The rest of the day went so smoothly for Joan that she almost forgot her coworkers were nude.

Sophie did check on her, but it was basically the same platitude and reassurances that she did with Susan and Pamela. It made Joan more confused, as the office manager is what, 2 years older than Cameron, her daughter? Still, the big difference is that by the time Sophie came to talk to her, Joan was more used to the general nudity around her.

She even ate her lunch with a few of them in the mini-kitchen area, but many, like Arthur, ate at their desks. He was re-energized by the get-together in which Pamela basically showed him that the issue was outdated documentation, not his code.

He pushed his ticket to completion in the afternoon. Likewise, he is one of the rare employees who doesn't need formal code reviews and attacks another issue.

Joan was shocked to find Pamela coming to her desk at 4:30, wearing her sundress and her sandals.

"I was about to turn in, so you came here on foot, right?"

"I did", says Joan.

"Would you mind if I walked back with you? So you can show me the way? I felt stupid, but Google Maps was no help. It's all commercial space and stuff."

Joan laughed. "Sure, but your car will be left here?"

"Bah, my boyfriend has a car, and I barely use mine over the weekend. We tend to just stay cloistered in the naturist center, doing sports, hanging out, or working on our personal projects."

"He is a developer too?"

She laughs. "No. He is a multidisciplinary artist", she says, using a weird tone, as if she were mocking him.

"That bad?" says Joan, picking up her laptop and putting it in her shoulder bag.

"No, not that awful. It's just, I wish he focused more on what sold, you know? It's also a job. I love what he does, but I can't pay for everything all the time, you know?"

"He does sell well?" Joan says.

"Oh yeah, he usually makes between, like, 40 and 60k on good years. It's just it could be more, you know?"

"It could always be more."

She smiled, and they left.

"Aren't you bringing your laptop?" says Joan.

"Oh, no. I'll pick it up when I come for my car."

The two women were in the elevator with Anderson, still unclothed but with his laptop bag. He saluted them both and continued to the basement while Joan and Pamela made it outside.

From her purse, Pamela took out some sunscreen, put it on her shoulders, legs, neck, and face, and proposed it to Joan, who, instead, relied on a big hat.

"It must cost you a fortune in sunscreen", says Joan.

"Oh yeah. But we save on clothing. I only get dressed two days per week", replies Pamela.

"And for the commute today", says Joan.

"Well, I just pick a sundress. I have a few for shopping. Super practical. I don't even need a bra, you know?"

But Joan didn't know. She feels like she needs support at all times.

They cut another mid-level enterprise building parking lot from their office's one, which saves a long detour but only requires walking over a small strip of grass with a cement border to divide the lots.

"So that's the shortcut. I never paid attention", says Pamela.

"Yeah. Did you grow up at that resort?"

"Born and raised. Not my boyfriend, however. He became a naturist in college, and that's where I met him."

"Interesting. We moved because our house was cheap and my husband could make a living."

"He's a pilot, I heard?"

"Yes, he does crop dusting."

"Is he the only one in the area?"

"Pretty much"

"Holy shit, I think he sometimes flies over us."

"He never mentioned it."

She laughs. "I suspect he wouldn't. He doesn't linger over us, but it's just difficult to fly over the area while avoiding our place."

"I bet. There are what? 5?"

"Six. One is private and not advertised. It's more like a gated community than a tourist place. Anderson lives there. Susan too."

"Interesting."

The pair soon make it to the pedestrian bridge.

"I've lived near this thing all my life, I have driven under it thousands of times, I work just across from it, and yet, it's the first time I get on it.", she says, smiling.

"When I heard I was going to work in the office, I got angry, but I saw this path and decided it wasn't worth it to fight it", says Joan as the two women climb on the ramp to get up.

"Apparently, before the pandemic, everyone was in the workplace 5 days per week, but I was hired after that."

"So, remote for college during the pandemic?"

"Yeah, I had one and a half semesters in person, but that first one was my most important one."

"Is it when you meet your boyfriend?"

