Exposure
21
Moving Tribute
“Jeri” by Ironika, ID344719508, licensed from Shutterstock.com
“WE’RE MOVING.”
“Now?” I asked. What the hell?
If my reaction was poor, Kat’s was off the chart.
“NO! I’m not going!” She threw herself at me and I held her as she started sobbing against my shoulder. I guess I had some tears, too.
“Mom, what happened?” I asked. “They said four years. Why did they just change it? Where are we supposed to move to?” I had visions of being sent across the state again, or maybe to East St. Louis.
“It’s a whole lot of things, kids,” Mom said. She was sagging against Dad and tears were running from her eyes, too. “The Methodist and EUB churches down in Sage voted to combine their congregations into a single church. The Methodists just built a new church and the Bishop and Cabinet decided this was a perfect opportunity to put a new minister over the combined congregation. It’s not that far. You’ll still be able to see your friends. It’s only thirty miles south of here.”
Dad pried Kat away from me and took her to sit on the sofa.
“Honey, it’s better this way. You start high school in the fall. It will be much easier for you to adjust to a new school as a freshman when everyone is in a new school than after you’ve been a year here and have to leave all your high school friends,” he said.
“But… I still have to leave my friends. Julie and Brian, and Patricia and Toni, and Vanessa. I’ll never see them. And the studio. You’re not going to move, are you, Nate?” Kat pled.
Crap! What could I do? I had three girlfriends and a goddaughter here in Tenbrook. My Attic Allure Studio. What about our plans for Vegas? I could just stay in the hotel. That would be okay. It would be the same as a dormitory. Except in the fall, I still wouldn’t be here. I’d be in Chicago. And a dorm room wasn’t like you moved everything with you. I still had a room at home. It had my bed and my clothes and stuff I’d collected over the years. It was where I came home to.
I sank into a chair and put my head in my hands. Mom put a hand on my shoulder, then sat next to Kat and Dad. We’d left Chicago to start a new life where we’d make real friends. It worked. I realized that in just three years, I’d come to think of Tenbrook as home. This was where I was anchored to friends and lovers.
Damn it! No wonder the kids who were born and raised here never left! They grew up in this environment and had friends they’d known all their lives. A few went off to college or trade schools. Some couldn’t wait to leave. Many moved to Huntertown or Fulton to get work. But they kept cycling back into Tenbrook. I guessed that half my classmates would marry someone from our town. No wonder.
We’d have the week to get the house all packed up and ready to move. The conference coordinated the moves and we were scheduled out a week from Monday. But Mom would be in the pulpit in Sage next Sunday. She wouldn’t stand in the pulpit in Tenbrook or in Huffington again.
But I had my own problems. I had models scheduled every day this week. Mom asked me to take care of packing my own room and help Kat pack hers. The movers would deliver boxes for us the next day. They’d assess how much there was to move and if they needed any special crates. I thought maybe I should move my sister’s horse in the VW. I knew there were other valuable things in the house. We had a pretty good collection of depression glass. And Mom had collected souvenir salt and pepper shakers from wherever we had vacationed.
I wouldn’t move the studio. Really, I couldn’t move it. A bunch of stuff was slated to travel with us to Las Vegas. And there would be no place for an entire studio at our new home in Sage. This was a unique space. It was only thirty miles from Sage, so I could move and still come to work in Tenbrook.
At least for the near future—the rest of the summer—Dad was going to keep his job in Huntertown. It would mean a 45-mile commute for him—an hour each way. He said the conference considered that in reassigning Mom. They felt that was still manageable. I guess that was a new consideration for the Bishop and Cabinet. When they moved a male minister, it was assumed his wife would simply quit her job if she had one and go wherever he went. Dad was a preacher’s wife. They were making an extra consideration regarding his job. Maybe it would help other wives in the future.
I was exhausted when I got to the studio Monday morning. I don’t think I slept much Sunday night. Everyone was worried because I hadn’t gone back to the hotel. I explained what had happened and they were all shocked.
“This won’t affect what we’re doing. We’re still going to Las Vegas. We still have models coming in every day this week. It will mean that I need to spend my evenings at home, helping get packed. I’ll have to spend any extra time in the studio working on printing orders. I think it means I’ll be depending on all of you to keep things running smoothly and get us ready for Vegas.”
