Chapter 21

Business at home was unusually usual.

The bus was at my garage, compartments locked, though I wondered why Carol told me that. They are always locked. Rose had press-ganged the entire Ten Penny contingent, including the real Tina Karlson and Leigh Blackfeather, into helping the Bright Stars fill the orders pouring in from all over the region.

Pricing was insanely simple on the production side. The film cost $0.25 per square foot (Karen, Irina and Yumi’s number) and a cutter could make 30 pairs of panties in thirty seconds. At $50.00/hour for labor (Amy’s estimate. Rose would charge $20. I would raise it to 30.00, and pay bonuses) and at a generous estimate of one square foot per pair, panties cost us less than 28 cents.

We charged $5.00 each. Don’t scoff. They were indestructible, colorfast, stain resistant, and washable with the rinse cycle only; shake to dry, and available nowhere else. And way less than any popular brand you can mention. Buy ten assorted colors now and never spend another penny on panties again. Even if there was a severe change in measurements, a girl was set for years to come.

The most expensive item, for us, was the dress and it cost less than $5.00 to make. They were easy to tailor (cut a dart, fuse the edges, repeat as necessary). Other items ran the gamut from the panties to the dresses. Custom work cost 50% more and took an extra day.

Families would save a few thousand a year on clothes.

We were getting uniform orders from schools, mostly standard cotton or linen fabrics, some in Airwear film, some in both. We still charged less than the mainstream manufacturers who sent the work offshore. The blouses with the wide gap in the front sold extremely well in all fabrics, as school uniforms and as casual wear.

Numerous requests for the logo clips and pendants in school colors began to come in. The girls agreed, at a minimum order of 100 pieces, 5.00 each.

The first price list posted looked like this:

(((((Insert ‘airwear prices.htm’)))))

The cocktail dress could be a chore to put on. I solved the problem by having an optional opening from the neck to the waist, front or back, with buttonholes for a shirt stud. We could modify the X-Front swimsuit similarly if needed.

The ‘little black dress’ was a made to order item. The cutters wanted chest under the armpit, chest under the boobs and around the nipples, waist and widest hip measurements. They needed armpit to mid-thigh distance, too. The dress had 5 ‘button-on-string’ closures up the right side, leaving a two-inch strip of skin exposed.

Colors were black and smoke in all three densities. The girls forgot to tell me the black fabric was infused like the white part of the broaches. The smoke was all me and strong.

The newer girls, Linh, Luz, June, Nell and Emma were in the dark about ‘the infused’ materials. Pheromonic multimodal transgossamer was never to be mentioned outside of the house. I wondered if the lasers vaporized the additives and saturated the air at Bright Star Productions. Things would get very weird. But that may explain Luz and June’s coming out today. And Linh had turned into a Tanner sister voluntarily, or was one ready to be born.

I decided I needed an undercover report from one of the guys from the Bowery. Amy interrupted first, “Sir, we picked a Cal-Mex place close to Washington Square. The food is good and the manager will open a dining room if we come in before 7:00. They go to half-staff after 8:00 on Tuesdays, but she will keep everyone on hand until we leave.”

“That’s a nice change. Is it called ‘Calimex’, with the largest, virtually psychedelic, Margaritas on the East Coast?” She had that guilty look. “You’ve been there before?”

“That would be correct. In college, I went with a group of girls one night, and ordered one of those liquid brain bombs on a dare. They never asked for ID so we all had one. I became Wonder Woman during the first bowl. The second drink brought out my inner Xena, the Warrior Princess, or so the guards at the Metropolitan Museum said after they fished us out of the fountain and dried us out inside the Hall of Scary Weapons.” She giggled, “How we got from lower Fifth Avenue to the Eighties is a mystery today. I lost my dress, but was a wet tee-shirt winner, Thea had no clue what happened to her blouse and bra, Monica was in her panties, with her wallet stuffed in the back, Marcella was jay bird naked with an air-brushed bikini and we were all barefooted.”

“I think we should stick to sodas and iced tea this evening. First place?”

“I had a blue ribbon holding the front of my tee-shirt together. I didn’t own a GGW tee shirt or purple panties. Funny thing, Monica had a second place ribbon pinned to her panties and Thea took third. We never figured out what contest Marcella entered, but she won. The ribbon was stuck to her ass.” She laughed. “We couldn’t find the bar again but we still have the ribbons. I’ll be drinking water tonight.”

