Chapter 21: Wadjet

LET ME SAY that the photo session with the Weird Sisters was exactly what the preliminaries implied. They were obedient and were really incredibly beautiful as they met on the heath, or in the hut, or popped out from behind trees. The gauzy costumes Judy had prepared for them left little to the imagination to start with, but they were cut so they slipped off shoulders to expose boobs and ultimately fell to the ground as they enticed Macbeth to his doom.

And at every opportunity, they joined in caressing a breast, or stroking my cock, or coaxing fingers into their pussies. There was so much sexual energy produced by the three that when I called Anna over to change a light, I discovered she, Ronda, and Patricia were also naked. Judy and Leanne had joined the nudity early on, and it was only a matter of time until my clothes were lying on the floor as well. That got us to some pretty lewd poses as the blowjob queen took her position on her knees and the other two posed reaching out to caress the imaginary lover. Imaginary, that is, after I stepped back out of their grasp and took the picture.

And I did get a three-way blowjob when we’d finished, distinguished from any other by having never before had these three girls. Then they turned their talents on Judy and Leanne as my girlfriends and I held Greta sprawled out on the soft mat and I ate her to an orgasm loud enough to attract the attention of the other witches and have them all wanting theirs. They got it.

Despite having come twice under the attention of the Weird Sisters, when they left and Ronda came into the darkroom with me, I simply delayed starting the developing until I’d thoroughly eaten and fucked my tiniest girlfriend.

“I tell you,” I said when the six of us had decided to go out to dinner, “with that setting, I felt like some satyr. I had eight naked girls running around on set. We haven’t had that since Las Vegas!”

“A satyr!” Judy exclaimed loudly enough that people in the pub turned to look at us. “Leanne, we could do a satyr for the last performance. I know you have Min’s all planned out, but we haven’t even figured out who should be the model for the last performance, let alone a theme.”

“Weren’t satyrs all male?” Leanne asked.

“We could go there, but who cares. Where there are goat-legged males, there must be some goat-legged females,” Judy said. “At least consider it.”

Leanne nodded as she bit into her burger.

“Mmmhmm. It might just work. Let’s run it by Kathleen when we see her.”

“Hey, look at the news,” Ronda said that evening. Of all of us, she kept more attuned to current events. We all looked over at the cheap little TV we’d put in the apartment.

“The 26th Amendment has been formally certified,” Anna said. “Cool. Eighteen-year-olds now have the right to vote in all public elections. Do you suppose we’ll be able to get rid of Nixon?”

“I doubt it,” Patricia said. “In my experience, eighteen-year-olds are as easily led around by their noses as their parents and grandparents.”

“Still, it’s a good thing,” I said. “A step forward, just like the lottery was a step forward. We might have enough eighteen-year-old voters to convince Nixon to end the draft entirely, just out of fear.”

“He’ll promise to end it. Didn’t he promise to end it in ‘68?” Ronda said. “Like you said. The sheep will believe him.”

“He kept showing signs. Appointed a commission to study the effect of moving to an all-volunteer army. Everybody cheered. Well, that commission issued its report a year and a half ago and said there was no reason to maintain the draft. Yet he’s calling up 95,000 more this year to replace the troops he says he’s withdrawing,” I said. I’d reached the point of having no faith in either Republicans or Democrats. It was all a case of voting for whoever you thought would do the least damage.

But, yeah. The vote. Maybe Nixon would eat his words that there was nothing any of us could do to affect his policy. Maybe.

The pictures of the Weird Sisters turned out great. I started printing as many as I could as the orders came in. I even printed a 16x20 poster of them. Anna had it mounted and I signed it. She put a price of $2,500 on it. On the matte, Judy, Leanne, Greta, Emma, and Tessa signed it, too. I doubted we’d sell one that size, no matter how enticing the young women’s boobs were. I liked it, though.

The girls each got 8x10s in color and ordered a full set of prints in black and white. All the orders that came in from cast and crew and staff were for black and white 8x10s.

It was nice to have a week in the studio. We did some work on the store and I actually had a walk-in client who wanted a family souvenir photo from their trip to Stratford. They were a theatre family. He was a theatre professor at a college in Indianapolis and was joined by his wife and two teenagers. Judy brought costumes over that would fit them and they got ready.