“You don’t really need me in the studio this week,” Patricia said. “Beth can take over my responsibilities. I’ll go to your house and help Kat and your mom. They’re going to be swamped. And there are things of mine and Toni’s at your house.”
“I’m good with that,” Beth said, hugging Patricia. “As long as I don’t have to have a baby as part of those responsibilities. You probably know Nate’s house and family better than any of the rest of us. That makes sense.”
“Thank you, sweetheart. You’re always so thoughtful. Kat loves you and it will mean a lot to her,” I said.
“Our model will be here in fifteen minutes,” Anna announced. “We should get ourselves in gear and get ready. Today is a straight portfolio shoot. She’s a musician and getting ready to go out on her own.”
“What kind of music?” Judy asked.
“She plays violin… I guess she refers to it as a fiddle. Plans to head to Tennessee and get involved with country and bluegrass music.”
“That should give us something to work with. I’m assuming most of her pictures will involve her holding her violin… er… fiddle. Let’s pull the countryside backdrop and check for supporting props and costumes,” I said.
Everyone started hustling to get the studio ready. My four girlfriends all came up to me for a deep kiss and Patricia took Toni to head for my house.
It was a good day and we got some cute pictures she could use for her promotion and advertising. Apparently, she was going out on tour with a bluegrass band and intended to have her picture on posters.
We finished the work and I went home to help get the house packed.
“Kat, we’re going to decorate a model today,” I said Wednesday morning at breakfast. “Would you like to sketch her?”
“Can I?”
“I’m inviting you. She’s been sent by a patron as a model to pose as we see fit. In other words, she’s being paid. We should get the patron’s money’s worth. One of my assistants, Leanne, is an expert with makeup and has ideas for how to create artistic beings out of models. I don’t know how well it will work, but we’ll have plenty of time to pose her and hold her there while I take pictures and you sketch. You’ll have to work fast, though.”
“I can do that. Um… Could Julie come with me so I’m not like the only kid there.”
“I don’t think you need to worry about that, but Julie would be welcome. She might learn something about modeling.”
Mom gave me a smile and nodded to me. Patricia had been with me all night and was holding Toni for breakfast.
“Enjoy the last meal in the kitchen. We’re packing it today,” Patricia said.
“I need to go down to Sage to meet with the pastor/parish committee this afternoon,” Mom said. “I hate to leave you alone, Patricia. Maybe you should go over to the studio this afternoon.”
“We’ll see how things are going,” Patricia said. “Maybe Ronda could be spared to come and help me.”
Melody Anders was a stunning model who had obviously worked in many photo studios and art studios. We explained the concept and Leanne showed her sketches. Melody thought it all sounded very Avant Garde. We had her for the entire day, so we went straight to work with standard portraiture. She appreciated having a new headshot and was very cooperative when we started doing some Attic Allure shots with her nude and posing with a strip of fabric or in a good figure drawing pose.
After the first long pose that Kat sketched, Melody came over to talk to her and look at the sketch. She talked to Julie about modeling as well, and went to take another pose so Kat could sketch her before we got ready for our next scene. I moved in for some photos of the pose, as well. Melody seemed to know more about posing than all the rest of us combined. We gave her a break and after lunch, Leanne started working with her on the Avant Garde makeup and costume bits.
Ronda happily left to join Patricia in packing up the kitchen and my bedroom. I was sure there was nothing in my bedroom that would shock either girl. I did, however, think my old nighttime companion album was in a desk drawer. They’d have fun with that.
Leanne called me into the makeup room, which is what we’d begun calling the first restroom. Melody was on a stool, wearing a robe as Leanne finished her facial makeup. It was impressive.
“How did you find such brilliant colors of makeup?” I asked. Melody had red and blue chevrons next to her eyes.
“It’s tempera,” Leanne said. “I’m just getting started using it and currently, I’m applying it with a brush. I like it and I think I’ll invest in an airbrush this fall.”
“I think it’s great.”
“Now I need to apply the costume bits. You’ll have to help hold them in place as I glue them,” Leanne said. Melody shrugged out of her robe, revealing that Leanne had painted down over her chest and left breast.