“Girls Gone Wild? Will you be ready by 6:30?”

“It’s only 4:30. We can be ready by 5:30, Sir. I’ll confirm for 6:45, party of 35.”

“Twenty-one of us, three Bright Stars, two Pennies and Lulu. Did I miss someone?”

“Maggie Riker and some friends may show up. We’ve about decided to beg off the sampling tomorrow but the Bakers promised to show up where she could get a set.” Amy explained, “Rose says they are keeping up, but won’t if we pull the Pennies away before they can build up a larger inventory. Laura said we shouldn’t go bearding the lion without an escort.”

“OK. Reservations for thirty-five at 6:45 it is. If they can hold a parking space, I’d appreciate it. Call the garage and have them bring the bus around at 6:15.”

I had about an hour and forty-five minutes to get ready. In this house, not as much time as you would think. Shower, depilatory, and dress in the clothes laid out. Instead of my black shirt, I had an Airwear solid strong blue, normal-cut sport shirt. Solid silver tie, black jeans tucked into black combat boots completed the look. Add the earpiece, vest and shoulder holster and I was modern-day urban avenger.

I felt like a kitten wrangler guiding the herd through the land of rabid timber wolves.

Finally I got Mike Ellis on the phone. “Mike, Amy tells me you’ve been drafted. Need help?”

“If you have any sense, you’ll run and not look back. There are seventeen dressed, half-dressed and not dressed girls and women charging around like clockwork dervishes upstairs.” Mike laughed, “Belle and Blender included. Wait until you lay eyes on the new girls. Holy Moly! Cutting, seaming, sewing, fitting, modeling, posting, measuring jabbering and turning out hundreds of whatever you people call the stuff on your website.” Mike paused. “Mind if I put you on speaker? The others want to talk, too.”

“Go ahead.” The sound quality changed. “Hi, guys, how’s life? Mike just advised me to run away from seventeen naked women. Clearly he’s feverish and delusional. How are you holding up?”

“Titty overload!” Norm’s voice said, “It’s lot like home, doing what we’re told, when we’re told to do it and stop complaining. The four guys are working in the Shipping Department now, picking and packing orders. Nat is up and down bringing baskets of whatever we need. Smitty is setting pick-ups and scheduling messengers.”

“Those crazies are uncanny. They’re staging it perfectly. We get down to the last three middies. Nat calls for more and the elevator opens and there is a basket full. Just what we need, nothing else. We’re out of blouses, but we don’t need any for a while.” Smitty laughed. “The big orders are readied up there. Someone is seriously organized or can see the future.”

“Mike, I did the math and it doesn’t add up. I have three Bright Stars over here. That leaves seven. Nell and Emma are here, too. So, you have Laura, Belinda, plus Leigh and the real Tina.” I chuckled. “I’m pretty sure that ain’t seventeen.”

“You are under-informed, Piper.” Nat answered. “We are blessed with Nancy, Holly and Polly Ellis, and Tamera, Kelli and Vicki James, Norm’s crew. Nancy is a tall drink of vodka and born to be in charge. Tamera is Bette Midler on speed channeling Lady Chatterley.”

Mike cracked up. “Norm is righter than you know. My science geek twins pretend the backyard is Bondi Beach and the neighbors are blind. Lately, they run around the house like Vargas pinups. I used to call ahead and make them dress for company and they still managed to ‘accidentally’ get caught out once in a while. I just ignore it like Nancy does. I quit bringing buddies home. We watch sports at a bar instead. Shameless flirty flashers just like my heartthrob before we got married. She hasn’t changed, but only shows the goods at the beach and, thank my lucky stars, at home all the time. I suspect she eggs them on when I’m not paying attention.”

Lulu’s mom. Will she demand they give me a blow job, too?

He laughed out loud. “I’m sure of it. Shower time is a riot. Strip in the bedrooms, take the dirty clothes to the laundry hampers, which all mysteriously live in the basement. Run to the second floor showers and discover all the towels are in the linen closet on the first flood near the living room. Another trip through the house, this time wet and dripping. This is where Nancy takes control. ‘Stop right there! Dry that mess before you take another step. I will not have water stains on my floors.’ That means a naked trip to the broom closet in the basement, mopping behind themselves, all the way up to the showers. Then back to the basement to put the mops away. By now they’ve air dried enough to go through the living room to the linen closet to get the towels they no longer need.”

