Saturday at ten found Jeff outside the Tendo compound.  His
father arranged for an embassy car and driver to take him and his
date wherever they wanted to go.
     Jeff approached the open door to the Tendo house and
announced his arrival.
     A rather large panda and Soun Tendo greeted him from the
table and motioned for him to enter.  Mr Tendo was reading his
newspaper while the panda chewed on some bamboo shoots.
     Jeff shed his shoes and approached the panda.
     "Is that really you, Mr. Saotome?"  Jeff said leaning close
and looking carefully into the panda's eyes.
     The panda responded by holding up a small sign saying: [Need
breathmint.]
     <Oh Great!  I've been insulted by a panda.> Jeff thought. 
Smiling, he asked: "If you get sick, do they call a doctor or a
vet?"
     The panda just growled and took a swipe at Jeff's head.
     "Now, now, my friend.  Lawrence-san has a point." Mr. Tendo
said calmly from behind his paper.
     The panda eyed first Jeff then the back of Mr. Tendo's
newspaper before holding up a sign saying he was going to take a
bath.
     Nabiki soon appeared, dressed in her new English riding
outfit.  It was spectacular.  A white poet-necked shirt topped by
a beige vest only a shade darker than her light beige riding
pants.  She carried her calf-length mahogany brown riding boots
like a game show hostess.  A brown riding derby and a cute little
riding crop completed the ensemble.  She paused in the door way,
posing like something out of an ad.  She was careful to show off
how well the outfit accented her nice figure.
     "Something wrong with your legs?"  Ranma snorted as he
squeezed past her into the room.
     "She's posing for Jeff, you dolt," Akane replied, following
him.
     Nabiki just held her pose, closed her eyes and prayed the
two children weren't going to do what they did every morning.
     "Well, she looks goofy standing like that."  Ranma was
embellishing his challenge.
     "You're so immature!  She happens to be showing off her
expensive new riding outfit like a model," Akane shouted back.
     "I still say it looks goofy."
     "Ooooooooh!!"  Akane somehow produced a large mallet and
began waving it like a samurai sword.
     Ranma, skipping the part where he tries to figure out how
she produced such a weapon out of thin air, bolted for the open
door and ran for his life with Akane right on his heels taking
repeated swipes at his head with the mallet.
     "Come back here!"  Akane yelled as the two sprinted across
the compound.
     "Quite the lovebirds, aren't they?" Nabiki dead panned.  She
had given up the posing and was leaning against the door frame,
her arms crossed.
     "This goes on all the time?" Jeff asked watching Ranma dodge
several blows as he headed for the dojo.
     "All the time.  Every day.  Morning, noon, and night. 
Honestly, I don't know how we keep up with the repairs."
     Mr. Tendo just mumbled something from behind his paper.
     Jeff recovered enough to say something nice about Nabiki's
attire.  For her part, she downplayed her overall looks while
making sure he understood she spent a bundle on looking nice for
him.
     "I arranged for two horses to be available at the Imperial
Riding Club.  We have them all afternoon."  Jeff said looking at
his watch.
     "Sounds expensive."  Nabiki watched for a reaction.  Always
probing, she had been frustrated through official channels in her
search for Jeff's true worth.  All she had left now was trickery. 
Clearly, she would have to do better.  Jeff just smiled.
     "Actually, a friend at the embassy arranged this through
your prime minister's office."
     <Well, well, well.  He has connections.  Perhaps....> she
thought.
     "Shall we?" Jeff indicated the way out.
     Nabiki bid her father goodbye and happily led Jeff to the
door.  She was impressed with the 'chauffeur' driven car.
     "It's provided by the embassy," Jeff corrected. "We hire
these guys to drive embassy personnel around.  It avoids the
problem of having to get a local license."
     Still, to Nabiki, it seemed like a limousine as she happily
watched the neighborhood pass through car's tinted glass. 
