Olivia's Social

"The driver is one of ours," Peter said as he led Joanne out of Leather Bound Books towards the waiting Towncar. The driver owned the limo service and was occasionally called upon to provide transportation for the Network. This wasn't technically KSN business, but the driver was happy to personally accommodate the Major's request. He came around the sleek black car to open the back door for the KSN section chief and the new minder of the Cecil Court safe house.

"How are you this evening, Charley?" Peter asked as the driver settled into his seat behind the steering wheel.

"I'm doing pretty good, sir." The man started the car and checked traffic before edging away from the curb.

"Drive us around a little, I don't want to arrive too early."

"Very well, sir." He clicked on his directional and headed east, away from Knightsbridge.

Peter reached up to remove the leash clip from the D-ring on the collar around Joanne's neck but she moved her head back slightly.

"We might as well leave it, sir," she said quickly. "You'll just be putting it back on in a bit."

The movement had been reflexive and she hoped her reasoning would conceal her desire for him to leave the leash on. She wanted him to hold the other end of the leather thong, just as he was doing. The 'fantasy collar' left on top of her dresser that morning had been around her neck the previous evening and maybe her fantasies were still a little too fresh in her mind. What had started out with the very handsome Professor Cummings from the University dominating her had somehow morphed midstream, or mid-fantasy, into Major Peter Taylor standing over her naked and bound form with a stiff riding crop. Whew!

"As you wish," Peter said as he sat back and adjusted his position so he was more directly facing her. Joanne forced the previous evening's carnal thoughts to the side of her brain as she became aware of Peter's serious demeanor. This was no time to be thinking about that anyway!

"Olivia Wright is a bit of a flirt, as you’ve probably already noticed," he said. "I've long wondered if she prefers women over men, and if her marriage to George is more for the status than anything else. He's much older and parades her around as his trophy, but I suspect she puts up with him because of the pampered lifestyle she enjoys." He paused a moment, and then continued, "That being said, keep in mind that George is the head of the entire MRU border security division and not one to be complacent around. He comes off as a buffoon, but he's actually very sharp."

"What if I say the wrong thing?" Jo asked, focusing on what the Major was saying and feeling a little less secure about the evening ahead.

"Well, that's where our new society bails you out. You will most likely not be asked to participate in any discussions and if you are you can always feign ignorance. The men will be doing most of the talking and the women will be mostly ignoring that talk. I want you to be beautiful and attentive to me, and sneak peeks at Olivia when you think she's not looking."

Joanne was still processing that 'beautiful and attentive' comment and just barely heard the last part of his sentence. "Sorry, what?!"

"We may have a chance to play her if she does in fact favor female companionship. By the way she was drooling all over you in the store today, I think you may have a chance with her."

"A chance? Like what...a romantic chance? I'm not sure...I mean, I never..."

"Never?" Peter asked, his voice a little sterner as if he was probing for an admission.

"No!" Jo responded quickly, taking his tone in the way he was hoping. "I've never even..."

Peter laid his hand on hers and tapped her gently. "I believe you, Jo, and that couldn't be more perfect."

This shushed Joanne quickly as her eyebrows peaked. "It is? How am I suppose to...to seduce her when I don't even know the first..."

"You're not going to try to seduce her, and this is very important," Peter quietly interrupted her, calming the conversation with his tone. "You're going to allow her to seduce you, and your innocence will make you all the more attractive to her."

This made Joanne blush. My innocence?

"You have the easiest role, Jo. Just be yourself. Be flustered. Be reluctant. Be heterosexual. But if she comes onto you, be a little receptive, make her think she has a chance." Peter sat back and looked out his window, and then glanced up at the driver.

"Okay Charley, let's head over."

"Ten-four, Major." Charley checked his mirror and then swung the sedan into the next turn lane. A few minutes later they were coming out of the south side of Hyde Park and swinging onto Kenginston Road.

