Awkwardness

After Alicia had gotten her new I.D. badge, she and Casey started briskly walking back to the Delivery Dame Department.

This is it, thought Alicia. I'm officially part of the company now. There's no turning back now even if I wanted to quit and then hitchhike home naked. Besides, I need to do this. Otherwise, I'll lose the house. I'll lose my son. I'll lose... everything.

Plus I don't really know anyone here, she thought. Everyone I've met today in this place has been a stranger so I'll be working with strangers. Which should make my nakedness more bearable, right?

"Alicia?" asked a familiar voice. "Alicia Fuller? Is that you?"

Alicia broke out of her reverie and looked up to see the face of her next-door neighbor Katherine Bell.

Katherine Bell was a brunette roughly about Alicia's age who used to joke for years about having the same name as an once-famous TV actress. Her son played with Alicia's son so Alicia was quite familiar with her but she never expected to see her here. And worse yet, she was fully dressed. Granted, the blue dress she was wearing was a bit above the knee but it was still an item of clothing that was more conservative than what Alicia was wearing at the moment. Apparently Katherine still had coverage of her body. For that, Alicia envied her far more than any other woman she had ever met.

But what was Katherine doing here? Was she visiting?

"Katherine," said Alicia, resisting the urge to cover her loins lest Casey slap her again, "how nice to see you. What are you doing here?"

"Working, of course," said Katherine. "How about yo -- Oh, you mean you work here now too?"

Alicia nodded her head in shame. "Yes. I just started today."

"But I thought you had a degree," said Katherine.

"Not really," said Alicia.

"That's too bad," said Katherine. "I got my masters quite a few years ago and that was one of the best investment I ever made. I mean it's getting harder and harder to find a clothed position in today's job market that does not require some sort of degree. You'd almost have to start your own company to get around that requirement."

"So I noticed," said Alicia.

"Well, it's been good seeing you," said Katherine. "It seems like we never see enough of each other nowadays."

"Well, I get the feeling you'll definitely be seeing more of me," said Alicia. "Much more than you'd like."

"Oh, I could never see too much of you," said Katherine. "Since Jim died, you've been my best friend. You and -- Sorry. I forgot myself. Anyway, I really need to get back to work but if you have spare time around noon, you can come eat with me in the cafeteria."

"You'd be willing to do that?" asked Alicia. "Even though I'm na --"

"You know me, Alicia," said Katherine. "I'm not a snob like some people in this place. Just place a towel or napkin on your seat and everything should be fine. Anyway, it's been good seeing you. Goodbye."

And despite herself, Alicia turned red all over at the memory of her best friend having seen her stark naked.

She knows what I do now -- and she's not bothered by it, Alicia thought. So maybe...

"You know you're really not permitted to eat with the clothed people in the company cafeteria," said Casey. "We Delivery Dames have a special place where we're supposed to eat. Plus a special gruel we're supposed to eat while we're at work so that we don't have 'accidents' while we're making deliveries."

"But Katherine said --" Alicia started to say.

"I'm sure your friend is a very nice lady but she is not a Delivery Dame," said Casey. "She does not know what rules you have to go by and if you take what she says too literally, you're going to get into trouble. I'm not saying this to be mean. I'm saying this because I like you and I don't want you to have problems when you're working here. You'll find enough problems on the job as it is. Besides, I should give you a heads up and warn you that not all the textiles you meet on this job are going to be as friendly as your friend Katherine."

"Textiles?" asked Alicia.

"It's a word that nudists used to use to describe people who wear clothes on a regular basis," said Casey. "Nowadays almost everyone in a job like this uses it."

"If they're textiles, then what are we?" asked Alicia.

"Good question," said Casey.