<Nabiki Tendo, in a diplomat's chauffeur driven car.  You've come
up in the world, girl.> she thought to herself.
     To Jeff, however, the whole affair was starting out with
less of a bang than he had hoped for.  Nabiki sat on one end of
the seat while Jeff sulked slightly in the other.  You could have
parked a bus between them.  Still, she was going out with him
alone; that was something.
     At the riding club, Jeff was relieved to see English tack on
the horses.  He had failed to consider, until arriving at the
club, that Japan might use some strange saddle arrangement that
would have left him looking foolish trying to figure out.
     Grateful that his parents had given him riding lessons back
in England, Jeff easily swung into the saddle.  It quickly became
obvious that Nabiki wasn't kidding when she said she never been
on a horse before; it took three tries to get her in the saddle
and from the start, the horse was clearly in control.  The
handler, who was helping her mount, gave her a few simple
instructions and they were off.
     The trail led across a field and into some woods.  At first,
Nabiki looked like she was about to fall off at any second.  But,
by the time they reached the woods, she had gotten in the rhythm
and seemed to be enjoying herself; with only an occasional
frantic grab at the poor animal's mane for balance.  The couple
didn't talk much, which probably was for the best as Nabiki
needed all her concentration skills to keep her mount under
control and herself in the saddle.
     They had ridden for a little over 30 minutes when she hailed
Jeff and said that the insides of her knees were hurting.
     "Should've worn panty-hose."  Jeff quipped as he pulled
alongside.
     "Wear what!?!" She responded incredulously.
     "American 'Star Trek' joke." 
     "Star what!?!"
     "Don't you ever watch TV?"
     "Only the financial news."
     "Oh.  Well, how about walking a little while?  It'll be
easer on your legs." Jeff suggested dismounting.
     Dismounting himself, he worked his way around and helped her
off her horse.  For just a moment, they were uncomfortably close;
his hands on her slim waist, her hands on his shoulders.  He
could smell her perfume, feel her taut waist, and see the strange
look on her face.  He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn she
was waiting for him to do something.  Toe-to-toe they paused
looking into each other's eyes.  After an awkward interval, Jeff
cleared his throat and urged her to take the reins of her horse
for the walk.  As the two slowly walked, side by side, Jeff
cursed himself for not being a little more 'romantic'.  Neither
talked much, just small bits about the weather, school, classes,
and the like.
     Eventually, the woods opened up to reveal a clearing with a
small lake in the middle.  Jeff suggested they stop and rest
awhile before heading back.  As Jeff tied up the horses, Nabiki
wandered down by the lake and sat beneath a large tree.  Jeff
soon joined her and stretched out on his side in the grass.
     "It's been a long time since I've ridden.  I forgot how the
knee joint gets rubbed raw."  Jeff said feeling a little sore
himself.  "I'm sorry I didn't warn you."
     "That's alright," she said rubbing where it hurt.  "I'm
having fun anyway."
     They sat together, only three feet apart, for a while,
neither willing to break the mood.
     "Jeff.." Nabiki started while looking at the lake.  "Tell me
about yourself."
     "Not much to tell.  Born in London, England.  I'm an only
child.  My father is a professor of international relations
serving as an assistant to the ambassador.  We moved to Japan
five years ago.  I went to embassy schools until this year when I
convinced my parents to let me go to a Japanese high school."
     "Haven't you ever lived in America?"  she asked.
     "Not really.  I spent a couple of summers there living with
relatives; once in Kansas and another time in Michigan.  I really
didn't enjoy it very much."
     "Why?"
     "They were practically strangers.  It was like being sent
away to camp or boarding school...or worse." Jeff paused as a
particularly unpleasant memory of one summer with farming
relatives slithered through his mind.  "It wasn't home and they
didn't seem like family."
     "Were they farmers?"
     "Some were."
