Wet Renewal
Starring Sarah Purcell, and Gates McFadden as Kimba Rose
Written by Nemesoak
Written by Nemesoak
It all started in the early spring of 1998 with a pain in the mouth.
Mr. Daxus, the Australian CEO of a large Pacific Rim telecommunications firm was in Los Angeles attending a conference on Internet and computer security. Towards the end of the last meeting of the conference, Daxus' started feeling an intense pain from one of his teeth. So, at the earliest opportunity, he went straight for the nearest dentist's office. Good luck was with the exceutive as the dentist turned out to be very skilled and highly competent. The problem was quickly found and treated.
A few days later, Mr. Daxus returned to the dentist to pay his bill. After he paid, he and the dentist struck up a conversation. Noticing a picture on the desk, Daxus asked "Who's this?"
"My wife." the dentist replied.
"I figured that, but what I meant was is that she looks somewhat familiar, like I've seen her somewhere."
"Well, she has been on TV. Ever remember a show called 'Real People'?"
"Yes. Now that I've been trying to remember, I do see that it is Sarah Purcell. How's she doing these days?"
The dentist then went on and told Daxus about Sarah's post-"Real People" ups and downs. Then, they reminisced about her time on "Real People".
Daxus commented "I seem to remember that you two got married on the show. That must have been, what, about 15 years ago?"
"Right on both counts. Yes, we did. Boy, the stories we could tell..."
"Pardon my asking, but do you two have anything special planned for your 15th anniversary?"
"Well, on our 10th, we did go to Hawaii and renewed our vows. She was there with the 'Home' show and I sprung it on her as a suprise. We did the whole thing near an old volcano. But, a big trip is easy when you have a TV show footing the bill. Since Sarah isn't working much these days, we are probably going to do something small for this milestone anniversary. But I would like to do something romantic though. We're not getting younger and it would be great to do something really nice while we still have the energy to truly enjoy it."
"I may be able to help. You did a great service fixing that tooth and didn't try to rip me off. More than I can say for many other people I've done business with. I want to reward you for that. Since I will be returning to LA in the fall for some other business, how about I fly you and Sarah out to Hawaii and you two can stay at my place there as my guests for about a week or so. Then, I'll fly you back. Absolutely free."
The dentist was astonished. "I don't know what to say. Why are you doing this? After all, you barely know me."
"Because I like the way you handled my problem. Besides, even though we only met a few days ago, I can trust you. After all, you didn't try to steal my wallet when I was under the anesthesia. Besides, I am a fan of Sarah's and I think she deserves something nice for her anniversary. Consider it an anniversary gift."
"We better tell Sarah about it first."
The dentist called Sarah and told her about Daxus' offer. That night, Daxus stopped over and explained everything in detail to Sarah. She accepted and the plans were made.
October came and Daxus was true to his word. Sarah and her husband packed their bags and made arrangements for their kids (the trip was for Sarah and her husband only). Daxus had them and their bags picked up and driven to the private airfield where they boarded Daxus' private corporate jet for the trip.
After a long but uneventful flight, the plane reached Hawaii and landed at a small airfield. A car was waiting and it took Daxus and his guests to the house.
"Well folks, this is it. It's just a little place where I stay whenever I am on the island - about a few weeks each year."
Looking over the place, Sarah's husband commented "It may seem little to you, but it looks rather nice. And I'm sure it's far better than any accomodations we could get if we went to Hawaii on our own."
Sarah added "It's sure a nice place. But it's getting late and we were just on a long flight. Let's get our luggage in and get some rest. It is going to be a big day tomorrow."
The trio then got the luggage out of the car. Daxus went to the front door, disarmed the security system, unlocked the front door, and opened it.
Inside, the house looked as nice as its exterior suggested. Daxus then shown Sarah and her husband the guest bedroom they would be using and even helped bring in the luggage. After Daxus walked out, Sarah looked around and said "Boy, this sure beats a hotel room. Heck, this place is nicer than any suite I stayed in."
"I know," her husband replied, "but you deserve it. Let's get to sleep. We've got a fun week ahead of us."
The next morning, preparations were made for the renewal ceremony. The plan called for it to take place today so that the rest of the week would be free for other activities. Daxus had left the house, but soon returned carrying two boxes from a local bakery and a bottle of champagne. Sarah guessed that one of the bakery boxes contained a cake, but couldn't figure out what was in the other. Sarah's husband had put on the suit he would wear for the event. It was a fairly standard buiness suit and he looked very sharp. By now, Sarah changed into her outfit, and what a lovely one it was. She wore a very pale blue two piece dress which consisted of a knee-length skirt and a jacket-like top with three-quarter sleves and covered in matching lace. Her shoes were white and resembled sandals with heels. Topping the ensemble was a nice summery hat.
"You look wonderful..." Sarah's husband commented.
"And I second that!" replied Daxus. "It's going to be a beautiful event, the two of you standing on the beach. And the weather is perfect too."
At about that time, the doorbell rang and Daxus answered it. Standing at the door was a slender redhead in a pale blue dress. The hem was just was slightly above the knee and had a short slit.
"Hi, Kimba!" Daxus exclaimed as he greeted his guest. Turning to Sarah and her husband, Daxus added "This is my neighbor Kimba Rose. I invited her as a guest to the event. Hope you don't mind."
"No problem." Sarah's husband replied.
Kimba asked Daxus "This must be the couple you were telling me about. I'm glad they could make it."
Then the four sat around in the room talking about the trip and other things. A few minutes later, the phone rang. Daxus picked it up, then told Sarah's husband "It's for you."
Taking the phone, Sarah's husband asked "What? ...That's terrible. When will you... ...I understand. At least you aren't in any danger... Hope you have a speedy recovery."
Turning to Sarah, her husband explained "It's the minister. He had a bout of appendicitis last night. He's doing fine now, but the doctors told him to take it easy and stay off his feet for a week or so. I'm sorry."
With a disappointed look on her face and without saying a word, Sarah got up and walked out the door into Daxus' backyard. Her husband hurried out after her.
Sarah stopped near the beach and was looking out over the ocean. When her husband arrived, he needed no words to understand. Ever since the end of "Real People", Sarah has had more her share of disappointments. The apparent cancellation of this event was merely the last straw.
"Honey," Sarah's husband said, "I understand how disappointing this must be..."
"It seemed everything was going so perfect today. But, as usual, things have gone wrong!" Sarah replied.
"Not everything. We're here in Hawaii, at this beautiful estate. The weather is splendid. We even have a private beach. And all this is free! But, the best thing about it is that I'm here with the woman I've loved for all these years and will love for many, many more. I don't need a ceremony to tell me that! We have a whole week ahead of us to find fun and romantic things to do."
Regaining composure, Sarah responded "You're right. If it wasn't for Daxus, we'd be spending this anniversary on a short weekend trip and having a fancy dinner somewhere. But here we are, on a far better trip than we thought we could have. And you know what? I feel the same way about you too. All the ups and downs we went through together. Things like that tell me how much we love each other."
Then, Sarah took off her hat and the two of them shared a very warm kiss and embrace. Afterwards, they walked towards the house.
Upon entering the house, Kimba asked "Is everything all right?"
Sarah replied "I think so. I just overreacted. Sorry about that."
Daxus exclaimed "Good. But I saw how heartbroken Sarah was at the news. And no one cheats my friends out of anything if I can help it. I will see to it that you will have your renewal ceremony today!"
Sarah and her husband tried to explain to Daxus that this wasn't necessary, but Daxus would have none of it. He insisted he was going to help and he did by getting out the phone book and calling every clergyman, judge, and mayor in the vicinity. Unfortunately, those efforts met with no success as everyone Daxus called was either on vacation, on a business trip, booked solid, or had other more pressing business that day.
"Sorry, it didn't work." Daxus commented. "Too bad this isn't a business or technical problem."
"What do you mean?" asked Sarah.
"Because, in my years of experience, when I have had a problem with some technical or business thing and found no one to help me solve it - I went and did it myself. That's how I built up my company."
