Triptych
Thirty-four
SATURDAY MORNING, I had a new challenge. Melody and I picked up Kate after Pilates and we drove all the hell the way out past Issaquah to a huge development of houses that looked like mansions to me. Kate slept the whole way out, but I noticed she brought a sketchbook with her. This could be interesting. I hoped they would allow Melody and Kate to be where they could see the subjects.
When I pulled into the driveway in front of the four-car garage, Kate stirred and I gave last minute instructions. I needn’t have worried.
In their own home, Brijesh and Indira were gracious and at ease. There was no third party chaperone for the Singhs. They had set up the room almost identically to the photo they’d shown me, but the drapery was even more exquisite than I’d seen in the photo. Now that I actually saw it, that was all I wanted to draw. I disciplined myself.
When they’d satisfied themselves that Kate and Melody were both artists, they had no problem letting them be in the room with us. We set ourselves up and I got the Singhs positioned. They’d dropped their clothes without hesitation and curled up on the bed together with little Mirium happily attached to one of Indira’s paps.
“Brijesh, I don’t mean to be indiscreet, but I need to know if you want your… uh… equipment visible in the painting or tucked behind your wife. We can adjust the position a little if you’d like more modesty. It doesn’t bother me either way,” I said.
I think Brijesh glanced at Kate and Melody because he answered rather proudly.
“Like it is.”
I didn’t tell him that it wasn’t as impressive as he seemed to think.
We got started and I noted that Kate and Melody also made a few sketches. I focused on capturing everything I wanted to paint. There were carvings on the headboard, the incredible embroidery on the drapery, and, of course, the figures of two very proud, but slightly overweight parents and their darling little girl.
We worked for two and a half hours and everyone was exhausted.
Before we left, however, Indira cornered Melody to ask about the dress she was wearing. When we left, Melody had an order for two nine-yard strips of fabric prepared with the dye discharge pattern for Indira to have as saris. Now there was an interesting new market.
When we got home, the house looked great, if a little chaotic. Melody rushed to change clothes and start her part of the preparations. Wendy, I discovered, had taken the night off work to help with party preparations. I hoped that wasn’t costing her much. Lissa shooed Kate and me back out and told us we had hair appointments at the mall. Oh, boy.
I got Kate settled at the salon Lissa prefers and I went down to QuickCuts to see Donna. I had to wait before she was available since they don’t take appointments, but it gave me the opportunity to sketch.
The place is kind of a discount haircutting place that operates on a first-come-first-served basis, but you can wait for a specific stylist if you want. It’s a typical mall store. There’s a lot of glass out front with the manicurists working there and then six barber chairs plus another four of those reclining chairs where they can wash your hair over a sink. The whole scene was busy, even for a Saturday afternoon. Two of the stylists had kids sitting on planks resting on the arms of their chairs. Four men sat in the other chairs and three wives or mothers sat in the waiting area. Two women were getting manicures. The walls were burnt orange and dark brown, creating a serene backdrop for a very busy place. Before I knew it, I was deep in a zone capturing the scene before me. Lots of people. I loved it.
Donna was actually looking over my shoulder at the drawing calling my name when I surfaced enough to realize it was my turn.
“Well, space cadet, what will it be today?” she asked.
“The works,” I said cheerfully.
“That was a nice drawing you did. You some kind of an artist?”
“Some kind, yeah.”
“So what’s the plan tonight? How many beautiful women are you courting?”
She dipped my head under the water and started massaging my scalp with shampoo. I sighed contentedly before I answered. I wasn’t meaning to stare, but with her leaning over me to shampoo my hair, her boobs were right in my face, and it wasn’t a bad view. I think I smacked my lips a little.
“It’s my birthday,” I said quickly. “My wives are throwing a big party tonight.”
“Howard!” Donna called. “Gonna be a good one!”
Howard approached the chair as Donna finished the rinse and squeezed the water out of my hair. In no time he had a hot towel wrapped around my face and was stropping his razor.
“You just with the wives tonight or are you playing with the girlfriend?” he asked. After the show he got the last time I was in, I noticed that he wasn’t questioning whether any of them existed.
“The wives,” I said as he lathered my chin, “are throwing a party for the girlfriend and me tonight. It’s our birthday.”
