The Naked Truth

Janine chuckled, remembering her own ire with amusement as she pulled her nightgown over her head and got into her own bed. In hindsight, the whole ordeal was pretty damn funny. Especially since the guys had each called her at her sister’s house to apologize.

Peter had called first, saying that he hadn’t meant to cause her problems with Egon. He’d been really embarrassed and was just trying to lighten the mood. He said he’d gotten his punishment for it though. They heard her leave, and they’d all thought she had no place to stay. They’d been terribly worried and had called her family and friends for hours trying to find her. Peter had gotten an earful from her mother who accused them of “doing something” to her daughter. Janine laughed out loud. She knew exactly how much of an earful her mother must have given him. Janine was the baby of the family and her mom was fiercely protective of her.

Egon had called next, brusquely apologizing for behaving so unprofessionally, but he’d assured her it was due to his feelings of mortification. He understood that it must have been just as awkward for her. He said that they all sometimes forgot that they each had little habits that made the firehouse more like a frat house, and that they would be more careful about it, whether they thought she was around or not because it was better to just build habits than to always be self-conscious.

Ray had said he was very sorry for being so mean to her, and of course she didn’t do it on purpose. He was just so humiliated, he’d had to lash out at someone, and she was an easy target. When they heard what she said as she left and came downstairs and saw her bags were gone and then that her car was gone, he said he’d felt horrible. She said that she felt worst of all about what happened with him because she really was in the wrong. She’d always knocked before entering the bunkroom. She shouldn’t have assumed that Slimer would tell her if he was decent, and he could have just as easily gotten undressed after Slimer left. Ray had remarked that he would have made the same assumption and that he was now training Slimer to always tell her whether he or the other guys were dressed when informing her where to find them. Janine sighed in relief. She didn’t want Ray to be mad at her any more than she suspected he ever wanted to be mad at her.

Winston had called to tell her that his dad was finished with her apartment and she could return to it at anytime. As they talked for a while longer, he admitted that he was still uncomfortable with what had happened, thatthat he was working on it. In a few minutes, they were laughing and joking together about the absurdity of her seeing them all in the buff in one day.

Once Janine had talked to the guys, she felt much better about things. They would all be okay.

But there was one thing Winston had said that still bothered her. “You know how doctors get so much influence over their patients, Janine? It’s because they’ve seen us naked. They have us at a disadvantage. We automally lly feel a little inferior to them because of that. I think that’s how we all feel about you now, even Peter. It’s a little unnerving so don’t be freaked out if none of us can look you in the eye for a while.”

Janine thought long and hard about this on the ride to work that morning. Somewhere in the middle of the Lincoln Tunnel, the perfect solution came to her.

And she knew just what photo to use, too.