Chapter 20

Lincoln Center's Symphony Hall was packed when the master of ceremonies came out on stage. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this fashion show being held to benefit the United Negro College Fund, a group of 40 mostly black colleges. First, I want to thank the fashion industry for its outstanding cooperation and support. We received submissions from everyone who's anyone in women's fashions. We regret that the number of outfits submitted far exceeded the time available for showing them, so only a minor fraction of the total will be seen today.

"Furthermore, with respect to the models, if you will look in your programs at the list of models who will appear on the runway today, you will see that they are the very tops in the business ... all of them.

"Well, not quite all. This show marks the modeling debut of a young woman who is starting at the very top of the profession in her first appearance. Please welcome... Deann!"

That was Deann's cue. While the MC retired from view offstage to continue describing the outfit Deann was wearing — its designer, manufacturer, and so forth — her appearance was spectacular. Jill had selected her outfit to start the show with a bang. The girl's carriage and presentation were utterly perfect. She looked like a young queen and behaved like one. As she reached the end of the runway, a position from which she could be clearly seen by the greatest number of people, there were gasps at her beauty. And when she concluded her first presentation, she received a standing ovation.

Two more outfits were presented and then it was time for Jill's first appearance. The suit she was wearing was a spandex one-piece that molded itself to her body. It was, by far, the most conservative of the items she would wear. There was another difference: Alone among the models, she was not introduced by name.

As she took her first step out on the stage, Jill had butterflies in her stomach. How strange, she thought, I've been appearing stark naked for years, and now I'm dressed, so why... ?" She answered her own rhetorical mental question: In the first place, the audience was at least an order of magnitude larger than any before which she had ever appeared. But second, she realized the truth of the adage that a scantily-dressed woman is usually sexier than one who is stark naked.

Her previous modeling experience consisted of having watched Deann and the subsequent two models. Jill's head was up and her shoulders were back as she moved down the runway. When she reached the end, she was astonished to receive an ovation similar to Deann's.

Adrienne was personally supervising the dressers working with Deann. For their part, they were astonished at the girl's professionalism. It was as if she had been doing it for years rather than it being her very first time. Checking her watch, Adrienne found that Deann was far faster in her changes than she had been on the plane, the result of working with professional dressers. But, she realized, normally that required some getting used to, but Deann behaved as if she had been dressed by others for years. She certainly looks like a queen, Adrienne thought. Maybe she really is one.

Adrienne received a surprise when Nita told her that she was modeling the next-to-last swimsuit. When she protested, Nita imperiously pointed to the suit and ordered, "Put it on!"

When it was her turn to appear, the MC announced, "And now we have a surprise! Appearing with us today is Adrienne!" He paused as she appeared and went out on the runway. Then he continued, "These days one sometimes thinks that unwed motherhood is the way to go. Well, Adrienne does not! While we all know her as Adrienne, she is Adrienne Cameron, and she is expecting her second child. She is very happily married to Scott Cameron, a very prominent neurosurgeon here in New York.

"And since you're all seeing what I'm seeing, I think we can agree that Adrienne is outrageously beautiful in her pregnancy!"

Her presentation of the suit could have been made into an instructional video of how a model should work. She was outstanding.

The penultimate item was Jill's last swimsuit. When she put it on, she gasped. It was a white thong bikini. It's single white cord passing between her asscheeks highlighted her perfect buns. In front it molded itself to her labia, barely reaching the top. When she put on the top, she realized that if she didn't have very small areolae, they wouldn't have been completely covered.

When she appeared, the MC said, "I think it should be obvious to everyone that this suit cannot be worn by any woman with a less-than-perfect body. It's equally obvious that this woman has a perfect body.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this model is Jill. And like Deann, this is her first modeling appearance anywhere. And yet she has perfectly presented all of today's swimwear." As Jill reached the end of the runway, he continued, "Could we have a big round of applause for a truly beautiful woman in her first fashion appearance?"

The hall exploded and Jill raised both arms in acknowledgment. That caused the applause to redouble in intensity.

