Chapter 47: And Back Up, Again

“I can’t believe this,” Jeryl said as we watched a live broadcast of the election results from the states. The estimated electoral counts had shifted one-way, then the other as polls and surveys were published leading up to today. While we had kept track of the campaigning, watching and waiting for the final outcome was still going to be an emotional roller coaster.

“How many is that?” I asked as Massachusetts flashed from gray to blue, indicating a democratic victory.

“Twelve electoral votes,” Allen said. “That puts Al and Kelly in the lead.”

While their campaign was officially the Gore/Daniels campaign, they had embraced the more casual “Al and Kelly” moniker in the fall to position them as more hip and less stodgy than their Republican rivals. They had immediately picked up several points with younger voters.

“How many to go?” Tamara asked.

“They need 270 to win. They’ve got twenty-four right now,” Allen answered.

“They’ll get California, for sure, right?” Jeryl said.

I nodded. “They should, but the Republicans are going to sweep the mid-west aside from Illinois.”

Jeryl laughed. “Yes, I’m sure the Chicago machine will make certain the democratic turnout is high.”

“What about Florida?” Tamara asked. “If they clinch it, they’ll win.”

“Only time will tell. It’s going to be a couple of hours,” I said. “Shouldn’t we be doing a little work today? Last time I checked, November Eighth isn’t a holiday.”

Allen and Tamara looked at each other sheepishly. We had gotten back from Learmonth on Monday, two days ago and just generally been relaxing since then.

“Come on, it’s a workday and we have things to get ready for next week, don’t we? Working will make the time fly. By the end of the day, the dust should be settled, and we’ll know if we’re travelling to DC in January.”

Tamara smiled. “You’re travelling to DC in January, anyway. You’ve already got meetings scheduled with the Pentagon and NASA. The only real question is if the family will be going along for some big parties.”

I laughed and shook my head at the same time. “Okay, that’s true. In the meantime, how about you two get some work done.”

Allen nodded and looked at his watch. “We’ve actually got meetings at CSIRO this afternoon on their new take on the RPV design for use in orbit.”

I perked up. “That sounds interesting. I didn’t think I had that meeting on my calendar.”

“You don’t,” Jeryl said. “You’re helping me with a special project today. In fact, we’ve only got an hour or so to get ready for it.”

“Uh-oh,” I said. “Special project having something to do with fashion?”

Jeryl smiled. “See, you are learning. Tamara, will you be back by three?”

Tamara glanced at her own schedule. “I should be. I’m with Allen until two and then have to stop by the offices downtown to pick up some reports. Lila and Hunter should be coming out to the house with me then. It might be closer to four,” she said with a frown. “It all depends on traffic.”

“Four will be fine but try to be back sooner. We’ll see you then.”

I muted the television and cleaned up the table from our morning coffee and tea. My morning briefings had changed in Australia, to be more informal over coffee, tea, scones and sometimes the morning news.

“So, what’s this special project?” I asked.

“Jyl’s stopping by. You’ll be taking Collin to lunch while I get her measured in the tube.”

“Why?”

“Two reasons,” Jeryl said. “First, I’ve arranged for her wedding dress to be made by hand from my pattern. I’ve been working with a designer here and I think she is going to love it. The designer will be over in about an hour. She’s almost as excited as I am with the pattern making software.”

“And?” I asked.

“And, I think we can use the measurements to make a new type of space-suit. Jyl and I were discussing it last week. She has a problem with fit and joint ballooning. I think a custom fit sleeve might be the answer.”

“So, Collin and I will be chit-chatting while you two do serious engineering? We are both pretty good at that sort of thing, you know?”

“Well, I suppose you can help with that part, but you can’t see the dress designs. Collin has to be surprised. Nicole will be making sure you don’t come home too soon.

I shook my head but went along. Collin and I went out for lunch and began to go over some of his research. We then got into a detailed discussion of some of Dr. McTavish’s magnetic field research. That lead us into a conversation on the materials research, and some of the problems with high-energy particle radiation in orbit, and how that might be leveraged in his work. The afternoon flew past. Around one, Nicole told me it was time to head home. By the time we walked inside, the ladies were all finished, and Collin and I were told to change.