Peter looked over at Joanne and could see she was deep in thought. "For all I know I'm completely wrong about her and nothing at all will happen. Who knows? I just like to think of these little scenarios to take advantage of opportunities that might arise. You can never be too prepared."

"I understand," Joanne said, this time with an authentic smile. "You're right, of course."

A little more hushed so Charley couldn't hear, Peter leaned over and said, "I know I'm asking a lot of you, but I've been waiting for this chance for a couple of months. Her coming into the store today and running into both of us at the same time is like the stars aligning." He looked out the window past Joanne and then said, "Don't worry if you don't get anywhere with her, just keep it in mind in case there's an opening you feel comfortable acting on."

As the car pulled up in front of the Wright's large townhome Peter pondered a completely different scenario he had considered. Olivia appearing in the store after he had entered may not have been a coincidence at all, and they were now being played by the MRU. The tactics used by the Unit the previous weekend to apprehend Mrs. MacMasters should have worked and he was sure there were those who suspected collaborators somewhere along the Row were to blame for the failure. Had they zeroed in on Leather Bound? Were they following him, or one of his other operatives? Did they suspect Joanne already?

Looking out of the window of the sedan, his uneasiness doubled at the sight of two plainclothes security men on either side of the brick steps leading to the Wright's door, and further down the street were a couple uniformed cops with shouldered machine guns. What were they walking into?

Charley was equally concerned about the heightened security. "You sure about this, boss?" he asked, looking back at Peter in the rear-view mirror.

What were they to do, not attend? Run? If they were suspected of being KSN operatives anything along those lines would only serve to confirm those suspicions. No, they had to go in, and he had to keep Joanne from being alarmed. He could feel how relaxed the woman was now, and he needed her to stay that way.

"Yeah, no worries," he said as he got a better grip on the leash attached to Jo's collar. "There's bound to be extra security when more than one dignitary is in the house." He said it in a scornful manner and was rewarded with a grin from Joanne.

The driver got out and came around to open the back door for them, and then drove off once they were on their way towards the steps. They were about to step up when one of the security men stopped them.

"ID please," he said, clicking on a small flashlight while holding out his hand.

Just then the door at the top of the steps opened and Olivia appeared. "Let them through!" she demanded. "Don't tell me you don't recognize Major Taylor! Good lord! Peter, darling, come up, and bring along your little date. Oooo," she giggled, "look at you, dear, come up, come up!"

The man holding the flashlight snapped off a salute. "My apologies, Major." The man was most likely ex-military.

When Peter and Joanne reached the door, Olivia gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'm so happy you're here, dear!" She turned to Joanne and added, "And I'm just so thrilled you accepted my invitation!" She leaned in to give Jo a kiss on the cheek and then ushered them both into the house.

"I see you've added a bit more security since I was last here," Peter commented as he removed the leash from Jo's collar and followed Olivia through an elegant foyer.

"Oh, those gentlemen came with our esteemed guest," Olivia replied, a hint of sarcasm evident in her voice. She led then into a richly furnished living room.

Peter scanned the room and saw a couple of men engaged in conversation with Sir Humphrey; a Cabinet Minister and close ally of the Prime Minister. People "in the know" had accredited him with instigating much of the morally conservative changes that had taken place since the election. Standing near the men were their perspective spouses, appearing to be interested in the conversation while at the same time looking slightly bored.

As they approached the group, a portly gentleman with thinning hair and round spectacles looked over and said, "Ah, there's Peter now. Hello, old chap, how have you been?" He stepped over to shake Peter's hand.

"Good, George, how about you?"

George Wright turned back to the others, "Sir Humphrey, may I introduce you to Major Peter Taylor?"

Peter shook the Minister's hand and exchanged greetings with the others who he obviously knew. Joanne stepped forward only to feel a hand on her elbow. She turned to see Olivia looking embarrassed and subtly shaking her head. Joanne frowned as she understood. She was to stay behind the Major.

"Seen but not heard, do you remember, dear?" Olivia whispered.

