Chapter 4: Fair and Unfair

CHRIS AND I made it sound like we were in the height of summer and it was no problem to meet with Miss Sullivan at ten o’clock Wednesday morning. In truth, I was crazy busy and squeezing out time to meet was difficult. In the first place, Hunter County Fair entries were due that day. I had the signed model releases and still had two photos to print on Sunday, when I was supposed to be out with Chris making love on a river bank. You just need to set priorities, I guess, and what could be a higher priority than making love to Christine?

Nonetheless, I had the printing done and mounted the pictures early Tuesday morning. Anna had taken the necessary model releases to the library to photocopy them. The fair entries were laid out on the table ready for me to gather them up and take to Huntertown Wednesday afternoon.

Anna also had my contract proposal ready for Miss Sullivan. She said that in a situation like this, it was best to present the client with a rate sheet and start negotiations from there, rather than listen to the client propose what she’s willing to pay. Anna was proving to be an excellent business advisor, so I took her advice.

I let Miss Sullivan in on the fourth floor so she could see where I’d gotten my start with the Attic Allure photos.

“Well, this is a cozy little place,” she said when she came in. “Look at all the props you have!”

“This is where it started. At first, Mr. Barkley gave me permission to build a darkroom up here. So, this is where I did all the photo developing and enlarging for the yearbook,” I said, holding open the curtain to the upstairs darkroom. “I was given a used set of backdrops by a photo studio in Huntertown and established the Attic Allure look by arranging props from the attic in front of the backdrop. I only had a lamp and a few lights Mr. Barkley had used for window displays when I started.”

“But you say that you’ve expanded now?”

“Yes, ma’am. Right this way.” I led her to the stairs. “I acquired a much higher quality camera than the 35mm I used for the yearbook photos. But I only use it for studio work. It’s been significant in enhancing the style. When I tried to move a fireproof file cabinet in, Mr. Barkley suggested that I just take over the third floor and expand the studio. We did a lot of work to make this space a real working studio.”

“We?”

“My models and I. They all wanted to be a part of Attic Allure and did everything from polishing the floors to cleaning the windows and bathrooms. This was the result.”

Miss Sullivan stepped into the studio from the stairway and just stopped to look around. Of course, Chris had staged everything for the show. Anna was at the desk where I had moved Mom’s old typewriter and we’d managed to scrounge an adding machine from the attic. Chris was directing Judy and Janice in setting up one of the big theatre backdrops. Patricia, Pris, and Debbie were arranging props and dusting everything. It looked almost like a busy movie set being prepared.

“Oh, my! This is very impressive! You pay all these girls?”

“No, ma’am. Only Anna, who does my bookkeeping, and Chris when she’s helping with a modeling gig. The other girls are here just for show. They’re all models and you’ll see some of their pictures in my gallery. They like the studio and love to hang out here when I’m not doing a shoot. We have a model coming tomorrow, so they’re setting up some props and backdrops for the shoot.”

“And you have more photos, I see.”

“Please take a minute to tour the gallery. You’ll recognize a few of the pieces, as I showed them to you last fall. A lot of this is new material, though.”

“You even photograph nudes, I see,” she said. It was a noncommittal statement.

“I have three different model releases I use. The first is simply a photo for hire situation. I continue to own the negatives, but the model has the exclusive right to order prints. You won’t see any of their photos in the gallery unless they’ve given me specific permission to show their image. The second release is a model release. These models do not pay for their sitting, but in addition to the pose they want, we spend time to experiment and do other glamour shots or art shots. A model may have an enlargement from any sitting we do as compensation, but I own the negative and the right to display their photos or sell them if I can. Sometimes those models do nude photos if we are clicking and it seems appropriate. They are not required to pose nude.”

“None of the girls in this room are eighteen,” Miss Sullivan observed.

