The Naked Storm

   It was a dark and stormy night. You know the kind.

   Daisy scooped up a handful of candy corn as she arranged a large pillow and settled into her plush sofa. She was ready for a relaxed evening in front of the tube. Only a few minutes and the movie was set to begin. As the thunder rumbled, Daisy reflected on how perfect the evening was for a good monster movie. This one was only a few years old, too. It was a picture Daisy missed during it's theatrical run, but it sounded like a fun one. Before the feature, though, the station was running a cartoon. Daisy was amused to see it was one of her own one-reelers, Flying Dizzy.

   As Daisy munched on her candy corn, she could only focus on how large her ears looked on the television. Sometimes they photographed really big, even for those of a cartoon mouse. This was one of those times. Daisy thought she looked like Dumbo, her ears seemed so large. Fortunately, since the glamor approach came to cartoons, the feature most people focused on was her legs. Even Daisy had to admit that she had some nice stems. There was ample evidence of it, from magazine covers to calendars to the cartoon currently playing on her TV. She decided to use her legs to walk into the kitchen and grab a glass of milk before the main feature.

   As she returned the milk bottle to the refrigerator, she heard a lightning strike very close by. The thunderclap seemed to rumble through the house for a solid minute. "Nuts," Daisy said to herself, "I'd better unplug the television set." The storm was getting worse. Daisy was willing to gamble before, she so wanted to see the movie, but now it was a bit too rough. Robbed of her electric screen, Daisy grabbed her robe and opened the back door.

   The view from behind Daisy's house was worthy of the CinemaScope lens, as the countryside stretched out majestically in the distance. The back porch was covered and screened in, allowing the mousette to stand and watch the lightning streaking through the clouds and illuminating the mountains in the distance. She decided to enjoy what was on display rather more fully, so she pulled up a chair and lit a cigarette. The rain came pouring down, but the moist breeze filtering through the screens was invigorating.

   The breeze felt so nice that Daisy decided to open her robe. That felt good, so she removed the robe completely and hung it on the back of her chair. She was glad nobody was around to see her, relaxing in her undies and puffing a pleasant cigarette while she was pelted by mist coming through the screen. She made sure to cover the rest of her pack so as to prevent them from getting as soaked as her minimal clothing was starting to become. She knew she'd have to change once she went back inside, but that was okay. The mist felt great, and putting on dry clothes always feels good after you've been soaked by the rain.

   The longer she sat there, though, the more self-conscious she got. Sure, nobody was likely to see her, but what if someone did? Between the moisture soaked into the fabric and the intense brightness of the lightning, Daisy Poise really had so secrets left. Being exposed inside the house was fine, but she was out in the open here. The chance of a visitor coming round the back of the house was pretty slim, but modesty eventually won out and Daisy stepped back inside.

   How soaked she'd gotten really didn't seem evident until she was standing on her dry floor. Now she felt pretty icky, as droplets were cascading down from her bangs. Daisy slung the robe over one of the chairs by the table before she pulled off her socks. She grabbed a dish towel and patted herself dry before removing the soaked articles she had been wearing in the storm. Stepping back into the living room, Daisy sighed at how nice the carpet felt under her bare feet. As pleasant as she felt, modesty again won out and Daisy made for the stairs so she could slip on some dry clothes. Then the power went out.

   Daisy stood still, waiting for her eyes to adjust. She took a step toward the window. With all that lightning, all she needed to do was lift the shades and she'd have plenty of illumination. As the blind went up, however, she caught sight of someone coming up her walk. She dove to the floor. Then there came a frantic knocking at the door. Daisy listened as she heard voices outside. It was Roger and Crissy, and they were being drenched by the rain. They needed inside. 

    "Daisy!" Roger called. "Are you in? We had to pull over because of the storm! Please, let us in!" Daisy wondered what to do. She couldn't leave them outside in that mess, but she couldn't cover herself.

   "Just a second!" Daisy called back.

   "Hurry, Daisy," Crissy chimed in, "we're getting soaked!" Daisy reached up and grabbed the curtain, the only thing handy that she could bundle up in. She was able to yank it down, but brought the rod down with it. The rod smacked her in the head and she blacked out. The racket could be heard through the door.

   "What happened?" Crissy wondered.

   "I don't know," Roger told her, "but with the power out she may've tripped and hurt herself!" Thinking Daisy may need his help, Roger began slamming his shoulder against the door. Daisy began to stir. When the door gave, it swung open and smacked Daisy in the face, putting her right back out. Roger and Daisy rushed inside.

   "Daisy? Where are you?!!" Roger scanned the room, but Crissy caught sight of the lump in the floor first. She grabbed her husband's arm and called his attention to Daisy's form in the shadows. "Oh no!" Roger reached for the mousette and carried her over to the sofa. In all the excitement, Roger didn't realize that he didn't feel any clothing and there was too much going on for either to notice their friend's exposed condition. Daisy again began to come around. "What happened?"

   Then the lights came on again.

   Roger and Crissy were frozen for a second, then turned and covered their eyes. Crissy began to undo her raincoat and slip it off. Daisy suddenly realized her condition and turned beat red. Crissy kept her back to Daisy as she held out the raincoat for Daisy to take. "Here." Daisy snatched the coat and covered herself. Then she sat down and buried her face in her hands. "Okay, I'm covered. And I can explain!"

   Roger and Crissy slowly turned back to Daisy. Roger spoke first. "You're in your own home, you don't need to explain anything. But what were you doing in the floor?"

   "I knocked myself out when I grabbed the curtain," Daisy couldn't look up from her hands, "I was like this when the power went out, just as you were coming up the walk. Oh, this is so embarrassing!"

   "For what it's worth," Roger tried to make light of the situation, "You have nothing to be embarrassed about." Daisy just slumped forward. Crissy patted Daisy on the back.

   "It's okay, Daisy. We won't tell anybody about this."

   "Oh, I know you won't do anything like that," Daisy finally looked up at her friends, "but I wish this hadn't happened. I can't even look you in the eye!" Daisy ran for the stairs and up to her bedroom. Roger and Crissy stood by.

   "You think we should leave?" Roger asked his wife. "She may not want to see us when she comes back down the stairs." There was another thunderclap.

   "We're stuck her until the storm slacks off," Crissy offered, "and all this will be fine when Daisy figures out it's no big deal. It's embarrassing, sure, but it's not like any of this was planned."

   "I can imagine how it would feel to be in her shoes," Roger reached for the bowl of candy corn, "or lack thereof. Some things you really don't want to share with your friends."

   "Yeah. It's one of the things I'm so happy I've only shared with you."

   "I wish I could say the same, but private showers weren't a priority in the Army."

   Crissy giggled as she snuggled up next to Roger on the sofa. Daisy finally came down the stairs, dressed in a big bulky sweater and a skirt. Even her legs were largely covered by kneesocks. She held out the raincoat for Crissy.

   "Thanks again for the coat, Cris. And thank you, Roger. I know you thought I was in trouble, and I guess I sorta was, and you had only my safety in mind. I really appreciate that."

   Roger smiled. Daisy took a seat in the chair next to the sofa as Crissy hung her coat on the rack by the door. Roger looked over at Crissy and caught sight of the curtain rod in the floor.

   "Remind me before we leave and I'll hang that back up for you." Daisy smiled and nodded.

   "So," Daisy smiled as Crissy returned to her seat, "did you guys ever see the movie KLOR-10 was running tonight? This makes twice I've missed it."