While Mom and Dad were in the dressing room, the teen girl was looking at the gallery and called me over to her.

“How old do you have to be to have a photo like that?” she asked.

It was a portfolio photo of Min that showed her slightly exposed, but it wasn’t one of the artwork pieces. I glanced at the girl with an eyebrow raised.

“Eighteen,” I said flatly.

“Two years,” she sighed. “I’ll be back.”

It sounded almost like a threat.

We got the family on stage in front of an improvised Shakespeare setting that amounted to a stone wall, with a rustic table and chairs, and a prop roasted pig made of plastic. We put a candle on the table and a mug in each of their hands. They were happy. They ordered half a dozen copies of the 8x10 black and white photo. Not a particularly profitable sitting, but it was fun.

We went out to Sunday brunch at That Scottish Café and met several friends. Judy, Leanne, and Shawna were sitting with Kathleen and Damien. They waved the five of us over to join them and pulled up another table so we could all sit around it.

“Oh, good. We were just talking about you,” Damien said.

“Any one of us specifically?” I asked. “Or were you just commenting about how cute Toni is?”

“She’s definitely the cutest one at the table,” Kathleen said.

“Actually, we were talking about Patricia,” Damien said. “We like the sketches Judy and Leanne have put together for the last piece of the season. They’re calling it Afternoon of a Faun. But we’re still trying to find an actress. It will be a bold piece and Judy suggested that Patricia used to do a lot of modeling for you. Are you interested in doing this one?”

“Uh ... I don’t really do any modeling anymore,” Patricia said. “The pictures Nate takes of me now are strictly for family consumption.”

“And we do consume them as much as we can,” Ronda said.

“I might have a solution,” Anna said.

“You’ve never modeled for anything,” Judy laughed.

“Family consumption only,” Anna said. “But I got a call yesterday. Do you all remember Rachel Hannity? It was the first time we called the theatre for an impromptu set and costumes. We set up some cool shots with her and Sam.”

“I remember that. It kind of started our whole partnership,” Kathleen said.

“Well, Rachel called me yesterday to make sure we were still in town and ask about doing a Leanne makeup shoot like Min’s dragon. She’s willing to do about anything and is looking into travel plans. She’s just graduated from University of Washington and is an actor. I think she’d get into doing the Faun,” Anna said.

“Great look,” Kathleen said. “Do you think she’d do it? We’d have to compensate her, I suppose. But we’re giving an honorarium to both Shawna and Min. We might need to house her. Shawna has been staying with Leanne and Judy. Min is staying with the Attic family. We’d need her in town from the fourteenth to the twenty-fourth to accommodate rehearsals and performance.”

I looked at my calendar. It was just always with me.

“Kat and Julie will be leaving the fourteenth,” I said. “I suppose we could put her up if the family consents.”

“We’ve got the room if she’s traveling alone, that’s okay,” Ronda said. “Sorry, but I’m not ready to house an unknown guy in the apartment.”

“I can call her back this afternoon,” Anna said. “I think for the opportunity of staying in our apartment, she’d break up with any entanglements and come alone.”

“That sounds dangerous,” I said.

“Ronda will help,” Patricia laughed.

“I’ll help for that matter,” Kathleen said. “That girl was hot enough to start a fire.”

“Make the call, if it’s okay with Judy and Leanne,” Damien said.

“I worked with her and Sam last summer. It’s a go as far as I’m concerned,” Leanne said.

“I saw the photos and just wish I’d been here to work on her,” Judy said. “If you can get her, I’ll fit her.”

“How is the costume coming for Min?” I asked.

“Most of her costume is paint,” Judy laughed. “The headdress is coming along. Lots of jewels and sparkles. If she can hold her head up with the weight, we’ll be fine.”

“What are we calling this one?” I asked.

“I’ve chosen several myths from Egypt,” Kathleen said. “The serpent goddess is called Wadjet. She’s symbolized mostly by the serpent and sun on the crown of Egypt around 2,000 BC.”

“That’s cool. What’s John doing for a setting?”

“Very abstract. Some Egyptian symbolism, but not the usual beiges of the desert. This will be pretty vibrant. You’ll have some good color to work with,” Kathleen said. She was the director of this one and Damien was sitting back and letting her drive it.