Olivia's comment earlier in the day about the author, Mary Anne Evans, came to mind. This is so f'd up! The UK had twice had female Prime Ministers and now women were not even allowed to join in conversation with the men? It was deplorable!

"Come, dear, let me introduce you to our equals."

Joanne heard that same sarcasm in Olivia's voice again but saw a very gentle smile on her glossy red lips that raised her cheek bones a little bit. She followed her hostess and was introduced to the other women.

"Girls, this is Joanne," Olivia said as they joined the other two women.

"Hello," Jo said shyly. The women, including Olivia, were wearing garments made of black spandex, making her the odd duck in her leather. One of the women she recognized as being with Olivia at the store earlier in the day. "Or should I say, hello again. You were at my store today."

"Oh, you remember me!" the woman said, reaching out to shake Joanne's hand. "Lani Welch. My husband Tyler is the tall one over there." The women all turned to look.

"Lani and I have been friends forever," Olivia interjected. "And this is Rachel," Olivia turned to the other woman. "Her husband, Stanley, is the MRU liaison with MI6. He once worked in the same department as Peter."

"Peter is with MI6?" Jo asked, surprised at that revelation.

"He used to be," Olivia said. "He moved on to another job. Something to do with communications, I think. It's all so top secret," she made air quotes with her fingers, "that I'm never really sure who's doing what or if what they say they do is true or not."

The one woman she had not been introduced to, the Minister's wife, was standing directly behind her husband. Joanne was shocked to see the woman, well into her fifties, wearing a tightly fitting spandex corset over her outfit, a very wide collar, and most unbelievably, a black ball gag in her mouth.

The chime of the doorbell sent Olivia back out to the foyer and she soon returned with two more guests. As had happened with her and Peter, Jo saw the man join the male group while his date followed Olivia towards her and the others.

"Joanne, this is Patricia," Olivia said, and then to the new arrive, added, "Joanne is with Peter."

"Oh, that's wonderful! I'm so happy he's coming around again."

Olivia smiled at Joanne and said, "Well, I sort of manipulated him into a blind date with this lovely creature, but something had to be done to get him past it, didn't it?"

"Indeed it did!" Patricia agreed. "So had you met the Major before?" the woman asked Joanne.

Oh god, questions! She remembered Peter's instructions to just be herself. "My grandmother knows him from our store, Leather Bound Books. I've seen him in the store before, and he happened to be at my re-opening event this afternoon while Olivia was there. But no, I had never actually been introduced to him before."

"Olivia!" Patricia said scornfully, while trying not to grin. "What have you done?"

Olivia raised her hands and said, "I'm sorry if I'm a schemer."

A couple of servants could be seen setting up platters of food in the next room over. Olivia stepped up behind her husband and whispered in his ear.

As the men led the way into the dining room, Patricia walked next to Joanne and said, "We've known Peter for many years, Joanne. In fact, he served under my husband, Sir Nigel, in the desert wars. He's a special young man, and quite a catch." Her smile and expression was conspiratorial, and the sight of it caused Joanne to smile in return.

Olivia hooked Joanne's arm and whispered in her ear, "Sir Nigel is the Director of State Security." Her eyebrows twitched up and down as if to say she was impressed by his position.

Jo's brain was busy digesting everything that was going on, though. It was amazing to her that Peter knew and socialized with these people and all the while he was the head of the opposition group in the city. What a dual life he led! It also seemed as though they had not seen Peter very much lately due to something that had happened. What would that be? Olivia's comment in the store earlier about him not coming around for awhile came to mind, too. She would have to ask her grandmother about that when she got home.

"We can do without this chair," Sir Humphrey said as he pointed to the chair that Mrs. Humphrey would've sat in. He waved at one of the staff and the woman hurried over to pull the chair out and place it against the wall. He sat down in the remaining chair and everyone watched while his wife knelt down in the empty spot next to him.

This caused the men to glance at each other, questioningly. The room fell silent for a moment as each person analyzed what the Minister had done, and how they should respond to it.