“Wait. Hers, too?” Donna asked.
“Yeah. Pretty cool to date a birthday twin.”
I shut up while Howard started scraping the light beard from my face. I really don’t have enough whiskers to merit this treatment, but I loved it. I just don’t want to move while he’s got that razor at my throat. He kept up a running commentary about how different things were today than when he was dating. He’d never have stepped out on even one girlfriend as hot as my wives were. Donna kept chuckling.
“Well, it’s not really stepping out on them if they’re involved, is it?” I asked innocently. “I’m the first to admit I’ve got the hottest wives in the world, but our girlfriend is gorgeous, too.”
“You got it all, young man. You got it all.”
Donna took over her duties and led me to a different chair where I swear she cut my hair one follicle at a time. The waiting area had cleared out when Howard took the next guy in line, so I guess she felt okay about taking her time.
“Are you taking a lot of extra time with me today?” I asked.
“I’m just trying to stretch it out to see who comes in to pick you up today,” she said. “Someone’s coming, isn’t she?”
I glanced toward the front door just in time to see beauty incarnate walk through. Kate’s hair was glowing. It was done in a French braid that wrapped her head like a diadem. She’d had her makeup done as well and even though it was subtle, it accented her best features and made her lips look so kissable that I know I was grinning. Apparently Donna noticed my preoccupation and looked up to see.
“Oh, my living soul!” she said. “Wife or girlfriend?”
“Girlfriend,” I said as Kate approached.
“Howard!”
The other barber growled as he looked over toward us, and every eye in the room turned to see what Donna was calling about. There was a sudden silence as clippers were all turned off as if in respect for the goddess who was approaching. For her part, Kate was acutely aware of the stares and braved the gauntlet with just a hint of model-like swivel to her hips. Those instructions she got from Lissa really paid off. She was wearing a pair of black leggings beneath a hip-length gauzy tunic, belted at her tiny waist, and a bolero-style vest over the top. She walked directly toward me, her high heels clicking on the linoleum floor, ignoring the stares and sudden silence in the room. She leaned forward to kiss me lightly on the lips.
“About ready, my love?” she asked sweetly. I smiled at her.
Donna swept the apron off of me and gave my neck a swipe with a vacuum cleaner to get the loose hair off.
“Does he meet your approval, miss?” she asked. Kate stroked my cheeks. She had a fresh coat of purple nail polish with white tips.
“Oh yes. This will do quite nicely, thank you,” she answered. I reached for my wallet and handed Donna the money for the shave and haircut with a nice tip, then walked out with Kate on my arm. I couldn’t help but notice that Kate continued to add that special swivel to her walk all the way to the car.
People started arriving for the party right at six o’clock. Jack got there a few minutes early and started the grill for riblets. The girls had put together an incredible spread and there were bottles of non-alcoholic sparkling cider on ice. We’d decided that since so many guests would be underage, we just wouldn’t serve anything with alcohol. The older folks could go out for a drink afterward if they wanted.
It’s a great party house, but even with all the food and drinks on the dining room table and plenty of seating in the living room, I noticed that people tended to hang out in the kitchen. With a steady stream of riblets and chicken wings coming in from the grill, I couldn’t blame them. Wendy was into keeping the food refreshed and offering people drinks. Her hair was nicely done and I noticed that the light streaks that had faded over the summer were back.
“Did you get your hair done today, too?” I asked.
“Melody helped me,” Wendy answered. “I’m a tiger again!” Sheer joy washed over her face and she leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. “Happy birthday. You guys are so nice to me. Happy birthday!”
“Hey, do we all get to kiss the birthday boy?” a voice drawled over my shoulder. I turned to find Whitney towering over me. She must have had six inch heels on. I didn’t get a chance to say anything before she bent her face to my lips. “Hope that doesn’t get you in trouble with your girlfriend,” she said.
“Oh, they understand,” I answered. That got a startled look from her, but I didn’t give her a chance to ask any questions as I turned to Rick and June. “Hey, I’m glad you could make it,” I said.
“I feel a little guilty,” Rick said. “We’re leaving the rest of our cohort to fend for themselves tonight.”
