A SHORT STORY
A LOVE STORY! WHY WE NOW OFFER FULLY CATERED PRIVATE CLOTHING OPTIONAL NATURIST NUDIST WEDDINGS!
Recently I was asked by an old friend “Whatever gave you the idea to rent your chalet out to cater nudist, naturist, clothing optional weddings?”
He knew part of the “back story”. He knew that my wife is a high school English teacher, who lives 9546 miles away in Africa, and that about 2 years ago how I decided I needed a new goal, and that for some very odd reason I had decided that that goal was to learn to speak French.
I had taken an online class, and my French tutor was a delightful woman from Mauritius, who had the most delightful accent, a great sense of humor, and incredible patience; I am not a very good language student! One evening after our online lesson, she told me that my two months of free tutoring was about to end, and that she would have to charge me. And then she said, “I am sorry but in good faith I cannot take your money as you are the worst student that I have ever had!” I was heartbroken, until she said, “But I really enjoy talking with you, would you like to continue that?”
After said 6 months of corresponding online, I visited her for the first time. I put my home on Airbnb, made my business partner the manager, and headed to Africa. After 4 visits and another 6 months of dating face-to-face, we got married. I have been renting my chalet out while I have been gone to naturalists who want privacy and luxury away, from the others, and in a natural setting.
But what I hadn’t shared with my friend was that my wife, Dheerata challenged me even more and said, “ You are a minister and have had very successful catering businesses, now you are saying you want to build a stable business since coming out of retirement after our marriage, but you are NOT using many of your best skills! WHY NOT?!” Not only is my wife incredibly beautiful, she is brilliant and ruthlessly honest! And worst part was, I had no answer!
She sent me back to the US, with the edict,” I will be over in six months, figure it out and make it work!”
My friend who knows my wife said, “Yes that certainly sounds like Dheerata, “So how did you arrive at catering nudist weddings?” I told him, “As much as I would love to take credit for this idea, it was not mine”.
A few weeks ago, a young naturist couple who rented the Chalet for the weekend to “get away from it all”, mentioned to me as they were checking out that they were getting married next year, and asked if they could they book my place for their perfect naturist wedding? And the lightbulb went off, BING, in my head!
I told them of course they could they rent it for their wedding, and asked them, “Do you have anyone to officiate the wedding?” They looked at each other and then they both turned to me and in unison said “NO”! They asked me if I knew anyone that would feel comfortable and was licensed to officiate. When I said that I am a licensed non-denominational minister, they said, “Just when we though this visit couldn’t get any better…. And asked, “Would you?” And I answered “I do”…I mean I WILL! I didn’t think their smiles could get any bigger, but they did.
And so, I asked them “And do you have anyone to organize, plan and cater the wedding?” Thy responded, “Where will we ever find someone to cater and plan a nudist wedding?” And again, I said… “I will!” I told them about the weddings I catered “in my past life”- as my wife calls it, and they just looked at me in awe. Just for the hell of it I asked, “and are there any dietary considerations?” and again they in unison said, “Vegetarian!” And again, I said, “I will!”
When I told my wife about this as we Skyped, her smile turned to a more pensive look. When I asked her what was wrong, she said,” Remember when we had our civil wedding in Mauritius, and you promised that when I got my visa and came to the US that we would have a “REAL “wedding? “I answered yes, not quite sure where this was going, and then she said, “Will you cater OUR wedding too?” I said, “Of course….I will!”, and saw the same smile spread across her face as it did with the couple who gave me the impetus to do what I do best, in a place I love the best!
So sometime next April or so, there will be a weekend that Oasis in the Woods will not be available, because Dheerata and I will be getting married here!
Eric Rubin