"Quite right, Sir Humphrey," George Wright finally spoke up. "You're obviously well ahead of the curve here." He pulled away the chair next to his and set it against the wall. One by one the other men followed his example, and one by one they each sat down.

The women all stood near the table in shock, and then Patricia sank to her knees beside her husband. George looked up at Olivia and nodded, and she sank to her knees beside him. Joanne knelt next to Peter before being prodded to comply, and then the other two women joined them on the floor. From her vantage point next to Peter, Joanne couldn't see much other than the table cloth hanging off of the table in front of her, and the men seated on either side of her.

Things were just getting worse and worse! How humiliating! Why even invite the women if they were going to be treated this way? What was she even there for? Besides that...how was she suppose to see Olivia now? She was on the other side of the table, kneeling on the floor. That part of the Major's plan was now foiled.

As the meal was served it became obvious that the women were not part of that service. Joanne's stomach grumbled at the delicious aromas drifting down from the table above. The men talked about politics, much of the time Sir Humphrey's voice being the sole sound droning on in the room. He started going on about the new standards of female dress in public and then he directed his comments towards Peter.

"I'm surprised to see that you don't require your wife to dress to code, Major. You don't mind that she attracts attention to herself by displaying this individualized fashion?"

"My apologies, Minister," Peter said. "We tend to exclude the fairer sex from our discussions because, let's face it, they seldom have anything of importance to add, but in doing so we deprive ourselves of information that might be beneficial." The slight pause directed everyone's gaze back to Sir Humphrey, whose contemplative expression might suggest he was trying to figure out if the Major's statement was directed at him, personally.

"As it is," Peter went on, "Miss Hallewell is not my wife, but merely a date, so I was as surprised as anyone with her choice of attire. I might have sent her back to change, but then I didn't want to be rude by arriving late."

Sir Humphrey looked ready to speak, but, with care not to push things too far, Peter added, "To tell you the truth, sir, I rather like how Miss Hallewell is dressed. I'm not a fan of everyone looking the same, and by coincidence, I much prefer leather to spandex," he raised himself from his seat a little to see the tops of the female heads around the table, "no offense, ladies." This got a laugh from the men, and even Sir Humphrey cracked a grin.

"Have no fear, sir, when I decide to marry again, I'll see to it that my wife is properly outfitted to prevent the drool from ruining her clothing."

This comment sparked a discussion about drooling women, ball gag sizes, and humorous stories about wearing bibs at restaurants; none of which amused Joanne in the least.

Merely a date?! Just something I picked up on the street and put a leash on?

Joanne had been nervous about coming to the party, but now she was furious! She had a good mind to just get up and walk out of there. Kneeling on the floor, she could hear the dinner forks scrapping plates on the table above her as the men continued their highly sexist conversation. The Minister, who ever he was, had just revealed that he uses a large paddle to swat his wife's ass when she lags in her housework. Oh, he has a very clean house! Laughter filled the dining room. I'll have to get one of those! one of the men chimed in, followed by agreement by one or two of the others. Fucking bastards!

Calm down! Joanne urged herself to relax. Breathe! It wasn't her own voice she heard in her head, but the voice of Agent X. Ignoring the banter at the table, Jo’s thoughts return to her training; to the scenarios cooked up by X to get her riled up. Your greatest weakness is your temper, Sparrow.

Mad as she was, Jo had to grit her teeth to stop herself from smiling. Agent X told her that when she came out of her deep cover assignment in London she had learned that one of the KSN leaders in London was code-named Hawk. Joanne had since guessed that person was Peter. The woman in charge of the Edinburgh facility was code named Raven. Raven and X were "involved", that was obvious. Her grandmother had confided that her code name was Owl. When Agent X had heard all of these avian code names she wished she had been given a code name like Sparrow, or something cute...not X! Agent X, are you kidding me? So X had given her the code name she had liked: Sparrow.