Kimba added "You gave me an idea. Renewal ceremonies are informal, aren't they?"
Sarah replied "Yes. They carry no legal weight or anything like that."
Kimba continued "Maybe this problem can be solved the Daxus way!"
Daxus responded "Kimba, I think you're onto something!"
"That's it!" exclaimed Daxus. "I'll officiate. After all, since this has no official bearing, it should be no problem. And I believe there is a way I can do it with some 'unofficial' authority, just for show."
Daxus left the room and, several minutes later, returned with what looked like a large bag. He then went outside. The others followed.
"I got to thinking," Daxus said, "and remembered that, according to popular myth, captains can marry people. Since there is no minimum to the size of the ship, and also due to the fact that I have no yacht, I present my 'ship'. This was left by the previous owner." With that, Daxus pulled a string and the bundle inflated into a four-person inflatable boat.
As the others smiled in amusement, Sarah's husband and Daxus carried the raft to the dock. After Daxus got the oars, the raft was put in the water. Then, everyone removed their shoes, left them on the dock, and boarded the raft.
As Daxus was rowing, Sarah looked into the water. It was wonderfully clear and the bottom looked great - nice and clean. Dipping her hand into the water, she found that the temperature was just right. It would be the perfect place to get in some snorkeling later in the week.
Just as they were approaching the spot for the ceremony, Kimba asked "Is it my imagination, or has the raft gotten a little softer?"
Daxus responded "I don't know about your imagin... Wait! You are right, it is getting softer!"
Sarah added "I think I found a leak. I'll try to cover it with my hand."
Daxus yelled "Let's get back to shore!" and started to row. At that second, a new leak appeared near where the oarlock joined the raft. "Damn! Here, take an oar and let's paddle!" he exclaimed as he removed an oar from the oarlock and handed it to Sarah's husband.
Despite the paddling and the heroic efforts of Kimba and Sarah to cover the leaks, it was apparent that the raft would be deflated before they could get back. "Do something!" Kimba screamed "We're going to get wet!"
In all the commotion, a sport fishing boat had appeared. A voice on a bullhorn said "Stay there. I'm coming to pick you up." Stopping their paddling, Daxus and Sarah's husband joined the leak suppression effort. A few minutes later, with only a few inches of freeboard remaining on the raft, the boat appeared and the foursome made a quick exit. A minute later, the water started flooding into the raft.
After everyone was safely aboard the boat and as the captain was fishing the deflated raft and oars out of the water, he said "Boy, you folks look awful formal to be out on a raft. What happened? Did your yacht sink?"
Daxus replied "No. See that dock over there? That's where we came from. It's a bit of a long story."
The boat captain responded "Okay. I'll drop you folks right off at the dock. You and your friend can help me with the lines."
Daxus suggested "When we dock, why not stay for some coffee? It's the least we can do."
"Sounds like a good idea. This fishing trip was rather boring anyway."
The boat soon arrived at the dock and both Daxus and Sarah's husband helped moor the vessel to the dock. After a stop for Daxus and his friends to put their shoes back on, everybody headed back for the house.
Shortly after entering, Daxus commented "Oops, I forgot the introductions." After introducing themselves, the captain identified himself as Phil Gagnon, owner of a dive shop in the area. Upon hearing the name, Sarah sensed it sounded familiar, but couldn't place it.
Daxus then told Phil the story about the attempts at the renewal ceremony and how they were on the raft to do a "renewal at sea". Laughing, Phil said "That's what you get when you take these matters into your own hands. Should have had a trained professional, like me, to do the job."
"Huh?" wondered Daxus.
"Yep," answered Phil. "I am legally authorized by the state of Hawaii to perform all kinds of marriage ceremonies. Sort of a hobby of mine. Had I known about this, I could have done it."
"That's great!" Sarah's husband exclaimed. "All we need is a little something on the beach..."
Before her husband could finish, Sarah had a flash of recognition. "Now I remember you!" she exclaimed. "It was 15 years ago, when we were planning our wedding. As soon as word got out that it would be taped for the show, everybody came out of the woodwork with ideas for how to do it. I believe you suggested to George Schlatter that it should be an underwater ceremony."
"You are correct." Phil answered. "Would have been great too. After all, that is what I specialize in."
"But we couldn't have done that! Our parents and relatives were there! I wasn't about to turn my wedding into some silly lark with no dignity to it." Sarah shot back.
"You were right, I suppose. It would have been a great indignity for your relatives. But, a thought just ocurred to me. Let's do your renewal ceremony underwater. After all, you have no elderly relatives here, it's just you two. It would be fun."
"I don't know..." interjected Sarah's husband.
"Well, I suppose we could." commented Sarah. "We have our gear in the house with us. With the water as warm as it is, we could change into our swimsuits, and do it."
Phil had a bored look and said "I guess we could, but that would be so conventional. You'd be surprised at how many folks have done underwater ceremonies in wetsuits or swimsuits. What is so special about that? You might as well be doing an ordinary diving session then. Why not go for something bold and different?"
"If you are going to suggest doing it in the buff, you're going to be short a few teeth." Sarah's husband said angrily.
"No such thing!" Phil quickly added. "I think that kind of thing is sleaze. No, what I had in mind is the exact opposite of that - a fully-clothed ceremony. The outfits you have on would be perfect."
"What?!" exclaimed Sarah. "You mean go into the ocean in our clothes? You're nuts!"
"Ahem. As I recall from your TV career, you've had water as well as other stuff dumped on you and you didn't seem to mind getting your clothes wet."
"That was different. When I was on 'Real People' and 'Home', I was wearing a studio-provided wardrobe. If the producers wanted to hit me with pies, glop, or water, I didn't care. It wasn't really my outfit. But now is different. In case you haven't noticed, I don't work that much anymore. I paid quite a bit of my own money for this dress. My husband paid for his suit with his own money. Now, you are asking us to ruin our expensive clothes for a ceremony?"
Before Sarah could continue her tirade, Phil said "Sarah, I guess we could just do a simple ceremony on the beach, but consider this. When you were telling me why you took Daxus up on his offer of this trip, you said that you and your husband wanted to do something fun and romantic for your 15th anniversary. Well, isn't part of being romantic doing something special and way out of the ordinary? Also, your husband said that you both wanted to get in some romantic fun before you got too old to enjoy it. Well, I'm offering you a chance to do something wild and wonderful, but it sounds like I am a few years too late. The Sarah Purcell I remember always leapt at the chance to do new and interesting things, regardless of the risks. But I guess that is no longer the case.
Sarah looking a bit stung, responded "But these clothes are expensive. I just don't want to ruin them and my husband's suit."
Phil countered "Really that expensive? How much does a one-week trip to Hawaii cost? Even if you two got the lowest price trip, you'd be staying in a tiny hotel room. Then you'd have to pay for meals, car rental, and all that other stuff. You'd have to go to crowded beaches. You get the idea. And I'd bet that cheap trip costs more than twice the combined costs of all your 'expensive' clothes. Yet, Mr. Daxus has let you stay at this nice house with a private beach, all for free. Even if your suits were totalled, and I doubt they would be, you would still be far ahead of the game."
Daxus, sitting silent till now, spoke "Look, I'm anxious to see you two get your renewal ceremony. If it will help, I'll pay for the dry cleaning or suit replacement, whichever is necessary."
Sarah's husband commented "It's all up to you, Honey. Whatever you want."
Sarah thought about what Phil said. He was right. She was adventurous. But what happened? Had the demands of motherhood and married life stifled her spirit? Was she starting to get old? Then she realized that, if they had a plain old on-the-beach renewal, she would be wondering how Phil's suggestion would have worked for the rest of her life. Besides, she and her husband were not getting any younger and who knows when they would be back in Hawaii or when such an opportunity would present itself again.
Sarah gave her answer "If George Schlatter were here, he would say that I was being my crazy old self, but I say let's do it. Sounds like fun! Besides, I don't want to be sitting around the house when I'm old regretting not taking a chance."