     "Farming offers a return on investment of less than one half
of one percent before deductions." she recited. "Not a profitable
occupation."  She had finally found something she knew completely
to talk about, business affairs.  She went on to quote business
analysis reports on farming in Japan, even to the point of noting
the Ministry of Agriculture document numbers.
     Jeff felt challenged by that and responded: "Actually, if
proper farm subsidies are utilized to their fullest, the return
is much higher.  Before taxes, I mean."  <Two could play Milton
Friedman.> he thought.
     For almost a minute, Nabiki was quiet.  Exasperated, she
turned to Jeff and asked: "Isn't anyone in your family well off?" 
     Jeff kept looking at the lake as he thought with some
amusement: <She must be getting desperate.  Not her usual, subtle
manner.>  
     After an awkward pause, Jeff quietly had a question for her:
"Is it all that important to you?"
     "Yes!" Nabiki responded, looking Jeff in the eyes.
"Well...Maybe." She added as she thought of the other things in
life.  "I don't know..." She turned her face away to avoid the
embarrassment of her indecision.  <Why am I even admitting this
to him?  He's just a poor gaijin.  Why do I even care?> she
thought with disgust.
     "I see." Jeff said quietly. "Then it would make all the
difference in the world if I was rich."
     "Yes." was her tiny response.
     "Why?"
     "You wouldn't understand, gaijin Jeff.  You don't understand
us.  You never can."  She was looking at him again, serious and
stern.
     Jeff had encountered the Japanese closed society before and
knew enough not to challange it now.  Still, he got the feeling
that this was more than a cultural thing.  I sounded almost like
a cheap dodge of a direct question.  Perhaps he pricked a nerve
with his incessant questioning of her values.  In any case, he
figured she would tell him in her own way and time.
     In the mean time, a frustrated Nabiki shifted her position,
pulling her knees up, hugging her legs and resting her chin on
her knees.  She looked like she was drifting in another world. 
For several minutes they said nothing as the sounds of nature
surrounded them.
     "This place reminds me of the park where mother used to take
us for picnics."  she finally said.  "It seems like so long ago."
She hesitated, a grim look capturing her face.  "Father had a lot
more students back then and was always teaching in the dojo,
especially on weekends.  So mother would take us on outings.  I
always liked the picnics best.  Akane and I would run and play
while Kasumi was helping mother with food."  She was rocking
slightly now.  Her eyes were staring a thousand miles away.  More
memories flooding back, some good, some not so good.  "We had
more money then.  Kasumi always dressed so nice.  Now...."  She
paused while a particularly bad memory washed by.  "Akane was
always trying to catch the ducks or getting in fights with the
other kids.  I usually wound up leading her back to mother
bruised, dirty or both."
     She hid her face in her arms for a moment, perhaps to wipe a
tear, perhaps just to clear a bad memory.  Jeff knew her mother
had died a few years ago, but didn't was unprepared to face
Nabiki's reality just yet.  
     "When mother died..." she paused, her face taking on a
grimmer look. "When mother died, everything changed.  Kasumi took
over the household; cooking, cleaning, shopping.  Little Akane
moved into the dojo and spent all her time working out.  I..."
she swallowed hard before continuing.  "I tried to help too by
keeping the books and looking for ways to make more money.  With
fewer students in the dojo, we had to depend on investments made
back when business was better.  It's barely enough to make ends
meet."  
     <So that's it.> Jeff thought. <She wants money for her
family.  Noble sentiment.  But where do I fit in to all this?  Or
do I fit in at all?>
     Jeff examined Nabiki closely.  She had an attractive figure,
a beautiful face, and a sharp wit; everything he hoped for.  He
was mentally tracing her figure, maybe even undressing her a
little, when she startled him with a kind of question the
inscrutable Japanese are famous for.
     "What's your mother like?"
     Jeff thought of his mother and answered honestly.  "Loving,
caring, supportive... a good diplomat's wife."
     Nabiki shifted her position to address Jeff more directly.
"Ever wish you had brothers or sisters?"