While I’d adjusted positions for Melody and touched her to shift her around, I hadn’t really been very intimate in the touches. After all, my sister was sitting right there watching. Leanne’s concept was to glue crinkled tinfoil in various strategic places that would make Melody look a little like a hybrid human and robot.
My job involved holding bits of tinfoil to Melody’s face, neck, nipples, and like a belt over her pussy. When we were finished, Melody reached up and gave me a little kiss.
“When we are finished with this, I hope you will take great care in slowly removing each piece of this costume from my sensitive bits,” she said. I gave a squeeze to one of her sensitive bits and agreed. Before we left, Leanne added just a bit of glitter to Melody’s hair.
“He might have to shower with you to get that out,” she whispered.
We tried a couple of different backdrops as Melody posed and held the poses long enough for Kat to finish a sketch. We took a few minutes between each couple of poses to give Melody a chance to work the kinks out of her muscles and have a drink. The pace of the work was much closer to what I envisioned working with a large format camera would be like. I’d done a few limited sessions with a 4x5 camera and really liked the results.
We worked all afternoon on the poses and Melody added a lot with some action poses that gave both Kat and me a challenge to capture. And at the end of the day, I did help Melody get out of her costume and carefully cleaned the bits of spirit gum off her nipples and her skin. We made out a little and I freely explored her naked body, but I didn’t try to bring her to an orgasm, nor did we shower together. It was more like just winding down after an intense day.
When Kat and I got to the house, we found that not only were Patricia and Ronda working to get things packed, but half a dozen church ladies had arrived and were carefully wrapping and packing the knickknacks and glassware in the kitchen and scrubbing the stove and refrigerator.
Elise Berg was there to take care of Toni as Patricia and Ronda worked in the house. Kat found that Patricia had neatly packed nearly everything in her room and was so relieved that it was done that she broke down in tears. Julie had come home with us and she and Patricia held Kat and comforted her.
“You know, Kat, Julie is almost sixteen,” I said.
“Does that mean I can sign a model release and have you take my pictures?” Julie asked.
“Um… We can… uh… discuss that when you’re ready. I was thinking of other things that being sixteen means. Like getting a driver’s license,” I said.
“Yeah. I’m signed up for the July session of drivers’ ed. I should be able to get my license as soon as I turn sixteen,” Julie said. Then the light came on. “Hey! That means I could come and visit you, Kat! I’ll be able to drive and I’m sure I’ll be able to use the car sometimes. I can still be your model!”
“Would you? Will you, Julie?” Kat cried.
“Yeah! I’d really miss being with you. I’ll even bring you-know-who with me sometimes. It just limits the kind of modeling I can do. I’m not going to get naked in front of my brother. Again,” Julie said.
“That was an accident,” Kat laughed. “He was so embarrassed he ran out of the studio and wouldn’t talk to me for three days.”
“It was probably because you were… um… posing me,” Julie whispered.
Oh, my! I thought I’d heard enough and fled the room, too. I was not going to talk to Kat about how she posed Julie.
I talked to Jeri Dawson, our model on Friday, who said she just wanted some unique photos and would be happy to pose in any way. She also whispered that she’d heard I was very good at getting a model into any position I wanted her.
“I hope maybe you can show me some new positions,” she whispered.
“Uh… Jeri, whatever you’ve heard, I don’t have sex with models.”
“Oh well. You can still get me in the position.”
Great. We did some fairly standard shots—portrait and typical Attic Allure poses. It irritated me to even think of an Attic Allure pose as being typical, but I had established the feel of an Attic Allure photo and now we needed to work on making them unique. When we really got to a good stage, perhaps I’d get better at turning them into art.
“We’ll need group transport,” I told Chrystal. “Our next pose is in the wild.”
“Oh, that’s good,” Chrystal said. “I was getting bored. Once I find out what you need in an outdoor setting, I can start putting together a list of possible settings for Las Vegas.”
We loaded cameras and tripod and reflective sheets that we could use to light the subject. I had Judy and Patricia pull together fabric in which to drape Jeri. We let her put on a sweatsuit and thong sandals for the trip. Anna grabbed all the towels she could find.
One of the popular make-out places along the river was also popular for skinny dipping. It was a decent day, so I figured it was a good time to get wet.