"That's great!" responded Phil. "You two won't regret it. Now to get everything ready. First of all, do any of you have diving experience?"
Daxus answered that he was a fully certified diver. Sarah replied "Well, my husband and I did some shallow water wreck diving in the Caribbean, but we aren't really certified."
"You naugty people..." Phil commented. "You know you aren't really supposed to do that. But, since I am a dive instructor and also since this will be a very shallow dive, I'll let you use scuba gear."
"But what about me?" Kimba interrupted. "No one asked me if I wanted to be involved. For starters, I have never gone swimming in the ocean."
"What?" exclaimed an astonished Daxus. "All these years that you have lived on this island, you never once went in the ocean?"
"That's right. I have hardly been on the beach either. You know my complexion. I'd fry up like a piece of bacon in the sun. That's why I don't do too much outdoors on sunny days. If I were to go swimming for this, I'd have to go home, get my swimsuit, that black tank suit you liked at the pool party, and come back here. And I would still get sunburned."
"Well, there is a solution to that. Why not go in wearing what you have on now? That outfit should cover you enough to protect you from sunburn."
"Are you crazy? This will get ruined!"
"Oh, all right. What if I offer to replace your dress."
"Okay. I'll give it a try."
With everyone in agreement as to doing the renewal ceremony underwater, preparations were made. While Sarah, her husband, and Daxus loaded their tanks and masks onto the boat, Kimba wondered what she would do since she had no experience whatsoever with scuba gear. Fortunately, Phil suggested that Kimba could stay near the surface and use a snorkel. That would also give her a kind of aerial view of the proceedings.
After Sarah made a stop to remove her contact lenses, everbody and everything went on board Phil's boat, the lines were cast off and the boat made the short trip to the chosen spot for the ceremony. Sarah's husband asked "How are we supposed to recite our vows when we have gear on? Sign language?"
Handing both Sarah and her husband pieces of white plastic and what looked like markers, Phil replied "No. You'll use these. You write your vows on your board and 'I do' on the other side while Sarah does the same."
"Makes sense."
Once the boat was safely anchored, everyone put on their gear, which in this case consisted of simply masks, tanks, and some discreetly hidden weights (except for Kimba who would simply have a mask and snorkel while floating near the surface). Standing on the swim platform, Daxus said "Let's go!" and quickly jumped in. Something struck Sarah as odd. Daxus seemed to be really enjoying this - more than one would expect. This was only the second oddity since it seemed that he and Kimba were more than mere neighbors. Paddling at the surface, Daxus continued "Come in, the water's perfect!"
Phil was next and quickly entered the water. Next came Sarah's husband. He was definitely having some reservations and decided to climb in slowly rather than jump in. As he entered the water, he felt the odd sensation of his suit. While not as bad as he thought it would be, it would still take quite a bit of getting used to.
Now it was Kimba's turn. She was really getting cold feet about this. After standing on the platform for some time, Daxus decided to intervene and swam over. "Come on! You're holding everything up!"
"I still feel uncomfortable about this!" answer Kimba.
"Well," responded Daxus, "I see. Look at this."
Kimba bent down to come closer to Daxus, then he took action. He grabbed Kimba and pulled her into the water.
Coming to the surface, Kimba yelled "You pulled me in!"
"True. But it looked like you weren't going to come and we want to get this ceremony going. Now, that you're in, it doesn't feel so bad now, does it?"
Treading water, Kimba realized that this didn't feel too bad at all. Her dress and undergarments definitely felt different than a swimsuit. Then there was the way her dress was rubbing against her hosiery-covered legs. "I guess you're right." Kimba answered.
Finally, it was Sarah's turn. Figuring that, if she was going to be soaked, she might as well soak everything, she stood on the swim platform, held her hat and hands against her skirt, and jumped in. Hitting the water, Sarah found that the sensation of clothed total immersion was far more pleasant than just being doused by a bucket of water. There were the sensations and the near-weightlessness. She was glad she decided to do it this way.
Once everybody was in the water, Phil, Daxus, Sarah, and her husband adjusted their gear and made for the bottom. Kimba just stayed near the surface. Upon arriving at the bottom, the ceremony began. It was an amazing spectacle with the beauty of the ocean as well as Kimba hovering above, looking like a redheaded angel. Phil gestured to Sarah, who held up the board she wrote her vows on. Sarah's husband responded by displaying the "I do" he wrote. Then the roles were reversed. As soon as it was over, everybody headed for the surface.
"That was fun." Sarah commented as she removed her mask and mouthpiece. As she removed the gear and handed it to Phil to put on the boat, she continued "But I think we forgot one thing."
As his gear was being put on board, Sarah's husband replied "Yes, and I know what it is." With that, he swam over, embraced Sarah, and the two went under to enjoy a long underwater kiss.
When they surfaced, Kimba asked "That was something. You two didn't seem to swallow any water. How'd you manage that?"
"We practiced." Sarah answered. Since the water was so nice, the foursome decided to spend some more time swimming around while Phil got the boat ready for the return trip. Sarah and her husband were doing simple underwater aquabatics, but it seemed Sarah was a bit concerned about how her skirt moved for some reason. Meanwhile Daxus was giving Kimba some instructions on ocean swimming and free diving.
Soon, it was time to leave. The guys got on board first, then Phil helped gingerly hoist the women out of the water. "We could have climbed out ourselves!" Sarah exclaimed.
"I know," Phil responded, "but sometimes the materials used in formal wear get weak in water and you could rip the suits if you weren't careful."
"Oh, I see."
Once on board, it was obvious how clingy everything became. The guys just looked drowned, but the effect was far different for the women. Kimba's outfit was like shrinkwrap and revealed her slender build, but wasn't translucent, though a hint of her undergarments was visible. Sarah's outfit also clung tight, and it was obvious she was wearing a slip underneath the dress and something (though it couldn't be discerned what) underneath that. Her hat was now a shapeless mess.
"What do we do now?" Sarah asked.
Phil replied, "I drop you people back at the dock and then I go home. I'm glad I stopped by today. It's not too often that you get another opportunity to see something you had wanted to see for years. You looked wonderful down there." Phil quickly stopped his comments when he saw Sarah's husband give him an angry look.
The boat soon arrived at the dock and the foursome departed, leaving Phil to head home. As she was walking, Sarah stumbled. Looking down, she exclaimed "Damn shoes!" The shoes evidently were made out of a cheap material and were literally falling apart.
"Yuck! Mine are too!" Kimba yelled. The men's shoes were only doing slightly better. It was agreed that the shoes were pretty much hopeless and everyone discarded theirs.
Daxus mentioned "If we want to save the suits, Phil said we were going to have to rinse the salt out of them. Fortunately, I have just the thing for that." He then picked up a garden hose, turned it on, and hosed Kimba.
"Why you..." Kimba angrily exclaimed as she walked up, took the hose, and started spraying Daxus. Soon, everyone caught on and had a grand old time shooting each other with the hose, thoroughly rinsing their clothes in the process.
As everyone stood dripping, Sarah said "I just realized something. We can't go out to dinner dressed like this. I don't think too many restaurants will approve of guests who drip all over the place."
"True," Daxus "but, if you want a nice dinner, I have a solution. Do you two like seafood, by any chance?"
"We certainly do!" Sarah's husband replied.
"Good. I'll go in and whip up some shrimp done using my personal recipe. You'll love it. You can sit at the table out there. Nice seafood and outdoor dining. It doesn't get better than this!"
Daxus then entered the house. A while later, he returned with the shrimp dinner as promised. After the fine meal, Daxus brought out the champagne and toasts began. Once the toasts were said, it was time for cake. The cake in this case consisted of a simple sheet cake with white icing. As per tradition, Sarah's husband cut the first slice and gave it to Sarah in a somewhat sloppy manner.
"What the..." Sarah puzzled. "This cake tastes odd." She then cut a slice and pushed it into her husband's mouth.
"Tastes stale." said Sarah's husband. "Here, try another slice." With that Sarah's husband mashed the cake right into her face.