     This one caught him off guard.  He had rarely thought about
siblings.  Being an only child, Jeff was typically ambiguous.  "I
guess so, sometimes.  Rumor has it my parents only got married
because of me."
     "You mean...?" she shot Jeff a look of pity.
     "Yup.  Shotgun wedding time.  They never let me think I
caused either one to have less of a life than they wanted but
sometimes..."  Jeff took a deep breath and let it out slowly. 
"Sometimes I wonder if I ever really made them happy."
     "You should never think that!"  Nabiki scolded.  Every child
is a gift.  Your parents, I'm sure, are very happy they have
you."
     "I suppose.  I just wish they had more time..." he ripped up
some grass and tossed it away from him.  This was more than Jeff
had ever admitted to anyone and it caused him some embarrasment. 
     They sat in silence for a few more minutes.  The sound of
the woods surrounding them.
     "Jeff..." came Nabiki's tiny voice.  "Do you...do you think
I'm cute."
     Jeff was stunned by this question.  Up to now, he thought he
knew where the conversation was going.  Now, Nabiki Tendo, the
girl most likely to wind up running Sony or Toyota some day, was
worried about whether or not a gaijin thinks she's cute?  Jeff
stared at her for a few moments.  When he did answer, he answered
from the heart.
     "Hai, kawaii, Nabiki-chan.  Kawaii."
     Nabiki dropped to one elbow next to Jeff and looked him in
the eyes.
     "Really?" came her soft voice.
     "Really.  Since the first day I saw you.  Kawaii, very
kawaii."
     She finished rolling onto her elbows, her body perpendicular
to Jeff's.  With a finger, she traced his jaw line, much like she
did the first time they met.  
     "Jeff-san, have you ever kissed a girl?" she asked casually.
     <My, she's just full of surprises today.> Still, the
question caused Jeff to think back to England and a birthday
party at the French Embassy.  He remembered an attractive 9 year
old daughter of a Dutch diplomat.  He smiled painfully, as he
remembered her soft lips and his clumsy 10 year old attempt at
romance.  It was a disaster better left buried and forgotten. 
Still, his male pride wouldn't let him admit to his inexperience.
     "Yes, once or twice.  You?"
     She continued tracing designs on Jeff's face, but she was no
longer looking at him.  Her gaze was, once again, fixed on
something far away.  "No...not really.  In Japan, kissing is
so...sexual."
     "Sexual?" Jeff asked softly.
     Nabiki turned her head to look at Jeff.  Their faces were
only inches apart as they studied each other carefully.  "Hai,
Jeff-san." she whispered.  It seemed like hours passed like that,
neither wanted to make the first move; perhaps, because neither
knew what to do next.
     <Why do I feel this way about him?  Sure, he's good looking,
cleaver, witty but he's so...poor.>
     <Should I?  Does she want me to...?  Oh God, what do I do
now?>
     It must have been a silent will between them.  Maybe there's
something to the talk about magnetism between two people, because
Nabiki slowly drifted closer, lips parted, until they touched his
lightly.  The kiss that resulted was like butterfly wings, barely
there; a moist breeze.  She withdrew, looked him deeply in the
eyes and repeated.  They paused for a moment; each unsure, each
desiring.  It's hard to say just who moved first.  One moment
they were frozen, staring intently at each other and the next
they slid together in an embrace, kissing passionately; she
holding his head with her hands and he with his arms around her
slim body.  They did nothing else but kiss, over and over again. 
He ran his hands lightly over her back, feeling the tautness of
her muscles through her riding shirt and vest.  Their chests
pressed together, each could feel the other's heart
beating...fast.
     For the next hour, the two lay in a light embrace, saying
nothing but speaking volumes.
     <He's different somehow.  He's so gentle and affectionate. 