I directed Chrystal to the location, but the bus was too big to pull all the way down to where kids usually parked, so we had to get everything out of the bus and carry it down to the water’s edge. I pulled Jeri aside to talk to as I started getting her ready.
“We might all have to get naked by the time this day is over,” I said as I unzipped her sweatshirt to take off. She closed the distance and gave me a kiss.
“I can’t wait to see you naked,” she said, pulling my hands to her breasts. “Are you going to get me wet?”
“That depends on what you mean. Before the photo, I’m going to try to keep you out of the water. If there’s another way I can get you wet, I’ll see what I can do.”
“You’ve had a good start all day so far. You do like me a little, don’t you?”
“Oh, yes, Jeri. I like you and I think you are pretty spectacular as a model and as a woman. Your breasts are just perfect. And your ass is simply unbelievable,” I said as I pushed her sweatpants down over the beautiful globes of her butt. “I don’t want you to get dirty out here, either, so I’ll just carry you over to the water.”
I took her to the water’s edge and called Judy and Leanne to work on her a bit. I wanted flowers in her hair.
“Obviously, we’re at the water and I’d like Jeri to be my nymph. Um… What did they call them? Not a dryad. Those are tree spirits. Naiad. That’s the water spirit. So, flowers in her hair. Some filmy cloak. We’ll start out with it dry, but we might get it wet and see how it shapes to her skin. Oh, let’s wrap some of our vines around her legs. We brought the high heel sandals? Good. I’ll leave her to you.”
I stepped over to check the camera, which Beth and Anna had set up. Ronda had been whispering to the other helpers, especially those who weren’t from Tenbrook, to tell them about this location.
While I was at the camera, I casually stripped off my shoes, trousers, and shirt. I left my briefs on. When they saw what I was doing, clothes started to fly.
“Theresa, Debbie, and Pris will start as our lighting people. Get reflectors. Patricia, honey, let me use you as a stand-in to get focused on.” I scooped Patricia up in my arms and carried her out into the water to a rock about ten feet off shore. She giggled and kissed me while I waded. The water wasn’t quite up to my crotch, for which I was thankful, because it was pretty cold.
I set her on the rock and did some petting as I got her into a pose.
“Okay, lights. Bring your reflectors into the water so you can catch the sunlight and direct it to our model.”
I positioned them, making my way to each of my assistants and making sure they knew I appreciated their nudity. I went back to the shore and looked through the camera lens. I’d had Beth and Anna set up both my Nikon and my Hasselblad camera as I thought I might want to take pictures of more than just our model. I fired off one of Patricia and then had Pris move further into the water to get more light on her right. While the water wasn’t up to my crotch, it was definitely caressing the pussies of my assistants.
I turned back to Jeri to find that both Leanne and Judy had joined in the nudity. I asked Beth to fire off a few shots on the Nikon while we went out to get posed. Then I picked up Jeri and carried her into the water. Patricia had already vacated the rock and jogged back to shore. When I looked over, I saw her talking to equally naked Cassie and Chrystal. One and all, I guess. I was glad that Toni was being watched by Grandma Ellie on this day. We were all pretty relaxed, even though there was some exclaiming over the temperature of the water. It was only the 20th of June.
Judy and Leanne waded out with me and helped get Jeri in position and arrange the flowers and the gauzy drape over her. Jeri openly enjoyed the fondling of our naiad as we got her into position. I went back and switched over to the Hasselblad as Beth continued to take pictures of each of our staff as we worked together. I did get the reflectors repositioned a couple of times and after every couple of photos, I waded back into the water to shift Jeri to a new position.
“God, look at her legs in that position,” Ronda whispered beside me. “She is beautiful.”
“She sure is,” I agreed.
Then I felt Patricia and Ronda take hold of my briefs and pull them down.
“Today, everyone goes nude,” Patricia giggled. “Jeri deserves to know you appreciate her looks.”
We worked for half an hour and I waded out to Jeri several times. She did seem to appreciate my nudity, as she stroked my rod as much as I handled her breasts and legs to get her in position. She was smiling and joking all the time we worked.
“Are you wet, yet?” I asked as I probed between her legs.
“I’m definitely getting there,” she laughed.
“I’m going to really get you wet now,” I said.
I had her lean back and arranged the gauzy cover over her. Then I scooped up a handful of water and poured it over her.