Sarah then turned to Daxus and said "I think this cake is stale. Here, try it." She then threw a piece at Daxus.
Kimba, seeing what happened, exclaimed "That was uncalled for! It's not his fault!" Daxus picked up a piece and threw it at Kimba. Soon, a full-fledged cake fight broke out and bits of cake clung to everyone's still damp clothing.
Daxus said "I have a confession to make. That cake was stale. I've been to these type of things before and there is always a cake fight. Since I don't like to waste food, I made sure that it was a stale cake that got destroyed. Here is the real cake." With that, Daxus presented a tasty version of the cake which was eaten properly.
After the cake, Sarah commented "This is just like a reception. Let's have a bouquet toss. Anyone have some flowers?" Daxus picked some plants that could stand in for flowers and made them into an improvised bouquet. Sarah took the bouquet and went on to the dock, with everyone following. Then she threw the bouquet, which ended up in the water. In the best reception tradition, Kimba dove in right after it.
"Come on, the water is still fine!" Kimba yelled. Everyone took the hint and dove in. Looking at Sarah, her husband recalled that her soaked skirt revealed a small bulge on her thigh. He now had a good idea as to what it was. He said "Anybody up for that other reception tradition?"
Sarah, knowing what he was implying, complained "Honey, that was supposed to be a surprise for tonight..."
"Come on, this will be fun." With that, he took a breath and dove under. Once underwater, he swam towards Sarah. Her skirt was riding up a few inches and revealed a portion of her thighs. He could see she indeed had a garter on and she was also wearing thigh-high stockings. Getting an idea, Sarah's husband reached up Sarah's leg, just past the garter to the top of her stocking. Then, he pulled it down off her leg, taking the garter along with it.
Laughing, Sarah said "You naughty boy..." Seconds later Sarah's husband surfaced with the items. He then tossed the garter to Daxus, who caught it. Now it was Daxus' turn. He took a deep breath and swam underwater towards Kimba. Kimba was wearing standard pantyhose. Daxus then slid the garter up Kimba's leg as far as it was possible. Kimba sure felt different underwater, he thought.
As Daxus surfaced, Kimba said "Oh, Daxus..."
Sarah said in mock anger "Look what you did! Now, I'm uneven. Honey, you might as well finish the job."
"Okay." Sarah's husband replied. He dove under and again approached Sarah. He then reached up Sarah's other leg and pulled that stocking off. Sarah's legs felt wonderful underwater. Running out of air, Sarah's husband surfaced.
Kimba, seeing what happened, swam to a ladder, got out, and went to the house. She returned less than a minute later and dove back in. Surfacing, Kimba commented "Seeing how much fun Sarah was having, I decided to try the bare-legged look myself."
Seeing her husband and Daxus talking amongst themselves, Sarah turned to Kimba and said "This isn't really fair. Here we are, bare-legged and our husbands still have everything on. Let's even the score!"
Kimba asked "How do we do that?"
Sarah replied "Follow me..." and dove under with Kimba close behind.
Once submerged, Sarah and Kimba swam towards the unsuspecting men. Once there, Sarah grabbed her husband's feet and pulled down. Kimba did the same with Daxus.
Both men exclaimed "What the..." as they bobbed under. Sarah's plan worked perfectly when, as they surfaced, their socks came off. The women let them go and the socks joined Sarah's stockings on the white sand bottom.
Surfacing, Sarah's husband asked "What was that for?"
Sarah explained "Well, I thought it was odd that you two still had everything on while you pulled off my stockings and Kimba decided to go bare-legged. So, I decided that you guys had to remove some clothing, just to be fair."
Daxus responded "I suppose you are right. Besides, it's getting a little tiring to tread water in this jacket." With that, Daxus slid off his jacket. Figuring that "when in Rome..." Sarah's husband did likewise.
Sarah swam close to her husband and asked "How about another underwater kiss?"
"Okay!" he responded. Within a second, Sarah grabbed him by the necktie and pulled him under. Once submerged, she gave her husband a nice long kiss, holding his tie all the time. When they needed to come to the surface, Sarah went a little slow and gripped the tie, which came undone and off her husband. This item too came to rest among the heap of clothing on the bottom.
Kimba, seeing what happened, did the same with Daxus before he could figure out what Sarah did. At the surface, the men unbuttoned the top button of their shirts and Daxus said "I suppose we're now even. But that was fun!"
A few minutes later each couple went down again and embraced. Sarah reached and untucked her husband's shirt so she could put her hands under it and hold him closer (not to mention feel how his body felt underwater). Sensing what Sarah wanted, her husband unbuttoned and removed his shirt, leaving him in his undershirt. Meanwhile, Daxus thought he could swim better without a sports shirt and removed his.
When they were back on the surface, Daxus commented "Looks like the balance has shifted again. Oh, Kimba..."
Sensing that Daxus had some crazy plan on his mind, Kimba tried to evade Daxus, but he grabbed her by the collar. "I got you!" Daxus exclaimed.
"Think again!" Kimba responded. With that, she unzipped the back of her dress a little, took a breath and went under, leaving a startled Daxus holding Kimba's dress and Kimba in her blue bra and panty set. Surfacing, Kimba shouted "Now, I'm going to get you!"
Kimba took a deep breath and went under. She grabbed Daxus by the leg of his pants. "Two can play at this game!" he exclaimed as he undid his belt and pants just before Kimba tried to pull him under. Kimba's attempt at a dunk only resulted in her pulling off Daxus' dress pants, leaving him in his dark red boxers. Dropping the pants, Kimba swam back to the surface.
Meanwhile, Sarah and her husband decided to continue their game of swim tag. Sarah went and grabbed her husband by the waist of his slacks. But he undid his slacks and effortlessly swam out of them, clad in his undershirt and dark boxers. Sarah's husband then turned the tables and grabbed Sarah by the hem of skirt, carefully so as not to rip the material, and pulled her under. However, she unzipped her skirt, which fell off and revealed the lower portion of her light blue slip. Then they both swam to the surface.
Looking at Daxus and Kimba, then at her husband, Sarah commented "It's amazing how your boxers as well as Daxus' look like swim trunks."
"True, they look like trunks, but they feel different. And I think I'm liking it. Did you see Kimba? What she has on looks like a nice bikini." Sarah gave him a sort of dirty look, but then he continued "Fortunately, it's all opaque which completes the illusion. Speaking of the swimwear look, why I don't I take this off so my boxers really look like swimwear." Sarah's husband then removed his undershirt and let it sink.
"That's lovely." Glancing down at her jacket, Sarah commented "But I don't think it would be a good idea to play our game with this. I'm afraid it will get damaged. I'll do the honors." With that, Sarah carefully unbuttoned her jacket and let it slide off. She then dove under and did some aquabatics with her slip looking like a lacy minidress, her husband following right behind.
They then stopped for an underwater embrace. Sarah's husband went and moved the straps of her slip off her shoulders and slid it off her, leaving her in a dark blue one piece strapless undergarment. They both swam to the surface.
"Isn't that something?" Sarah's husband said. "What you have there looks like some of the swimsuits you have at home. Yet, it seems even sexier. In fact, it even looks sexier as swimwear than it does as lingerie. Wonder why?"
"I don't know. I guess there's some kind of unconventional, naughty element about swimming in things that aren't swimwear. But, whatever, it sure is fun!"
After a while, the foursome dove and retrieved their clothing before it could drift away, swam back, rinsed it off, and hung them to try. Then, still in their impromptu swimwear, they returned to the dock and dove back in to continue their swim party.
As the Sun was setting, it was decided to end the festivities. Daxus and Kimba waded in the surf as they walked back to Kimba's house. With those two gone, Sarah and her husband got back into the water for a private swim party of their own. Eventually, they got tired and came out. After a nice hot shower, they retired to their bedroom for a most enjoyable night's sleep.
The next day, Daxus took all the suits and dresses to the dry cleaners. Fortunately, all the clothing survived, though in the case of the men's suits it was kind of a close shave. The shoes were totalled though and would have to be replaced.