"Personally, I think X is a really cool name" Joanne had told her mentor. "But I'll take Sparrow, thank you very much!" That verbal jab had quickly gotten her thrown to the wrestling mat and pinned.

Thinking about X and the others she had encountered at the training centre helped Joanne return her focus to what she was doing. 'What she was doing' was kneeling on the floor next to her date, just like all of the other women there. The Major had told her in the car that he liked to think of scenarios to take advantage of opportunities that might come up. X had mentioned something very similar to her during her training. What opportunities were likely to come of this humiliation she was enduring?

Well...for one thing, it was a situation being shared by all of the women in the room, including Olivia. That could be an "in" with her and the others.

A hand touching her head startled her out of her thoughts. Lifting her head slightly she could see that it was Peter's hand. He was still actively engaged in the conversation, but he was also very gently petting her head. Why? It took a second for her to catch up with the conversation, but when she did she realized the men had abandoned the talk about spandex and ball gags and one of the men was saying something about Check Point Delta on the west side of the city. Peter's hand continued to pet her for a moment and then he leaned forward to ask a question.

"What makes you think the woman would go west?"

"The MacMaster's have relatives in Bristol, and that's very close to the coast. I've already dispatched several units to set up a perimeter around the city."

Joanne realized Peter had wanted her to pay attention to the conversation. Information was being discussed that was of interest to the Network!

"Is she that important?" another voice queried.

"The wife of a Justice department manager? Seriously? Of course we have to get her back." Joanne recognized that comment as coming from the Minister.

"What about KSN transmissions, Peter?" another man asked. "I know we can't break their..."

"I say," Peter broke in, "this is a discussion that shouldn't be held here. Maybe if we..."

"Quite right, Peter," another man agreed. "Let's adjourn to another room while the gals clean up here. We'll leave it to you to take care of it, Olivia." The voice most likely belonged to George Wright.

All the men rose and filed out of the dining room without so much as a glance at their kneeling spouses or, in Joanne's case, date. From where she was left kneeling Joanne could hear someone sobbing on the other side of the table. She rose to her feet to see the other women looking towards Olivia, and then the woman who had been introduced as Patricia moved over and knelt down next to her. Joanne went around the table and knelt behind her hostess and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"This is so humiliating!" she cried. "My party's been ruined."

"HMMMM!"

Everyone looked up to see Mrs. Humphrey trying to get everyone's attention. She was pointing at the back of her neck; at the clasp on the ball gag. Rachel rose and moved her graying hair aside to examine the clasp and then click it open.

As soon as she had pulled the gag free of her mouth, she knelt down next to Olivia. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Wright. I simply feel sick over this."

"It's not your fault, Mrs. Humphrey," Olivia said as she used the dining table to pull herself up off the floor. "What could you have possibly done?" Everyone understood the truth to Olivia's statement. "If anything, you've had it worse than the rest of us."

"Still..."

Olivia looked at Joanne and extended her hands. Not knowing what she was meant to do, Jo took Olivia's hands in her own.

"I can imagine you're wondering what you've walked into, dear," she said.

Joanne grasped Olivia's hands a little tighter and said, "It's getting to the point where very little is surprising me any more." She looked at the other women and saw slight nods and looks of agreement. "Although I must admit, the chair thing did catch me a little off guard." Her screwed up facial expression caught the others 'off guard' and Olivia laughed.

"Shhh," cautioned Lani. "No one of importance gave you permission to laugh, Libbie."

"Oh you girls are just scandalous!" Patricia whispered. "You'll get us sent off to the Centre!"

"That's no joke," Mrs. Humphrey said.

"No, I suppose it's not," Patricia replied. "I say we take this party into the kitchen...got any wine, Olivia?"

"As a matter of fact, I..."

"What about all of this shit?" Rachel pointed at the dishes on the table.

"Oh, I suppose we have our womanly duties to perform," Olivia said. "Everyone grab something and bring it along."

