RETURN OF THE GOLDEN GOOSE

by Some Sort of Dog

Chapter 9:- All Friends Together

"You mind where you're putting those bloody lamps, young Geoffrey!"

"It's all right, Mrs Danby," Debbie glided across the workroom with a large sheet of white polystyrene and a fat roll of sticky silver tape. "Geoff knows what he's doing."

"He'll know what he's doing if he blows my fuses. He'll know what I'm doing." She watched as Geoff jumped lightly down from the bench and tilted the huge square silver umbrella until it glowered down on the square of floor designated as the studio.

"Okay, Debs. Juice 'em." The lights came on, transforming the room into a faerie grotto.

"Looks good," Debbie said, nodding her approval. "We're about ready for them. I suppose they are coming?"

Mrs Danby seemed to have calmed down. "They'll be here at ten. Charlotte's usually late for everything. She blames the twins, although she was always late before she had them. Is it going to be hot under these lights?" She held a hand out tentatively.

"Step in and find out," said Debbie. "See? They look bright, but they're only really there so we know what it will look like when the flashes go off."

"Like this." Geoff demonstrated. 'Tock' went the lights. Mrs Danby blinked and covered her eyes with both hands.

"I'll be blinking all over the place. They'll make me squint and screw my face up. Do you really have to use me? Couldn't Maggie do it?"

"It has to be you, Mrs Danby." Debbie's voice was soothing. "You're the most important person in the picture!"

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure, while there's a gorgeous six-footer with a 170- inch bust sharing the picture with me!"

Geoff bit his lip and blushed. As big as that? He remembered Charlotte had been appallingly huge in the previous layout, but that had been a dog's breakfast from beginning to end. This one had better turn out better than that. His neck was on the line this time.

"It'll be all right, Geoff." Debbie stood very close and spoke softly. Geoff felt his tummy turn over. It was ridiculous, feeling this way about Debs. Debs didn't just prefer girls, she hated men with a deep loathing. Didn't she? She gave him a private little smile and moved away to adjust the polystyrene reflector. She seemed to know what he was thinking. And it felt good to be near her. If anything was wrong, he could talk to Debs, as he had found this last week. Every day, they had found a little time to chat together. Only five minutes, but Geoff found himself looking forward to their brief intimacy. He even found himself thinking of Debbie in bed at night, before going to sleep. And last night, tossing and turning, unable to relax, he had automatically gone to his dressing table drawer as usual. Yet although he took out his dog- eared pile of out takes from the studio, and spread them on his bed, he found himself stacking up the pile and concentrating on just one photograph. It showed a topless Kay, arguing some trivial point with Maggie. In the background, grinning wickedly at the camera, was Debbie.

Geoff had whispered her name as he jerked into a wad of tissues. He found himself blushing at the memory.

"Penny for them?" God, she was back! Reading his thoughts? "Wake up, Geoffrey. I can see you didn't get much sleep last night."

"Me? I slept all right." It was true. He had slept like a log. Afterwards.

"Mrs Danby was offering you a cup of tea. You were miles away. Who was she?"

"Who? Oh, nobody."

"Some nobody! You've been in a dream this last ten minutes."

Ever since Debs had come over and spoken to him. He accepted the mug of tea and sat down in the armchair. Debbie squatted comfortably at his feet, counting points on her fingers.

"Don't forget what Duncan told you about the flash meter. Give it an extra third of a stop over what it says. Remember the format of the page. Don't take a bunch of square pictures. Maggie will be bringing a rough layout to help you." She stopped, looking up at him solicitously. "You'll be all right with Maggie, won't you? Don't go getting choked up. If she starts getting to you, let me know and I'll come right over, okay?"

"Thanks, Debs." He had never really told Debs what had gone wrong between him and Maggie, yet here was Debbie offering to protect him against her. He smiled down at the assistant, feeling his insides going funny again as she turned away with a funny little grin and studied her fingernails. She bites her nails. I'd have to cure her of that.

Her head jerked up toward the door. "I think they're here, love. Time to go to work." And just for a moment, she squeezed his fingers. Her hand was cool and dry and infinitely comforting.

"We can shoot it whichever way you like, Geoff. Either we start fully dressed and end up nude, or the other way round. It doesn't matter. Once we've seen the results, we will decide which version to use, either this one, or this one." Maggie tapped on the two layouts with a nagging fingernail.

Geoff studied the two of them. Somehow, it felt wrong, starting with the model nude and getting dressed. "I'd rather start with her clothes on," he insisted doggedly.