This incident was the first aquatic adventure our foursome had this week, but it was not the last. In fact they had several more, but those are stories for another time.
Mr. Daxus, the Australian CEO of a large Pacific Rim telecommunications firm was in Los Angeles attending a conference on Internet and computer security. Towards the end of the last meeting of the conference, Daxus' started feeling an intense pain from one of his teeth. So, at the earliest opportunity, he went straight for the nearest dentist's office. Good luck was with the exceutive as the dentist turned out to be very skilled and highly competent. The problem was quickly found and treated.
A few days later, Mr. Daxus returned to the dentist to pay his bill. After he paid, he and the dentist struck up a conversation. Noticing a picture on the desk, Daxus asked "Who's this?"
"My wife." the dentist replied.
"I figured that, but what I meant was is that she looks somewhat familiar, like I've seen her somewhere."
"Well, she has been on TV. Ever remember a show called 'Real People'?"
"Yes. Now that I've been trying to remember, I do see that it is Sarah Purcell. How's she doing these days?"
The dentist then went on and told Daxus about Sarah's post-"Real People" ups and downs. Then, they reminisced about her time on "Real People".
Daxus commented "I seem to remember that you two got married on the show. That must have been, what, about 15 years ago?"
"Right on both counts. Yes, we did. Boy, the stories we could tell..."
"Pardon my asking, but do you two have anything special planned for your 15th anniversary?"
"Well, on our 10th, we did go to Hawaii and renewed our vows. She was there with the 'Home' show and I sprung it on her as a suprise. We did the whole thing near an old volcano. But, a big trip is easy when you have a TV show footing the bill. Since Sarah isn't working much these days, we are probably going to do something small for this milestone anniversary. But I would like to do something romantic though. We're not getting younger and it would be great to do something really nice while we still have the energy to truly enjoy it."
"I may be able to help. You did a great service fixing that tooth and didn't try to rip me off. More than I can say for many other people I've done business with. I want to reward you for that. Since I will be returning to LA in the fall for some other business, how about I fly you and Sarah out to Hawaii and you two can stay at my place there as my guests for about a week or so. Then, I'll fly you back. Absolutely free."
The dentist was astonished. "I don't know what to say. Why are you doing this? After all, you barely know me."
"Because I like the way you handled my problem. Besides, even though we only met a few days ago, I can trust you. After all, you didn't try to steal my wallet when I was under the anesthesia. Besides, I am a fan of Sarah's and I think she deserves something nice for her anniversary. Consider it an anniversary gift."
"We better tell Sarah about it first."
The dentist called Sarah and told her about Daxus' offer. That night, Daxus stopped over and explained everything in detail to Sarah. She accepted and the plans were made.
October came and Daxus was true to his word. Sarah and her husband packed their bags and made arrangements for their kids (the trip was for Sarah and her husband only). Daxus had them and their bags picked up and driven to the private airfield where they boarded Daxus' private corporate jet for the trip.
After a long but uneventful flight, the plane reached Hawaii and landed at a small airfield. A car was waiting and it took Daxus and his guests to the house.
"Well folks, this is it. It's just a little place where I stay whenever I am on the island - about a few weeks each year."
Looking over the place, Sarah's husband commented "It may seem little to you, but it looks rather nice. And I'm sure it's far better than any accomodations we could get if we went to Hawaii on our own."
Sarah added "It's sure a nice place. But it's getting late and we were just on a long flight. Let's get our luggage in and get some rest. It is going to be a big day tomorrow."
The trio then got the luggage out of the car. Daxus went to the front door, disarmed the security system, unlocked the front door, and opened it.
Inside, the house looked as nice as its exterior suggested. Daxus then shown Sarah and her husband the guest bedroom they would be using and even helped bring in the luggage. After Daxus walked out, Sarah looked around and said "Boy, this sure beats a hotel room. Heck, this place is nicer than any suite I stayed in."
"I know," her husband replied, "but you deserve it. Let's get to sleep. We've got a fun week ahead of us."
The next morning, preparations were made for the renewal ceremony. The plan called for it to take place today so that the rest of the week would be free for other activities. Daxus had left the house, but soon returned carrying two boxes from a local bakery and a bottle of champagne. Sarah guessed that one of the bakery boxes contained a cake, but couldn't figure out what was in the other. Sarah's husband had put on the suit he would wear for the event. It was a fairly standard buiness suit and he looked very sharp. By now, Sarah changed into her outfit, and what a lovely one it was. She wore a very pale blue two piece dress which consisted of a knee-length skirt and a jacket-like top with three-quarter sleves and covered in matching lace. Her shoes were white and resembled sandals with heels. Topping the ensemble was a nice summery hat.
"You look wonderful..." Sarah's husband commented.
"And I second that!" replied Daxus. "It's going to be a beautiful event, the two of you standing on the beach. And the weather is perfect too."
At about that time, the doorbell rang and Daxus answered it. Standing at the door was a slender redhead in a pale blue dress. The hem was just was slightly above the knee and had a short slit.
"Hi, Kimba!" Daxus exclaimed as he greeted his guest. Turning to Sarah and her husband, Daxus added "This is my neighbor Kimba Rose. I invited her as a guest to the event. Hope you don't mind."
"No problem." Sarah's husband replied.
Kimba asked Daxus "This must be the couple you were telling me about. I'm glad they could make it."
Then the four sat around in the room talking about the trip and other things. A few minutes later, the phone rang. Daxus picked it up, then told Sarah's husband "It's for you."
Taking the phone, Sarah's husband asked "What? ...That's terrible. When will you... ...I understand. At least you aren't in any danger... Hope you have a speedy recovery."
Turning to Sarah, her husband explained "It's the minister. He had a bout of appendicitis last night. He's doing fine now, but the doctors told him to take it easy and stay off his feet for a week or so. I'm sorry."
With a disappointed look on her face and without saying a word, Sarah got up and walked out the door into Daxus' backyard. Her husband hurried out after her.
Sarah stopped near the beach and was looking out over the ocean. When her husband arrived, he needed no words to understand. Ever since the end of "Real People", Sarah has had more her share of disappointments. The apparent cancellation of this event was merely the last straw.
"Honey," Sarah's husband said, "I understand how disappointing this must be..."
"It seemed everything was going so perfect today. But, as usual, things have gone wrong!" Sarah replied.
"Not everything. We're here in Hawaii, at this beautiful estate. The weather is splendid. We even have a private beach. And all this is free! But, the best thing about it is that I'm here with the woman I've loved for all these years and will love for many, many more. I don't need a ceremony to tell me that! We have a whole week ahead of us to find fun and romantic things to do."
Regaining composure, Sarah responded "You're right. If it wasn't for Daxus, we'd be spending this anniversary on a short weekend trip and having a fancy dinner somewhere. But here we are, on a far better trip than we thought we could have. And you know what? I feel the same way about you too. All the ups and downs we went through together. Things like that tell me how much we love each other."
Then, Sarah took off her hat and the two of them shared a very warm kiss and embrace. Afterwards, they walked towards the house.
Upon entering the house, Kimba asked "Is everything all right?"
Sarah replied "I think so. I just overreacted. Sorry about that."
Daxus exclaimed "Good. But I saw how heartbroken Sarah was at the news. And no one cheats my friends out of anything if I can help it. I will see to it that you will have your renewal ceremony today!"
Sarah and her husband tried to explain to Daxus that this wasn't necessary, but Daxus would have none of it. He insisted he was going to help and he did by getting out the phone book and calling every clergyman, judge, and mayor in the vicinity. Unfortunately, those efforts met with no success as everyone Daxus called was either on vacation, on a business trip, booked solid, or had other more pressing business that day.
"Sorry, it didn't work." Daxus commented. "Too bad this isn't a business or technical problem."
"What do you mean?" asked Sarah.
"Because, in my years of experience, when I have had a problem with some technical or business thing and found no one to help me solve it - I went and did it myself. That's how I built up my company."
Kimba added "You gave me an idea. Renewal ceremonies are informal, aren't they?"