“Change for what?” I asked.

“We’re having a party to see the results,” she said. “Three P.M. here is eleven o’clock Eastern. Everyone is coming over in the next hour to watch with us.”

“Everyone? I asked.”

“Get changed. Put on the suit I laid out for you.” I noticed she was already in a lovely blue cocktail dress. As usual, she looked classically chic.

Guests were arriving as I came back downstairs. Philip, who I was not even aware was in the country, let alone our house, was serving drinks. With his usual smile, he handed me a gin and tonic.

“Good to see you, Philip. I guess this is going to be a bigger party than Jeryl let on.”

He laughed. “I don’t know,” he said. “She told me to plan on a hundred and make it good enough for friends and family.”

“That means only the best, right?”

He nodded and went back to the bar. Jeryl came up beside me and grinned.

“You thought we’d be sitting around the TV having a drink, didn’t you?”

“I did. You surprised me. I thought we were keeping things low-key here.”

“We’ve made some nice friends living down here. None of them have really turned out to be gold-diggers or bores. There is a good chance your sister is going to become the first female Vice President of the United States today. I thought we should go all out. Besides, this house was made for entertaining.”

I nodded. It really was designed for a party. I was about to say something when the next guests arrived.

“Bluey, Camilla, I’m so glad you could make it,” Jeryl said. “And who is this beautiful young lady?” she asked as Chrissy stepped out from behind her parents. She was as lovely as ever but dressed in a black cocktail dress that made her look closer to twenty than sixteen. She really was lovely with just a hint of makeup. She blushed as she caught me staring at her.

“Chrissy said you invited her,” Camilla said with a smile. “She said you even made the dress she’s wearing. Isn’t it lovely, Paul?” She asked.

“It’s fabulous. Is this the special surprise you two were working on last week?” I asked.

Chrissy nodded. Jeryl took her by the arm. “It looks perfect,” she said. “There is someone I want to make sure you meet when they get here,” she led the girl away while I ushered Bluey and Camilla to the bar. Soon we all had drinks and were looking at one of the news shows. They were talking about the record voter turnout in the election.

“You blokes get to decide if you vote?” Bluey asked. “That never made sense to me. Here, we have to vote. That way we know the winner truly has a majority.”

“I know. The kicker is, that the popular vote doesn’t even decide it. The popular vote in each state decides who gets that state’s electoral votes. The candidate needs 270 out of the 538 electoral votes to win.”

“So, your sister’s ticket could win the popular vote, but still lose the election?” Camilla asked.

“It’s possible. That hasn’t happened in modern times. Harrison and Hayes had that happen in the 1800’s, I think.”

Over the course of the next hour, our house filled with staff and friends. The kids were kept occupied around the pool and the adults mingled between news updates either near the bar or in the large entertainment and movie room downstairs. It was the most people we had hosted in the house since my initial visit to Australia many months before.

“ABC is declaring California for Al and Kelly,” Jeryl said excitedly.

I turned to look at the screen as California flashed from gray to blue and the electoral vote counts shifted. Beneath the campaign picture of Al Gore and Kelly, jumped to 291. Our friends and family cheered, and I saw Philip pop the cork on a bottle of Champagne.

I made my way outside to a quiet corner and pulled out my phone. Kelly actually answered on the second ring.

“Congratulations, sis!”

“My God, Paul! Can you believe it?” Her voice was a mix of elation and fatigue.

“I can. I’m pretty sure Gore wouldn’t have won without you, so don’t forget that.”

“I thought we were a long shot. I couldn’t believe it when Florida came in for us.”

“I knew you could do it all along. I know you’re going to be swamped in a few minutes, but I wanted to call and give you my and Jeryl and the kid’s love.”

“It’s crazy here. Mom and Dad are around somewhere, let me get them for you.”

“Don’t bother. I’ll talk to them later. I just wanted to be among the first to congratulate you. You did a great job, Kelly. We all love you.”

I ended the call and went back inside to find Jeryl and the kids. Ali and Jer were excited to see Aunt Kelly on TV even if they didn’t quite understand the importance of the news.