If only he came from some wealthy family or had really promising
prospects.  Maybe...>
     <I can't believe this is happening.  My God, I could fall in
love with someone like this.  Maybe...>
     It was getting dark by the time the two riders made their
way back to the riding club.  The handler welcomed them and asked
if they had a pleasant ride.  They just smiled shyly.
     Dinner at the club was a simple affair, not that either knew
the difference.  They spent most of the evening staring at each
other; only a smile or raised eyebrow revealing their emotions.
What conversation that did take place sounded more like two high
school kids practicing their English, innocent yet daring.
     The ride home was cozier than the one out, both sitting on
the same side of the seat, Jeff with his arm casually around her
shoulders, Nabiki leaning lightly against him.  Neither broke the
spell with conversation. The driver, sensing what was going on,
took the long way home.
     Outside the Tendo residence, the couple embraced once again. 
Jeff traced a line from her cheek down across her jaw line with
his fingertips.
     "I'll call you." he promised.
     "Hai, Jeff-chan"
     She glanced nervously at the house then kissed Jeff lightly
once more before she slipped through the gate and disappeared
into the compound.  Jeff watched until he saw her silhouette
entering the house.  Reluctantly, he turned and stepped back into
the car.  He didn't remember much about the ride home.  Entering
his darkened house, no one was there to greet him.  It was times
like this, Jeff wished he had someone to share his experiences
with.  Instead, he had just a cold shower and bed.

     Nabiki didn't have the same quiet arrival at home as Jeff. 
Waiting up for her, seated at the top of the stairs, were Akane
and Kasumi.
     "Well?" Akane asked.
     "Well, what?" Nabiki answered, a little peeved at the
reception committee.
     "Come on, Nab-chan.  Tell us all about it." Kasumi said with
a little smile that was part mischievous and part motherly.
     "Nothing to it." Nabiki said pushing past her sisters,
trying to make a break for her room.
     "Nothing, she says." chimed Akane.  "I guess those grass
stains on her elbows came from falling off the horse."
     "Poor dear," Kasumi said sympathetically.  "It must have
hurt to fall so far on your elbows."
     Shocked, Nabiki quickly checked the elbows of her new shirt. 
Sure enough, they were stained light green from the grass at the
lake.
     "Ok, we kissed.  Satisfied?"  Nabiki clearly wanted to
escape her inquisitors. "Nothing else."
     "Couldn't do it standing up?" Akane chided leaning against
the wall.  She had never had a real date herself.  Ranma wasn't
the dating kind and Kuno made sure no one else had the chance. 
Living vicariously through Nabiki's dates was the only
experiences she had.
     Nabiki froze staring at the door to her room.  She wanted to
run inside and latch the door.  She had been out on lots of dates
before, came home extra late on a few.  Her sisters never waited
up for her like this.  Why did all this bother her so?
     Silence surrounded the three.  Off in the distance, you
could hear Ranma working out in the dojo with his father.  Soun
Tendo was probably there too.
     "Really, it was...nothing."  Nabiki's voice wavered
slightly, her mind a whirl of emotions.  She turned slowly to her
older sister and started to say something but failed.  In
frustration, she flung open the door and stumbled into her room.  
     Kasumi and Akane glanced at each other, shocked.  Something
was most certainly wrong.  Nabiki was always the strong one who
flippantly butterflied from boy to boy, without emotional
attachments.  Seeing their middle sister this way was...
unnatural.
     The three quickly congregated in Nabiki's room.  Nabiki
crawled onto her bed, her back, fittingly, against the wall
clutching her pillow.  She wore a look a irritated concern on her
face.  Kasumi sat at the foot of the bed while Akane straddled
the chair at her sister's study desk.
     Kasumi quietly asked: "Nab-chan, what happened."
     "If that creep did anything to you, I'll..." Akane flared
looking over her shoulder out the window.
     "NO!  It's...it's not like that.  It's just..." Nabiki
hugged her pillow tighter now.  "Jeff's...different, that's all." 