Sarah replied "Yes. They carry no legal weight or anything like that."
Kimba continued "Maybe this problem can be solved the Daxus way!"
Daxus responded "Kimba, I think you're onto something!"
"That's it!" exclaimed Daxus. "I'll officiate. After all, since this has no official bearing, it should be no problem. And I believe there is a way I can do it with some 'unofficial' authority, just for show."
Daxus left the room and, several minutes later, returned with what looked like a large bag. He then went outside. The others followed.
"I got to thinking," Daxus said, "and remembered that, according to popular myth, captains can marry people. Since there is no minimum to the size of the ship, and also due to the fact that I have no yacht, I present my 'ship'. This was left by the previous owner." With that, Daxus pulled a string and the bundle inflated into a four-person inflatable boat.
As the others smiled in amusement, Sarah's husband and Daxus carried the raft to the dock. After Daxus got the oars, the raft was put in the water. Then, everyone removed their shoes, left them on the dock, and boarded the raft.
As Daxus was rowing, Sarah looked into the water. It was wonderfully clear and the bottom looked great - nice and clean. Dipping her hand into the water, she found that the temperature was just right. It would be the perfect place to get in some snorkeling later in the week.
Just as they were approaching the spot for the ceremony, Kimba asked "Is it my imagination, or has the raft gotten a little softer?"
Daxus responded "I don't know about your imagin... Wait! You are right, it is getting softer!"
Sarah added "I think I found a leak. I'll try to cover it with my hand."
Daxus yelled "Let's get back to shore!" and started to row. At that second, a new leak appeared near where the oarlock joined the raft. "Damn! Here, take an oar and let's paddle!" he exclaimed as he removed an oar from the oarlock and handed it to Sarah's husband.
Despite the paddling and the heroic efforts of Kimba and Sarah to cover the leaks, it was apparent that the raft would be deflated before they could get back. "Do something!" Kimba screamed "We're going to get wet!"
In all the commotion, a sport fishing boat had appeared. A voice on a bullhorn said "Stay there. I'm coming to pick you up." Stopping their paddling, Daxus and Sarah's husband joined the leak suppression effort. A few minutes later, with only a few inches of freeboard remaining on the raft, the boat appeared and the foursome made a quick exit. A minute later, the water started flooding into the raft.
After everyone was safely aboard the boat and as the captain was fishing the deflated raft and oars out of the water, he said "Boy, you folks look awful formal to be out on a raft. What happened? Did your yacht sink?"
Daxus replied "No. See that dock over there? That's where we came from. It's a bit of a long story."
The boat captain responded "Okay. I'll drop you folks right off at the dock. You and your friend can help me with the lines."
Daxus suggested "When we dock, why not stay for some coffee? It's the least we can do."
"Sounds like a good idea. This fishing trip was rather boring anyway."
The boat soon arrived at the dock and both Daxus and Sarah's husband helped moor the vessel to the dock. After a stop for Daxus and his friends to put their shoes back on, everybody headed back for the house.
Shortly after entering, Daxus commented "Oops, I forgot the introductions." After introducing themselves, the captain identified himself as Phil Gagnon, owner of a dive shop in the area. Upon hearing the name, Sarah sensed it sounded familiar, but couldn't place it.
Daxus then told Phil the story about the attempts at the renewal ceremony and how they were on the raft to do a "renewal at sea". Laughing, Phil said "That's what you get when you take these matters into your own hands. Should have had a trained professional, like me, to do the job."
"Huh?" wondered Daxus.
"Yep," answered Phil. "I am legally authorized by the state of Hawaii to perform all kinds of marriage ceremonies. Sort of a hobby of mine. Had I known about this, I could have done it."
"That's great!" Sarah's husband exclaimed. "All we need is a little something on the beach..."
Before her husband could finish, Sarah had a flash of recognition. "Now I remember you!" she exclaimed. "It was 15 years ago, when we were planning our wedding. As soon as word got out that it would be taped for the show, everybody came out of the woodwork with ideas for how to do it. I believe you suggested to George Schlatter that it should be an underwater ceremony."
"You are correct." Phil answered. "Would have been great too. After all, that is what I specialize in."
"But we couldn't have done that! Our parents and relatives were there! I wasn't about to turn my wedding into some silly lark with no dignity to it." Sarah shot back.
"You were right, I suppose. It would have been a great indignity for your relatives. But, a thought just ocurred to me. Let's do your renewal ceremony underwater. After all, you have no elderly relatives here, it's just you two. It would be fun."
"I don't know..." interjected Sarah's husband.
"Well, I suppose we could." commented Sarah. "We have our gear in the house with us. With the water as warm as it is, we could change into our swimsuits, and do it."
Phil had a bored look and said "I guess we could, but that would be so conventional. You'd be surprised at how many folks have done underwater ceremonies in wetsuits or swimsuits. What is so special about that? You might as well be doing an ordinary diving session then. Why not go for something bold and different?"
"If you are going to suggest doing it in the buff, you're going to be short a few teeth." Sarah's husband said angrily.
"No such thing!" Phil quickly added. "I think that kind of thing is sleaze. No, what I had in mind is the exact opposite of that - a fully-clothed ceremony. The outfits you have on would be perfect."
"What?!" exclaimed Sarah. "You mean go into the ocean in our clothes? You're nuts!"
"Ahem. As I recall from your TV career, you've had water as well as other stuff dumped on you and you didn't seem to mind getting your clothes wet."
"That was different. When I was on 'Real People' and 'Home', I was wearing a studio-provided wardrobe. If the producers wanted to hit me with pies, glop, or water, I didn't care. It wasn't really my outfit. But now is different. In case you haven't noticed, I don't work that much anymore. I paid quite a bit of my own money for this dress. My husband paid for his suit with his own money. Now, you are asking us to ruin our expensive clothes for a ceremony?"
Before Sarah could continue her tirade, Phil said "Sarah, I guess we could just do a simple ceremony on the beach, but consider this. When you were telling me why you took Daxus up on his offer of this trip, you said that you and your husband wanted to do something fun and romantic for your 15th anniversary. Well, isn't part of being romantic doing something special and way out of the ordinary? Also, your husband said that you both wanted to get in some romantic fun before you got too old to enjoy it. Well, I'm offering you a chance to do something wild and wonderful, but it sounds like I am a few years too late. The Sarah Purcell I remember always leapt at the chance to do new and interesting things, regardless of the risks. But I guess that is no longer the case.
Sarah looking a bit stung, responded "But these clothes are expensive. I just don't want to ruin them and my husband's suit."
Phil countered "Really that expensive? How much does a one-week trip to Hawaii cost? Even if you two got the lowest price trip, you'd be staying in a tiny hotel room. Then you'd have to pay for meals, car rental, and all that other stuff. You'd have to go to crowded beaches. You get the idea. And I'd bet that cheap trip costs more than twice the combined costs of all your 'expensive' clothes. Yet, Mr. Daxus has let you stay at this nice house with a private beach, all for free. Even if your suits were totalled, and I doubt they would be, you would still be far ahead of the game."
Daxus, sitting silent till now, spoke "Look, I'm anxious to see you two get your renewal ceremony. If it will help, I'll pay for the dry cleaning or suit replacement, whichever is necessary."
Sarah's husband commented "It's all up to you, Honey. Whatever you want."
Sarah thought about what Phil said. He was right. She was adventurous. But what happened? Had the demands of motherhood and married life stifled her spirit? Was she starting to get old? Then she realized that, if they had a plain old on-the-beach renewal, she would be wondering how Phil's suggestion would have worked for the rest of her life. Besides, she and her husband were not getting any younger and who knows when they would be back in Hawaii or when such an opportunity would present itself again.
Sarah gave her answer "If George Schlatter were here, he would say that I was being my crazy old self, but I say let's do it. Sounds like fun! Besides, I don't want to be sitting around the house when I'm old regretting not taking a chance."
"That's great!" responded Phil. "You two won't regret it. Now to get everything ready. First of all, do any of you have diving experience?"