“Oh, shit!” she said. “I know that made my nipples hard, but I’m not sure it made anything else wet. Talk about a cold shower.”
The effect, however, was perfect. The gauzy cover clung to her skin and turned pretty much transparent. She looked like a nymph who was just drying herself in the sun. I had to shift Theresa and Debbie as the light had changed with the advancing sun.
I carried the Hasselblad into the river with me, being very careful to keep it from getting wet. I took a couple of closeups and then shifted Jeri so she was ready to slither off the rock. I moved back and handed the camera to Cassie to put back on the tripod, then went out to help Jeri stand on the rock in a regal pose as if looking off into the distance.
“Skinny dip!” I called, and all the girls headed for the water. Judy brought Jeri’s soaked gauze to the shore and the lighting girls brought their reflectors to shore. I waded into the water and Jeri met me by jumping up and wrapping her legs around my waist as she kissed me. My cock did not penetrate, but Jeri rubbed her clit on it as I held and fondled her until she had a small, but satisfying, climax.
I turned to find that Chrystal was also in the water with us. When we finally all got out onto the shore, Anna ran to get the small assortment of towels we’d brought along and pass them around. We ended up having to share and then all got dressed.
We got everything gathered up and packed back in the bus. Chrystal drove us straight to Huntertown for dinner at Gertie’s. Jeri took a room in the hotel and hung around Saturday morning long enough to look at the proofs and order her enlargements. There was definitely a water nymph shot that was worthy of display in the gallery. I hung it beside my picture of Kelly and felt I had both a naiad and a dryad. I would definitely be doing more location shoots.
Saturday, the girls did one of the things they did best. They all came to the house and cleaned it from top to bottom. Boxes were moved out of a room, the room was scrubbed, and the boxes were moved back to await the movers on Monday. Sinks, toilet, shower, refrigerator, oven, floors, woodwork, windows. Every drawer was scrubbed. The cabinets were scrubbed. And even the garage was cleaned.
Mom, Dad, and Kat headed down to Sage where they had access to the parsonage. Or a substitute parsonage. The church was constructing a new parsonage next to the new church, and it looked like it would be another week before it was ready for move-in. So, everything would be moved out of the parsonage in Tenbrook on Monday and would sit in a truck for a week until the floors dried in the new house. A semi-furnished house had been provided for them to move into with a week’s worth of clothes and necessary items.
This had further upset Kat, but Julie promised she’d come down to visit as soon as possible. What it meant for Tenbrook, though, was that the little cleaning elves in the parsonage didn’t need to be too careful about how much clothing they were wearing. We kept the doors locked so no one could just walk in on them, but inside, there were ten naked girls and me, cleaning.
I got dressed to go out and finish the garage. Patricia came with me. There wasn’t much left there to do. The tools were crated and labeled. The cars were both gone. She walked over to my bicycle and just ran her fingers over it. It was a little dusty as it hadn’t been out of the garage since last summer. The picture of her on Tony’s motorcycle was still hanging over the workbench. I took it down and placed it in the last open box.
I turned to her and saw the tears running down her cheeks. It was one of those moments. This is where it had started. My first photos of her. But more than that, where the two of us had worked on Tony’s motorcycle. Where Tony had been with us. She pressed her face against my shoulder as she cried and I petted her back. Now Tony was gone and Little Toni was almost a year old.
“I was thinking,” I said. “I’m not going to be in Sage to ride this old bike. It seems silly to have them move it down there. Why don’t you ride it home and keep it there. Maybe we can find one of those bicycle seats for toddlers that attach to the back fender. I bet Toni would love to ride behind you.”
“Really?” she sobbed. “I can have Nate’s Shadow?”
“Really, sweetheart. Look, the seat is still set from the last time you rode it.”
“I love riding this old bike almost as much as I loved riding Tony’s motorcycle. You know, it’s in his parents’ garage. They say it’s mine now, but I don’t know what I’ll do with it. I’ve never ridden it by myself. I guess it can just sit there for a while.”
“When you’re ready for it, I’m sure Dad would come by and give it a tune-up to make sure it’s running well.”
“I’ll let him know when I’m ready. I think now, I’ll go for a little ride and take my new bicycle home.”
We kissed and I was nearly lost in her embrace. She pushed away and threw her leg over the seat.