“Occasionally, an underage model poses in a way that would be inappropriate to show in public. Those photos are simply never shown, though the model herself may have a print if she so desires. Some of the models who are eighteen or older, however, get really into posing for art pictures and you’ll recognize the faces of some of them.”

“Lori told me I’d see her here. I certainly do. And that is an incredibly lovely photo of her. I honestly didn’t realize she was that beautiful. Pam. Yes, I’d expect that of her. She barely keeps her clothes on when she is cheering. But still, a beautiful photo. Is that...? You can’t mean to tell me that Avery Benton posed nude! Outside? Impossible.”

“Avery had a very special story to tell when we took that photo. She’s truly an amazing model and I hope I get to work with her again.”

“These are all very nice photos. And I see where you got the name Attic Allure from the use of props and backdrops. Well, let’s take a look at our proposal for the yearbook.”

“First, there is one other display I’d like to show you,” I said. “It’s over here on the table. These are the photos that will go to Huntertown this afternoon to be entered in the county photo competition.”

Miss Sullivan sat at the table and picked the four photos up one at a time to view them. Chris came to the table to hold the photos for her so she could view from different distances. Of course, the photo of Avery she’d just commented on was mounted for display at the fair. The next was the photo of Lori on the truck. It captured something magical that was even more appealing than her nude, which I knew would simply never fly for the fair. The third photo was my sister on the carousel horse. No one realized that behind a bit of Visqueen next to the dark room was a little work area where I was refinishing that rocking horse. Finally, there was the photo of Amy, strung out on the floor.

“All your photos are wonderful, Nate. But these are ... They are simply outstanding.”

“I mentioned a third release. With that release, I own the rights to the photo, but am limited to not displaying it for five years. This last photo you are still looking at is from a model who has given me special permission to display this photo only on her behalf, even though I can’t display it for myself for five years.”

“The school really doesn’t know what it has in you,” she breathed. “Do you even want to work on the yearbook this year?”

I motioned Anna over and she took over the presentation, showing Miss Sullivan our rates, the services we offer and the proposal for doing the senior yearbook photos. For the photos, we proposed to set up a backdrop and lights and photograph the seniors on the school stage for a contract price of $15 per student, which would supply the yearbook with the required photo and the student with one proof sheet from which to select their favorite. We would use the sitting and proof sheet to sell copies and enlargements to the students at a price comparable to what the studio was charging the year before. We would hold photo sessions for an hour before and an hour after school. In addition, I would offer the students an Attic Allure seating from which they could order one 8x10 photo for a total of $25. Additional photos from the sitting were offered according to my standard price sheet.

It was so well put together that Miss Sullivan didn’t even counter the offer. She simply said, “I think we have an agreement. Photo week for seniors will be the second week of October.”

I walked her to the door and thanked her for visiting Attic Allure.

“Nate, could I be so confident in your discretion that I could come here for a photo and know it would never be leaked out of your hands?” she whispered at the door.

“Miss Sullivan, when a client pays me for a sitting, she has the exclusive right to any prints made. I can assure her that if she so desires, I will not even retain a file copy of the proof sheet. It is very difficult for anyone to tell anything from a strip of negatives unless they can have them printed.”

“I’ll call you to set up a time. You don’t mind putting it on your calendar under an assumed name, do you?”

“No problem whatsoever, Miss.”

She left.

The County Fair would open the next day, so the fairground was a beehive of activity. On the midway, carnies were setting up rides and games. Food vendors were testing their circuits, heating fryers, and preparing ingredients. One guy had a taffy puller operating. He waved at Anna, Chris, and me as we walked by and asked us to ‘test his saltwater taffy’ to make sure he got it right. He handed us each a piece and we assured him the sticky candy tasted perfect.

We finally got to the exhibit building where Mr. Grossman had his office to check in entries in the photography exhibit. He greeted the three of us and opened my portfolio to see what I’d display for this year. He already knew and loved the photos of Avery and Lori. He thought the picture of Kat on the rocking horse was a likely winner. Then he looked a long time at the picture of Amy. He sighed.