"Bingo. Hey, I can see the fence of my center just there, between the trees," says Pamela, pointing when at the top.

"Look at that; I never noticed. Good catch", says Joan.

"So what will you do this weekend?"

"I am not sure. It depends on my children. My son is feeling better, so he might have his girlfriend over. My daughter is preparing for college, so I suspect she will just cram as much info as she can to get better grades"

"She's 18?"

"Yeah, from a month ago. He is 16, about to turn 17"

"Wow, you had them close," says Pamela.

"That was always the plan. We wanted a third one if we didn't have both genders, but we were lucky"

Pamela laughs. "We were two sisters, and then, when we were 8 and 7, our parents tried again for a boy and got twins"

"Girls or boys?"

"Both. A girl and a boy. "

"Wow, they must be a handful."

"Well, I was the unofficial babysitter of the center. Anyone 8 years or so younger than me probably got me."

"Nice"

"And look at that, now I babysit developers who are often older than I am", she says, laughing.

They make it in front of Joan's house.

"This is me"

"No shit, that's a nice house. Maybe Wednesday I can wait in front for you? If the weather is nice"

"Sure. I leave around 8:00. But I am usually alone then, so you could come in for a coffee."

"Joan, it would be my pleasure, but I don't want to intrude."

"Nonsense, you are my star developer."

Pamela spent the walk home wondering why she hugged Joan. She is her scrum master, and you don't hug your scrum master. But then again, it was in front of her house.

Joan, on the other hand, was proud of herself. One of the things she discovered working in a huge corporation is how offering help is valued, but taking help comes at a price.

If Pamela doesn't take her offer, Joan will have gained prestige in her eyes. If she does take the proposition, she will owe favors to Joan and be in an unfavorable position to argue with her.

It's a win-win for the cost of what? A cup of coffee and some cream?

It's not that Joan is manipulative. It's that these acts are required to survive.

She finds her home empty. Her son left a note that he was visiting his girlfriend. Her daughter was staying at school for a study session that she didn't really need. Furthermore, her husband's car is in the driveway, however, next to hers.

She finds him in the yard, on all fours, with a bucket next to him.

"Honey?" she says.

"Joan! Come see", he says.

She gets into the yard and sees what he is looking at. A baby toad. Or frog. She can never tell when they are this small.

"I think it's an eastern spadefoot toad"

Joan laughs. "Since when did you become an expert in toads?"

"Since I got training this week on the wildlife of the area to renew my certification with the city. Had a good day?" he says, kissing her.

"I did. Hey, you never told me you flew over the naturist resorts"

"Well, it's not like I take a look. I just see some skin sometimes. I can't really always avoid them, you know? And in the morning, I think it's mostly the elderly. Why are you asking?"

"I discovered that some of my colleagues are naturists."

He laughs.

"That just came up in the conversation? Like that?"

"Well, it's my first day in the office on Friday."

"So?"

"Well, they were all nude."

"Wait, really? Is Pamela as hot as you thought?"

"Even worse. We walked home together. She lives close by."

"How did it feel?"

"I didn't undress," says Joan, confused.

"I feel like if you did, it would be the first thing you would tell me. I mean, how did it feel talking to them?"

"Fine, I guess. After a while, I didn't notice it"

"Good. So, do you want me to cook something up?"

"I thought you would when I work outside the home," Joan said, a little sad that he forgot.

"Well, it's Friday, the teens aren't there, so I forgot?" he says, grabbing the amphibian with gloves and putting it in the bucket.

Joan realized that this explanation was fine for her. She was more preoccupied with the batrachian.

"Where will you put it?"

"I was thinking in the woods at the end of the street."

"Good idea. Would a frozen chicken pot pie do?" says Joan.

"I'll free it and get on it"

"No, let me. You are right, I do normally cook on Friday", she says.

While her husband is gone, she preheats the oven and surprises herself by looking in the mirror. Could she be naked like Pamela? Surely not. She doesn't have that courage.