Finally, it was Deann. The girl was the first model to appear and also the last. In her final appearance she appeared in a white gown cut down below her navel in front and its back dropping low enough to reveal the beginning of her ass crack. Both sides were slit up to her waist. She was wearing a diamond in her navel, diamond ear studs and a diamond choker. When the models backstage saw Deann in the dress there were gasps and the realization that most of them could not have worn it; they didn't have nearly enough on top and the design precluded any underwear. But, as Adrienne had noted, Deann, along with her incredible beauty, had a pair of real tits.

As she swept and turned on the runway, the design of her dress was apparent to everyone. Moreover, at one time or other the perfection of almost her entire body was revealed. This time, Deann received a standing ovation.

When she left the stage, the master of ceremonies appeared on stage again. "Folks," he announced, "it's now my great pleasure to introduce the person responsible for the show today.

"Please welcome the nation's foremost authority on women's fashions, Nita Lucas!"

Nita came out on stage looking magnificent in her little black dress. After being greeted by the MC and exchanging kisses, she took the portable microphone from him. "Thank you all," she began, "but..." She held the pause for a long moment and then continued, "Our master of ceremonies has the wrong person. My name is in the program. The person who did all the work — and that includes selecting the fashions, matching outfits to models ... and even recruiting a replacement for Charlene Davis when she was hospitalized yesterday morning — is today's swimwear model, Jill Barnes!

"Jill," she commanded, "get out here!"

Jill was still wearing the last swimsuit — the string bikini — since she had wanted to watch Deann's last appearance. Before she could object, other models backstage just shoved her out.

Before she could say a word, Nita continued, "I met Jill over a year ago. She, Adrienne, and I have been communicating ever since. And I want to tell you all that the nation's greatest authority on women's fashions is not I! It's Jill." Slowly shaking her head she said, "Many of you out there are in the business. Everyone who's anyone on 7^th Avenue is here today, and you know what it's like to put together a show like the one you've just seen.

"Well, I want you to know that Jill put this show together — choosing all the outfits and matching outfits to models — in about four hours! Can you believe it? But it's true. And, as our MC said at the outset, we had submissions from everyone and had more than three times as many as could possibly be shown.

"And I'll tell you something else: Jill didn't know she was going to model at all today, let alone model all the swimwear, until about ten minutes before showtime. I don't know what you thought, but I thought she was incredibly good in this, her very first modeling appearance. And I must agree with the MC's comment that the suit she's almost wearing right now can only be worn by a woman with a perfect body ... and Jill certainly has one.

"Finally, for all of you in the business, Jill is preparing to open a high-fashion dress salon in her hometown, Lexington, Kentucky. And from the fashion knowledge and judgment on display here today, I, for one, am certain that her shop, Styles of Lexington, will be a magnet for women seeking the latest and greatest in women's wear.

"Ladies and gentlemen: Jill Barnes!"

Before Jill could utter a word, she was the recipient of the longest and loudest ovation of them all.

She was finally able to stammer out her thanks and then disappeared backstage. Finally she was able to get out of the thong bikini, ignoring as she did the throng of people who were starting to appear. Finally back in one of her new outfits, she was led to a room in which a private reception was being held.

Her eyes widened when she saw Deann, still wearing her last outfit, surrounded by her entire family along with Clarence (Tank) Brown.

"My darling," Jim Washington exclaimed, "you could not have been better! You were utterly exquisite." Then he examined the dress she was wearing at close range. "You know," he mused, "that guy was absolutely right. It takes an incredibly beautiful woman to wear this thing, and, my darling daughter, that is you!"

But Deann didn't hear a word. She was in Tank's arms, melting him to the floor with her kiss.

Jill saw Andy Taylor standing nearby, just beaming. "This was all you, wasn't it, Andy?"

Andy just shrugged and said, "When we were flying up yesterday, it occurred to me that the Washingtons might want to see their daughter's debut. Well, they did, so..."

"So you burned more jet fuel sending a plane down to Lexington this morning to bring them up."

"And take them back tonight," Andy added. "Like Ed Brennan, as vice principal at Henry Clay, Jim has to work. And while Donna is on vacation too, she has three other daughters she has to get back to."

While they were talking, a crowd had been gathering around Deann composed of photographers and fashion designers. Nita had moved close to her side, expecting the obvious question which was not long in coming: "Who represents this gorgeous woman?"

Deann's jaw dropped. She was stunned and had no answer. But Nita did: "She's represented by Kristin Harris. Kris is her agent, business manager, and attorney."