     There, it was finally out.  This was the closest she had
ever admitted to being in love with anyone.  Her list of
temporary boyfriends was long and littered with their financial
corpses.  Her reputation as a pecuniary vampire had spread such
that few ventured close enough any more to consider dating.  Love
was an unprofitable emotion better left to rich fools like Kuno
or idealistic dreamers such as her sister Kasumi.  Up to now,
Nabiki never considered herself vulnerable to such an emotion.
     Kasumi gently reached out and brushed the hair out of
Nabiki's face.  Kasumi had become the family's defacto mother
substitute.  Her quiet wisdom and patience often helped her
younger sisters come to grips with the trials of growing up.  To
the casual observer she was lost in another world much of the
time.  But that was simply her contentment with the life she
lead.  Underneath, she was the best combination of mother, older
sister and friend.
     "Kasumi..." Nabiki started like a little girl.  "I can't
explain it...I..."  Her young body rocked slightly.
     "Are you in love with him?" Akane asked wide eyed.  "I mean,
really in love."
     "I...I don't know." Nabiki sighed in resignation.
     "Nabiki, dear.  It was only one date.  How could you be in
love with someone after only one date?" Kasumi was again playing
the mother role.
     "I'm not sure.  I don't know." Nabiki shuddered again. "I
*want* to but...I can't be...I *can't* be in love with him.  He's
poor.  He probably had to borrow enough money to take me out
tonight.  I WON'T MARRY A POOR MAN.  I won't turn out like
mother."
     Her sisters looked at each other in shock.  Poor?  Marry? 
Like mother?  What was she talking about?
     "What about mother?" Kasumi asked with more force than she
usually used with the girls.
     "Mother wasn't happy.  She couldn't have been happy...
fulfilled." Nabiki protested. "Cooking and cleaning.  Keeping the
family books.  Having to bear children then raise them.  When was
she going to fulfill her dreams?  I heard that before we were
born, mom was going to college.  She could have been successful
in some business.  She gave all that up for *children*, cooking,
and cleaning.  How could she have possibly been happy?!?"
     "Oh, Nabiki." Kasumi sighed. "You never really knew her. 
Mother was the happiest woman I've ever met.  What she had here
made her very happy."
     "But what about her career, her dreams?"
     "Are you so sure that we were not part of her dreams? 
Nabiki, honey, you have to follow what is important to you, but
to mother, it was a home and a family that made her happy.  It
would seem that you don't really know *what* you want."
     That stung Nabiki.  She had no answer for such a statement. 
She had been much younger when mother died and didn't really get
to know her like Kasumi, who was always doing things with her. 
Nabiki had been too wrapped up with her friends and things
outside the home to think much about her mother.  She was just
always...there.  She had never considered that having daughters
could be part of a woman's dreams.
     By the time Akane and Kasumi left, Nabiki was deep in
thought about what to do now.  She had much to think about.

     Jeff, too, had much to ponder.  But his was more defensive.  
   <So it's money she wants.> He thought sadly.  Jeff was
laying wide awake on top of his covers.  Visions of Nabiki;
trying to ride, sitting under the tree, kissing (Especially,
kissing), kept a constant parade in his mind. 
     <She seems to like me.  Heck, the fact she would even kiss
me must mean something.> Jeff's confusion blended with his
imagination to create scenario after scenario, each a little
better than the last.  It was a mental version of the old  she
loves me, she loves me not' game.  Too bad sleep overtook him
before the last petals of the flower were plucked.

     By morning, Nabiki was her old self; sly and calculating.
     "You alright?" Akane asked over breakfast.
     "Never better." Chirped Nabiki as she dug into her food.
     "What about Jeff?"
     "Him?  Oh, I guess we'll be friends.  I'll still go out with
him but I could never love someone poor.  Pass the juice,
please."
     "But what about last night?"
     Nabiki froze for a moment.  The question was exactly what
she didn't want to face this morning.  "It meant nothing.  It
won't happen again."