The women returned to the table and began collecting dishes, glasses, and flatware and then carried them through the door into the kitchen where they were deposited on a counter near the sink. Opening a small wine refrigerator, Olivia scanned the bottles and selected one. Lani opened one of the cupboards and pulled down five beautiful crystal glasses. Her familiarity with where things were kept in the Wright's kitchen was obvious.

Drinks in hand, the women chatted as they took sips and began preparing to load the dishwasher. Olivia bent over to look at the front of the dishwasher and exclaimed, "I really have no idea what I'm doing!" and then took another sip from her glass. "I wonder if George meant for us to actually wash the dishes or just clear the table and leave all this for the help in the morning?"

"You could always crawl in there on your hands and knees and ask, Libby," Lani said, raising her glass towards the door.

"Ya, right," Olivia huffed. "That'll be the day."

Joanne knelt down in front of the machine and looked at the control panel. "I'm not really sure how this thing works, either. My Degrees are in Literature and Business, not mechanical engineering." She scooted over a bit and opened the door under the sink. Reaching in she pulled out a bottle of liquid soap. "We could always do it the old fashioned way."

"I'll do it," Mrs. Humphrey said, stepping forward.

Olivia wagged her finger, "You've already suffered enough humiliation for one night, ma'am."

"I don't mind suffering a little more humiliation," Joanne announced. "I'll wash if you'll put everything in the washer to drip dry," she said to Olivia, and then tipped her glass up, emptying the contents down her throat. She held it out for a refill, which Lani was happy to give her. Bringing the glass to her lips, she took another sip before setting it on the counter.

As the water began to fill the large stainless steel sink basin, Jo swished the soap around and then lifted her hand quickly as the sudsy water soaked the edge of her lace sleeve.

"Oh my," Olivia commented, and then with a sly grin, said, "You'll ruin that beautiful blouse. If it's humiliation you seek I think that should come off."

First Lani, and then Rachel and Olivia began to chant, "Take it off, take it..."

"Quiet!" Mrs. Humphrey warned, looking towards the door. The poor woman seemed to be quite paranoid about making too much noise. That may have had something to do with the big paddle her husband had at home.

Lani giggled and then started whispering, "Take it off, take it off..."

Joanne blushed a deep red. Fuck no, she wasn't taking off her blouse! But as quickly as that thought crossed her mind she just as quickly remembered that she wasn't there to be social, but to get close to Olivia. She would have to step a little out of her comfort zone to do it, but like Peter had said, this was a golden opportunity.

"You guys are too much, but what the hell, I'll bite." Joanne began undoing the buttons on her blouse. "This is probably the only nice top I have, and I really don't want the sleeves to get all wet." She glanced up at Olivia and almost laughed out loud when she saw the woman biting her bottom lip and watching each button get pushed through its hole.

Free of her blouse, Jo stretched her hands out in front of her, fingers laced together, palms out, and cracked her knuckles. To everyone's amusement she said, "let's do this!"

Olivia reached around her bare waist and said, "I think I love you!"

"Oh god, someone refill my drink!" Joanne begged, and then gently pried Olivia's arm off of her waist.

"That's a very beautiful bra, dear. It would be shame to get it all wet, too," Olivia cooed as she took the first clean plate and rinsed it before setting into the dish washer.

Joanne looked over at her and said, "Very funny, but the bra stays on!"

"Maybe another time then," Olivia murmured, barely loud enough for Joanne to hear.

Knowing one of the men could walk in at any time was motivation enough to want to get the chore done quickly, so Jo washed as fast as she could. Olivia wasn't quite as fast with her rinsing and seemed okay with dragging it out as long as possible. Understanding that she was purposely being delayed, Jo decided to do a little intelligence gathering of her own.

"May I ask you a question, Olivia?"

"Sure, dear," Olivia replied as she knelt down to feed the flatware into the plastic holder made for them. "What is it?"

"I was just curious about Mr. Taylor." The use of Mister instead of Major was done purposely.

"Peter? What about him?"