I cut in. “This is similar to a game Ellie used to play. Let me guess. The unneeded towels stay in the closet and they go back upstairs to find they need another rinse to wash away the perspiration. But this time they parade naked to the linen closet first, having ‘learned the lesson’. Someone coached them well, Mike. That is a typical training exercise girls usually plan themselves. Nancy, a pro at the game, set up an actual obstacle course in a live fire situation. Repeat at least twice a week to teach the girls to move even slower.”

“Try living with a bunch of arty Ren Faire barmaids! It’s just an excuse for librarians, grocery cashiers and allegedly modest girls to risk letting the boobs go free in the interest of historic accuracy. Last year at the Festival, my oldest, Kelli, sneezed, totally destroyed a corset top and kept serving the customers. Not a drop of mead was spilled. ‘Oh, drat! The village seamstress was injured in a carriage mishap on the high road to Londonderry and there’s no one else I trust to do such fine work. Surely not the smelly old tanner. I must not disappoint the customers or the innkeeper will be in a royal snit and soundly belabor my lush fundament yet again, so nothing to do but chin up and carry on.”

“It ain’t just librarians these days.” Nat chuckled, “My sister, the psychologist, plays the lady-in-waiting at bath time. A medieval wet tee-shirt contest winner if ever I saw one. The knight’s page is never so lucky.”

“And with that delusional rationalization as her reason, she felt forced to keep her astonishing pair of ‘Ds’ out for the rest of the day. I almost said something, but Tamera told me to shut up and let her have some fun recreating the past as she saw fit.” Norm said. “Tam and Vicki used ‘peasant girls peer pressure’ as their excuse to expose themselves, too. And I was the innkeeper! I should have belabored her round fundament over the bar right then, but sales were too good. Tamera told me to stay in character or I would spoil the experience for the paying tourists. Well, you gotta pay more than a two-mug minimum for tits like these, especially since those beauties belonged to my damn wife and daughters, so I added a hospitality surcharge at the door. They made a fortune in tips.”

Nat added, “You forgot the part where your ladies remained topless until you pulled into the driveway at home. I’m sure the toll booth attendants didn’t.”

“Thanks, Rock. I blocked that out.” I could hear the grin, “Now they’ve discovered thin ‘presentation’ style French Eighteenth Century fashions, sans culottes. Can’t wait until they find a festival for that! Next came the babydoll gowns and Victoria’s Secret. I don’t even bring company over anymore. Vicki has to wear less to get the same effect, and nothing stops a teenaged girl on a tear. She is truly her mother’s daughter; she gives it her best shot.”

Odd. Big tough guys being candidly chatty about things fathers seldom discuss so cheerfully. I thought guys were supposed to get all weird and shit if you talked about their daughters’ tits? I missed the memo this season. And this was well before ‘infused’ Airwear rocked the boat.

Smitty roared. “Not that I am a good judge, Narf, but I’m pretty sure you are going to love the bed jackets. Oh my god! How does she stand up? No disrespect intended.”

Nat’s voice said. “Norm, no offence, but your Kelli looks like Toon from the back. She shows on both sides. But she’s bigger upstairs and has white hair. I guess it’s natural, but there is nothing for comparison, if you know what I mean. Lingerie must cost a fortune!”

Wow. He’s talking about the tits and smooth twat of a teammate’s daughter! How closely knit is this group? I knew from the beginning that Nat and Smitty were a committed couple. Not the flaming kind of gay but simply two real men who preferred the company of men, specifically each other. Even though Coder and Rock had no sexual interest in the Ellis and James girls, this was a potentially explosive topic in most circles.

Basically, ‘Hey, Norm old buddy, no disrespect intended, but I see your daughters have huge tits and bare cunts. What’s up with that?’ See what I mean?

“None taken. I have eyes, too, and few illusions. It is natural, but from the neck down, nothing. Same with Vicki. And lingerie costs a fortune, though they seldom wear it. The rest proves I have great taste in women.” He chuckled, “And little big wife can still pass the pencil test. Ask, she’ll prove it! Kelli and Vicki got theirs honestly. We do good work! But I got eyes for my Tamera only. Next to her, I don’t notice the girls anymore. They just block the view.”

Did he just invite people to test the firmness of his wife’s tits?

“Toon is the same, Narf. It’s rare, but pleasantly convenient. But I don’t have children.” I said, “The rest of my girls found a crème down in Tribeca that eventually creates the same condition. Lady Gillette is a stranger to my house.”

