of your daughter isn’t. That doesn’t need to be on record to be hacked or published. But feel free to send any others to the blog post. You look great together.”

“It wouldn’t do anyone any good to show up on a sextape. Thanks.”

“Who are you and who did I just pop?”

“I’m Louise Larson and that girl you just fucked sideways is Lulu. I thought it would enhance her experience to get nailed by a true stranger. You enhanced the daylights out of my flirty little cock warmer.” She grinned. “Little teases sometimes get burned. Seems it did her good.”

“Before you leave to be with your husband, Louise, we need to talk.” I turned to the girls, “Caralyn, put your dress back on. Go back into the madness with Irina and Max and tell the others to start winding down. Beth and Carol, cruise through the buildings and make sure we’re leaving happy customers. Anne, find Nell and Emma. I want them here on the double.”

Linh, Karen and Jean were left. “Jean, get dressed and find something for Cat and Bullet. Get the leftovers packed, sort later. I want to be ready to leave on my command.”

To Karen, “You packing heat?”

“Everyone is, Mark. The girls without shoulder bags have theirs in the SUV.”

“Good. Stay frosty.”

“I’m naked, frosty is easy.”

Putting the earpiece in, I asked Laura for a sit rep. “Is everyone OK? No one wounded?”

“Remarkably healthy and happy, Piper, considering the clusterfuck potential. Billings found our mole. He is being asked Very Pointed Questions by extremely annoyed people who expect answers.”

“Belinda got the package delivered safely? I do not envy her ride with that She Beast.”

“It was like Christmas in July downtown. She finally ‘fessed up that two 4’11” office girls from the Bat Cave and an even smaller receptionist from Bright Star punched the thugs out in less than ten seconds. That, apparently, was the funniest thing ever in the history of funny.”

“Where are you guys? We need a ride.”

“Belinda and the boys are loading in a wealth of “really ours’ firepower at Chandler’s Row. We found weapons from Bragg, Benning, Hood and the Maryland Depot. I am in the bus at 26th and Tenth, headed for you. Be there soon.”

“Thanks. I’ll get the kittens herded up. I’ve a few things to settle. See you when you get here.”

“You’re armed? You have an earpiece like a spy?” Louise looked more surprised than ever.

“Give me your phone again and I’ll explain.” She did and I composed a text as I spoke. “We started this business as a way for young girls to celebrate their emergence from childhood, to discover and understand their blossoming bodies without getting pregnant by some opportunistic creep or being victimized in an alley. Teens are going to explore their feelings and take chances, so we thought it better if they could freely express themselves in the open, without condemnation, the same way and for the same reason they dare each other to wear the tiniest bikinis at the beach.”

“I remember how self-conscious and embarrassed I was when I went out in a modest bikini. But I did it anyway. That was such a thrill! Now, a ‘modest’ two-piece makes my first one look like a nun’s habit and being topless at the beach is no big deal. This is really a case of doing the same at home or in school, year round.”

“Exactly.” I gave her phone back. “I gave you a list of the people and organizations, calling themselves ‘Christians’, who want to establish a racist, repressive Taliban style regime in America. People who want to quash the Bill of Rights and basically bring our freedom of choice to an end. We seem to have attracted their attention and are considered a threat to their oppressive dictatorial ambitions.”

Louise raised an eyebrow. “So this is more than letting young girls drive the style bus through the walls? You encouraging young girls to make their choices freely represents everything they hate and they will do everything possible to shut you down?”

“It’s still a fashion revolution. But now the government is watching to see who we flush out of the shadows. Some very famous names are involved. The real g-men and women could not care less about girls flashing their charms if that is their choice. They are very interested in the people who would take that choice away. Think Neo-Nazis, White Separatists, death squads, and religion-for-profit-and-power organizations.” I indicated her phone. “Do a search on the Internet and see who we’re up against. We were today’s trigger. If not us, then an NAACP meeting, a mosque dedication, an ERA or Pro Choice rally, a Labor Day parade, anything they oppose could set them off. Your parenting style, if today is an indicator, would make their little pointy heads explode.”

“What I’m feeling here is that it doesn’t matter if we approve of the girls expressing themselves or not. That’s our business and ours alone. What matters is the people who make it their business and are trying to steal that right away from us all by fear and intimidation. That will be serious discussions, PTA-fashion, after I burn off a bit of energy on my hubby. Can you keep Lulu for a while we get some kid free time? Your girls say you have lotsa extra room. She needs some parent free time, too.” She looked at her phone. “This phone is recording our whole conversation. Is that a problem?”

“That’s OK, if it’s OK with her. I have rules in my house they must follow or there would be chaos. Your girl is not in physical danger, but the fanatics want Airwear dead and gone as an illustration of their power. We’ve nothing to hide and I can’t be misquoted when you and the other Moms do the research and talk to your husbands. I bet they are like my Dad who always said he might not agree with someone but he would fight the bastard who tried to shut them up. He was quite willing for the enemy to die for his cause or country, his job was to help him do it faster.”

“I hear that at poker night while the Dads gamble for green fees. Any parents I know will think it’s easier to fight fanatics in the streets than to change a teenaged girl’s mind once she makes it up.” Louise smiled. “I have to say, this has been a deceptively educational day. It’s been fun to meet you, Dr. Mark, but I have a husband who doesn’t know yet how much he misses me. Tell Lulu we love her, even while she’s driving us nuts. See you later. We’ll call.”

She joined a raucous group of Airwear clad girls and Moms wearing at least one item (some more daring than the girls), hailing and sharing taxis. I could hear the cheerful exchange of names and phone numbers from yards away.

What I didn’t hear was criticism. Either detractors kept silent or we had none. This was a loudly talkative bunch so Airwear might be an instant hit among the private school social circles. What I did hear were a lot of teens posing, pretending not to flash busloads of tourists and one-upping the cheer squads all over town. Already Moms were doing their back-to-school shopping on our website in July!