     Akane looked at her sister carefully before turning to her
own breakfast.  She could tell her sister still hurt.  Asking
more questions would only hurt her more.  There was nothing left
for her to do but wait around to pick up the pieces when Nabiki
crashed.  Besides, she had her own problems with that jerk Ranma.
     "Oh, Oneechan, could try to get those grass stains out of my
shirt?  I might want to use it again." Nabiki asked sweetly, as
she always did when she wanted something from others.
     "Of course, Nabiki.  Another ride with Jeff?"
     Nabiki eyed her older sister coolly.  "I said no.  We are
only friends." <At least until his money runs out.>  She
viciously bit into a biscuit.

     Jeff came to school Monday, excited to see Nabiki again. 
His phone calls to her Sunday went unanswered and unreturned. 
Kasumi was quite polite about it but Nabiki was never home or in
the bath or something else.  Jeff's naivete screened much of
reality out and left him with only his hopes.
     <I thought she had a good time.> he pondered in class. 
Occasionally, he would look her way but they never made eye
contact.  She made no effort to talk to him.
     Between classes and during lunch, she would respond to him
in a friendly but distant manner, like an unfamilier fellow
classmate.  It was if Saturday never happened.
     Confused and hurt, Jeff retreated to reconsider.

     Nabiki was as infected with confusion as Jeff; only she was
a carrier.  Despite her best efforts, a little voice in her head
kept insisting that she really loved him.  Her conscious mind
rejected that notion out of hand.  And so, the battle raged.  On
one hand, he was everything she had hoped for emotionally in a
man; patient, attentive and loving.  On the other, he was as poor
as a gaijin could be.
     <I guess it couldn't hurt to have some fun with him while
waiting for Mr. Right.> she thought.  <At least, until his money
runs out.>

     When Jeff called her a few days later, Nabiki acted like she
was almost anxious to talk to him.  Unbeknownst to Jeff, she had
a plan that was ready to hatch.
     "Jeff-chan" Nabiki cooed. "I loved our little ride so much I
will allow you to take me somewhere else."
     "Oh?" Jeff almost sounded sarcastic.  And why not?  The
horseback riding date cost him three month's allowance.  His
savings account starting digging foxholes at the sound of
Nabiki's voice. 
     "I haven't been to the mountain spas in years." she said in
her little girl voice.
     "Mountain spas?"  Jeff's savings account stopped with the
foxhole and went right to bomb shelter.
     "Japan is full of outdoor mineral hot springs.  It's the
 In' place to go."  Nabiki sounded genuinely excited.
     Jeff thought back to England and the mineral spas around
Bath.  All he could remember was the large number of elderly. 
Surely, she wasn't suggesting spending a weekend surrounded by
the senior citizen set.
     "Isn't that for old people?"
     "Silly.  Everyone goes there.  It's lots of fun.  There's
all kinds of games and activities..."
     "Sounds expensive."
     "Does this mean you don't want to go?" she pouted.
     Nabiki knew just where to probe to get Jeff's goat.  One
fake sniff, and Jeff was putty (at least, for now).  "Of course,
we'll go.  How about next weekend?"
     "Oh, you'll love it.  It's so warm and healthy.  And it has
a wonderful view of Mount Fuji."  she was sounding like a travel
agent.
     <Hmmmm.  Mineral water spa, huh.  Just the two of us...in
the water...> Jeff's mind had teamed up with his hormones to
create a vision of a naked Nabiki snuggled up next to a naked
Jeff gazing at...  <Uh-oh.  Mom and dad will never go for this. 
And Sensi Tendo...[gulp].  I find it hard to believe he would
approve of my seeing *that* much of his daughter.>
     "Actually, Nabiki, I'm not sure this is all that good of an
idea." Jeff was sounding like someone with cold feet.  "I'm not
convinced we should be seeing all  that much' of each other."
