Chapter 3: The new wading pools

The next morning, after she had raked the sandlot to remove any souvenirs left by the cats of the neighborhood, she called Catherine;

"Hi, Kat. I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

"..."

"I would really appreciate it if you would drop by the toy wholesaler at the mall and get me two of those eight-foot wading pools for small children. The place only opens at nine thirty and with my kids here, I can't go myself."

"..."

"No, not those; the hard plastic kind ... Yeah, that's right."

"..."

"No, the air conditioner is kaput and I want a fun way for my kids to keep cool."

"..."

"You would? Great! You're a lifesaver. Don't forget to bring the bill and I'll pay you back out of petty cash."

"..."

"Thanks. See you soon."

Catherine and Lisa had been friends at College and had done most of their class projects together. Catherine, however, had obtained a job in a grade school and would not start teaching until that September. In that sense, Lisa had been grateful to get the job at the preschool, in spite of losing her summer, because it allowed for some much needed money to come in.

By the time she had hung up, her first kids had started arriving so she was busy, greeting them, helping them put their bunny rabbits and teddy bears away so that nothing would happen to them, and just generally start the day on a roll.

Lisa had decided not to mention the kid's nakedness, thinking that if she didn't remind them, they might not think of it either. No such luck ... by ten thirty, half the kids were already in their skins and more were joining them by the minute. It was around that time that Catherine drove up.

Coming into the play area by the side gate, she started saying...

"Hey, Lisa ... Oh, My!"

"Hi, Kat ... Thanks for coming by."

"Lisa ... they're naked!"

"Yeah, I noticed. I'm having enough trouble keeping track of their clothes ... I hope that, with the wading pools, I can get them calmed down a bit."

"Did you suggest this?"

"No, it was their idea. One of the kids' mother is a naturist and the whole thing snowballed."

Catherine and Lisa struggled to bring the two pools into the play area and, while Catherine started filling them with the garden hose, Lisa brought all the kids inside to set up some ground rules.

"OK, kids ... This is what I want. While Miss Catherine is filling up the pools, I want all of you to get undressed and put your clothes away in your cubbies. Those of you who left your clothes outside, I want you to go get them and to put them away, as well. Is that clear?"

"Good. Now, you may play in the water or you may play in the yard. I won't mind if you want to take some of the water to the sandlot so that you can build sandcastles but I don't want you to go inside. If you have to go pee-pee or doo-doo, I want you to come tell me so that I can rinse you off first. I don't want you to track sand inside. Is that understood by everybody?"