Swan Song ?

Debbi looked at her reflection in the full length bedroom mirror after showering that evening. Had the henna decoration all over her body faded at all ? It hardly looked as if it had. Maybe it was a little less vivid in colour. "Don't scrub it, just shower normally. Scrubbing won't make it go any quicker and will just irritate your skin" Anoushka had advised her. Debbi had resisted the temptation and taken the Indian girl at her word. She had also done some online research herself and been reassured that there was indeed nothing permanent about henna tattoos. She just had to put up with looking like this for a few more days. She'd cover up as Diane had laughingly suggested and nobody was going to see her naked again for a while. Enough people had already done that earlier today, she told herself ruefully !

To say that Rajah and the procession had caused a stir on their progress through the town would be an understatement. Diane had negotiated a temporary road closure notice for the short length of the route and it was lined three deep most of the way with crowds of all ages and backgrounds. They had been attracted to the spectacle by the novelty of seeing a full size elephant and by the noise of the brass and the colourful costumes. But it soon became apparent that the star of the show was not wearing any costume at all, apart from bells and jewellery and elaborate body art !

Stew had not been able to stream an outside broadcast of the parade, though the Japanese in particular had found it worth their while to stay after work and watch Anoushka decorate Debbi's naked body in preparation. He was, however, among the multitude who took several candid photos along the route and there was an official full frontal portrait with Rajah at the conclusion of the procession.

Back in her bedroom, Debbi took one more look at herself before getting dressed. This was the final straw, she told herself. She definitely was not going to participate in any more of Diane's monthly stunts !

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Unknown to Debbi, Diane was more or less having the same thoughts. The pressure of a monthly event was getting to be too much like hard work, however rewarding it was to see Debbi humiliated time after time. She was sure there would still be ad hoc opportunities now and again in future and she had one final plan left to cap this year.

"You've surpassed yourself this time Diane" Jeff congratulated her the following day. "We even got on the regional local news, though they could only shoot Debbi from a distance. They did mention the company though and we have already received a lot of positive feedback from the south Asian community" he enthused. "Not bad for a swan song" Diane agreed. "Swan song ?" Jeff asked. "Yes I think so" Diane admitted. "We had a brainstorming session for November but came up empty. We couldn't really stick Debbi on top of a bonfire for Guy Fawkes and there was nothing else." "No, quite" Jeff agreed. It seemed a pity but he had to admit that the stunts had become increasingly more time consuming for his two top female managers and some aspects of their work had begun to suffer, even if the boost to staff morale generally had offset this. And the company had secured a year of excellent publicity.

"We more or less made if through the year" Diane continued, as if reading Jeff's mind. "And I'm working on some special commemorative merchandise for the Christmas market that will heavily feature Debbi" she added. "We can take it around the trade fairs if you'll free up Debbi for a few more days ?"