“They’re all headed to a dance club over by the U,” June said. “I don’t feel guilty at all.”
“By the way, Tony, I did some research and want to apologize for suggesting that there was no dual degree program. No one thought to tell the mentors anything about it,” Rick said. “It sounds like an exciting program and from what I can tell you are a perfect fit for it.”
“If I can keep from falling behind, it will be a miracle,” I said. “I’m already feeling a little stressed about the workload and missing classes for a week to go to Opens in October. I’ve already started my paper for Critical Reading and classes haven’t even started.”
“I’m in that class, too,” Rio said, peeking in between Rick and June. “How’d you get the assignments already?”
“I had to meet with my professors a couple of weeks ago to get approval for the trip to Minneapolis. They’re being really nice about it, but I really have to excel in order to stay in their good graces,” I said as I maneuvered them toward the living room. I figured that if I didn’t stay in the kitchen at least some of them would migrate out as well.
“I’m happy to study with you if it will help,” Rio said. “I mean since we’re in the same class and all.”
“That’s a great idea, Tony. You should take her up on that,” Bree said as she and Eric approached. Bree had a hand on Eric’s elbow and I thought that was a little odd.
“Hi, Bree. Hey, Eric. Glad you could make it.”
“Wouldn’t miss it after that performance you gave on Wednesday. I haven’t been able to wheedle any information out of Bree at all—and I’m sure she knows something.”
“Me?” Bree said. “What I know is that if we’re going to make the racquetball team successful, we’ve got to keep Tony successful. So if Rio is studying Critical Reading with you, I guess that means I get to study Human Anatomy with you, right?”
“Bree?”
“Coach Jacobson just told me that I was in the same class with you at god-awful in the morning. I figure studying with you will give me an advantage over everyone else, and I can keep notes for you while you’re in Minneapolis,” Bree said.
“Well, I sure appreciate all the help.”
“I’m sure I could find something to study with you,” Whitney drawled.
“Oh, I have something in mind already,” I winked at her. “Did I mention that I paint nudes?”
Whitney swallowed hard.
“Verifiable,” Bree said. “I can point out eight women in this house right now who have posed for Tony. Those are only the ones I know of.”
“Oh… well… if… maybe…” I finally got the best of Whitney. I don’t think she was expecting that one.
It was great to see everyone and I did my best to get my SCU buddies introduced to those from PCAD. Sandra was doing her part as she had brought one of the football linemen from SCU with her as a date. I was impressed! When Clarice showed up I introduced her as my agent and that got a lot of strange looks, including from Patrick and Noelle who had arrived sometime while I was in the dining room.
I noticed that Thor, Sonia, and Amy were hanging out a lot together and at one point saw Amy plant a steamy kiss on the Scandinavian girl. I eventually managed to get Thor aside and ask him how it was going.
“Lord, Tony! I don’t know how you do it. Man, I’m horny all the time. I mean Sonia could melt steel when she gets turned on, but seeing her with Amy… it’s pretty unbelievable.”
“Well I hope it all works out. It’s not always easy.”
“Nah. In fact, it’s always hard. Happy birthday.”
I was getting another glass of bubbly when Eric came up to me.
“Hey, Eric. How’s it going?”
“Great, Tony,” he answered. “I don’t mean to talk a lot of business at your birthday party, but I was wondering if you’ll be stopping by next weekend to help us lay out the wooden walkways for the city. We’re going to work Saturday morning.”
“I’ve got training till eleven, but I’ll come straight over afterward. Oh. I don’t have my Daytimer with me right now. Is there a chance that you could send me a text so I don’t forget to write it down? I think I’ve got it in my planner, but I have a tendency to forget appointments.”
“No problem. This is a great party. Happy birthday.”
“Thanks. Say, Eric. Are you here with Bree? I mean… I thought…”
“Yeah. We knew we were both coming and Bree asked me if I’d escort her and keep an eye out so she doesn’t get in trouble. We’ve known each other for quite a while and I can appreciate her concern. After the last party, I also understand why she doesn’t want to get in trouble again,” he said.
“Eric, Bree is a friend and I appreciate anything you do for my friend. I worry about her.”
“Yeah. Me, too.”
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