“What he said. Piper, this brilliant idea is going to save us enough to buy that waterside duplex in Riverhead. Gillette made her contribution months ago from that little pharmacy near the Bat Cave.” Hammer agreed. “I can’t believe how good Nancy looks in those clothes. And on that note, where are you going tonight since it’s overflowing here and what are your mobsterettes wearing?”

“Yeah, Piper, talk to us.”

“Do I hear a desperate cry for alone time tonight, gentlemen? Are you lending out your daughters?”

“Told you he was smart.” Smitty said. “And quick, too.”

“But are our grizzled old teammates smart enough to know what they are asking.”

“Take five, Coder. All six and the new girls are on the website already. Right now, Mark is the only one who hasn’t seen everything they have.” Mike laughed. “This fall, the girls will be at Bingham-Hampton and will eventually blend into his mob anyway. I’m certain the Moms have prepared them for any contingency, social or academic.”

“Have Nancy and Tamera packed the few clothes they’ll need and whatever else teenagers can’t live without?”

“Give it up, Piper. The bags are packed. We have you outnumbered. You’re bound to have room to stash the young exhibitionists for a few days if we forget where we lost them.” Norm chuckled, “The teens are going to burst out somewhere. Better to be safe at your place than any place else I can think of.”

Not as blatant as Louise Larson, but close. How far were the two men willing to go? Or rather, willing to send their previously seen but untouched daughters? I’m sure the Moms knew their daughters would ‘give it up’ soon to the Piper.

“Full disclosure. Fair warning. I’ll see for myself how flirty they are when the public exposure cannot be blamed on an accident. They are allowed the one item: clear cellophane cocktail dress. Nothing else. The girls will be virtually naked and I will enjoy checking them out. Be aware: The Fashion Police will be out in force. Transgressions are punishable by forfeiture of clothing and more. At this point, the girls will be actually naked, defenseless, and available for use. I have been known to pound a few lush fundaments if the violation merits a good pounding, or if the violator asks nicely. Discipline continues until the girls tell me they are satisfied with the penalties or the pounding. They are usually speechless or panting too hard to make understandable noises, so I use my personal satisfaction as a guide. It would be easier to do what I’m told by the witnesses but they seldom speak.”

That got chuckles. The guys had no clue that I told the girls what they wanted to tell me. “Rules are rules. This is the real world, not the imaginary backyard topless beach. We’ll advise them ‘When in Rome, etc.’ The wives won’t have a problem, either.” Mike said. “Make them obey. Enjoy yourself.”

My turn to laugh. “Anyway, 6:45 PM, at ‘Calimex’, near Sixth Avenue. Cellophane dress. Period. Maybe Leigh and Tina can stay in Linh, June and Luz’s spaces. They haven’t been in town long enough to get a place. Ask Rose about the apartment on the fourth floor. You and Norm may not have to wait until you get home tonight for bonding time. Strike while your irons are hot, gentlemen. I intend to do the same several times, on the sidewalk at ‘Calimex’ if I wish.”

The mention of hot irons never caused so much as a ripple. This social landscape was not what I expected. Maybe it was changing like YoBeau and Linh had fantasized. Perhaps, not so much changing as being uncovered.

Whatever, in short order the guys decided to give up their daughters at 7:00 with no illusions, escorted by Nat and Smitty who were going bar hoping later up Third Avenue. They had about an hour to get ready so I rang off. Just in time to take a call from Willis Willoughby.

“It’s my favorite under appreciated realtor. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I received a very interesting call today from your freaked-out southside neighbor. He wants to sell out as soon as possible.” Willis answered. “You, my affluent friend, get right of first refusal.”

“That corner building is empty and has been for years. What gives?”

“The nasty business at that Japanese restaurant panicked the investor group planning to renovate the building. They pulled out and wrote off the capital spent already. Five open loft spaces, brick walls, finished oak floors, same size as yours. Now, the owner thinks the property values in the neighborhood are going to fall fast and wants to unload the building quickly before he has to spend money. I have a chance to move it before the listing goes public. Interested?”

“Absolutely. What needed to be done?” I was surprised. It sounded nearly ready for occupancy. “Are they insane?”