“I’ll see you later!”
And then she was off.
I had a bit of a dilemma. Damn, but sometimes I hate growing up. My mom was having her first sermon in a new church in Sage, the town where technically, my legal address would be until I got a permanent address of my own. I should be there to support her, right?
My family of four girlfriends and my goddaughter would be attending the church in Tenbrook, where Patricia, Anna, Ronda, and I had our membership. I should be with them to show my support for the new minister, right?
I talked to Mom about it. I don’t know if it was one of the self-sacrificing things mothers do or if it was genuine. She said, “You’ve already heard my first Sunday sermon. You should find out what the new guy has to say.”
I agreed, however, to drive down to Sage with my girlfriends and goddaughter for the potluck dinner after church to welcome the new preacher.
The new preacher in Tenbrook, Rev. Kirk, was a fairly young guy—a recent seminary graduate and newly ordained elder. His sermon was enthusiastic, but he didn’t have a children’s story. I had a feeling Mrs. Trimble, one of the ladies of the church, would mention that to him. I also thought some of the ladies of the church were measuring my girlfriends up as possible partners for the new, single, young minister. Especially Patricia, since she would be staying in Tenbrook this winter, all alone with her little girl, and in need of a man to look after her. I was really thinking that I needed to get an apartment in Chicago and bring her with me.
That seemed to be a common feeling among my girlfriends, too. The conversation all the way down to Sage was about getting us all together in an apartment in Chicago. Ronda had confirmation that she would be transferring to the University of Chicago. Elizabeth and I were already in school there. Patricia was ready to come with us, and Anna said her schedule would let her be with us at least every other weekend. We’d need to measure getting an apartment big enough for the five of us against buying a house in Canada.
We were going to need to focus on that as soon as we got back from Las Vegas.
Mom’s new church seemed very nice. It was at least twice as big as the Tenbrook church. One of the things that meant was there was a really big youth group and they were excited to have Kat join them. It was hard for my sister to maintain a funk about leaving all her friends when she had so many new people willing to become her friends here. It still wasn’t going to be easy for her, but they seemed very excited about her art and she promised to show them pictures as soon as she could get her things unpacked.
After a Sunday dinner that featured at least a dozen different varieties of potluck casseroles, we got a quick tour of the little house Mom, Dad, and Kat were staying in until the parsonage was finished, and a partial walk-through of the new parsonage. Partial because no one could walk on the newly finished hardwood floors in the front of the house. They’d really done this place up nicely with four bedrooms and three baths. The kitchen, of course, had all new appliances in a nice Harvest Gold that looked really modern.
One of the biggest differences would be that Mom’s office would not be in the parsonage. The church had an office and a part time secretary. I was amazed that the conference had given Reverend Mother Superior such a big promotion. I guess they were really scrambling, though, to place all the ministers in both the EUB and Methodist churches in appropriate pulpits. There was something akin to a bidding war among the District Superintendents to get the ministers they wanted in their churches.
The girls and I went back to Tenbrook and hung out at Patricia’s house for a while, passing around Toni so we all got a fix playing with her before we went to our own beds. Well, Ronda and Anna went to their homes. Elizabeth and I went to the hotel where we each had a room. Of course, we only used one that night.
Monday morning, Mom and Dad and Kat were up at the house waiting for the moving truck. I’d canceled our Monday morning photo session. There was just no way I could deal with a model and photography when my family was being packed in a truck to move away from the place that I now considered home.
We all joined in watching and helping when we could do so without getting in the way. Kat asked me to take her horse to the studio and bring it to her when they moved into the new house. I agreed to do so. When I got back to the house, more people had begun to gather. There were paper coffee cups being passed around and I smelled someone grilling brats and burgers.
I remembered back to when we arrived in Tenbrook. It seemed like no one knew we were coming. We drove all the way to Huntertown to get some lunch. Then after the movers delivered our stuff, we drove into Huntertown again for dinner. It seemed like the town was asleep. Now dozens of people were gathered at the parsonage, hugging the departing United Methodist minister and her family. She had been a revolution three years ago and no one knew what to do. I saw that even Rev. Armstrong from Anna’s church was there, talking and laughing with Rev. Reisner from Ronda’s church and Father Emory from the Catholic church.