“It could be a little tricky, but I trust Leanne and Judy to give me something to work with.”

“Rachel, there’s an opportunity in Stratford for you,” Anna said when she reached the grad in Seattle. “It’s a one-performance show, but will have several rehearsals so everything comes together.— Well, you wanted to have Nate and Leanne paint you up for a photo, right? They’ll do it, but it will be in front of an audience of about seventy-five.— Yes, a paying audience. Nate and Leanne will strip you on stage, paint your body, and take pictures of you. There will be some music and some scenery. There’s a small honorarium and you get a free print. Oh, and a Festival credit for your resume.— You’d be here from the thirteenth or fourteenth for a little more than a week. The performance is scheduled for the twenty-second.— No, August. I know you were planning on flying out here and if you’ve got housing already arranged, that’s fine, but if you don’t have a place, we’d be happy to host you here in our apartment.— No, we’re not trying to put the make on you. You know how the posing for one of Nate’s portraits goes, though. You might want some extra attention on occasion.” Anna laughed at the response. “That’s great. Send me the details on your flight and I’ll pick you up in Toronto. Looking forward to it. Bye!”

“It sounded like you were torturing the girl,” Ronda said. “I don’t remember her squealing that loudly when Nate and Kathleen were working on her!”

“She did get excited. I think if I’d offered it, she’d have flown out tomorrow for the rest of the summer. She might overlap a day or so with Kat and Julie as it is. Should we have Adrienne come in a week earlier so she doesn’t overlap with Kat and Julie? She’d overlap with Min if we did that,” Anna said as she started penciling in Rachel’s schedule on my calendar.

“No. I plan to ask Adrienne to model for Kat. Maybe with Julie. I think both girls would benefit from working with her,” I said.

“Only for Kat?” Patricia teased. “Are you planning photos of the two of them?”

“That’s a tough one. Definitely planning to get some new pictures of Adrienne, though maybe not in the studio,” I said. “With Julie? She’s not quite eighteen. I know it’s legal to photograph her at seventeen, but I still wouldn’t be able to display or sell any of them. Of course, I don’t sell any photos of Adrienne, either.”

“You’re sure you aren’t hesitating just because ... you know ... of Chris?” Ronda asked.

“That’s still a sore spot. I’m afraid Christine didn’t really improve her lot in life when she got married. But if anything, I’m more hesitant because of Kat. I think she and Julie really have something going. It might not last past the introduction to available boys in college, but I’m not going to be the one to interfere with their relationship,” I said.

“You’re a good brother,” Patricia said. “Now, tomorrow, we’re over at the Third Stage—I guess they’ve officially decided to call it the Tom Patterson stage—to photograph The Red Convertible. I don’t think it’s going to take us the whole three days they have us on call. The play only has four cast members, simple scenery, a few props, and only a few costume changes. It’s going to mostly be how you can make four people in any combination into interesting photographs. They do get a little racy, from what I’ve been told. Partial nudity.”

“Min will be here this weekend, right? Will we be able to rehearse on the stage?”

“Yes. We have rehearsal time Saturday and Sunday this week. You and Leanne can practice on her in the studio during the week. Then we have an early rehearsal next Saturday and performance as usual Sunday. The Red Convertible runs two weekends, Thursday through Saturday, with no matinees,” Anna said. “How is Min getting here?”

“She has a car now,” Ronda said. “She plans to drive up on Friday. She’s very excited about staying with us. In any combination, she emphasized.”

“Well, we’d better get a couple weeks of loving in this afternoon,” Patricia said. “Who wants to take Toni to the park?”

Patricia was right about photographing The Red Convertible. We were done by dinnertime on Tuesday and I went straight to the darkroom to process the black and white. I dropped the half dozen 4x5 color transparencies off at Dave’s to get back the next morning.

The actors were a little more mature than our witches, but not as old as the actors in Much Ado. The two women and two men were all attractive, and the boobs that got out in the air were very nice. There was a limited lobby for the Tom Patterson stage. We’d be displaying the poster-size photo with the advertisement for the auction, as well as a selection of black and white prints for sale.

There was a sense of working on something important that everyone knew would not be popular or famous. The playwright was from South America and there were two translators working on the script and correcting things even during rehearsals. I guess this is where you see actors, musicians, and crew all focused on doing art because they loved the theatre and not because they expected any great reward for it.

