Free Swingin' in the Rain by Eileen Davidson Page A

it together.” She pushed him out of the way.
      “What the heck was that, anyway? Did you see that guy’s...” George asked.
      “Just what it says on the door, George. It’s the Director’s Room,” Patti explained. “The guy on the dais is ...observing. The couples down below like to be observed. If you don’t like who’s watching you, you leave.”
      Then the door opened and a couple came out adjusting their costumes. I looked away, kind of embarrassed. They didn’t seem to mind at all.
      “Hi, y’all!” the woman said. She did a double take and then said, “Oh hiiiii.” And smiled at me.
      “Hi, there.” I answered.
      She was an attractive woman in her forties and looked kind of familiar but I couldn’t place her.
      Her date pulled her away, saying, “Let’s get a drink and go to the Doctor’s office.”
      “Again?” she replied. “I’ve had enough of that. I wanna go to jail.” She pulled him close to her body. “You’ve been a very bad boy and I think you need to be locked up.”
       She put her arm around him tightly as they walked away.
      “Okay, I guess it’s jail for me!” he agreed.
       She turned back and looked at me again and gave a little wave. Okay, that was kind of gross.
      They disappeared into a room further down the hall. George looked like he was about to implode. “Do you know who that was?” He was swinging his hat around wildly. “That was Carla Miller. The channel five newscaster!”
       “Aww. So that’s where I’d seen her before”, I said. She had recognized me and must have thought I was partying, too. Oops.
      “Let’s keep moving,” Patti said, giving George a dirty look. She headed down the hall. I looked behind me and saw that Tonja was still glued to the window.
      “Tina, you coming?”
      She looked at me and blinked. “Oh, yeah. I’ll catch up with you guys. I have to go to the ladies room.” And she headed off in the other direction. Before I could ask her how she’d find us, she had turned the corner.
      George and I looked at each other. “Do you think she’ll be all right?” George asked me.
      “I have a feeling she’ll be just fine.”
      Patti stopped in front of another window. I looked in. This must be the ‘Doctor’s Office’ because there was an exam table and a few people gathered around it dressed in Doctor’s scrubs and masks. It looked like someone was on the table.
      “This is so hedonistic,” George said. “Mind blowing and fascinating, really. What it says about our society, I mean? The Romans engaged in this sort of thing and look what happened to their civilization.”
      I nodded and added, “So true, but I’m not one to judge. Who’s to say what consenting adults should or shouldn’t do. What I find so fascinating is how they can share their husbands and wives or significant others with other people without any fighting? If I ever saw Jakes with someone else, I’d have to kill him.” Patti looked at me. “What? It’s just a figure of speech, Patti. Really.”
      She looked a little skeptical. “Do we really need to have a dissertation on the social implications of this lifestyle choice right here? Right now?” she asked. “And it’s Vivica!” Then she turned and continued down the hall. She was pissed. Was it because I had bullied her into taking us here? Maybe because her secret was out? Or was it something else?
      We stopped at another door that said: Girls Only. I looked in the window not knowing exactly what to expect but it was empty.
      “It’s early,” Patti explained. “It’ll be full within the hour, I’m sure. It’s a very popular room.” She moved on down to the next window.
    “I can’t see anything,” George said, squinting.
      “That’s because the window is painted black. This is the Scary Room.
      George and I both looked confused, and probably a little scared.
      “What does that mean?” I asked.
      “It’s pitch black. So