Henry from the gas station was there and had assured Dad that he could continue to store his things out at his barn. Mr. and Mrs. Barkley were there and a lot of members of the Tenbrook church that I’d seen nearly every Sunday while I was still in high school. Julie and Brian were on either side of Kat and were holding her hands. Jim and Ellie Kowalski and Vanessa were with us, as were Patricia’s parents, Ronda’s parents, Anna’s parents, and even Chris’s parents. I looked, but didn’t see Christine anywhere.
When the movers closed the doors of the van and pulled away to take our things to storage for a week, everyone gathered around and had Mom, Dad, Kat, and me stand on the porch. Then they all started singing.
Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love.
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
I wasn’t sure how Mom and Dad were going to see through their tears to drive to Sage.
After Mom and Dad headed out and the crowd at the parsonage broke up, my crew and I went back to the studio and had a production meeting with Chrystal. We’d been working pretty hard to get our systems down and get prepared for the trip.
Chrystal suggested that those who needed to spend any time at home should do so this week. I had appointments Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, but we could handle them with the local crew so Chicagoans could spend a couple of days back home with their families. Elizabeth and Theresa were going to go to Chicago. Deke would come and pick them up in Tenbrook and then bring them back on Sunday. Leanne would ride along to Chicago and then catch the South Shore train to South Bend, where she was from. She’d be back to Chicago in time to ride back to Tenbrook with Beth and Theresa.
I was surprised when Judy asked if she could hitch a ride so she could spend a couple of days with Janice and Pete. She’d called them and they were excited to have her visit. Pete would finish his certificate this summer and was planning to move to Dubuque for a job he’d located. He’d get settled there just in time for Janice to have her baby. I hadn’t seen Janice since she got pregnant, but based on my photographs of Patricia, I knew what a six-month baby bump looked like.
“Cassie, do you not want to spend time at home before we leave?” I asked when I got her alone.
“Nate, this is home for me. I don’t mean Tenbrook. I mean wherever you and your crew are. I’d like to see Levi, but I understand he’s already in Las Vegas getting junk delivered for us to sort through. I don’t have family I’m ever going back to. You understand?”
Cassie’s speech patterns had become less deliberate and careful when she was talking to us, but when she was saying something she felt was important for us to understand, she returned to that deliberate cadence that had been the result of the beating she took from her former boyfriend.
“I do understand. I think I feel much the same way. I know I’ve got girlfriends who are very special to me, but all the crew is like a family. We really have something special going on.”
“Yeah. And sometimes, you know, you could show a little bit of how special I am to you. I run around naked, just like the other girls. I’m good with the same kind of hugs and kisses and caresses the other girls are.”
“That’s good to know. I’ve been wanting to hug and kiss and caress you,” I laughed, giving her a hug right then and there.
We got through our models on Tuesday and Wednesday. Deke was there to take the four girls to Chicago as soon as we were finished on Tuesday. I worked late to get prints made that had been ordered so I’d only have one model’s pictures to worry about after her sitting on Thursday.
Uncle Nate came out for the weekend to help pack up the studio. He said I was supposed to pack my darkroom, too. It was easier to just take mine with us than try to assemble a new one in Las Vegas. That was the equipment and supplies. Levi was taking care of making sure there was a room that was properly isolated and dark to set up in. We arranged the props we wanted to take and several favorite pieces of furniture, like the plank table. Of course, we also got the crib for Toni from upstairs and the rocking chair so there would be a comfortable space for Elise or any of the rest of us to sit with her. There were other pieces of equipment for the baby as well. At least the hotel in Las Vegas had a diaper service!
“Well, this is a big step for you, Nate. Think of it as a kind of proving ground. See how your systems hold together or how you can improve them. Cut loose and let the art flow. There will be models who are paid to come to you and let you mold them into works of art. There will also be models who have seen your work and are willing to become your models on the chance that you can make something of them. Nobody’s going to tell you which are which. You’ll get the signed release and go to work. Chrystal will take care of notarizing them and turn them over to Anna.”
“I guess it will be nice to have a whole bunch of new models to work with. Anna and Ronda can take care of going over the proofs with the model so she can have the prints she wants. I guess I’ll have to figure out my time for getting printing done,” I said.