"I've picked up on several comments about him not coming around lately, and I just wondered why that was."

Olivia looked over at Patricia and there was a short hesitation before Patricia gave a slight nod.

"Peter was married to a Regenerated woman," Olivia stated. "They seemed to be good together but then he had to go up north for some work thing and when he came back she was gone."

"Gone?" This made Joanne stand up and look at the two women. "She left him?"

"We don't know what ever happened to her," Patricia chimed in. "Their house appeared to have been broken into and graffiti had been sprayed on the walls claiming KSN involvement. But who knows..."

"No one believes any of that KSN crap," Lani snapped. "The little twit just took off on her own. She was a fool to leave him."

"She was no little twit, Lani," Patricia cut in. "She was a very nice young woman, and smart, too. She was a former MI6 agent, just like Peter."

"So...they worked together?" Joanne asked, finding the interaction between the women interesting.

"Probably, but we don't really know anything about that," Olivia took over the conversation. "All we know is her disappearance took a toll on Peter. It was heartbreaking."

"Yes, he really loved her," Patricia said as she sat down at the small kitchen table. "But then he had no choice but to divorce her in absentia. The laws allow for that these days, you know. A man can divorce you for just about any cause now and you have nothing to say about it."

"The fucking laws," Mrs. Humphrey grumbled and raised her empty glass.

"Wait, wait," Lani said as she grabbed the bottle and emptied what was left of it into Mrs. Humphrey's glass. She raised her own glass and said, "To the fucking laws!"

Each woman raised her glass and repeated the toast, and then they all broke out laughing. Mrs. Humphrey was laughing so hard she had to sit down at the table. Rachel moved in behind her and laid her hand on the older woman's shoulder and then bent over in laughter. Clearly they were all a little tipsy.

Joanne had let the water drain out of the sink and had just reached for her blouse when the kitchen door opened and Rachel's husband, Stanley, poked his head in.

"Shit!" Jo screeched as she held her blouse up in front of her. Olivia stood in front of her and Jo took the opportunity to hug up against her back. Olivia's hands came around behind her to hold onto her ass and pull her even closer.

"Oops, sorry, um...Rachel? We should be going."

"Yes, darling, I'll be right there." The door closed and Rachel snapped off a sloppy salute in the direction of the door, causing more giggles to erupt in the room.

"We best all pull ourselves together and get out there," Patricia said.

After Jo, with Olivia's help, wrestled herself into her blouse and straightened it out, the women filed out of the kitchen and saw that their partners were in the front foyer. Before getting to the foyer, Mrs. Humphrey slowed down and said, "I'm so happy we were all shunned away to do the chores. I haven't had this much fun in ages. Thank you all for a wonderful evening."

This really touched Joanne as the woman's statement, maybe fueled by the wine, revealed a loneliness that, for one night, had been replaced by gaiety and companionship. She watched as Olivia leaned over to hug her.

"We should get together again, just us girls."

"Wouldn't that be grand," Mrs. Humphrey said, but in a way that hinted that she doubted it would be allowed.

As they entered the foyer, each woman gravitated towards their man, and then towards the door. The Humphrey's left first, followed by Rachel and Stanley, and then Peter and Joanne. It looked as if Lani and her husband might be staying a little longer as they hung back in the center of the foyer.

George Wright extended his hand to shake Peter's and said, "Good to see you again, Peter. Don't be such a stranger."

"I won't be, I promise."

Olivia leaned over to give Joanne a peck on her cheek, and Jo said, "This was so much fun, Olivia. I hope we can get together again some time."

"Me too, dear, me too."

Peter clipped the leash onto the ring on Joanne's collar and they descended the front steps towards Charley's waiting Towncar.

"Fun?" Peter asked as he followed Jo into the back seat of the car.

"Well, I let Olivia talk me into taking off my top, got a little drunk, and then had my ass fondled by our hostess, who earlier had professed her love for me. Yes, I'd say that was a successful evening."