"We'll decide that, Geoff. You just take the pictures, right?" Maggie snapped.

Debbie was watching from across the room. Within seconds, she was beside him, whispering urgently. "It's okay, Geoff. I heard her. Don't react. Don't bite. Just do as she says. You're good enough to do it whichever way she says." Then she picked up a box of spring clips and was gone again.

Charlotte stepped into the pool of light, quite literally larger than life. Geoff could only gulp in amazement. Debbie was biting her fingers, all four of them in her mouth up to the second knuckle. Maggie gazed at Charlotte, enraptured. Mrs Danby was staring critically at the vast, swaying bra cups, the gold fabric sparkling in the lights.

"Right, Mags. Which way do you want to shoot this?" Charlotte shaded her eyes to see past the lights into the limbo beyond.

"Let's start with you completely nude, then with your panties on, then Mrs Danby can put the bra on you, and you can put your dress on last of all."

Charlotte looked unsure. "Seems a funny way to do it. It seems more natural to do it the other way round. I can just slip the frock on and off we go."

"I'd prefer it the other way, Char," Maggie said frostily. Charlotte looked at Geoff, who was engrossed with his camera. "What about you, Geoff?" Geoff didn't look up. "Doesn't matter to me. Either way, they're both the same."

"You're no help. Well, I'd rather start dressed, but you're paying, Mags. Up to you. "Give me a hand with this bra, Debs."

Debbie dashed forward eagerly. "What do I do?"

"Rip the top of the velcro open, then stick your hands in the pouches on each side of the back. Rip the rest of the velcro open, then hold the two halves of the back together until I tell you to let go gently." Debbie went behind Charlotte and did the needful.

"You're sure about this, Mags?"

"Of course I'm sure! Get on with it."

"It's not working, Mags. I can't get the bra back on, not without a load of tit hanging out. Are the two new bras ready, Mrs Danby?"

"Near enough. You want to try one of those?"

"Are they bigger in the cups than this one?"

"A different shape. Not much bigger, really."

"Let's try one of those, then. When did you want to do the measuring with the Super Bertha, Mags?"

"Last of all."

"Why not do it now, while I've got nothing on?"

"I want to do it last, okay?"

Charlotte shrugged. "I've got all day."

Everyone was getting edgy with Maggie. What was the matter with the woman? Why couldn't she just stand back and let the professionals get on with their jobs? Now she wanted to look through the viewfinder. Geoff stood back and let her look. Duncan would have had a seizure if he had been here.

"It's the wrong way round," Maggie stormed. "Geoff, I specifically told you I wanted Charlotte facing toward the left of the shot, looking over her left shoulder. You've deliberately set it up back to front."

Geoff couldn't believe what he was hearing. Debbie had her face in her hands, trying not to laugh. "Mags," he said, "she is facing left. You're looking through the..."

"Are you telling me I'm a liar? Or am I blind? Or don't I know my left from my right?" She looked up from the viewfinder. Geoff waved his arm toward Charlotte and said nothing. Maggie followed the direction he was pointing and her face darkened. "You did that on purpose just to embarrass me," she yelled.

"I thought you'd realise the viewfinder reverses everything. I thought you'd have looked at Charlotte before you looked through the camera."

"I don't appreciate jokes at my expense. I will speak to Duncan tomorrow morning about your whole conduct today. I knew it was a mistake coming out here with a makeshift crew. You'd think, with all the money Cunis are paying, we'd get a proper professional outfit. I think we may have to review our entire policy."

"I think it might be better if you just apologised to Geoff, then went and cooled off for a while, don't you?" Debbie's voice was little more than a whisper, but everyone in the workroom heard every word. Geoff waved his hands at her, trying to get her to stop. Debbie wasn't having any. She shook her head and continued. "You can say what you like to Mr Throssell, and so will I. Not just myself, but everyone else here will bear out my version." She paused for breath. Geoff had given up trying to stop her. He stared at Debbie. Her cheeks were flushed: her nipples were erect and surprisingly large. "I don't know what it is with you lately, Maggie," Debbie went on, "but your behaviour today has been the absolute limit. You have just wasted the last hour completely. I suggest you go and have a quiet think somewhere, preferably as far away from here as possible, and let us get on with the work. Either that, or fuck off altogether!"

Maggie's mouth opened, then it closed again. She pursed her lips and turned on her heel. She stalked out with her nose in the air, and almost made it. Unfortunately, she had just reached the door when she banged her shin on the corner of a flight case. "Shit!" She disappeared.

There was a moment's silence, then a cautious cheer went up.