Daxus answered that he was a fully certified diver. Sarah replied "Well, my husband and I did some shallow water wreck diving in the Caribbean, but we aren't really certified."
"You naugty people..." Phil commented. "You know you aren't really supposed to do that. But, since I am a dive instructor and also since this will be a very shallow dive, I'll let you use scuba gear."
"But what about me?" Kimba interrupted. "No one asked me if I wanted to be involved. For starters, I have never gone swimming in the ocean."
"What?" exclaimed an astonished Daxus. "All these years that you have lived on this island, you never once went in the ocean?"
"That's right. I have hardly been on the beach either. You know my complexion. I'd fry up like a piece of bacon in the sun. That's why I don't do too much outdoors on sunny days. If I were to go swimming for this, I'd have to go home, get my swimsuit, that black tank suit you liked at the pool party, and come back here. And I would still get sunburned."
"Well, there is a solution to that. Why not go in wearing what you have on now? That outfit should cover you enough to protect you from sunburn."
"Are you crazy? This will get ruined!"
"Oh, all right. What if I offer to replace your dress."
"Okay. I'll give it a try."
With everyone in agreement as to doing the renewal ceremony underwater, preparations were made. While Sarah, her husband, and Daxus loaded their tanks and masks onto the boat, Kimba wondered what she would do since she had no experience whatsoever with scuba gear. Fortunately, Phil suggested that Kimba could stay near the surface and use a snorkel. That would also give her a kind of aerial view of the proceedings.
After Sarah made a stop to remove her contact lenses, everbody and everything went on board Phil's boat, the lines were cast off and the boat made the short trip to the chosen spot for the ceremony. Sarah's husband asked "How are we supposed to recite our vows when we have gear on? Sign language?"
Handing both Sarah and her husband pieces of white plastic and what looked like markers, Phil replied "No. You'll use these. You write your vows on your board and 'I do' on the other side while Sarah does the same."
"Makes sense."
Once the boat was safely anchored, everyone put on their gear, which in this case consisted of simply masks, tanks, and some discreetly hidden weights (except for Kimba who would simply have a mask and snorkel while floating near the surface). Standing on the swim platform, Daxus said "Let's go!" and quickly jumped in. Something struck Sarah as odd. Daxus seemed to be really enjoying this - more than one would expect. This was only the second oddity since it seemed that he and Kimba were more than mere neighbors. Paddling at the surface, Daxus continued "Come in, the water's perfect!"
Phil was next and quickly entered the water. Next came Sarah's husband. He was definitely having some reservations and decided to climb in slowly rather than jump in. As he entered the water, he felt the odd sensation of his suit. While not as bad as he thought it would be, it would still take quite a bit of getting used to.
Now it was Kimba's turn. She was really getting cold feet about this. After standing on the platform for some time, Daxus decided to intervene and swam over. "Come on! You're holding everything up!"
"I still feel uncomfortable about this!" answer Kimba.
"Well," responded Daxus, "I see. Look at this."
Kimba bent down to come closer to Daxus, then he took action. He grabbed Kimba and pulled her into the water.
Coming to the surface, Kimba yelled "You pulled me in!"
"True. But it looked like you weren't going to come and we want to get this ceremony going. Now, that you're in, it doesn't feel so bad now, does it?"
Treading water, Kimba realized that this didn't feel too bad at all. Her dress and undergarments definitely felt different than a swimsuit. Then there was the way her dress was rubbing against her hosiery-covered legs. "I guess you're right." Kimba answered.
Finally, it was Sarah's turn. Figuring that, if she was going to be soaked, she might as well soak everything, she stood on the swim platform, held her hat and hands against her skirt, and jumped in. Hitting the water, Sarah found that the sensation of clothed total immersion was far more pleasant than just being doused by a bucket of water. There were the sensations and the near-weightlessness. She was glad she decided to do it this way.
Once everybody was in the water, Phil, Daxus, Sarah, and her husband adjusted their gear and made for the bottom. Kimba just stayed near the surface. Upon arriving at the bottom, the ceremony began. It was an amazing spectacle with the beauty of the ocean as well as Kimba hovering above, looking like a redheaded angel. Phil gestured to Sarah, who held up the board she wrote her vows on. Sarah's husband responded by displaying the "I do" he wrote. Then the roles were reversed. As soon as it was over, everybody headed for the surface.
"That was fun." Sarah commented as she removed her mask and mouthpiece. As she removed the gear and handed it to Phil to put on the boat, she continued "But I think we forgot one thing."
As his gear was being put on board, Sarah's husband replied "Yes, and I know what it is." With that, he swam over, embraced Sarah, and the two went under to enjoy a long underwater kiss.
When they surfaced, Kimba asked "That was something. You two didn't seem to swallow any water. How'd you manage that?"
"We practiced." Sarah answered. Since the water was so nice, the foursome decided to spend some more time swimming around while Phil got the boat ready for the return trip. Sarah and her husband were doing simple underwater aquabatics, but it seemed Sarah was a bit concerned about how her skirt moved for some reason. Meanwhile Daxus was giving Kimba some instructions on ocean swimming and free diving.
Soon, it was time to leave. The guys got on board first, then Phil helped gingerly hoist the women out of the water. "We could have climbed out ourselves!" Sarah exclaimed.
"I know," Phil responded, "but sometimes the materials used in formal wear get weak in water and you could rip the suits if you weren't careful."
"Oh, I see."
Once on board, it was obvious how clingy everything became. The guys just looked drowned, but the effect was far different for the women. Kimba's outfit was like shrinkwrap and revealed her slender build, but wasn't translucent, though a hint of her undergarments was visible. Sarah's outfit also clung tight, and it was obvious she was wearing a slip underneath the dress and something (though it couldn't be discerned what) underneath that. Her hat was now a shapeless mess.
"What do we do now?" Sarah asked.
Phil replied, "I drop you people back at the dock and then I go home. I'm glad I stopped by today. It's not too often that you get another opportunity to see something you had wanted to see for years. You looked wonderful down there." Phil quickly stopped his comments when he saw Sarah's husband give him an angry look.
The boat soon arrived at the dock and the foursome departed, leaving Phil to head home. As she was walking, Sarah stumbled. Looking down, she exclaimed "Damn shoes!" The shoes evidently were made out of a cheap material and were literally falling apart.
"Yuck! Mine are too!" Kimba yelled. The men's shoes were only doing slightly better. It was agreed that the shoes were pretty much hopeless and everyone discarded theirs.
Daxus mentioned "If we want to save the suits, Phil said we were going to have to rinse the salt out of them. Fortunately, I have just the thing for that." He then picked up a garden hose, turned it on, and hosed Kimba.
"Why you..." Kimba angrily exclaimed as she walked up, took the hose, and started spraying Daxus. Soon, everyone caught on and had a grand old time shooting each other with the hose, thoroughly rinsing their clothes in the process.
As everyone stood dripping, Sarah said "I just realized something. We can't go out to dinner dressed like this. I don't think too many restaurants will approve of guests who drip all over the place."
"True," Daxus "but, if you want a nice dinner, I have a solution. Do you two like seafood, by any chance?"
"We certainly do!" Sarah's husband replied.
"Good. I'll go in and whip up some shrimp done using my personal recipe. You'll love it. You can sit at the table out there. Nice seafood and outdoor dining. It doesn't get better than this!"
Daxus then entered the house. A while later, he returned with the shrimp dinner as promised. After the fine meal, Daxus brought out the champagne and toasts began. Once the toasts were said, it was time for cake. The cake in this case consisted of a simple sheet cake with white icing. As per tradition, Sarah's husband cut the first slice and gave it to Sarah in a somewhat sloppy manner.
"What the..." Sarah puzzled. "This cake tastes odd." She then cut a slice and pushed it into her husband's mouth.
"Tastes stale." said Sarah's husband. "Here, try another slice." With that Sarah's husband mashed the cake right into her face.
Sarah then turned to Daxus and said "I think this cake is stale. Here, try it." She then threw a piece at Daxus.
