Triptych
Eighteen
FRIDAY WAS OUR FIRST DAY in the new studio.
We had quite a job to do. After Melody’s disaster with bleach in the house, she’d told Noelle that her dresses wouldn’t be ready until Labor Day. They consulted and altered the designs slightly for a fall look instead of a summer look, but Noelle was still happy that she’d be getting the dresses. Melody adamantly refused to do any more extraction without proper ventilation.
The new vent fans in the studio did a remarkable job of removing the fumes, but Melody also insisted that we wear masks and latex gloves. The scare of her first industrial accident had left her with a new respect for her medium. But she also saw some potential in the remains. As soon as Melody had protective gear, she’d hosed down the fabric outdoors and washed it a couple of times to clear the residue. She didn’t know what she was going to do with the ruined material, but she couldn’t see throwing it away.
Professor DeWitt was our first official visitor to the new studio. We’d just stretched the first yardage on our dying frame. The frame consisted of two 2x4s anchored to the floor and staples tacking the ends of the fabric to them. It wasn’t the most elegant solution and part of our task for today was to figure out how we were going to handle hundred-yard bolts of fabric instead of three-yard dress cuts. Professor DeWitt had volunteered to come over and give us some pointers.
“Please,” she said after we’d all been introduced, “call me Carolyn. We’re on your turf now, not the school.”
“We’re testing the whole process on fabric that I’m making dresses out of today,” Melody said after we’d all been introduced. “We’ve stretched the first yardage and have put the stencils in place. I had summer stencils and fabric when I had my little accident a few weeks ago. But we agreed to fall and winter themes.”
Lissa had spread leaves out on the dark orange fabric. I could see the difference in what Melody was trying to accomplish today and what she was trying the first time. It was partially color and partially the type of leaves she was planning to use.
I was glad we chose a ground floor loft. Is that an oxymoron? Anyway, we’ve got a garage door in the back and a concrete floor with a drain. The loft has a sink so Mel can mix her bleach in a fairly safe area and it would make paint cleanup pretty easy, too.
Carolyn had some suggestions. She helped Melody adjust the proportions of the bleach mix and the spray from the nozzle. All the fabric Melody saved from the accident came in handy as they were able to test the settings before actually spraying the new fabric. By the time Lissa and I left for practice a little after two, Carolyn and Melody had the general system down to a science. It was beginning to look like we’d be able to go into production on the two huge bolts of fabric for Ice Queen.
Saturday, Melody took the Escape to pick up Kate for their date on Bainbridge Island. We all kind of sighed as we talked about the day and what we thought would happen. But Melody was calmer this time than on previous dates. In fact, if anything she was subdued. Just before she left, I followed her to the bedroom and she turned to me.
“What is it, Meddy?” I asked. “Something is bothering you.”
She threw herself into my arms, hugging me fiercely.
“I love you!” she said into my chest. “I love you so much, Tony.”
“Do you doubt that I love you, sweet?”
“Not for an instant. And I know we both love Lissa and it works out and we are happy.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“How many times can we divide our love and still get more back than we can give?” she asked. “Can we really have Kate in our lives and not hurt what we’ve got? And Allison? And Beth? My heart aches when I think about any of them. I’m not jealous when you and Lissa are together. Not anymore. Will I be jealous when you are making love to Kate? And will it be of you or of her? And are you jealous of me when I go spend the day with her?”
“I never thought I’d be in this kind of situation,” I said. “I had some twinges when you and Lissa were first together, and even when the two of you were with Beth and I found myself really wanting to make love to her. But I keep thinking of how much I want each of you to be happy. When I’m thinking that, there just isn’t room for jealousy.”
“Oh god, I love you!” she said. “You don’t fit any mold of guys that I’ve known about. I never want to lose you. Don’t ever let me go away.”
“You sound like Lissa, darling,” I comforted. “Neither of us is ever going to let you go. You know that.”
“I do. Thank you.” She straightened up and looked at me with an almost evil grin on her face. “Now I’m going on a date with a little vixen that makes my panties so wet it’s running down my legs. You want to take a little of the edge off?”
She pulled my hand to her waistband and I slid easily between the soft skin of her tummy and her shorts. I dipped my fingers into her slit and immediately found the hard wet button of her clit. She sucked in her breath. My other hand slipped around her to fondle her breast.
“Mmm. Someone’s hoping to get touched today,” I whispered. “No bra to get between you and pleasure. You want her to tweak your little nipples, don’t you?”
“Ohh, Tony. You make me feel so good.”
“Yes,” I said pulling my hand out of her pants just as she was tensing up. “But I wouldn’t want you to be sated before you even see her. You might want to change panties before you leave, though.”
“Tony! Are you going to leave me like this?”
“Mmmhmm. I want you to enjoy every touch, and I expect you to come home completely on edge tonight.”
“Ohh!” she moaned. “You’re so cruel.”
After we got Melody out of the house, Lissa and I turned to the boys.
“Who wants a hike?” I asked. “Let’s go to the mountains!”
“Will we see a bear?” Damon asked.
“It’s always possible,” I said.
“Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” Lissa laughed.
We had a great day. We’d hiked on Cougar Mountain in Issaquah for an hour when we came to the waterfall. The boys were already exhausted from hiking uphill most of the way. The falls were barely a trickle coming down over the rocks into a little rivulet. After examining the area carefully for sharp things, we took the boys’ shoes off and Lissa joined them looking for interesting stones in the creek bed.
I sat on an ancient stump and pulled out my sketchpad as I watched them. I could tell before I’d finished the sketch that this was another one that we’d want to keep for ourselves rather than putting up for sale, but I couldn’t help myself. I love to draw and paint the ones I love.
We had a little picnic by the stream and then continued the hike around on a trail that led us through a beautiful meadow. When we got back to the car, we’d been out for three hours and the boys were exhausted. Okay, so was I. But it was really beautiful and we had a great time. We had two boys asleep in their car seats when we got back to the house.
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