     "Oh Jeff." Nabiki baited her trap. "At the spas no one
notices such things.  Just get in an soak.  Honestly, you gaijins
have some of the weirdest hangups."
     Jeff apologized for his apprehension and the plans were
quickly finalized.  The two would catch a train to Hakone and
stay (in separate rooms, of course) a night at an inn then return
the next day.  Most of each day would be spent soaking in the
rich mineral water of the natural hot springs or partaking of the
inn's activities.
     Jeff hung up the phone.  He now had two problems: how to get
enough money together for the trip and how to gracefully get into
a hot spring buck naked, in front of his girl friend, with at
least a few shreds of his dignity left.  
     For the first problem, he would, reluctantly, raid his
savings account again.  This would put a sizeable dent in his
cash reserves but if it's for Nabiki, well...he would make that
sacrifice.
     As for the dignity problem, he quickly thought through
possible sources of help.  The cultural attache wouldn't be much
help, she's a woman and would probably laugh at the idea of a 17
year old prude.  His mental search finally reached Satouro-san,
the morning cook.  Mr. Satouro was a chunky, 30 year old,
Japanese equivalent to a short order cook who worked the morning
shift in the embassy kitchen.  Not only was he an expert on
Western-style cooking, but he was also a dandy darts player.  He
and Jeff would have some exciting games of darts down in the
kitchen between meals.  He was jolly, honest, and ,most of all,
discreet.  You could talk to him about anything with complete
confidence that it would go no further.  The only annoying part
of him was he fancied himself a great master of the English
language and refused to use Japanese around Jeff.
     "Ahhh.  Jeff-san.  Come in.  Come in." Mr Satouro crowed as
Jeff entered the kitchen.  "You come play darts?"
     "Not today, old friend.  I need your help with a point of
protocol."
     "Oh, too bad.  Not my job.  I cook.  You need protocol
lady." he said rubbing the back of his head.
     "No, Satouro-san.  This is *personal* protocol." Jeff
corrected, sitting down on a stool.
     "Ahhhh.  I understand." the cook bobbed.  "You having
problem with girl.  Satouro help.  Big with women."  He laughed
then said something to the kitchen help who joined him in
laughter.
     "My girlfriend wants me to go with her to Hakone."
     "Ah.  Very nice place.  Been there."
     "Yes, well, at the mineral baths.  I...ah...I'm not sure how
to get in...you know."  Jeff said a frustrated wave of his arms.
     "No problem.  Take off robe and get in."
     "In front of her?"
     "Why not?  She do same."
     Jeff's look of apprehension tipped Satouro to Jeff's
problem.
     "Ahhh. Satouro see.  Jeff-san shy." he said poking Jeff in
the arm.  The help roared with laughter.
     "I guess so.  Just how do you do it?"
     "No problem.  Take tenugui , little towel, drop robe, hold
tenugui in front" he said demonstrating with a dish towel. "and
get in water.  No problem."
     "Just like that?"
     "Like that."  he demonstrated again.
     "Won't people stare?"
     "No, Jeff-san." he waived his had at Jeff.  "Only look
because you Westerner.  Not look at your...."  He waved at Jeff's
groin area.  The kitchen staff shared Satouro-san's laughter.
     Jeff just nodded and smiled.  He knew they weren't laughing
at him.  It must have sounded like a funny situation to guys who
grew up going to public baths.  In Japan, Western modesty was
still amusing.
     "Satouro have even better idea." the cook said shushing the
rest of the kitchen staff.  "Get in water first.  That way, she
be naked in front of *you*."  The whole kitchen broke up at his
suggestion.
     "You mean, like, get to the pool while she is still
changing?"
     "Hai."
     Sounded reasonable.  Timing would be the problem. <Well,
it's worth a shot.> he thought.
     Jeff thanked Satouro-san and waived goodby to the rest of
the staff.  They were still cutting up and laughing at each other
as Jeff wandered back to his room.  It was going to be a long
week.