“Insane or from out-of-town. Six of one and half a dozen of the other. It lacks a discrete main entrance lobby. The front third is still divided into office space, kinda like yours, but a smaller kitchen. They had planned to build a sort of vestibule in front of the elevator doors on each floor, passenger in front and freight in the rear. Not done yet so there is no internal separation between the floors. Internal stairways are still open, too.” Willis paused for effect. “What you have is a huge five room house with two elevators, prime office space at street level, a finished basement, modern mechanicals and the loading dock of the gods.”

“I used to see them drive in with a forty-four foot trailer attached and close the door. Is the whole inset space the elevator car?”

“Yes, but you can’t have a trailer that big on the side street anymore without a special permit. A twenty-five foot straight truck is no problem. You can store that bus in there.”

“Do the floors match mine?”

“Yes. Perfect, huh?”

“Sold! Tell me how to facilitate a direct purchase and title transfer where you get to make some decent money for a change. And, how much does he want?”

“A mere million and a half. An empty lot is worth twice that.” Willis paused. “And before you ask, he has a clean, clear and unencumbered deed.”

“I’ll transfer two million to your business, escrow or checking account now. Do what you need to do before he comes to his senses. I want that building in my name, not the holding company! I don’t want a bidding war. We’ll talk contractors later. Keep the change as a finder’s fee, commission or Christmas bonus.”

I did the transfer to his account, he confirmed receipt and got on the case. “I’ll send earnest money to the owner and warn Albert and Monte. Your name, not Allyn Holdings, no matter how much they whine. Call you in the morning.”

If the purchase went through, space was less of an issue than the guys guessed.

I sent a few alerts to Gonzales, Muniz and Glenn Aldridge, my insurance agent, attempting to save Willis a little time. If the floors matched, there was no reason not to connect the two structures at the fifth, third, first floors and the basement. The brick only supported itself. The beams in the walls carried the weight of the floors. I just needed to add a header over each cut through. The dorm would be huge, we could move the living and dining areas to the new area and the study hall could absorb the floor as needed. Office space would be unlimited.

Quarter inch multimodal transgossamer in frosted white backed by steel mesh would make nice windows if mounted in matching steel frames, don’t you think. Spy and sniper protections a sweet after effect.

If we could disassemble the Airwear machinery and move it here, life would be easier. Hill House could be a true vacation spot for the entire crew.

I wouldn’t tell the family until signatures were in place. Two dozen disappointed girls were more than a guy could take if the deal failed to happen. One disappointed Mark C. Allyn was more than enough to go around.

I managed get some things done after all. We would be on the bus in less than half an hour, accumulating more strays as the day drew to a close. Another set of twins, described as 5’8”, redheaded, green-eyed, 15, with ‘B+’ boobs, Holly and Polly Ellis were unwrapped and special delivered into my hands by the parents.

Same story on the James girls, Kelli and Vicki, but vastly different construction if what Smitty said was true. Kelli was 15, 5’10”, had hazel eyes and snow-white hair, and a pair of magnificent ‘D-’ hooters her father charged Ren Faire visitors extra to see! Sister Vicki, 14, was 5’1” and showed a pair of remarkable ‘C+’ boobs as often as she could arrange. No one bothered to stop her, so the tits were constantly on display.

That left three seats at the table for Maggie Riker and her tag-a-longs.

Oops. The bus had seats for twenty-eight. When the daughters of 10d arrived, we were at thirty already. Without Maggie & Company. Good thing most of them were small and friendly, but we had the storage space.

Amy interrupted my reverie. “Sir, the bus will be here in five minutes. Ready to inspect the troops? Before you ask, we have ID, federal and civilian, our Glocks, earpieces, debit cards and cash. The Baker Triplets have Maggie’s gifts and more. Nell and Emma are nervous again and the Bright Stars just smile a lot.”

The girls were outstanding. Amy, Jenny, Jean, Max and Anne in half-sheer white; Ellie, Jane, Beth and Eve in half-sheer silver; Leah, Diane, Carol, Karen and Irina in half-sheer pastel blue; Patty, Caralyn and Linh in cellophane silver; Mika, Suki and Yumi in cellophane smoke; Nell and Emma in cellophane white; and Sam, Luz, Lulu and June in clear cellophane. Someone had arranged dainty opaque matching purses with shoulder straps.

Silver-on-Silver on the collar and White-on-Sliver necklace pendant and White-on-White on a chain belt completed the vision.

“You dears stay here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

I stepped out and waited for the garage man to drive up. “Busy today?”

