David brought the bedrolls over to their work area, laid one of them out, and they placed all the dressmaking goods and remnants in its centre. He pulled the corners together into a large bag and slung it over his shoulder as Rachel and Maria stepped out of their skirts and folded them neatly on the slab. They all took a last long look down at the valley, searching for any changes, then they headed back across to their camp.

He laid out his good wool trousers, best shirt and clean socks, all freshly laundered a few days previously at the hot pool. He cleaned their shoes and boots with the boiled linseed oil and polished them using a beeswax candle.

They quickly sorted and packed the small rucksack with the things they wanted to take with them. The remainder was packed into the three large rucksacks, which were then placed at the back of the small grotto. He dressed, hanging his jacket over his shoulders as a cape in the fashion he had seen in Freiburg.

After he had slung the rucksack over his left shoulder and put on his loden jägerhut, he said, "A quick look around, ladies. Check to see if we've missed anything."

"One thing," Maria said. "Let me adjust the feather in your hat. For you, it has to be much more jaunty. How's this, Mama?"

"He looks like he belongs here, between the Black Forest and the Alps." She picked up her cane and pointed it across the ridge. "Let's go have lunch."

They regained the lookout slab, David walked over to the prow and did one more check of the valley, and after half a minute he said, "I see nothing different down there."

The ladies picked up their skirts and draped them over their arms, David picked up the crutches and led the way across the rugged ridge. He turned frequently to watch the ladies, to confirm their safe progress, but more fascinated by the play of their lips as they stretched long steps between some blocks and down off others.

Within five minutes he had reached the edge of the granitic intrusion, and he looked back to watch in wonder at the beauty of the ladies manoeuvring toward him.

"You're an attentive guide," Maria said as she approached. "Very concerned at our safe steps."

"That, certainly." He looked down. "But my attention is also with the movements here." Running his fingers through her folds, he leaned forward to kiss her. "I'm fascinated with it."

"Fascinated with what?" Rachel asked as she arrived beside them.

"Folds, lips, beautiful moving flesh. You both are so fascinating to watch. I've not before had the opportunity to study the action, the interaction of your legs and lips, the interaction between your lips and your flaps. It's so beautiful to me, so different from anything I know."

"It's probably like my having you swing and pendulum so close in front of my face back there at the hot pools." Rachel shuddered lightly. "So wonderfully different."

"That's the thing, isn't it? Difference." He nodded. "We're built so differently, inside and out, emotionally, mentally, physically. The biggest differences, the physical ones are kept hidden. Why? Our culture seems to bury the wonder of, the reality of our differences."

"Buried somewhere in ancient religious tradition is most likely the answer." Rachel shrugged.

"Let's press on." He pointed. "There's the beginning of a more gentle slope ahead with less tangled undergrowth. Let's head there and see if it's a good place to dress. How's the ankle, Mama?"

"It's so much stronger today. I'm pleased with how it's healed — not quite a week yet. The cane is still welcome, but I can now place much more weight on my foot."

They crossed a more even forest floor, though it was still tangled with deadfalls and low bushes which would be awkward to negotiate in long skirts. After about two hundred yards they came to the edge of the wild forest floor and looked into a narrow, sloping meadow with the road running down its centre.

"Time to dress for the performance, ladies," he said. "Remember, this isn't a dress rehearsal; this is the real performance. Our lives could depend on our acting. Remember, you are who you are, except you've never left Unterhallau but to go shopping in Erzingen and Eggingen. Same with me, I've never left there either, which is the truth." He chuckled. "Actually true, since I've never been there."

"Play dumb again for me, David." Maria laughed. "I loved the way you did that."

He played a mute again for them, with his tongue flopping and chewed as he moaned and mumbled near incomprehensibly. "Remember, this is mainly if we're challenged and I'm required to speak. Hint at brain damage at birth."

He watched the ladies finish fastening their skirts and then turn to check and adjust each other. "Ready for Act One?"

"Let's do it, as you say." Maria giggled.

They took a few steps toward the meadow, paused to check up and down the slope, then sauntered across the to the road and started down the hill, David acting a maimed left foot with the crutches.

The one o'clock bell rang as they strolled through the streets to the centre of town, Rachel returning greetings of guten tag and guten mittag to those they met as Maria and David nodded.

"I've been looking at the women," Maria said. "We need hats, all the women are wearing hats. The shops are closed now for lunch."

Rachel looked around and nodded. "Let's find a place to have our own lunch. We can ask the frau there if there is a good Modistin in town. There must be, everyone is wearing hats."

"There's a delightful patio over there, across the corner." Maria pointed to the other side of the street.

As they examined it, four people rose from a table in a sunny back corner. Rachel led them across the street and pointed to the table when they were greeted. The fräulein looked back at it, then down at her book, nodded, ordered it cleared and set, then a short while later led them back to it.

