Art Something
12
First Sister
MOM AND DAD were both pretty quiet in the morning. I didn’t really notice much because as soon as I’d eaten breakfast, I went to my room and finished sketching in the details for my next painting on the canvas board. Ms. Clayborn would be surprised when I took a new finished painting to school with me after the break. I just hoped Annette and Morgan liked it.
I found out soon enough. It wasn’t lunch time yet when I heard a shout from the entry and feet pounding up the stairs.
“Honey, we’re home!” both girls shouted as they burst into my room. Before they greeted me further, they stopped in their tracks and stared at the new bed.
“Wow!”
“Is this for us?”
Without continuing to me, they both bounced right in the middle of the bed. That movement. That flow of hitting the bed, seeing it give a little and bounce them toward each other. Rolling together to kiss. I wanted to capture that on canvas. I closed my eyes and tried to engrave the image on my memory.
“Pen! Are you okay?” my sister asked.
“We’re here, Pen,” Annette said. They grabbed me from both sides and planted kisses on my face. My eyes popped open.
“You are both so beautiful!” I said.
“Are you okay? You went all still and closed your eyes. We love you, Pen,” Fay said.
“And I love you. I love you, my Lady. I love you, my le Fay. I love you both so much. I just had to close my eyes and make sure I remembered exactly what it looked like to have my lovers joyful and bouncing on our bed,” I said.
“We want to bounce on the new bed with you,” Fay said. “Did Mom and Dad suggest this?”
“I thought of it myself,” I said looking hurt. “Don’t I get credit?”
“Oh, Pen,” Fay said as she smashed herself to me and pressed her mouth to mine in a passionate kiss.
“I told you he was changing!” Annette said. “This and the fabulous date he took me on last week. Pen, you are so wonderful!” I turned my attention to Annette and welcomed her home with an equally passionate kiss.
“I had help,” I said.
“We all need help,” Fay said. “But you thought of it. You got the help you needed. Pen, you don’t know what it means to us that you thought of us.”
“I think about you all the time. In fact, I hardly think of anything else,” I laughed. “Fay, I’m so happy to have you home with us. Is the bed really okay?”
“Oh, yes!” they both shouted.
“I want to catch up. I need to see all that you’ve painted since Thanksgiving,” Fay said.
“I hope you aren’t disappointed. I’m not doing as many now.”
“Is this your newest?” she asked looking at my easel. “Look at this! Pen, it’s beautiful!”
“I’m almost ready to start painting. I’ve been working on the sketch all weekend.”
“What else do you have?”
“I only have photos of the other two I’ve completed, and the finished one hanging over the bed. Oh, and the dreamscape I finished this week.” The girls looked back to the bed at the painting I’d done of them sleeping together.
“I love it!” Fay said.
“You hid this from me!” Annette said.
“I wanted to surprise you. I told you I had another. Here are the pictures of the ones that are at school.”
“How fun! These are head and shoulders above any of the other work you’ve done. How did this come about?”
“Ms. Clayborn says something happened over Thanksgiving that changed things,” I said. I blushed and felt the heat in my face ramp up a few degrees. “I think it was being introduced to wet reality. And I’ve been developing some other sketches as well. I just haven’t been throwing poster paint onto paper in the morning like I used to.”
“It’s more deliberate. More planned.” That struck a chord. Dad…
“Last night, Dad explained why they separated us this fall. I just now understood what he meant. Being deliberate and planning brought the quality up in my painting. He said the same thing about you and me. They didn’t want us to make love just because it was comfortable and available. They wanted us to make a deliberate decision that we were going to become lovers. Like Annette and I did. Like you and Annette did. Like… Like you and I are going to… if you still want me, Fay.”
“Want you? I hope you have a plan for this week!” I grinned at her.
We spent our first night with the three of us in the new bed. I explained that I slept in Fay’s bed the previous night so the first time in the new bed would be all three of us. That got me a lot of additional kisses as we lay there. It was the first time that none of us wore clothes when we slept together. We didn’t make love, exactly, but there was certainly a wet reality that we all participated in. For the first time, my fingers slid into my sister’s very wet pussy. They were joined by Annette’s as we kissed Fay and told her how much we loved her. Then Fay and I made sure our Lady had enjoyed the experience of two hands, not her own, romping in her playground. Finally, I received the attentions of my two girlfriends as they helped me make a bigger mess than either of them had.