"Wow, Debs!" Charlotte gasped. "That's told her."

"I'm afraid it has. Oh, well, it was nice working for Duncan, but we all have to move on some time, I suppose." Still shaking with passion, she stood close to Geoff. "I'm sorry about that. I may have made things awkward for you. I just snapped. I'm sorry."

"I love you, Debs," Geoff blurted out before he could stop himself. "Debs! Where are you going? Come back!"

"What's going on round here?" Charlotte stopped struggling to get out of the monster black and gold bra. "Where's that girl of yours gone? Geoff, where is she? What did you say to her?"

"Nothing." Geoff flushed. "She went that way." He pointed to the changing cubicle. "I'd better go and see ..."

"They're all storming off in a huff." Charlotte ran her hands through her big hair. "At least they didn't both go to the bathroom. That would have been a disaster. May I borrow your phone, Mrs Danby? If this is going to be a long session, I'll get Jacqui to bring the babies over."

"Go right ahead. Be my guest. I'm just the bra maker."

"Mrs Danby? You in there?" It was a girl's voice, not Maggie, not Debbie. Mrs Danby spun round and stared at the doorway.

"Donna! What brings you here?" Mrs Danby gasped at Donna, who was threading her way into the room, craning her neck to see over her breasts, managing to avoid the obstructions on the floor. She was followed by Lynda, gaping about her at the unexpected scene.

Mrs Danby threw up her hands. "I'll go and put the kettle on. What do you two want? I can't do any work today, as you can see, we've got the photographers in."

Charlotte turned to see who the newcomers were, still booming away into the phone. She waved her fingers and carried on, turning away again. Her voice shook the rafters.

"...no, of course I can't come and collect you. I'll stay here and send Maxwell down to pick you up. Just make sure the twins are ready when he arrives..."

"Sorry for butting in, Mrs Danby," Donna looked round the even more than usually chaotic room, the lights, the camera resting on a stool, Charlotte with her back to them, bellowing into the phone. "We were just passing, and we thought about my other bras."

"...no, it's not cold, not in here. It's fucking hot. Just their usual clothes, girl, they won't freeze. They won't melt, either. They're only babies for Christ's sake...!"

"Where is everybody?" Donna asked. "Isn't that nice Mr Throssell here?"

"Good question. Maggie's thrown a wobbly and stormed off, Debbie's apparently done the same thing in the other direction. Geoff's probably gone looking for her ..."

"Geoff's here?" Lynda squeaked.

"Lynnie?" Geoff came out of the changing cubicle and stopped dead, staring at the two girls.

"Geoff!"

"Oh, my God!" Donna clutched at her head as Lynda strode across the workroom and hugged Geoff in an exceptionally friendly manner.

"...and bring a box of disposables. Make it a big one!" Charlotte slammed the phone down and turned round. "Donna! Are you in on this pantomime as well?"

"No, I just dropped by with Lynda..."

Charlotte had caught sight of Lynda and the unwilling Geoff. "Bloody hell. Look at the young lovers. I don't think that's the cleverest thing to be doing, if Debs decides to come back..."

Geoff struggled free from Lynda's bear-hug, and pushed at her chest to get her off him.

"Geoff!" Lynda giggled. "Not in here, everyone can see!"

"Don't handle the goods until you've paid for them, Geoffrey," Charlotte cackled. "Oops! Probably said the wrong thing there ..."

Debbie appeared from an unexpected direction and stood with her arms akimbo. She took a deep breath, expanding her chest, but couldn't think of anything to say, and let it out again. "Huh," she muttered as an afterthought, and busied herself with one of the lights.

"Debs, I wasn't doing anything ..."

"Over here, Geoff," called Charlotte. "I wonder, would you mind..." With a longing glance at the forlorn and bewildered Debbie, he detached himself from Lynda and wandered aimlessly over to Charlotte. "Be a sweetie and tell Maxwell to go home and fetch Jacqui and the twins. Would you?" Geoff nodded and made for the door.

"Hi, Geoff," said Donna softly as he passed.

"Oh, hi!"

"One more like that, please, Charlotte. That's nice. What's next?"

Debs consulted the layout. "Mrs Danby has to be undoing the velcro at the back. Jump up on your box, Mrs D!"

Mrs Danby tottered for a moment on her box, clutching at Charlotte's shoulder straps for support.

"I hope you're going to warm your hands before you do that again, Mrs D!"

"I'll warm my hands on your bottom, girl, if I get any more of your cheek."

"Remember you place, Mrs Danby. I am nine hundred and seventy fourth in line for the throne. Okay, Geoff?"