"This is an ideal table," he said. "From here we can see everybody and everything around us, but we're rather hidden."

Maria engaged the serving fräulein in conversation, and among other things, asked her who was the best Modistin in town, she and her mother needed new hats.

"The best one is two blocks along and just around the corner, in Brückestraße, the street which heads toward the bridge. She usually opens at half past two on Mondays." Maria explained to David after the fräulein had left.

"Amazingly, I got most of that." David smiled and nodded. "I could probably polish my German quite quickly around here."

"It would be better to do it a few kilometres from here, across the line in Switzerland," Rachel said. "It's nearly the same dialect. We're not much more than half a kilometre from Switzerland right now, but the safest way is longer, probably six or seven."

The trio shared a half litre carafe of wine and a huge jägerschnitzel mit knöpfl, and they enjoyed the sun until twenty past two, by which time the patio had nearly cleared.

They slowly walked along the streets, enjoying the sun as they headed to the millinery shop. It was still closed when they arrived, so they looked at the displays in the windows.

"This must be where all those strange red pompom hats come from," David said. "The windows are full of them."

"Those are bollenhuten; we don't want them." Rachel shook her head. "They're the tradition here on this side, but unseen across the border. We want something more neutral, ideally the little lace-trimmed caps Swiss women wear. I should have thought earlier."

"There's a linen shop across there, Mama," Maria said. "Let's get two lace-edged table napkins and fold them cleverly. I have several spare hair pins."

"Splendid idea, Sweetheart. We can create something which will fit better with these outfits than a bollenhut would."

Rachel told the woman in the linen shop what they wanted to do, and she showed them a selection she had culled for small snags or weaving imperfections. "Das wäre perfekt für Sie." The shopkeeper laid out a variety of pieces, explaining they would be perfect since the flaws can be folded out of sight.

Rachel picked up a bright white piece with a wide lace border, folded it and put it to her hair, then turned to Maria. "Was denken Sie?"

Maria shook her head and held up a piece. "Ich dachte, diese"

David admired Maria's taste, also thinking the warm cream colour complements the tone of Rachel's outfit and that the white one was a bit stark.

The frau brought out a mirror and propped it against a pile of fluffy towels on the next table. "Hier, schauen Sie, ich glaube, Ihre Tochter ist richtig."

Rachel looked at her image and nodded. "Das ist ideal. Jetzt eine für dich, Schatz."

David picked up a pale pink piece with an undulating lace frill in a deeper pink and held it to Maria's hair. He looked around at Rachel and the frau with a big smile on his face and mumbled a few sounds ending with something resembling, "... laps, Mama."

"Das ist perfekt, David. Du hast Recht. Es deutet auf ihre errötende Delikatesse."

David chuckled inwardly that Rachel had picked up on his hint of a similarity to Maria's blushing delicacy.

The shopkeeper nodded toward David as she told Rachel, "Eine solche hübschen Sohn haben Sie."

David smiled at the compliment on his handsomeness.

Rachel nodded and replied, "Er war sehr groß, ein langer, langsamer Prozess."

David put a hand to his mouth to stifled a laugh as he reflected on his size and the long, slow process.

Rachel paused and looked him up and down. "Er hat ein Problem mit der Rede."

David smiled as he nodded and mumbled, "yamama."

Rachel and Maria returned their attention to their hats, trying various folds, fitting and looking in the mirror. David saw the price sign, reached into his pocket, pulled out some change and handed the frau a Two Mark piece. She came back with the change and a shallow dish of pins for the girls.

The shop frau was assisting with Rachel's fitting, when she quietly asked with a nod toward David, "Die Krücken?"

"Für einen verstauchten Knöchel letzte Woche" Rachel replied, then she paused for a few moments before she lifted her ankle and moved it around, then added, "Meine — es ist jetzt viel besser." She explained the cane works well, but her son brought the crutches along in case they were needed.

The frau asked where they were from.

Rachel thought a moment, and then replied, "Gegenüber in der Nähe von Unterhallau." She added that they had come shopping, and since it was such a nice day, they decided to continue along to Eggingen to exercise and strengthen her ankle.

"Wir bekommen nicht so viele Schweizer mehr" The frau talked about missing the Swiss shoppers while the border was closed, and how pleased she was it had reopened. Then she asked if they any trouble coming across the border?

"Nein, gar keine."

"Gut. Ich bin, dass so lange gesagt, wie Sie Papiere."

David was relieved to hear that with proper papers, they should have no problem crossing now. He thought, Why punish innocent business people?

Rachel looked again at her image in the mirror, and after adjusting her hair, she thanked the frau for her wonderful assistance. Then adding they have a long walk ahead, she led David and Maria to the door.