[Univee]

Ten years ago, the church my wife Susan and I attend hosted nine Swedish college students who were participants in an international student exchange program. One of these students, Anna, stayed with us and our eighteen year old son Kevin. Anna was a spirited, adventurous young woman who spoke competent, yet heavily accented English, whose goal was to become a teacher upon graduation and someday live in America. Our congregational family took the group to museums, ball games, water parks, and theatrical events, providing a real sampling of Americana.

During their three week visit, several days were unscheduled so the host families could spend individual time with their guest. A backyard cookout and some relaxed conversation in our hot tub would give Anna another taste of suburban American life. After dinner, Anna was told to come out to the deck when she was ready, then the rest of us changed into our swimwear and waited in the tub. Shortly thereafter, Anna walked out the patio door wearing her short bathrobe. She untied the belt, shrugging it off of her shoulders.

She was naked.

I was stunned -though not by this sudden, unexpected occurrence- but rather by her consummate natural beauty which was enhanced immeasurably by her naive innocence. Anna casually laid her robe on the bench as if in the privacy of her boudoir, then stepped carefully toward the tub where the rest of us sat speechless. Her light golden tan testified to days spent seaside during her homeland’s brief summer, and her long platinum hair matched perfectly her wispy private patch which was cropped so close it left absolutely nothing to anyone’s imagination.
With an anticipatory smile on her pure face, Anna put her feet into the tub, then slowly slid the remainder of her lean, toned, immaculate body into the water until her perfectly proportioned breasts became the final treasures to sink beneath the bubbly waves.
“Ohhhhh…….. this is soooo nice!” Anna purred, still clueless that she was alone in her nakedness.

The expression on Kevin’s face was priceless; for him, this was better than Christmas morning.
However, my wife kicked my shin, getting my attention, then mouthed the words: “SAY SOMETHING!” I took a moment to compose my thoughts, cleared my throat, then said:
“Anna, perhaps in Sweden it’s customary to hot tub nude, but here in America, at least in our family, we don’t.” Anna looked puzzled, then -I believe for the first time - noticed the thin straps supporting Susan’s top and surmised that the rest of us must be suited.

“Oh…..….I thought you did……….just like we do at home. I’ll go put my suit on right……” Anna started to rise before finishing her statement, causing Susan to interject:
“No, no, no! Please stay. Kevin, go upstairs and get Anna’s bathing suit for her would you?”
“AWWW…..… MOM!” Kevin protested. He was more than a little upset that his mother was being a killjoy.
“KEVIN, GO!” She commanded.
“Kevin, it’s in my blue suitcase.” Anna turned and shouted as he stomped into the house.
While we sat calmly awaiting Kevin’s return, it was obvious that Anna was embarrassed by her gaffe. At one point, she caught my eye, flashed a sheepish grin and whispered: “Oopsie!”
“That’s all right, no harm done." I whispered back, hoping to ease her discomfort. Kevin returned and handed Anna her lavender one piece which she squirmed in to -with considerable difficulty- without leaving the tub.

Once Anna was suited, we quickly laughed off that cross-cultural miscommunication as a valuable learning experience. Honestly, none of us even considered the possibility of such a thing happening. Life got back to normal and everybody was fine.
Everyone except Kevin.
He sat there steaming, slinging visual daggers at his mother who parried with practiced precision.
He got over it though. I’m sure he shared that episode with all of his buddies. Probably gave them all plenty of fantasy fodder.