Alcohol continued to flow, tempered by excellent finger foods prepared under Philip’s expert supervision, as we listened first to Bob Dole’s concession speech and then Al Gore’s speech. Kelly was on the podium with him and we saw Mom and Dad in several of the shots, beaming proudly at Kelly. By the time things wound down on television, we were all ready for the weekend, but it was only going to be Thursday. Jer was invited to spend the night with his friend Scott at the Anderson’s. Anna packed a small bag for him and then agreed to watch Ali and Jane, who was now spending the night at our house.

The adults were enjoying the sunset over Sydney Harbor, conversing in small groups. I was surprised to see Chrissy by Jeryl, with a glass of white wine in her hand.

“Are you sure you’re old enough for that?” I asked in mock disapproval as I stepped up behind her.

Instead of the jump I expected, she turned slowly, lifted the glass to her lips, took a sip and looked me in the eye. “Yes, sir. I’m certain I’m old enough for this, among other things.”

Jeryl laughed. “Her mother said it was alright,” she added.

Chrissy laughed as well and then gave Jeryl a quick hug. “Thank you so much for this dress and inviting me tonight,” she said with more of her youthful exuberance. “I can’t believe you got me an audition.”

“Audition?” I asked.

“More of a casting call,” Jeryl said with a wave of her own hand. “Carry-Anne was here earlier. Her modeling agency is handling the show at the end of the month for the suits. I told her I had someone in mind for one look.”

I glanced at Chrissy. She was beaming. “I’m going to get a chance to be a model. You are so cool, Jeryl.”

Jeryl smiled. “It was nothing. I do think you’ll look perfect in the suit I’ve got in mind. If Carry-Anne agrees, then you’ll be on the runway. Who knows, maybe she’ll sign you for more than one show.”

“Who’s Jeryl’s adoring fan?” Billy asked with her signature sarcastic smile as she climbed into a Range Rover for the trip to the airport.

“That is Chrissy,” I explained. “Usually she is in school, but you happened to stop in on a Sunday the week before the big show, so you got to see her trying to become Jeryl’s second assistant.”

“Second assistant?”

I nodded and explained. Ever since Chrissy had gotten picked to be in Jeryl’s show, she had taken it upon herself to become Bridgette’s gopher. Bridgette was the show coordinator Carry-Anne had assigned to Jeryl for her runway show.

“Well, at least she isn’t trying to become your fourth assistant,” she teased.

“That would be your job, wouldn’t it?” I replied.

She swatted my arm. She had matured over the seven years I’d known her.

“Speaking of jobs,” she said after a moment. “What have you got for me? You promised something new for the show and I need to get going on planning and candidate selection.”

“That’s what we’re doing. I want you to see the idea first hand.”

“Christ, if we were going to the airport, why didn’t you just meet me out there?”

“Sorry, I probably could have, but we get the kids off to school and then have my morning meeting over coffee at the house usually. I’m trying to keep that schedule as much as possible.”

She gave a dramatic sigh. “You’ll just have to make it up to me. Where are you jetting me off to for pampering and ravishment?”

I laughed. “Pampering, maybe. Ravishment, I reserve for my wife.”

“Okay, I guess a little pampering will be enough. Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

Soon we were at the private hangar we kept my personal GOT in. The gleaming craft was already pushed out and the steps were down waiting for us. We boarded and settled in as the door was closed and the stewardess ran over the safety briefing.

“You keep a full crew on standby, now?” Billy asked.

“It saves time. I try to give them at least a day’s notice, so it’s not like they are sitting around the hangar waiting for me. I’ve been making some day trips up to Learmonth and points beyond for the past several months. I can see the kids off to school and make it home before bedtime for most of them.”

“Wow. I guess that is handy.”

We kept quiet during the taxi and takeoff. Thirty minutes later, we were landing on Hamilton Island in the Coral Sea, surrounded by Great Barrier Reef. A helicopter was waiting for us, and we were soon flying above the reef, circling several of the scenic beaches.

“What do you think?” I asked over the intercom system.

“It’s spectacular. What does it have to do with the show?”

