Permission To Be Nude?

“And the final toast of the evening,” Father says, raising his glass of champagne. “To Claude! He’s the first guest of the family to be toasted two dinners in a row, but we can all agree that it’s well deserved in his case. For saving my daughter from ****, or worse, you have my sincerest gratitude.” Father flashes me a rare genuine smile of his. “As we toasted Scarlet, so we must Claude. To Claude!”

To Claude! my family choruses, and I smile, accepting their toast with a wide smile of my own.

As I said before, this stuff is addictive. I have to be careful that I don’t start appreciating the old man too much.

The dinner proceeds much like I would expect it to. Father subtly chastises Scarlet for her recklessness over the steak, and she chafes under his pointed comments, stammering on about how everything worked out in the end. Father does not look impressed.

“There is a fine difference between being a model like your mother and being a whore,” Father says. “Of course, I know it wasn’t your fault that what ended up on the internet ended up on the internet…” A vivid image of Father, watching the livestream with perverted interest crosses my mind. Would he do such a thing? “But the cat is out of the bag now. It is time for damage control.”

Scarlet, wearing a small red dress, stares at her plate, avoiding Father’s gaze.

“I have an idea,” Tiffany says. Father turns his attention to her and her baby blue dress, and she puts on a smile and a brave face for us. “I was thinking of doing a nude photoshoot. Maybe Scarlet could join in?”

“Just what do you want to do now?” Hyerim says, practically screeching out of her chair.

I can see from the frown on Father’s face that he mirrors the sentiment, even though he hasn’t said a word yet.

“I think it’s important for girls out there to know about my birthmark,” Tiffany says, unfazed. “If I can be comfortable with it, then they'll know that they can be confident in their own bodies.”

“It makes sense for me to do it, too,” Scarlet says, finally finding her voice. “I need to show everyone that what happened that afternoon doesn’t define me. And so what if I show a little flesh? It’s nothing they won’t have seen already. This time, though, it will be on my own terms.”

“I admire your courage,” Father says, cutting himself another strip of steak. “And yet, I cannot help but think of this as self-serving. Perhaps it will help you overcome some of your trauma. But think of what it will do to reputation of our family. There are scandals for which we cannot be faulted, and then there are scandals that we blunder ourselves into. Let us find something else to do, shall we?”

“But it’s not about her!” Sofia blurts out. “What Scarlet’s doing… it’s just like Tiffany says. She’s making a statement about herself, but in doing so, she shows women around the world that they can rise above the **** inflicted upon them. She’ll be a symbol of hope, of strength… I think it would be good for the reputation of our family.”

Sofia, the youngest wife, hasn’t quite been whipped into line yet. I see the glower on Father’s face.

“You and your feminism,” Hyerim scoffs. “You’re a model like me, Sofia. You and I have never done nude photoshoots. There’s a good reason for that.”

“That’s only because I’ve never had a good opportunity until now. But I see one one staring right at me,” Sofia counters. “I’m with Scarlet and Tiffany. If they’ll have me, I’ll gladly join their photoshoot.”

She looks, I note, absolutely ravishing with her blonde hair done up and a tight white cocktail dress on. It’s a bit strange to think that she’s only a few years older than Scarlet. I find myself strangely attracted to her, and now that it seems like she wants in on the photoshoot too…

“So you say it is feminist. But the men want to see Scarlet nude. Why would you give them what they want?” Father asks, a beat behind her.

“That’s the attitude that created my rapists,” Scarlet indignantly says. “People think that my nudity is something sacred, so holy that nobody should ever see it. But that’s exactly what makes it taboo! And then the men come and think of me as something to be won, something to be conquered… this is the only way to break that vicious cycle.”

Father almost laughs.

“You think that by sexualizing yourself to the public and presenting yourself as a sexual creature through provocative imagery, that men will somehow think of you as less of an object of desire?” He pauses, cutting himself another strip of steak, and chews on it thoughtfully. Then, he turns to me, a glimmer in his eye. “Claude, did you save Scarlet thinking that she was going to turn around and do something like this?”

I suddenly feel all the eyes around the table fixate on me. Father’s gaze, in particular, is so sharp that I almost find myself acquiescing. But I find Tiffany and Scarlet’s hopeful looks, and I know what I must say.

“Mr. Najbreit, I was acting on pure instinct when I saved your daughter, so I wasn’t thinking of very much,” I say. “But in the hours after? I had all the time in the world to think about the horror I’d just seen. And that made me realise that I’d like to play my part in stopping what almost occurred from ever happening again. So, I’ve already agreed to be the photographer for the project, provided you give it your blessing.”

“Well then,” Father chuckles. He doesn’t seem particularly surprised, although I can see Hyerim seething from her seat. “Who am I to ignore the guest of honour in my household? Go ahead and do what you must. Just don’t tell me you’re going to be joining them, Holly dearest.”

As she shakes her head, the tension in the room eases, and the conversation soon falls back to the usual talk regarding how the family company is doing and how Maddie’s re-election campaign is shaping up.