Kimba, seeing what happened, exclaimed "That was uncalled for! It's not his fault!" Daxus picked up a piece and threw it at Kimba. Soon, a full-fledged cake fight broke out and bits of cake clung to everyone's still damp clothing.
Daxus said "I have a confession to make. That cake was stale. I've been to these type of things before and there is always a cake fight. Since I don't like to waste food, I made sure that it was a stale cake that got destroyed. Here is the real cake." With that, Daxus presented a tasty version of the cake which was eaten properly.
After the cake, Sarah commented "This is just like a reception. Let's have a bouquet toss. Anyone have some flowers?" Daxus picked some plants that could stand in for flowers and made them into an improvised bouquet. Sarah took the bouquet and went on to the dock, with everyone following. Then she threw the bouquet, which ended up in the water. In the best reception tradition, Kimba dove in right after it.
"Come on, the water is still fine!" Kimba yelled. Everyone took the hint and dove in. Looking at Sarah, her husband recalled that her soaked skirt revealed a small bulge on her thigh. He now had a good idea as to what it was. He said "Anybody up for that other reception tradition?"
Sarah, knowing what he was implying, complained "Honey, that was supposed to be a surprise for tonight..."
"Come on, this will be fun." With that, he took a breath and dove under. Once underwater, he swam towards Sarah. Her skirt was riding up a few inches and revealed a portion of her thighs. He could see she indeed had a garter on and she was also wearing thigh-high stockings. Getting an idea, Sarah's husband reached up Sarah's leg, just past the garter to the top of her stocking. Then, he pulled it down off her leg, taking the garter along with it.
Laughing, Sarah said "You naughty boy..." Seconds later Sarah's husband surfaced with the items. He then tossed the garter to Daxus, who caught it. Now it was Daxus' turn. He took a deep breath and swam underwater towards Kimba. Kimba was wearing standard pantyhose. Daxus then slid the garter up Kimba's leg as far as it was possible. Kimba sure felt different underwater, he thought.
As Daxus surfaced, Kimba said "Oh, Daxus..."
Sarah said in mock anger "Look what you did! Now, I'm uneven. Honey, you might as well finish the job."
"Okay." Sarah's husband replied. He dove under and again approached Sarah. He then reached up Sarah's other leg and pulled that stocking off. Sarah's legs felt wonderful underwater. Running out of air, Sarah's husband surfaced.
Kimba, seeing what happened, swam to a ladder, got out, and went to the house. She returned less than a minute later and dove back in. Surfacing, Kimba commented "Seeing how much fun Sarah was having, I decided to try the bare-legged look myself."
Seeing her husband and Daxus talking amongst themselves, Sarah turned to Kimba and said "This isn't really fair. Here we are, bare-legged and our husbands still have everything on. Let's even the score!"
Kimba asked "How do we do that?"
Sarah replied "Follow me..." and dove under with Kimba close behind.
Once submerged, Sarah and Kimba swam towards the unsuspecting men. Once there, Sarah grabbed her husband's feet and pulled down. Kimba did the same with Daxus.
Both men exclaimed "What the..." as they bobbed under. Sarah's plan worked perfectly when, as they surfaced, their socks came off. The women let them go and the socks joined Sarah's stockings on the white sand bottom.
Surfacing, Sarah's husband asked "What was that for?"
Sarah explained "Well, I thought it was odd that you two still had everything on while you pulled off my stockings and Kimba decided to go bare-legged. So, I decided that you guys had to remove some clothing, just to be fair."
Daxus responded "I suppose you are right. Besides, it's getting a little tiring to tread water in this jacket." With that, Daxus slid off his jacket. Figuring that "when in Rome..." Sarah's husband did likewise.
Sarah swam close to her husband and asked "How about another underwater kiss?"
"Okay!" he responded. Within a second, Sarah grabbed him by the necktie and pulled him under. Once submerged, she gave her husband a nice long kiss, holding his tie all the time. When they needed to come to the surface, Sarah went a little slow and gripped the tie, which came undone and off her husband. This item too came to rest among the heap of clothing on the bottom.
Kimba, seeing what happened, did the same with Daxus before he could figure out what Sarah did. At the surface, the men unbuttoned the top button of their shirts and Daxus said "I suppose we're now even. But that was fun!"
A few minutes later each couple went down again and embraced. Sarah reached and untucked her husband's shirt so she could put her hands under it and hold him closer (not to mention feel how his body felt underwater). Sensing what Sarah wanted, her husband unbuttoned and removed his shirt, leaving him in his undershirt. Meanwhile, Daxus thought he could swim better without a sports shirt and removed his.
When they were back on the surface, Daxus commented "Looks like the balance has shifted again. Oh, Kimba..."
Sensing that Daxus had some crazy plan on his mind, Kimba tried to evade Daxus, but he grabbed her by the collar. "I got you!" Daxus exclaimed.
"Think again!" Kimba responded. With that, she unzipped the back of her dress a little, took a breath and went under, leaving a startled Daxus holding Kimba's dress and Kimba in her blue bra and panty set. Surfacing, Kimba shouted "Now, I'm going to get you!"
Kimba took a deep breath and went under. She grabbed Daxus by the leg of his pants. "Two can play at this game!" he exclaimed as he undid his belt and pants just before Kimba tried to pull him under. Kimba's attempt at a dunk only resulted in her pulling off Daxus' dress pants, leaving him in his dark red boxers. Dropping the pants, Kimba swam back to the surface.
Meanwhile, Sarah and her husband decided to continue their game of swim tag. Sarah went and grabbed her husband by the waist of his slacks. But he undid his slacks and effortlessly swam out of them, clad in his undershirt and dark boxers. Sarah's husband then turned the tables and grabbed Sarah by the hem of skirt, carefully so as not to rip the material, and pulled her under. However, she unzipped her skirt, which fell off and revealed the lower portion of her light blue slip. Then they both swam to the surface.
Looking at Daxus and Kimba, then at her husband, Sarah commented "It's amazing how your boxers as well as Daxus' look like swim trunks."
"True, they look like trunks, but they feel different. And I think I'm liking it. Did you see Kimba? What she has on looks like a nice bikini." Sarah gave him a sort of dirty look, but then he continued "Fortunately, it's all opaque which completes the illusion. Speaking of the swimwear look, why I don't I take this off so my boxers really look like swimwear." Sarah's husband then removed his undershirt and let it sink.
"That's lovely." Glancing down at her jacket, Sarah commented "But I don't think it would be a good idea to play our game with this. I'm afraid it will get damaged. I'll do the honors." With that, Sarah carefully unbuttoned her jacket and let it slide off. She then dove under and did some aquabatics with her slip looking like a lacy minidress, her husband following right behind.
They then stopped for an underwater embrace. Sarah's husband went and moved the straps of her slip off her shoulders and slid it off her, leaving her in a dark blue one piece strapless undergarment. They both swam to the surface.
"Isn't that something?" Sarah's husband said. "What you have there looks like some of the swimsuits you have at home. Yet, it seems even sexier. In fact, it even looks sexier as swimwear than it does as lingerie. Wonder why?"
"I don't know. I guess there's some kind of unconventional, naughty element about swimming in things that aren't swimwear. But, whatever, it sure is fun!"
After a while, the foursome dove and retrieved their clothing before it could drift away, swam back, rinsed it off, and hung them to try. Then, still in their impromptu swimwear, they returned to the dock and dove back in to continue their swim party.
As the Sun was setting, it was decided to end the festivities. Daxus and Kimba waded in the surf as they walked back to Kimba's house. With those two gone, Sarah and her husband got back into the water for a private swim party of their own. Eventually, they got tired and came out. After a nice hot shower, they retired to their bedroom for a most enjoyable night's sleep.
The next day, Daxus took all the suits and dresses to the dry cleaners. Fortunately, all the clothing survived, though in the case of the men's suits it was kind of a close shave. The shoes were totalled though and would have to be replaced.
This incident was the first aquatic adventure our foursome had this week, but it was not the last. In fact they had several more, but those are stories for another time.