“You have two incredible works of art in your exhibit this year,” he said. “They won’t win awards here, but might win something at the State Fair. The judges here are simply too provincial to truly appreciate these two pieces. I’m guessing in advance that the picture of the little girl will win. For my own tastes, I’ve already told you how much I like the picture of the fog and streetlamp. I would still choose it above the others. But this photo ... I don’t know what to tell you, Nate. It’s the best piece of work I’ve seen from you, but it’s so disturbing. In our day and age with drugs being such an issue, I’m afraid this beautiful girl will become a symbol of the evils of the drug culture.”

“I’m exhibiting it under special permission from the model to display on her behalf. Having that permission, I feel obligated to enter it in the competition, even if it doesn’t stand a chance of winning,” I said.

“I understand.” He looked up at Anna and Chris. “No pictures of either of you this year?” he asked.

“We work with Nate and date him,” Chris said. “So, we don’t model.”

“Well, Nate’s gain is the art world’s loss in this case,” Grossman smiled. “You’ve changed developing techniques. The larger format and sharpness of this last image is different than the others.”

“I ... um ... acquired a new enlarger and we’ve built a new darkroom. I’d love to have you come out to visit again. Your advice is always extremely helpful.”

“I’ll make arrangements to bring you your photos and prize money,” he laughed. “We have the model releases and the State Fair entry forms for all four? You’re set to go. Good luck.”

“Thank you.”

True to Mr. Grossman’s prediction, the picture of Kat on the carousel rocking horse won best of class. All three of the other pictures were awarded blue ribbons, though. When we visited the show, there were several people standing in front of Amy’s picture, talking about the problems of the world and of ‘young people these days.’

Kat wanted to know if we could do more pictures on ‘her horse.’ I suggested maybe she’d just like to put the horse in her room.

“Really?” she said. “I love her. Can I have her?”

“She is right here waiting for you to ride her every day,” I said, unveiling my sister’s twelfth birthday present.

She hugged the horse and then hugged me. Priorities. There was a little rearranging to be done in her room in order to make it fit, but soon the horse was in her room and she was on the horse with a sketchpad in her hand as she rocked serenely back and forth.

Ronda returned from Colorado the next weekend. I didn’t know how she managed to become even more beautiful. She’d obviously been in the sun a lot. Her skin was a little darker and her hair a little blonder. Like Avery, she had an air of superiority around her that made people want to do whatever she said, including going out with Chris and me Sunday afternoon.

We weren’t sure what we should do on a first date back together, so Chris drove the Belvedere and we went to Dubuque with Ronda sandwiched between us in the front seat. We decided just to pick up food for a picnic and go to Flora Park where we could spread our blanket among the trees and talk as we ate.

Ronda fingered our class rings, worn on chains around our necks. This was the part Chris and I were really unsure of.

“I knew you’d be a couple when I got back. I kind of drowned my sorrow in Faith’s pussy juices, so I don’t have much room to talk. It was just us getting off, though. Faith went back to her boyfriend in Los Angeles and I came home to the two people I love most in the world,” Ronda said.

“Your parents?” Chris snarked. Ronda gave her a playful shove.

“Don’t be bratty. I was being serious.”

“Well, we aren’t,” I said firmly. “Christine and I already made caveats to going steady that make me wonder why we are going steady, except that I’ve made love to her three or four times a week all summer.”

“The thing is, we know it might be hard to rebuild what we had as a triple, but if that doesn’t work, we’re fine with being three couples,” Chris said. “Somebody really needs to fuck Nate when I’m on the rag. Much better you than a random girl who comes to the studio to get naked and pose for him.”

“Has that happened?” Ronda asked.

“That random girls come to the studio and get naked?” I asked. “More than I can believe. There’s been a new one every week. And then we have the locals who would be in the studio naked every day if they could. But there are none whom I’ve fucked.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“You need to know about Anna, though,” Chris said. “That girl is gradually cracking out of her shell. So far, she still has a layer of underwear on, but that last set of lingerie didn’t leave much to the imagination.”