“Cassie will help you with scheduling so that you have darkroom time. I think the girls will be pressed to keep up with organizing the props and junk for your scenes. God knows what Levi has located. Sometimes I think he chose the wrong profession in selling cameras. He’s really a junk picker.”
“Everyone is psyched to be making so much money this summer. They’ve been getting $400 a week working here in Tenbrook, which is almost unheard of. Now they’ll go to Vegas and Chrystal says they make $500 a week from the time we start loading Monday to the time we step off the bus back here in Tenbrook on August first. That’s going to really help everyone’s college fund. I don’t plan to take another loan this year. We’re going to be hunting for an apartment as soon as we get back, though.”
“Well, the reason every model gets as many as ten prints if she wants is because you are getting a thousand a week plus all the film and materials you need to make the prints. And I understand Levi has a surprise down there for you. I think you’ll like it,” Uncle Nate said.
“This is all because of the faith you had in me,” I said. “Without that first Brownie camera, none of this would have been possible. I don’t tell you often enough how much I appreciate all you’ve done.”
“I just showed your pictures to some guys who like photography,” he chuckled. “I sure never told you how to take pictures, or how to get girls to take their clothes off for you. That is a natural talent. Make the most of it.”
Sunday, all of us in Tenbrook went to spend time with our parents. I took Cassie down to Sage to have lunch with my parents. Kat zeroed right in on her and asked her to pose for her. They disappeared into her room. Of course, Cassie knew about Kat’s art and had watched in interest the day she was in the studio sketching Melody as we made her up with body paint and tinfoil. She had also seen her get Theresa to pose and a couple of the other girls. She was happy to take her turn.
“Are you all ready?” Dad asked as we sat in the tiny living room of the temporary house. The truck was slated to deliver their furniture to the new house on Tuesday.
“I’m not sure there’s a way to be ready for this,” I said. “I mean, it’s one thing to have all my crew with me and be shooting a couple models a day for a month. We at least know mostly what to do. But to have this producer and director and writer watching every move we make to glean background for a movie that might not even have anything to do with photography when it comes down to it… That’s really the bizarre part of the whole adventure.”
“I received an interesting translation of the New Testament that I’ve been studying lately,” Mom said. “It’s a modern English version but it was actually published at the turn of the century, so sometimes it’s a little stilted. But I’ve come across a couple of passages that really become much clearer,” Mom said. “The Weymouth translation of Colossians 4:6 says, ‘Let your language be always seasoned with the salt of grace, so that you may know how to give every man a fitting answer.’ I always puzzled about what it meant to have your conversation be gracious and seasoned with salt. I think, though, that it simply means that being gracious is all the seasoning our conversation needs. I know you have always been considerate in dealing with people. I think that will see you through.”
“Thanks, Mom. I might put that on a poster of you,” I laughed. “I love all the little things you’ve taught me.”
“This above all, to thine own self be true and thou canst be false to no other,” Dad said.
“Um… I don’t remember that verse,” I said.
“Oh, that’s Shakespeare. We have to have a little balance to the Bible around here.”
Mom threw a pillow at him.
Monday morning at seven, the bus pulled up in front of Center Marketplace with a long trailer attached to the back. It took us about an hour and a half to load it with our furniture, props, backdrops, and suitcases. We took a few minutes making sure Toni had her little play space set up in the bus. There was actually an open space where we could set up a playpen and sit around. The bathroom was pretty decent—bigger than what we had on the Greyhound into Chicago. And the seats really did lie back almost flat so we could sleep. Of course, we were hours from that.
“Our first rest stop will be Des Moines for lunch and a stretch,” Oscar, our first driver, said. “Of course, there will be a couple of quick stops so we can relieve ourselves and Logan and I can switch back and forth if we need to. Those, though, are ten-minute quick stops. In Des Moines, you’ll get an hour to sit in a restaurant and relax. You’ll be surprised how much your legs start to vibrate after four hours. We’ll try to have a major break about every four hours until we make Vegas. There are a few places on the route, though, where there simply isn’t anything within four hours. Logan and I will stay up here in the front and ask that you try not to disturb us. The one who isn’t driving will be sleeping. Any questions, Chrystal is your PA and she’ll be in charge.”
We all found seats and the bus rolled out of Tenbrook as we faced our new adventure.
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