The most important thing in our week, though, was Toni’s third birthday on Thursday. We all took the day off and drove into Toronto to see Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Wow. I didn’t really expect it to be quite as gruesome as it was, but Gene Wilder was superb and Toni loved the Oompa Loompas. And the thought of all that candy. We had dinner at a kid-friendly restaurant and by the time we got home that night, our little angel was fast asleep. And three years old!

I spent Friday getting the studio put back together and cleaned—something I hadn’t done after the Weird Sisters photoshoot. I was rewarded for my efforts by Min’s arrival at about four.

“I’m so happy to see you guys,” she said. “Thank you for letting me stay with you.”

“You’re always welcome, Min,” Ronda said, taking the lead. “How could we not want you with us?”

“Even though I like to, you know, get naked with your boyfriend?” Min giggled.

“You can get naked with all of us,” Anna said. I didn’t think either she or Patricia had done anything with Min the last time we were together, but it was a sign that Anna, at least, was open to more experiences.

“We do spend a lot of time in the apartment naked,” Patricia said. “You’ll definitely be an asset to the scenery.”

“Just excuse my salute when you are with us,” I laughed. “These three girls are all it takes to get me alert. Having a fourth in the apartment will keep me at attention all the time.”

“Well ... you know ... if I cause a problem for you, I’m happy to be the solution,” Min said, blushing.

That started a round of kisses and my girlfriends gave Min attention as passionate as mine.

“Oh wow! Can I bring my suitcase in first?” she giggled.

“Don’t worry. We plan to have you fed and cared for before you have to go to bed,” Ronda said. “We’ve got dinner slated with Leanne and Judy at the pub in a little while. Come on in and relax until then.”

Dinner was a little tense. There was no secret that Shawna was a jealous lover to Leanne. As we ate, Leanne showed Min the sketches of what we were planning for this show. Judy had a Polaroid of the headdress. Kathleen would have been with us, but Duchess was playing Friday evening and she had call before we ever got to dinner.

All through dinner, Shawna kept making little digs about Leanne just wanting her hands all over Min. Ronda worked hard at easing the tension by paying a lot of attention to Min, including giving her little kisses and putting an arm around her. It should have been obvious to Shawna that Min was occupied without Leanne.

“Wow!” Min said when we got home that night. “Leanne’s got her hands full with that one. And I don’t mean just the size of her ass. You guys all know I’m not here to try to get together with Leanne, don’t you?”

“We know,” I said. “Leanne knows. I think it’s only Shawna who doesn’t know. I didn’t realize she was that insecure. And you should know that she isn’t the reason we offered to have you stay with us these couple of weeks. We actually want you with us.”

“You guys are so sweet. I like Leanne and I didn’t mind being her lover sometimes, but I don’t think I’d want a girl for my full-time romance. I haven’t had great luck finding the right boy yet, but I hope I can find someone as nice as you who isn’t you.”

“In the meantime, you can borrow Nate while you are here in Stratford—as long as you don’t occupy so much of his time that we get neglected,” Patricia said. “You’d be amazed at how much a person can get used to regular sex. We girls love each other to bits, but we also have a craving for what this guy brings to our bed.”

“Slap my hands if I get too grabby,” Min laughed. “Really, as much as you get used to having regular sex, I’ve gotten used to not having it. In fact, after the long drive today, I don’t think I’m really ready for anything more than sleep tonight. If you don’t mind, I’ll just crash now.”

After a nice kiss goodnight from each of us, Min went to the guest room and we got ourselves ready for bed.

That amounted to undressing and brushing our teeth. We all wanted a little loving with each other, but when it came down to it, we were all pretty tired ourselves.

Min wandered out of her bedroom when she smelled coffee brewing. Patricia and I were feeding Toni breakfast and hadn’t dressed yet. Min ducked back into her bedroom and re-emerged naked. Now that was a wonderful sight!

“Coffee, Min?” I asked.

“Yes, please,” she said. “My mother is horrified that I drink coffee instead of tea.”

I poured her a cup and held it out away from her until we’d had a lovely deep kiss. Then I gave her the cup and invited her to sit while I made an omelet for her.

“Min! Min!” Toni chanted as the elegant model sat at the table. “I eat breakfast so I be strong for school!”