“I told you I’m thinking about something different. This year, I think we should shift the focus away from the pure science and engineering aspects and get them involved with the environment.”

“Here?” Billy asked.

“And elsewhere. I think we should give them a season long series of challenges that have a common theme. I was thinking of ‘Our Living Oceans’ as a working sub-title. We would have them spend a little time training over at Learmonth, and then drop them on one of these islands with good kit. They would have competitive tasks related to gathering data and specimens.”

“I’d have to see what sort of challenges they would have. Science is boring for television, Paul. You know that.”

Unfortunately, I knew she was right.

“Okay, then how about this? We set up the challenges along a quest to trace the hydro cycle from the rainforest over there--” I pointed toward the coast-- “To the reef here. We have them collect water samples along the way. The samples are part of each challenge, but the science happens off-screen.”

“What about business aspects? Half our candidates and viewership come from people interested in business and learning from you and Jeryl.”

“Hold that thought,” I said as we came in to land in a sheltered lagoon. The large pontoons of the helicopter allowed us to float as a smaller boat pulled up alongside. We managed to climb out without going for a swim and were soon standing on the warm beach sand near a shelter I had flown in the day before.

“Here’s your pampering,” I said with a smile. The shelter was one of our standard tropical kits from Innovative Environs.

“How is this pampering? I’ve probably spent more nights in one of these than you have.”

“Well, you can change into a suit out here then, and I’ll go inside.”

“Not so fast, mister,” she said as she stepped in front of me to block the door. “Why do I need a suit?”

“Hey, if you want to skinny dip while we scout the reef, feel free.”

She laughed and then went inside to change. I just dropped my shorts and moved to the shade of the trees where our rebreathers and wet suits were hung. I had put my suit on under my shorts that morning. Billy joined me a few minutes later.

“So, what business aspects?” she asked.

“How about this gear?”

She did a double-take and looked more closely. “These are different than the ones we used last year on the show.” She picked up the BC with the built-in rebreather. “It’s about half the weight.”

“Good guess. We actually managed to reduce it by fifty-one percent. That’s mostly battery weight. At the same time, we extended the life by a factor of two.”

“But physiological affects still limit your bottom time, right?”

“Definitely, for surface dives. But what would you think about setting up an underwater hotel at ten or twenty meters depth? Would that be a good enough challenge for you?”

“Here?”

“Possibly, but if we do it right, the goal will be zero impact eco resorts. Maybe one here on the beach, one out there under the water, one up in the rainforests where the adventure starts? The scenery here is incredible. With cheaper, faster flights, this could become a vacation paradise.”

“Or it could get totally overrun and destroyed,” she countered.

“That’s why I want to make sure we are doing it right. If we build awareness of the ecosystems at the same time we create a desire for tourism, we could change attitudes and standards for exploring our world.”

Billy looked at me but did not yet agree. “Let’s look at the scenery under the water and then talk some more.”

Nearly ninety minutes later, we were sitting in folding beach chairs in front of the shelter. The sea life and underwater beauty had sold her on the idea. “So, you guys are going to be coming here for quite some time, I guess.”

I surprised her by shaking my head. “Not as much as you think. That’s the other thing we want to discuss with you and Tom. Jeryl and I are probably going to minimize our camera time going forward. Instead we want prior Interns to take a stronger position. In fact, I want Tamara to be the host of the show next year.”

“We are so very excited to have you and your wife holding this show,” Dr. Markham said as we settled into our seats before the runway set up along the pond of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney. “Our students are just mad about your scanner. This is so exciting,” she concluded.

“We did not expect it to be quite this big of an event,” I admitted to the fashionably dressed academic sitting next to me. She was the chair of the Design and Communications department, which was as close to a degree in fashion that the school had. I suspected we would be endowing something more in tune with Jeryl’s desire to foster fashion here in the near future.

My wife had not wanted to just show her own work, which Nike had loved. She also wanted to show the world a new way to think about fashion, design and construction of garments. To that end, she had shared our 3-D scanner and software with the University of New South Wales School of Art and Design. A quick design contest had resulted in designers from different years being picked and letting them use the machines under Jeryl and Tamara’s guidance to create designs. With the second and third prototype fabrication robots, a two-week creative competition had been set up.

