Chapter 30: "Bill ... we have to talk."

With his overlong surfer's trunks in one hand, she ran out of the water as fast as she could and returned to where they had left all their stuff, turned around and waved them as if in a 'capture the flag' game.

Bill called out to her from the water. "Kat ... bring me back my trunks."

"Come and get them, Adonis. Show us all what you're made of..."

"Come on, Kat ... enough is enough."

"No! I'm serious, Bill ... if you want them, you'll have to come here and get them." She wasn't laughing.

Bill looked around ... nobody was looking at him, not even Lisa and Meredith, who had deliberately turned around to give all their attention to Mark. It was obvious that they felt that this was between Kat and himself. He hesitated, still. Finally, trying his utmost to cover his privates discreetly, he stumbled out of the water and rejoined Kat; his white butt and thighs a sickly contrast to the rest of his tanned body.

Reaching Kat, he angrily tore the trunks from her outstretched hand and, hopping on alternate legs, stepped back into them again. They did not speak to each other for the rest of the morning; Bill sulked and Kat alternated between sunning in order to even out her tan and playing with Meredith, Lisa and Mark.

When lunchtime came around, rather than eat at the marina, they chose to go back to the neighborhood near the hotel. Meredith, Lisa and Mark went back to Denny's. Kat, hurt by Bill's stupid stubbornness, decided that it would be better that the two go elsewhere and have it out, once and for all and went to the sushi place next door.

"Bill ... we have to talk. We can't let this fester ... I love you, Bill, but I won't close my eyes when you act like an idiot. This morning, I was angry enough to throw you into the nearest dumpster!"

"What did I do ... you're the one who jumped me and pulled my trunks off! I was so embarrassed; I'd thought I'd die!"

"Did you?"

"Did I ... what?"

"Did you die... ?"

"Well ... no..."

"Look ... I've known Lisa for four years; we did all our university studies together and, most times, we did our research papers together. She has always been very levelheaded and since I've met Meredith through the day-care, I've found her to be one of the sanest people I've ever met. That both are so taken by naturism tells me that there must be something fundamentally positive and healthy about it. I will not tolerate that you belittle them by making snide remarks about what they believe in."

"But I wasn't..."

"Yes, you were ... you were acting as if naturism was a meat market and that you were the only slab of beef worth buying. If there's one thing I've learned since this whole mess with the trial started, it's that naturism is NOT about cheesecake, or about beefcake, for that matter. You were being rude!"