CHAPTER 103: The Uniform

 

"Good morning, Nancy" said Alan Cuffe as Nancy Landgraab jogged past.  Alan knew that at precisely 6:30am she would pass his house on her daily run.  Normally Alan would slip out of bed, careful not to wake the cute blonde/brunette/redhead or raven haired beauty lying next to him...it was seldom the same woman twice in a row.  However on this occasion he decided not to invite on of his contacts from his little black book for a sleep over but instead get an early night...alone...so he could accost Nancy Landgraab on her daily run.

"Alan, you're up early" she said, coming to a halt in front of him.

"Yes, most unusual for me but it's because I wanted to catch you this morning" he replied.

"Couldn't you have called my office or arranged to come by the mansion?" she said, sounding bothered.

"Far too many prying ears and eyes for my comfort if I came to your establishment.  Better to catch you on my turf."

"What's this about?" she asked, forcefully.

"Someone tried to shoot Lily Feng or my assistant, Madelyn, the other day" he said, matter of factly.

"How sad; but what's it got to do with me?" she said.

"I was thinking motive...who would want to bump off either of those two?  The only name that sprang to mind was yours" said Alan, still keeping a calm tone.

"What makes you think I'd want to kill either of them?  Alan, have you been reading too many of your magazine's short pulp mysteries?"

"Recently your family...your company...have been trying to undermine my business ventures.  Geoffrey's trying to lobby City Hall into blocking my plans to build a Lothario club, I buy stock in 'Hey Wow' magazine only to find out that you're trying to shut it down and ruin one of their star reporters and as Madelyn's my day to day operations manager and Lily Feng a part owner of my nightclub it doesn't take a genius to figure out you've got the biggest axe to grind and if I've figured it out then sure as heck the Sim City PD are close to figuring it out as well"

Nancy look flustered but soon regained her composure.  "I didn't have anything to do with an attempted murder of your assistant or Lily.  Neither did Geoffrey.  But before you start levelling accusations at me, I suggest digging into the background of Madelyn Buchanan:  She's been dabbling in all kinds of enterprises the Police Department won't like"

"What's that supposed to mean?" said a shocked Alan.

"When my Malcolm was...led astray...by the wrong people; she was one of them.  She was quite the customer for marijuana:  Buying far too much for personal use, if you know what I mean.  I'd check under her bed if I were you for her stash and untraceable banknotes."

Alan Cuffe was rendered speechless at this revelation.  Madelyn was his live-in personal assistant with a lot of responsibility in the Lothario enterprise and he had no idea she either used or sold drugs.

"Now if that's all, Alan, I must get on with my run...things to do, people to meet, places to go."  And with that she set off running again.

THE BLUE VELVET CLUB,  LATER THAT EVENING

"I mean, where can you find a decent man these days?  Oh forget decent, where can you find a REAL man?" the woman was drunk and speaking so loud she was in danger of drowning out the music in the nightclub.  "I swear the next man...THE. NEXT. MAN. who walks in here I'm going to snaffle up!"

Seated next to this woman was Julia Epstein:  Doctor, citizen, member of the League of Decency and she was NOT impressed by this lush sitting next to her.

"Hey, am I right?" the lady said, nudging Julia in the ribs.

"I'm not looking for any man in particular.  I come for the music and to meet friends" Julia replied, quietly and in a formal manner.

"Sheesh, get a load of Madam here" the lady said, rolling her eyes.  

"She happens to be correct and you, Madam, are drunk and disgusting." those words came from the cavalry: Edna Sneedley.  Julia hadn't seen Edna arrive but there she was, sitting on the other side of the drunk lady and remonstrating with her.

"You should smarten yourself up" said Julia to the lady.  "My friend here is correct: You'll never find a decent man in your state.  Go home, sober up and stop hanging around bars trying to pick up louches"

"Harumph" said the woman, struggling to stand up.  "I will not stay here and be insulted by two mousey spinsters!" and with that she stormed off.

"Good riddance" said Edna.  She looked around and moved her seat closer to Julia.  "So, what news?  Have they been in tonight?"

Julia shook her head.  "No...I haven't seen them.  Usually the Kitten Club meet here a couple of nights a week and this is a usual day for them but nothing so far.  Maybe they've changed venue"

"Or maybe they got word that we'd be here and they didn't want their meeting disrupted!  Grrr, I hate Alan Cuffe, he's so devious!"

"We lucked out tonight...but we'll keep the pressure on" said Julia, trying to reassure Edna.

"You're such a positive person; brimming with the energy of youth" said Edna, smiling at her protégé.  Now on to other matters; the uniforms should be delivered to your house tomorrow.  Hopefully, by the time of our next group meeting everyone will have a set."

"Wow, that was sorted quickly" said Julia.

"Purpose.  Direction.  Results.  The words I live by, young Julia." said Edna proudly.

The next day Julia was back at work at the hospital.  Dr Murakami had noticed that she was particularly good with children and was putting more paediatric cases her way.  Julia didn't mind, she liked working on those cases and had developed a good rapport with most of them.

At the end of the shift, she changed out of her scrubs and headed back home where a large parcel, addressed to Dr Julia Epstein, was waiting  on the front porch for her.

Taking the parcel inside, she could guess what it was: The new League of Decency uniform.  She took it through to the bedroom and opened it up.  There were quite a number of items; a top, skirt and boots but also a bag of accessories.  On top of it all was a sheet of A4 paper with neatly typed instructions reading: LEAGUE OF DECENCY, UNIFORM REGULATIONS.

It even comes with regulations! Thought Julia.  But she was actually quietly impressed...she liked the organisation of the League and thought Edna was completely on the case...driven, purposeful and getting results.

