Chapter 37: Jane

"Hi, Jane, come on in, ' Mary said as Jane came up the walk.

"You're already bare. Okay if I strip, too?'

"Sure. Hang your stuff here. Makes it easy to find when you leave. Anne and Iris are here, we're out by the pool.'

They stopped to open a Coke for Jane, then went into the sunshine. Mary settled on a lounge. Jane said, "Are you guys busy? I didn't mean to interrupt.'

"No, Jane, ' Iris said, "We're just yakking. Taking a break and getting some rays.'

"Anne, are you really pregnant? You sure don't look it.'

"Four months, Jane. Just beginning to show a little, at least I think so. Feels great, so far.'

"Congratulations. I guess your breasts are a little bigger... Uh, what did you do? Have a crapshoot?'

"What do you mean?'

"Sorry, I guess that sounds really crude. I mean, did you just let nature decide which of your husbands would be the father?'

"Exactly right, Jane. We had a genetic crapshoot. And I won. Say, you're tan all over, I thought you were wearing a virtual suit.'

Jane looked around before answering. "Mary, can I sit next to you?'

"Sure, I'll move over.'

"No, Anne, I told Dad I go bare here. I told him I'm happy that way and I'm safe here. And I told Mom I didn't want to hear any more about it... Mom's really confused these days.'

"I'll bite. Why is that?' Anne asked.

Jane giggled, "Mom knows that it's bad to be bare and virtual clothes are, well... But she can't say anything against them now, because of that feature about you in Vogue. I mean, if you've been in Vogue, you're all right, no matter what she thinks... Boy, Mary, your skin feels good. Never felt anything like it.'

Anne asked, "How's the 'Battle of the Bra' going?'

"Oh, you know... Mom wants me to wear one, now I'm getting bigger. I told her I'd try it; I try to be fair. Only thing is, a bra's uncomfortable and looks stupid because I don't really need one. So, I only wear it when I have to, to keep the peace... Hey, I got a virtual blouse the other day.'

"Tried it out yet?' Mary asked.

"No. Hate to put it on unless I can show it off. Maybe wear it for Tim. No, he couldn't deal with that... I'll think of something.'

"I'll bring one for you next time, ' Iris said, "you can try it here, see what you think.'

"Okay, thanks. Let's wait 'til it's cloudy... How was your trip?'

"Great. Sigrid's cousin, Kristin, is wonderful and beautiful. We had a ball and we're going to do a lot of business over there.'

"Don't they wear clothes there?' Jane asked.

"Of course they... Oops, you're kidding. We were just talking about it when you came. Like I said, Anne, there's twenty-seven countries in the EU. And twenty-seven sets of body codes, maybe more, none of them the same as ours. We're going to have to handle each market differently.'

"That many different lines?'

"No, but maybe ten or a dozen different approaches. Wait till you see... No, give me a minute.' Iris ran into the house, returned with a handful of photographs.

"Look, the north — Scandinavia, Germany — they're very open about the body — this is a nude beach -- there are lots of them; they have naked saunas — see? And, here's a picture our German partner took of Sigrid, Kristin and me.' The snapshot showed Sigrid in a long, blue, flowered virtual dress with short sleeves and scoop neck, Kristin in a virtual polo and shorts, and Iris in a skirt with a virtual blouse, walking down a busy, tree-lined street.

"That's the Kurfürstendamm, the main street in Berlin.'

"Wow, ' said Jane. "You guys look fabulous. Didn't you get in trouble?'