Nike had insisted on helping sponsor the event, along with DuPont. Once corporate interests were involved, the news leaked out and fashion reporters from around the world had flocked to Sydney and clamored for tickets to what had initially been set up as a fund-raising event for the school.

Billy had stayed on and sent for a crew from the show to capture as much on film as possible. Jeryl was the belle of the ball, but I was stuck playing nice with the leaders from the school as zero hour approached. Luckily, Camilla had insisted on coming and helping with Ali and Jane. Jer was home with Anne.

Finally, the music started, ending the possibility of idle talk and everyone around us found their seats and quieted in anticipation.

The music paused and Daryl Somers, an Australian television personality locally famous for hosting “Hey, Hey, It’s Saturday”, a long running variety show, took the stage to applause.

“Thank you all for coming out today, for this very special, very exciting, show,” he said. “I know you are all interested in seeing some lovelies walking down the runway, but first I wanted to thank the generous sponsors of the show and take a moment to tell you all about what is really driving the excitement.”

“Nike and the DuPont company made this show possible,” he said. “Additionally, a partnership between our very own CSIRO and Paul Taylor made the machines responsible for the outfits you are about to see. These incredible outfits did not exist even two weeks ago,” he said with a voice of astonishment. “In fact, they did not exist beyond sketches even a week ago. You see, this is the first show to feature outfits that were designed exclusively for the models by a new generation of designers, using new technology where the clothes are made to order, as soon as the designer finishes their design. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you ‘Fashion on Demand’.”

The music kicked back in and he walked back through the surround of the stage at the start of the runway. The pulsing beat picked up in intensity and the first student designer began their show.

Jeryl had worked out the parameters with the school and the students. Each designer would have time to create six looks to walk the runway. They were not introduced to their models until two days ago. The scanner and robots had been hard at it for the past forty-eight hours, turning out garments in a random rotation, allowing the designers to apply finishing touches and embellishments to their design without having to do the core fabrication. The result was an interesting mix of sleek styles.

Even though I was hardly well versed in fashion, I thought the first three students did very well. The forth went over the top. The dresses were obviously by the same designer, but the collection as a whole had real impact. Camilla seemed to agree as she smiled past the two girls who were enthralled by the show.

The fifth collection was all appropriate for the red carpet. The gowns mixed form-fitting elegance with drama. I knew that half of the models were students who were anything but size zero toothpicks the regular fashion world loved. However, every model had a perfect fit in their dress or outfit. It was really remarkable if you thought about the variety of shapes walking the runway.

The music changed again after the final student show and Daryl’s voice came over the P.A. system. “And now, for our show finale, with special thanks to our sponsors, I give you the Sea Breeze collection from Nike.”

The music paused and then resumed with a different cadence. The first model appeared, strutting out with a steady gate, showing her long legs and the high-cut one-piece swimsuit in green and gold. Her tanned skin and blonde hair highlighted the cut of the suit as she walked the runway. Half way down, the lighting changed, warming to simulate full sunlight, and the suit shimmered showing blue instead of green with the gold turning translucent. The crowd inhaled at the effect, unsure of what they were seeing. Before they could register what was happening, the next model appeared.

This one was in another one-piece, but in black and silver. When she hit the lighting change, the middle of the suit faded, giving her the appearance of a bikini. Again, the crowd reacted as Jeryl had hoped they would. The show continued with a mix of one and two-piece suits along with a few cover-ups that had the same shimmering affect with translucent panels revealed in the simulated sunlight.

Chrissy was the last model, and she was spectacular. Instead of a swim suit, she was wearing a black gown with a modest neckline and sleeves. As she hit the lighting change, the gown seemed to shrink with the sleeves, shoulders and cleavage area becoming transparent, along with the plunging back and the now obvious slit up one leg. The dress was completely transformed with the effect, changing from demure to provocative in an instant.