THE LEAGUE OF DECENCY

UNIFORM REGULATIONS

This uniform is to be worn at all League of Decency meetings and activities.  Its purpose is to present a strong and identifiable image to the general public as well as encouraging a spirit of purpose and fellowship within the League itself.  The uniform is to be kept in a clean and presentable fashion and must not show signs of stains, tears and damage.  Dry clean only, accessories to be hand washed in warm, soapy water.

FEMALE UNIFORM

The female uniform consists of the following parts:

1.  Sweater, high neck, long sleeved, wool/Dacron(tm) mix in Sky Blue.  Sleeves are not to be rolled up in public but must be worn long at all times.  Sweater to be worn tucked into the skirt.

2. Skirt, cotton poplin with polyester lining, in black.  Skirt length should be 1" above the crease of the knee, no shorter.

3.  Boots, knee length, leather, black with 2" square heels, inside zip fastening.  Boots are to be kept polished with scuff marks removed.

4.  Foundation garments (not provided).  Appropriate foundation garments should be worn with the uniform.  Female protuberances in the bosom must not be visible under clothing.  The bosom must remain secure with the minimum of upwards and downwards movement.  Corsets advisable, but not compulsory.  Lower undergarments must be firm fitting and not be visible under clothing.

5.  Hosiery (1 x pair provided).  Black stockings in nylon or silk, 10 to 15 denier, to be worn with the uniform.  NO PANTYHOSE.  Must be firmly attached to garter belts with no slippage.  Plain, no patterns but back seams permitted.

6.  Jewellery is permitted for the following items:  1 pair of earrings, one ring per hand, no necklaces, bracelets or arm bands.

7.  Make up should be worn but in smart, discrete colours.  No false eyelashes, no glitter.

8.  Hair must be neatly groomed with no multi-coloured dyes, no wigs (except in cases of alopecia) and no brightly coloured headbands in poor taste.

"Wow, that is very specific!" said Julia, upon reading the regulations.  She wanted to see if everything fitted and what it looked like on her so she got out of her everyday outfit and proceeded to put on the uniform.

First, she had to find the appropriate 'foundation garments':  She'd last worn a garter belt for her med school graduation and that was some time ago now.  Tucked at the back of her underwear drawer she found her most formal and firm undies and put them on before opening up the packet of stockings and gently pulling them on her legs.  Then came the tricky and fiddly part of attaching them to the garters.  It was a lot of fuss, she thought.

Once that was on, Julia put on the snug fitting sweater, skirt and boots.  Smoothing out some wrinkles she inspected herself in the mirror and then walked around the house to get a good feel for the outfit.  Now it was on her she started to feel good in it.  She could see that it would give her more drive, purpose and....power!

Julia strutted around the living room imagining giving overly flirtatious people a warning.  "Hey! Stop that necking in the park...there are children present!  And put on a shirt!"  She even pretended she was like her neighbour, John Action, arresting a perp:  "League of Decency! You're busted!"  She let out a little giggle...she didn't want to go too power crazy:  Only warn the worst offenders, of course.  Not everyday folk.  

After walking around in her new uniform, and feeling more comfortable wearing it, she changed back into her regular clothes because she was going to go out to the Blue Velvet again:  It was her scheduled night on the piano.  However, as soon as she arrived, her boss and overlord at work; Dr Murakami, was already there.

"Ah, Doctor Murakami.  What a surprise!" said a startled Julia.  "I didn't know you frequented here"

"On occasion.  I take it you're a regular?" Dr Murakami responded in a cool and slightly disapproving manner.

"Semi-, ish, I take a turn on the piano occasionally" said Julia, defensively.

Murakami didn't respond to Julia's point but instead changed the subject completely.  "Dr Epstein, I have recently been impressed by your work with the younger patients...have you considered branching out into paediatrics?"

"I have given it some thought" replied Julia.

"Good, you're more focussed on your medicine than I thought.  Well, if a paediatrics rotation spot becomes available, I will forward on your name and my recommendation."

"Gosh, thank you, Dr Murakami!" said Julia, wide eyed with excitement at that news.

"See you at work, sharp, 8am Doctor...don't stay out too late" she said as she turned to leave the club.  Julia had not expected Murakami to be that benevolent towards her.

Julia's piano playing...a 20 minute slot in-between a nightclub crooner and the standard discotheque music played over the speakers...netted her 20 Simoleans for the night; not bad for an amateur doing an "open mic" session.  When her performance had ended, a familiar face came up to congratulate her.

"I really liked your set tonight" said Barbara Dubois.

"Oh thanks, Barbara...I didn't notice you arrive.  I guess I was too lost in my own playing!  Is Jeremy here?" said Julia.

"He's getting in a round of drinks" replied Barbara.

Another woman came over to congratulate Julia on her set.  "Hey, you're becoming quite the regular here:  My name's Eliza.  Eliza Pancakes" she said.

"Hi.  Julia Epstein" 

"DOCTOR Julia Epstein...our girl here is multi-talented" interjected Barbara.

"A doctor?  Do you have a cure for a lazy husband?  HA!  I am joking, of course" said Eliza.  "Good thing he isn't here to hear that!"

Julia didn't know how to respond so she changed the subject back.  "I'm just an amateur, really, at the piano but I'm glad people liked the set tonight.  So, I hear you're ready for the grand opening of the boutique" she asked Barbara.

"Nearly there: doing the finishing touches and getting the mannequins dressed up.  I'm still learning the ropes at the moment!" 

"Oh you run a dress shop do you?" said Eliza.  "I could do with a new dress; not that my husband would notice!  HA!"

Julia only stuck around to say hello and have one drink with Jeremy and Barbara...and Eliza, who stuck around.  Then she decided to call it a night and head home...she thought about the next League of Decency meeting, what they would do and would they need to wear the uniform!