Free Kittens! Pt. 05

I nodded, and we followed him to the back of the store. Vicki and I sat down on the row of seats, and a young girl looked at us intently, as her mother shielded her eyes and tried to look the other way and brush us off.

"Hey Lady, how come you're not wearing any clothes?" she asked inquisitively. "Isn't that against the law?"

"Yes it is!" her mother snapped. "Don't you talk to her, Sallee. She's disgusting. She'll be going to jail, I'm sure."

"No it isn't," Vicki explained in the same professional voice that used when taking my order for a delicious grilled and spicy chicken sandwich at 5:00 AM, "and despite what your mother says, I will not be going to jail. You see, people like myself who think it's just as wrong for the government to force us to be clothed as it would be for them to tell you or your mom to go around naked, won a court battle. I have the right to be nude all the time. Even here, in this store."

"Wow!" the girl burst out. "That's so cool! I love the way it feels when I come home from the pool and take my bathing suit off in my room. I just love to stand there with nothing on! It feels so weird and free at the same time. And you get to be like that all the time! That's awesome! Hey Mom, why don't you try it?"

"I think not, Sallee!" her mother retorted, jerking her off the chair by her wrist. "Those people are disgusting. Don't talk to them anymore. They have no ethics or shame. She's nothing but a circus freak! A freak who likes to prance around without any clothes on. She belongs in the middle of a circus ring. Disgusting bitch!"

I glanced over at Vicki, who suddenly looked like she was on the verge of bursting into tears. She had done her best to navigate the situation - and I was very proud of her - but now, it was time for me to stand up for my soon-to-be wife.

"What gives you the right to trash talk my wife?" I demanded. "Is it because she has a great body and wants to be able to show it off? Maybe you're just jealous, because you look like a living jelly roll! Are you the official mascot for Drunkin' Doughnuts?"

I was furious at this point, and Vicki touched my arm reassuringly.

"It's okay, Jack." she said quietly. "I don't want any trouble. Let's just get my bracelet and leave, okay?"

I glared at the woman for a second, and then nodded. At that point, the manager approached us with Vicki's shiny new stainless steel nudist bracelet in his hand.

"Here you go!" he said enthusiastically. "Thirty five bucks. Follow me and I'll ring you up myself. So sorry for the issues earlier."

"I have a new one." I stated tersely. "This woman bullied my wife for expressing her right to be nude. She called her names and tried to make her feel like she was some sort of a freak."

The manager turned to the woman in question.

"Did you call this lady a freak?" he inquired.

"Well, yeah... I mean she's parading around without any clothes on." she stammered. "No one in their right mind would do that. And her boyfriend sticking up for her! Don't tell me you think this is okay, let alone legal!"

"It is." he replied. "And I want you to know that from here on out, you are permanently banned from this store. If you ever come back, I will call the police and have you trespassed from the entire chain, do you understand me?"

The woman looked at the manager with the same blank and dumbfounded stare as an elementary school student who had just had his lunch taken from him by the school bully.

"But I need my meds!" she protested. "You can't just kick me out!"

"Your order will be filled," he replied, "but you will need to contact your doctor to have your prescriptions sent to another location from here on out."

He turned to Vicki.

"Please follow me." he instructed. "I am so sorry for all of this. People can still be stupid I guess, even in this day and age."

"Don't worry about it." I replied. "That's their ignorance; not yours. Have a wonderful day, and a Happy Fourth of July as well! I know we're going to have a lot of sex with fireworks to celebrate. That's a fact."

Vicki smiled at me.

"That reminds me of an old movie." she responded. "That's the fact Jack!"