Now you see 'em
When meeting new people Sandy would say, "Hi. My name is Sandy. She used to say, 'I'm Sandy,' but too many people joked that she should rinse off after going to the beach."
Sandy was at her best friend, Julie's, apartment one Friday morning. The two women were both 20 years old. Julie lives with her older brother, John. Sandy still lives with her parents while taking classes at a local university where she majors in math and computer sciences. Sandy goes over to Julie's apartment nearly every day to escape her parents. She tells her parents that she has a study group meeting.
As usual, Julie and Sandy were sitting on the sofa in Julie's living room chatting and drinking coffee. Julie's phone rang and she looked down at it.
"Argh," she muttered. "I need to take this call. It might be a while."
Julie picked up her phone and answered as she walked into her bedroom and shut the door.
No sooner had Julie left than John walked in the front door of the apartment. He worked the night shift at a nearby candy factory, so Sandy rarely saw him. He was usually asleep when the two women got together. So, although Sandy had known John for years, they had rarely talked. He sat on the chair opposite me and grinned.
"I get the 'don't' but when do I get to 'see 'em'?"
Sandy looked quizzical. "Your T-shirt," he added.
Sandy looked down are realized that she was wearing her T-shirt that read 'Now you see 'em. Now you don't.' A couple of years earlier Sandy had had a thing for magic tricks. She learned a lot about sleight of hand and became pretty good at making a deck of cards seem to disappear. She would fan out the cards and say, "Now you see 'em". Then she would collapse the fan with her hands around the cards. When she opened her hands, the cards were gone. "Now you don't." When Sandy saw the T-shirt with a fanned-out deck of cards and her famous magician's phrase, she had to have one.
"Do you want me to do some magic tricks for you?" Sandy asked.
He grinned even more, "I thought your shirt referred to what you might be hiding behind it."
Sandy looked back at him and said, "There is really nothing to see."
"Come on, Sandy. Why don't you let me be the judge of that?"
Although Sandy was well through puberty - axillary and pubic hair started to grow at 8 and menarche at 11 - her chest was absolutely flat. Her nipples had developed nicely, with dark areolas about three inches in diameter, but her breasts were nearly non-existent. Her mother assured her that if she got pregnant her breasts would grow to produce milk, but until then she should enjoy her flat chest.
It wasn't easy for Sandy to 'enjoy' her flat chest when all the other girls' breasts were developing. Both girls and boys alike teased her for her lack of titties. They all called her pancakes.
Julie was the exception. She always told Sandy that she was just fine as she was. Julie's catch phrase was, 'Ignore the ignorant.' While Sandy appreciated Julie's support, she thought sardonically that it was easy for Julie to say, with her c-cup boobs. Sandy and Julie had been fast friends since the first grade, and they remained steadfast despite their developmental differences.
"John!" Sandy exclaimed with her best schoolmarm voice, "are you telling me that you want to see my flat chest?"
John's grin broadened into a smile. "Yes, I am. How about it?"
Sandy had never been overly modest, but John's request was unexpected. He was a handsome young man who was very successful with the ladies by all reports. That, plus the fact that they had rarely talked, left Sandy baffled.