By the time the models came back out with Jeryl in tow, the crowd was on its feet applauding. I picked up Ali as Camilla held Jane’s hand. I made pleasant noises to Dr. Markham as we stepped down the aisle and headed back stage. Nicole joined us and got us through security without any fuss.

The models were clustered around Jeryl, hugging her in turn. I spotted a couple of the Nike and DuPont folks watching with huge smiles.

“Mommy, that was so cool,” Ali said as she wiggled out of my arms and ran to Jeryl

Jeryl laughed. “I’m glad you liked it, Ali. Did Chrissy look nice?” she asked as Jane rushed Chrissy.

“She looked as beautiful as you do on TV, Mommy,” our daughter said.

“Chrissy, you looked stunning,” Camilla added as she gave her daughter a hug. “Did you have fun?”

“Mum, it was amazing,” Chrissy said as she held Jane’s hand.

Ali moved over and grabbed Chrissy’s free hand.

I glanced around and saw Billy interviewing one of the student designers. Two photographers were flanking a fashionable woman as she approached. She had long blonde hair and a narrow face with a high forehead. Jeryl stepped up and shook her hand.

“Paul, this is Nancy Pilcher, the editor-in-chief of Australian Vogue,” she said.

I shook her hand. “A pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” I said.

She smiled. “Was this really all put together in less than a week?” she asked as she waved her hand across the back-stage madness as models laughed with each other.

“Well, the clothes were, even if the show was planned for a little longer. Would you like to see?” Jeryl asked with a glint in her eye.

I knew where she was going. We had built two scanners into trailers along with one of the robot sewing machines when we invited the student designers to participate. I shook my head and made small talk with a few fans of our show before seeing Jeryl return. Nancy was in a different outfit. It was of similar cut to the pantsuit she had been wearing, but instead of the white, collared shirt she had on before, she now wore a straight cut neckline t-shirt made of the shimmering gray material.

Her photographers were snapping pictures as she walked and chatted with Jeryl.

“That really is amazing,” she said as the reached us. “And half of those models weren’t models?” We had printed some interesting facts in the show program. She had obviously read it.

“More than half of them have never walked a runway before,” Jeryl admitted.

“But they were all so confident,” Nancy said.

“Perfectly fitted clothes give you confidence,” Chrissy said.

Jeryl performed introductions. “Chrissy is a family friend. She was one of the first test subjects who volunteered to help us get the fittings right in the software. This was her first runway show as well.”

“You look lovely, dear,” Nancy said. “And you did walk with confidence. How old are you?”

“I just turned seventeen. I think this might have been a birthday gift from Paul and Jeryl.”

Jeryl and I laughed. “More of a thank you,” Jeryl said.

“I must say, this whole thing has caught us at the magazine by surprise. Would you be willing to spend a little time with one of our staff reporters and a photographer?” She asked Jeryl.

“Of course,” Jeryl said.

“I’d like them to interview you as well, Chrissy. I can almost see that quote being the title of the article. ‘Perfectly fitted clothes give us confidence’. It’s just the type of statement that we like to make at the magazine.”

I smiled as the women beamed. I had a sneaking suspicion she wanted to scoop the parent publication in New York as well.

“Mother, stop, please,” Chrissy pleaded.

Camilla had been teasing her about chasing boys in the states. We were getting ready to climb aboard the GOT and head back to Park City. Our time in Australia was over for a while. Ali had begged us to let Jane come skiing. Camilla had agreed, but only if Chrissy went along to chaperon the younger girl. Once that had been agreed to, Camilla started wondering who would be chaperoning Chrissy! She and Jeryl had made sure Chrissy’s ego remained under control after being shot for the cover of Australian Vogue. In the end, Camilla admitted that there were more than enough strong-willed women around our house to keep a teenager in check.

“Are you sure you and Camilla don’t want to come along,” I asked Bluey as the women said their goodbyes.

“Nah, give us a break from the girls for a week or two. Spoil them with skiing and we’ll just relax in our terrible weather.”

I laughed as he looked up at the clear blue sky and held his hands out to bask in the warm sun. His sarcastic sense of humor suited me well.

“Besides, with all the sheilas around, you’ll probably be hopping down under to watch a bit of footy with me before you know it.”

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