May I ask how the other ideas compared?”They all looked at each other, trying to suppress smiles. “They were ranging from Cruise Missiles, bombing...run, navel bombardment, and … I think one was a full attack on the fence line. Oh, yes, someone else suggested coming in from the sea fast, hoping to catch them off guard.”“So … your idea …” He pulled it up on the screen. I had included screen shots and description of the events. “Lay it out for us.”“Well, it’s really quite simple except in its. She was in makeup, mascara and red lipstick, and wore a v-neck, breast-hugging tank-top showing generous cleavage and a broad expanse of toned abdomen. A hip-hugging mini skirt and leather sandals finished the transformation.Her legs were bare.She dropped her bag on the bed, cupped her hands around my face, kissed me, and grinned up at me. 'What's the matter? Too slutty for you?''No, not slutty—ugly word ... you're ... uh ... beautiful! And your outfit is ... uh ... well ... sexy.'Her smile was. "My lager's gone flat." Liar!"Laughter and another hug but not a long one.They ate their lunch and then Ralph went home as instructed. Bess and Nell went with him. He collected the necessaries and they went back to Nell's.There was no ceremony in getting undressed although both silently were pleased with each other's bodies. They were both fit and trim.In bed they rolled into each other's arms and clung to each other silently. There was no need to speak. Ralph drifted off to sleep after his. Why constrain my body with clothing, but to save the snickering of foul boys, the sideways glance of pious men, and the fear of women whose bodies sagged with age and wear, afraid their husbands might prefer the sight of my nakedness to theirs? I defied them with my bare breasts, a mere eighteen years, already efficacious enough to move the world around me. I felt powerful, if companionless. I was about to let my dress fall to the grass and step completely out of it nude when I heard a stick.