Pinhole, Higher Learning
Copyright© 2024 by Fanlon
Chapter 28
I was excited. The chance to take a picture of Laura for her father had me elated. I was glad Mrs. Satori was going to be there. I knew she didn’t trust me, not after that whole display at the Sheldon exhibit.
But after a lot of time to think about it, I understood where she came from. There was more to the story than just me taking Laura’s portrait that night on the dock—a lot more.
I’d realized that ... Well, it was eerily similar to the reason why her husband was now locked away in a prison cell. It was too much like what her brother-in-law had done when Laura was just a girl. When thinking about it in those terms, Mrs. Satori ... well ... it made sense.
First thing’s first, I had to finish April’s photoshoot. Once that was done, then I could start diving in on ideas for Laura.
Friday night, I slept fitfully, to say the least. I had talked with Laura on the phone for two, almost three hours before she yawned for the final time and fell asleep. We had discussed everything from school, to finals, to the different ideas I had for her portrait for her father, and even laughed at some of the ridiculous dedications and how many times More Than Words by Extreme was requested on the radio.
“What song would you pick?” Laura asked softly.
“What do you mean?”
“For me, you dork! If you dedicated a song to me, what would it be?”
“I don’t know, let me think about it for a second,” I answered. “What about you?”
“Oh, I know exactly what song I would pick!” Laura’s voice perked up, but still remained soft so her mother wouldn’t hear her still on the phone. “Always and Forever, by Luther Vandross.”
“Really?” I tried to hide the humor from my voice. “Why that one?”
“It’s—” I heard Laura clear her throat before finishing. “It’s one of my dad’s favorites. Your turn!”
“Danger Zone. No doubt about it,” I answered, frankly.
“What, you can’t be serious!”
“Why not?” I asked. “It’s either that or Black Magic Woman.”
“Josh, no!” Laura barked loudly. “Shit!”
Then there was an awkward silence through the line. Laura was obviously listening to make sure her mother hadn’t heard her.
When I knew Laura had fallen asleep, I didn’t hang up right away. Instead, I remained on the line, listening to her breathing, slow and steady. When my eyes got heavy, I whispered goodnight into the phone, and I finally hung up. I slipped into bed, pulling the covers up and tried to fall asleep.
The plan was for Dana to pick up Laura and show up at my house in the morning. Laura thought it would be around nine, but we both knew that it would probably be closer to ten with Dana being involved. During the week, Dana was usually up early. When it came to the weekends, she wanted to sleep in like any other teenager, myself included, except for Husker Saturdays, obviously.
I didn’t even bother to look at my alarm clock when I groaned and got out of bed. It was completely dark outside, early. The only light was from the streetlight a few doors down by the intersection. I took a quick shower and rushed to get dressed. Why I felt the need to move so quickly this early in the morning was beyond me. Still, that’s exactly what I did.
I flopped on my bed fully dressed and ready for the day, still poignantly avoiding looking at the clock. The last thing I needed to do was verify how early it really was. I debated playing a video game but brushed that aside almost as fast as it came to me. I looked at the poster of Kelly, Tiffany Amber Theisen, on the wall and debated on taking Dana’s advice to ‘empty the chamber,’ but it was too early for that. Even if I did, it wouldn’t help later.
I was poking through the cupboards, trying to be quiet but I must not have been quite as silent as I thought.
“You’re up early,” Mom said as she entered the kitchen. “Breakfast?”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“It’s fine.” Mom smiled tiredly. “Can you start a pot of coffee to make it up to me?”
I grinned and nodded. I put two scoops of ground coffee into the coffee maker and then pulled out some Honey Nut Cheerios and a gallon of milk from the refrigerator.
“So, today’s the big day.”
“Umm?”
“Isn’t that girl April coming over today to pose for you?”
“Yeah, hopefully it goes okay.”
“I’m sure it will be just fine. What time is she supposed to get here?”
“This afternoon,” I replied. “Dana and Laura should be here this morning though.”
“Oh, that’s good.” I raised an eyebrow in question. “Not that we, or I don’t trust you, but—”
“It’s fine Mom, I get it.”
“Good.” I handed Mom a fresh mug of steaming black coffee. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I guess I will make your dad go shopping with me today or something,” Mom announced. “That way he doesn’t get any bright ideas of going down to check on you.”
“That ... would be great,” I managed to reply as I blushed. “Thanks.”
“Do you know what you want to do for April?”
“I have some ideas, but it’s not just up to me. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Okay. Well, have fun, but not too much.”
“Mom!”
“What?” She replied smiling. “I’m your mother, what do you expect?”
She took her coffee mug and left the kitchen before I could offer any further reply to her comment.
Laura walked in the front door as she was giving Dana an earful for being late. Dana, following right on Laura’s heels and carrying a black, hanging garment bag over her shoulder, seemed to be completely unfazed by Laura’s verbal assault.
“Josh, sorry we’re so late!” Laura exclaimed dramatically.
Dana just rolled her eyes.
“It’s fine, no big deal,” I answered. “April won’t be here for a while yet anyways.”
“See, told you,” Dana shot back. Laura returned a glare that was anything but friendly.
“Is that?” I asked, looking at the bag slung over Dana’s shoulder.
“Yup!” Dana smiled proudly. “Want to see?”
“Hell yes!” I answered.
Dana laid the garment bag on the loveseat and looked over her shoulder at me and Laura who were waiting not so patiently to see what was inside. I knew what it was, we had talked about it a few dozen times, but I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.
Dana pulled down the zipper so slowly I was about to push her aside and yank the damned thing open in one fell swoop. The look on my face must have told her what I was thinking. She laughed and then lowered the zipper the rest of the way. Then, she pulled the front of the bag open to display what was hidden inside, and my eyes went wider than they ever had before.
There, tucked safely away was a massive pair of brilliant white angel wings.
“Holy shit!” I gasped, my hands immediately clamping over my mouth.
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Dana said, backing away from the loveseat so Laura and I could get a better look.
“Did you make those?” Laura asked, with a look of pure awe on her face.
“Oh, fuck no!” Dana chuckled. “A friend of my mom’s made them.”
“Those are...” I swallowed nervously. “I mean, I can’t believe it.”
“I know right?” Dana replied. “I can’t wait to see April’s reaction when she sees them.”
When I heard the heavy footfalls of my mom and dad heading down the stairs, all three of us turned to watch the hallway, listening to see if they were going to come down to the basement.
“We’re heading out,” I heard Dad say as the front door opened.
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