“Not really. The regular for a Tuesday. No biggie, Mr. Allyn. Nice bus.” He motioned with his thumb. “Topped the tanks. You’re good to go. Later.”

He tossed me the keys with a smile and trotted back, knowing I would include a nice tip with my next payment. He was out of sight before I signaled the girls out. Amy set the alarms, locked the doors and we were off on the evening’s adventure.

We caught the lights down West End Avenue and made it to the restaurant in plenty of time. An employee was holding a spot right out front. I tipped her generously and watched her watch the parade as the girls entered. I could see her expression change the instant she recognized the group.

“I know who you are! I can’t believe it, the Airwear people right here in ‘Calimex’. That was such a wild scene uptown today! Free samples of the coolest clothes ever! My sister was there and sent me the link to your website. I ordered tons of things and they can’t get here fast enough.”

“Why wait?” June handed her a gift box. “If you really paid attention, you are ready for these.”

“I’m assigned to your dining room tonight. Can I wear this now?” She grinned, “Hello. I’m Gwen and I will be one of your waitpersons.”

“That’s the point, Gwen.” I said, pushing to get inside and seated before the others arrived. “You can wear it whenever you chose. No one has the right to tell you otherwise.”

We went in where the hostess, Shelby, welcomed us warmly. “Please follow me. You’re a little early, but the dining room is ready. Gwen and Betsy will be along soon with menus and to take your drink orders.”

June promptly gave her two sample sets. “One for you and one for Betsy. If the size is wrong, I’ll switch it.”

“I saw you on the TV news today. Wow! The talking heads were almost speechless. The hired legal consultants decided it was all ‘OK’ from a law enforcement standpoint if it was a personal choice, no matter how much people complained about the ruination of society. The fashion experts called it the most outrageous revolution in centuries.”

“The French Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, The Bolsheviks, Mao Tse Tung, atomic power, heavier-than-air flight, abolition, women’s suffrage: That’s a lot of revolutions to out outrage.” Amy hooted. “All we wanted to do was one-up the miniskirt.”

“After they predicted the collapse of capitalism and the fall of the designers’ dominance over the nation’s taste,” Shelby laughed, “there was some mention of lost moral compasses and Caligula’s Rome.”

“They have no right to dictate public opinion. The public will accept it or not. We will succeed or fail based on that, not some expert telling people what to think. The puppetmasters are becoming irrelevant and that pisses them off, more worried about their egos than the GNP. The economy will be just fine. They’re mostly annoyed because their mind control is slipping.” I said. “We let girls be pioneers instead of puppets.”

“I’m tired of my must-have shoes being the most beautiful thing ever and two months later some trend maker calls them clunky and ugly. Can it be they have a new over-priced style to sell?” Betsy said, passing by with an armful of menus. “Someone needs to tell me why a knitted-in-China scarf can cost 200 dollars and a pocketbook costs thousands.”

“The girls saved you a sample outfit, Betsy. Gwen is putting hers on now. I’ll be right behind you. I’ve ordered an assortment of the spaghetti strap dresses for the restaurant staff, mostly opaque, but quite a few like you folks are wearing tonight. This is a good time to start the change.” Shelby giggled. “The revolution comes to ‘Calimex’. Viva las Hermanas!”

“Viva las comidas! Would it be possible to invent a family style dinner for three dozen?” I smiled, “Can the kitchen prepare platters of chimichangas, quesadillas, stuffed chilies, tacos, seafood, fajitas, side dishes, appetizers, chef’s specialties and whatever I’ve missed. A few bowls of guacamole, sour cream, grated cheeses, salsa, chips, some assorted picante sauces and we’re happy.”

“Thank you, Dr. Allyn. It beats trying to keep 30+ individual orders separate. I think I can convince the staff. Pricing might be a problem.” Shelby thought for a second, “How about we take the average tab for two and do the math?”

“Then add thirty percent for the premium dishes to the total and it’s a deal.” I said. “We’ll start with pitchers of tea and water. No alcohol for us. And stop calling me ‘Dr. Allyn’. It’s a science doctorate, not a medical. Call me ‘Mark’.”

Gwen and Betsy were pouring drinks at 6:45. “Looking good, ladies.” I commented. “Was it hard to come out of the dressing room with your tits in full view?”

“Sorta at first, but I had to prove I could do it.” Betsy answered, “Look at you girls. Look at the runway models. You’re so pretty and brave. If I can do this, I can do anything. I feel empowered.”