"Turn a bit to the left. No, the left. Lovely. Super!"

"Super? Are you turning into a Duncan or something? One iron hoof around that bloody studio is probably enough. Oops, sorry, Debs!"

Debbie was blushing. She seemed to find herself doing a lot of blushing lately. Geoff had his face buried in the viewfinder, so she couldn't see if he was blushing or not.

"Hold that, Charlotte. Bring your hand up just a little bit, Mrs Danby. Great!" The strobes flashed again, three times, and Mrs Danby wobbled and clutched at Charlotte once again. "New mag, please, Debs." Their fingers touched, it was like static electricity. Somehow, Geoff fumbled the new magazine on to the Hasselblad. "Pull the velcro apart a bit more, please, Mrs Danby."

Nothing happened. Geoff stabbed at the shutter release again. Everyone looked at him expectantly, perched on top of his stepladder. Donna and Lynda were sharing an armchair. Charlotte looking over her left shoulder with a fixed expression on her face. Mrs Danby glanced round once but nearly fell off her box, Debbie, Debbie biting her lip, one hand steadying the stepladder.

Geoff checked again, then glanced guiltily around to see if anyone had realised his mistake. Fingers trembling, he removed the darkslide from the magazine and gave it to Debbie. She grinned encouragingly at him and his heart leapt. "Okay, ready again, hold it. Great! And again, and again! Right, what's next?"

"Unzipped altogether, Mrs Danby holding the two halves of the bra," Debbie sang out, not really trusting her voice.

"This one's tricky, loves," said Mrs Danby. "I can only hold it so long before the weight of Charlotte's boobies takes over and they fall out. Only time for one picture, Geoff."

"We'll need more than one. You sure you can't hold it for three or four?"

"You come and feel the weight of these things."

"Don't come one step nearer, Geoffrey, I am promised to another. So are you, no doubt," Charlotte added in one of her extremely audible asides.

"We could do it." They all looked at Debbie. "We need some assistants. Donna and Lynda, make yourselves useful ..."

The girls scrambled out of the chair, where they had been extremely comfortable and quite intimate. "What do you want us to do?" Under cover of her pendulous breasts, Donna adjusted the fit of her jeans round the crotch. This was one of those occasions on which she was grateful for the size of her bust.

"Donna, you stand here. Lynda over that side. Now back away until you're out of shot. Back a bit Lynda. Okay, Geoff?"

"I can still see one of Donna's boobs."

"Back another couple of feet, Donna."

"Okay!"

"Right." Debbie stepped into the pool of light. "Now as soon as Geoff takes the shot, don't wait for an order, you two. Come straight in and each of you catch hold of one of Charlotte's boobs. Like this. Hold it up." She demonstrated. "Don't be scared of doing any damage to her. They're quite robust. But they are very heavy. So get a good grip. Take hold of this black piece just here with one hand, and get your other arm right down underneath, then support it like this." Debbie took firm hold of the side panel of Charlotte's left breast, dropped to one knee and slid her free arm beneath the shiny gold cup, and braced her arm against her leg. "Like that. You'll have to hold it until Mrs Danby has zipped up the velcro again. Any questions?"

"Can we have a practice run?"

"No point. If we're going to practise, we might as well shoot it anyway. You both ready?"

The girls nodded, caught each other's eye, and giggled.

"Okey dokey," Geoff took over. "Ready again, Mrs Danby. Rip it apart then hold it!"

'Rippp!'

'Pock!' went the strobes.

"In you go, girls," shrieked Debbie, and Donna and Lynda shot forward and grabbed an armful Charlotte's mammoth bra cups.

"Ouch, that hurts!" Charlotte howled. "Lynnie, you've got my nipple!"

"Sorry!"

"I can't hold this one! Help!" Donna fought with her great wobbling burden, but it was too much for her.

"Can you hold it, Mrs D?" Debbie squeaked.

"I'm trying. Oh, no!"

'Crash!'

"Right, we'll try again." Debbie said calmly. "What went wrong?"

"Lynda trapped my nipple."

"I won't do it again," promised Lynda. "I know where it is now."

"When she grabbed my nipple, I wobbled a bit too much."

"That was when I grabbed her other breast," said Donna. "But mine are so enormous, I couldn't get my arm underneath hers. I had two grabs at it, but I kept bouncing off before I could get close enough. Sorry!" The poor girl looked so crestfallen.

"I should have thought of that," said Debbie. "It was my fault."

"What now?" Charlotte looked at Mrs Danby. "You okay, Mrs D?"