“I think we need to get you some more models,” Annette said. “You can’t have every painting be of the two of us.”
“Why not? Maxfield Parrish had just Kitty Owen and Susan Lewin. Picasso had five, but only one at a time and each for many years. Dali had Gala and painted her for fifty years. I… I don’t want to have any other wet realities,” I said. “I have everything I want in my arms right now.”
“Oh, there won’t be any other wet realities,” Annette laughed. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t have dry realities.”
“And maybe some other wet dreams,” Fay added.
I don’t know why I bothered with the new super big bed. Both my lovers slept piled on top of me.
Christmas Eve was never particularly important for our family. Christmas Day was a feast day that was rivaled only by Thanksgiving. This year, we were to celebrate with Annette’s family as they had joined us for the previous holiday. So, Annette took her leave from our bed on Tuesday and went home, giving me an especially thorough kiss and wishing me luck. The three of us had touched and frolicked in our big bed for two nights, but I had plans for Christmas Eve with Fay.
The girls both knew, of course. My parents knew. I was sure that our neighbors must know. Christmas Eve would be my night with my sister. But even though several people had helped me plan, no one knew the whole story. Least of all Fay.
On the other hand, Fay had simply moved into my room. We even discussed removing part of the wall between our rooms so that I could set up one as a studio and we would share the other as our bedroom. Dad inspected the wall and we talked about how much separation we wanted between the spaces. Ultimately, I sketched the opening on my wall, complete with a pillar and a flowering vine framing it. Then no one wanted to actually cut the opening and destroy the sketch. I think, though, that the sketch of my vision was what finally sold everyone on the idea and Dad said he thought it was something we could accomplish between Christmas and New Year.
It brought out something else that had gone unspoken. My father commuted to the University each day. Having Fay live on campus had served its purpose and she was determined not to go back to the dormitory for second semester. Without having put it in words, we could all see that Fay, Annette, and I intended to live in this little suite for at least as long as it took us to get through college.
Our little university town is big enough to have several attractions. One is a tall building with a restaurant on the top floor. I wasn’t sure who would be available to serve dinner on Christmas Eve because nearly everything else was closed. This restaurant had made quite a name for itself, though, as a place where people eat delicious meals on holidays.
Fay was elegantly dressed. Mom had spent most of the day with her, getting her hair done, a manicure, and dressing. Annette had brought me a deep burgundy shirt and tie to go with my charcoal suit. Dad had made sure that I ordered the corsage in time and got to the florist before they closed for the holiday. We’d spent time together while I washed and vacuumed the car, and Dad talked about how unusually warm the weather was and that we should watch carefully to see if it changed while we were out. He didn’t want us caught in a snowstorm.
“What time will you be home?” he asked.
“Not until late. Probably one or one-thirty,” I said.
“If you decide to come home before midnight, call first.”
“Okay. Why?”
“Your mother and I haven’t had a night alone in the house in a long time. Who knows where we’ll be making love?”
“Dad!”
“Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t the only one embarrassed by sex going on in the next room.”
I stood nervously in the living room, waiting for my date to appear on the staircase. The Christmas tree twinkled beside me, a few packages stacked beneath its boughs. My family didn’t go for overindulgence on Christmas. Each family member gave each of the others one gift. That was all. It was a challenge to the giver. What one thing could you offer your sister/mother/father that said everything you wanted them to know on this holiday? Our gifts didn’t come from the underwear department at Sears, even though they were not usually expensive. This year, there was a gift under our tree for Annette from each of us as well.
Mom came downstairs first and stood next to Dad, fidgeting with the camera. Then Fay. Oh, my god! She was so beautiful. She wore a deep red velvet dress with long sleeves, but that had a scoop neckline that showed her cleavage. I’d seen those breasts naked just this morning, but seeing the exposed tops in that lush velvet made them look like candy drops waiting to be eaten. I was breathless.
Mom and Dad made it look like prom with the camera going nonstop as I pinned her corsage on, kissed her, and posed on the stairs. Mom looked at us together, fighting not to squint, tears running down her cheeks. I suppose some of them were from emotion, but I’d learned to recognize when her eyes were overwhelmed. I hugged her and pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes.
