This is the second installment in what may become a series. Hopefully, this story can be read enjoyably on its own. However, reading the first installment will provide better context and show the development of the characters.
*****
There was no real fall-out from our Friday evening at the Jeffries'. The longer I thought about it, the less I was concerned that we had stepped over some inviolable line. None of the parents had touched either of the girls and, as Vickie had pointed out, both girls were 18. Life returned to normal except, consistent with our promise to our daughter, none of the three of us were wearing any clothes at home.
The Tuesday evening following our pool session with Vickie, Sandy, and Mike, I was sitting in the den when I heard the landline phone ring and Sara answer it. After a few minutes, Sara stepped into the den door. After 20 years of marriage, I was still thrilled by how wonderful Sara looks naked.
"That was Harriet Bookman," Sara said. "She wants to meet with us and Cassie this evening."
"What did you tell her?" I asked.
"What could I tell her? I said yes. She'll be here in half an hour."
"Oh hell. Well, you'd best tell Cassie so all three of us can get dressed."
Harriet Bookman was one of our three township trustees. She would never let you forget that she was a native of the township or that her husband, Sol Bookman, was a very financially successful real estate developer. I had only seen Harriet campaigning and at some trustees' meetings. My impression was that her self-importance was a bit much. I had some limited dealings with Sol, who was, at least, pleasant to deal with. On the plus side, Sol had built and owned the golf and tennis club in the township. A lot of locals used and enjoyed it but I had to believe that it was doing no better than break-even. I had no clue what Harriet Bookman wanted with us.
Sara, Cassie, and I were dressed and in the front room when our doorbell rang. Opening the door, I saw Harriet, who may have been attractive once but who carried a lot of weight. A much younger looking lady was with her who was cute, but a bit chubby. I showed them in.
Harriet introduced the lady with her as her daughter Anita. Anita was home from our mega state university on summer break. After we went through the "would you like something to drink" rigmarole, Harriet got down to business.
"Have you folks heard of the Skins Society?" Harriet asked.
"I'm vaguely aware of a group around here that has Skins in its name that does community projects. Didn't they pay for the new township life squad unit?" I responded.
"That was our 501(c) (3), the Skins Foundation," Harriet said. "The Skins Society is a group of people who are from or have become well-established in the township. You know that we are, for this region, a uniquely progressive, liberal, and open-minded community. The Skins Society seeks to preserve and perpetuate that characteristic of our community, to unite the people who play a prominent role in our community, and, frankly, to have some fun. While the Society is much different from something like the Masons, we also seek to form a special and life-long bond between our members." Harriet took a breath, and the started back in.
"Membership in the Skins Society is by invitation only and is open only to people who are 18 or older and residents of the township at the time of induction. We prefer to induct entire families when that is possible. You are one of four families to whom we have decided to offer membership this year."
"Thank you," I said. "I assume that we should be honored." I was waiting for the catch.
"Well, let me tell you a little bit more," Harriet said. "While we have very few rejections, not everyone accepts an invitation to the Society. Sometimes we mis-read people and invite people whose values are not consistent with ours. I don't think you will have that issue, but it is best to get it on the table at the very beginning."
"Ok," I said.
"First," Harriet explained, "there is no financial obligation. We encourage our members to help support the activities of the Society and to give to our tax-exempt foundation, but it is not mandatory. There are a few of us in the Society who are able to underwrite its expenses and do so."
Sara, thinking along the same lines I was, asked "You said that some people turn you down. If I may put it this way, what is the catch?"
Harriet gave a small indulgent smile. "We don't think that there are any catches. However, the most succinct way to illustrate why some people turn us down is probably to describe our induction ceremony. Everyone who belongs to the Society has gone through this exact same ceremony, including me and Anita and Sol, but some people decline."
"Ok," Sara said. "Tell us about the ceremony."
"The induction will be held at the clubhouse of the golf and tennis club a week from Friday. No one will be present except for Society members and the new inductees. Dress is coat and tie for men and dresses for women." Either Harriet thought she was working up to something or she was putting off something, but she had not answered Sara's question.
Cassie chimed in, "The dress code is fine, but what is the actual ceremony?"
Harriet said, "Perhaps I should let Anita describe it. She just went through it two years ago."
Anita was one of those perpetually cheery people. I imagined Anita telling us that we would be flayed and branded with hot irons with a broad smile on her face.
"Well, the dress code is a bit different for the induction than for the Society's other events," Anita said. "Early in the evening, each family being inducted will be announced to the group. As your name is called, you will go up on the stage that is at one end of the room. As applied to you, once you are on the stage, you Mr. & Mrs. Stone will undress your daughter so that she is completely naked. Once that is done, you will strip each other naked. The procedure is a bit different for families. If we have a single inductee, like I was, the inductee strips naked him or herself. You will stay on stage until all of the inductees have been announced and stripped. Then you will all take our oath. At that point, the ceremony is over and I will be like any other cocktail party. Except, the inductees must remain fully nude for the entire evening."
Glancing at Cassie and Sara, I could see from their expressions that the induction ceremony sounded appealing to them. I was curious though and asked, "How does the 'dress code' for the induction differ from other events?"
Harriet answered me. "All of the old members will remain dressed for the entire evening at the induction. One of our rules is that any time there is a group of people who are all Society members; they all must be nude unless it would be illegal to do so. So, at all of our other events, everyone is nude throughout. We know that you have recently started going nude at home and with the Jeffries, so we assume that our 'dress code' will not be a problem for you."