"I'm all right. It's hard balancing on this box in high heels. Can't I take them off?"

"Not now," Debbie said. "You're wearing them in all the other pictures."

"It's stupid, trying to stand on a box in these shoes. Whose idea was it, anyway?"

"It was mine. I'm sorry!" They all stopped and looked. Maggie picked her way across the cluttered floor. "I'm sorry. I behaved like a spoilt child. Charlotte, Mrs Danby? I do apologise."

Geoff came slowly down from his ladder, his mouth open.

"I'm sorry, Geoff!" Maggie found herself in his arms. It felt warm and comfortable. It had gone horribly quiet. She stepped back, bright red. "Debbie, I'm so sorry, love! You carry on. You know what you're doing, which is more than I do. If there's anything I can do to help, just say?"

Debbie seemed about to say something disrespectful, then changed her mind. "Well, yes, there is, actually. Donna's having a little difficulty with the size of her bust. If you could take her place ...?"

"My pleasure."

It went very well on the second and third takes, although there was a bit of a fiasco on the fourth. Lynda came sliding in with a little too much enthusiasm, realised she wasn't going to be able to stop in time, and decided to catch hold of Charlotte's breast anyway, since she was passing that way.

"Ouch! You bastard!"

"Look out ...!"

"Not again, whooo-ooh ...!"

"Mind that stepladder!"

They picked themselves up. "The camera's all right," said Geoff after a quick inspection. "Professional equipment, very strong. Any more damage, apart from that lamp?"

"No," said Debbie. "You okay, Charlotte?"

"Apart from a sore boob."

"I'll put the kettle on. Tea, everyone?" Mrs Danby scanned the room. "All coffee, then? That's one black without, one black with, two white without and three standard. This is costing me a fortune."

"Stick it on the bill, Mrs Danby."

Charlotte made herself reasonably comfortable in the overstuffed armchair. They'd hung her breasts one over each arm of the chair so she could hold her coffee mug. Donna and Lynda, reunited, sat extremely close together on the floor against the workbench. Maggie had the stool. Geoff sat on the workbench, his legs swinging, Debbie leaning companionably against him. They both enjoyed the warmth of each other's closeness without any of Donna and Lynda's almost embarrassing intimacy.

"I don't know if it's just the way I'm sitting, but I'm getting very full. I think it must be nearly babies' lunchtime." Charlotte wriggled her bottom deeper into the chair.

"We ought to send out for some sandwiches," said Maggie.

"I think they might prefer milk, actually."

"I could murder a sandwich right now, since you mention it."

"So could I."

"Me, too."

"Maxwell will fetch some from the pub when he gets here. In fact, that sounds like the car now." The workroom door opened, and Maxwell looked in, then he flung the door wide, and in walked a very pretty girl carrying a baby. She wore a tight black skirt, black stockings and a white blouse her dark hair fell in a tangle round her shoulders. She was followed by a slightly less pretty girl with dirty-blonde hair in a ponytail, carrying another baby.

"Jacqui! Just in time!" Charlotte took the baby and made the introductions. "This is Jacqui, my nanny, and this," she took the other baby from the dirty-blonde girl, "this ... is ...? Shit, I've forgotten her name."

"Lucy," announced Maxwell. "My fiancée!"

There was a collective gasp. Lucy gave a squeak of surprise, and ran to the doorway, hurling herself into Maxwell's arms. Poor Maxwell, everyone thought. Although, looking at him, he seemed to be enjoying it. The girl eventually remembered her place and detached her lips from Maxwell's mouth and her legs from around his waist. Clutching his hand, she stood demurely by his side, gazing up quite a long way into his eyes.

With her hair in a ponytail like that, she looked about ten years old: only four and a half feet tall in her heels, yet with an improbable pair of breasts thrusting out through her almost transparent white blouse. Her arousal was startlingly evident, and amazingly, seemed to be increasing by the second.

"Well, there's a surprise! Congratulations are in order, I think." Charlotte raised her mug. "To Maxwell and Lucy. May you both be very happy together. Maxwell is your first name, isn't it?"

"No, ma'am. It's Shorthouse, ma'am."

"You mean Maxwell Shorthouse?"

"Beggin' your pardon ma'am. Shorthouse Maxwell. They called me Shorty in the army, which is why I don't use the name."

"I can imagine why, too," muttered Charlotte. "Anyway, take young Lucy with you, Maxwell, and bring a load of sandwiches. Enough for all of us. Get some for yourselves. And Maxwell ..."

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Don't be more than half an hour. We're all starving."

end Chapter 9