“Love you, Mom,” I whispered.
“You treat my little girl well, young man,” she said. “I love you, too.”
And then, finally, I draped Fay’s cape over her shoulders and we left.
“I don’t think my car has been this clean since I got it,” she laughed as I held her door.
“Well, if we get snow tonight, it might not be clean again until May.” I pulled out and took her to the restaurant.
“We’re really going to the Devonshire for dinner?” she squealed when I handed the keys to the valet.
“Really,” I said. The host might have been a little disappointed that we weren’t legal drinking age, but I’d carefully budgeted my allowance and savings for my dates with Annette and Fay. This was special. We’d easily spend over a hundred dollars while we had nonalcoholic cocktails and dinner looking out over the city. We were pretty low-maintenance, too. Our server appreciated that. She really upped the service when I whispered to her that it was our honeymoon.
It was nearly nine o’clock when we finished dinner and left the restaurant.
“Our honeymoon?” Fay giggled as we waited for the valet to bring the car. “I was so embarrassed.”
“Do you think she knew we hadn’t consummated our marriage yet, or did she assume we came straight from the bedroom?” I asked.
“No one looks like this when they come straight from the bedroom,” Fay said. “Even if they’ve only been sleeping. What’s next? Do you take me home and ravish me?”
“No. I promised Mom and Dad that they could make love anywhere in the house until midnight,” I laughed.
“They aren’t! Oh, my god! Do you think we make them horny?”
“My darling Fay, the only one I know for sure is horny is me.”
“Add me to the list. Midnight? What are we going to do?”
“You know that development on the south side of town that does the Christmas decorations? I thought we’d drive by there first.” We drove through the neighborhood and laughed at the colorful lights. It seemed that each house tried to out-gaudy the next. We came on one that had a lit up crèche in the yard.
“What is that?” Fay asked. “It looks like they have a fish in the manger!”
“Oh, that’s the traditional Mary, Joseph, and the blessed Baby Salmon,” I said. We left the garish neighborhood and I drove a few minutes in silence.
“I love you, Pen,” Fay said softly. “All my life I’ve been waiting for this night and not knowing what it would be like. You make it so much better than I ever imagined.” I pulled into a city parking lot and took Fay’s hand as she got out of the car. “What’s this?”
“A new Christmas Eve tradition,” I said. I led her to a tent where we could hear music and see bright lights. Inside the tent was an ice skating rink. I paid the fee and rental and we went to the benches to put on our skates.
“I’ve never been on ice skates,” Fay said, a little worried.
“Neither have I. But I figured that if we had four legs, we ought to be able to keep two of them upright.”
“You goof. Don’t let me get my dress wet.”
Well, we probably weren’t dressed for ice skating, but we had fun. A nice ice monitor helped us get started and told us how sweet we looked.
“It’s our honeymoon,” I said.
“No kidding?” he said. “That’s so sweet. You’re such an adorable couple!” There was no question that he was as gay as they come, but he was really nice and skated by us several times to give us hints on staying up. Those were the words he used. “It will help him to stay up if you wrap your arm around his waist.” “You’ll stay up longer if you hold her hand.” Fay and I were blushing brightly enough to light up the rink.
When we were off the skates and getting used to our land legs again, I led Fay two blocks to the Cathedral. I’d never been in it before and was surprised to find that it was packed. It was eleven-forty and the whole place was dark except a light on the priest who was reading scriptures from the pulpit. An usher led us to seats using a pen light like they do in a theater. Right at midnight, lights came on and cymbals crashed and a choir started singing, “Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth, Peace, Goodwill toward men.” Then there was singing and more scripture and more singing. I’m not religious, but you couldn’t help but be moved by the joy and pageantry. When people started going up to the front for the sacrament, we slipped out.
Outside, on the way to the car, we stopped in the middle of the city park and kissed. It had begun snowing and the flakes sparkled in her hair like diamonds.
“Morgan le Fay,” I whispered. “I am Arthur Pendragon. I am your brother and your lover. Will you come to my bed with me this night and make me yours?”
“Yes, Pen. Yes, I will.”
Comments
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