“It won’t go any further,” I said, shaking my head. “She already thinks she’s a dreadful sinner for sitting around in her underwear anyplace other than her bedroom. When school starts, she’ll be back to her prim and proper self and running me around to take pictures of things for the yearbook.”

“That’s where it will all change, for sure,” Chris said. “But not the way you think. Nate’s been selected to shoot all the senior photos this year after the fiasco the seniors went through last year. You should see the difference in the yearbook between the pictures he took and the pictures that company took. But Miss Sullivan said that he can market Attic Allure photos to the class as well.”

“Oh, my God! Every girl in our class is going to get naked for Nate,” Ronda giggled. “They’ll be auditioning for him. We’d better get our prom request in early.”

“And that includes Anna,” Chris continued. “She will be in line to get her Attic Allure photo. It will start off being bare shoulder. Then her outfit will slip a little and reveal she wasn’t wearing a bra under it and suddenly the breasts of the blushing prude will be on full display. And if he’s already seen her breasts, there’s no reason not to see the rest of her.”

“Oh, Nate, if you fuck her, you need to be prepared to marry her. Remember the conversation on expectations? That will be hers,” Ronda said.

“It just isn’t going to happen!” I said more emphatically. “And I won’t have any more girls from our class lining up for that kind of photo than guys. Can you imagine Libby wanting to get naked for a photo? She’s so shy, I’ve never actually seen her eyes.”

“You probably wouldn’t during the photo, either. She’d keep her face hidden, but be full frontal nude for the rest.”

I groaned and Ronda crawled over me to kiss me. We might have gone further but this was definitely a public park and there were kids playing just around the bush from us.

“Mmm. Nate? Could you drive the car home so I can make out with Chris?” she asked.

“Um ... I don’t have any objections to that, but wouldn’t you two rather find someplace private to make out for a while? It could get dangerous in the car.”

“And I can’t possibly let Nate drive my parents’ car without their permission,” Chris said. “Let’s pack up and go find someplace more private to have our conversation.”

The way it worked out was that the girls dropped me back at the studio and went off together to renew their relationship. I went home for Sunday night ice cream and Disney.

I got my opportunity to date Ronda the next weekend on Saturday night. I thought we’d just have a low-key dinner date, but Ronda suggested the drive-in. I paid the dollar to get us in and found it was a single feature night of a new mystery movie called Gunn. It was accompanied by a couple of shorts and a cartoon.

Ronda wanted a backseat adventure, so I spread the blanket out in the back seat of Mom’s Galaxie and we settled in with popcorn and pop. We kept getting distracted by the movie until Ronda crawled over me to turn the volume off on our speaker.

“I didn’t come here to watch the movie,” she said. “I haven’t been laid all summer and after our last time together, I discovered I really missed it. Christine’s tongue is terrific, but I had a tongue all summer—not that we did it that often. I didn’t have you and your marvelous cock. But I really want to talk and catch up with you, not just fuck.”

That was a heck of an introduction to ‘can we just talk.’ I was ready to go, but I just pulled her into my arms and gave her a little kiss.

“What would you like to know?” I asked.

“I have a feeling that when Chris and I were together with you, we didn’t give you a chance to say anything. We kept feeding off each other and kind of running over what you felt. Do you still love me, Nate?”

“Yes. I wasn’t sure when we met last weekend. But being with you reminded me of all the wonderful things I’d been missing.”

“Like what?”

“Like your care for others—especially girls in our class. You showed that when we were talking about Anna. I could really have used you with me this summer when Tony got word he’d been drafted and Patricia just wanted me to hold her for a while. I know you’d have been all about taking care of her,” I said.

“Didn’t Christine help?” she asked.

“Yes. After she got used to the idea. She was a little jealous when I told her I’d held Patricia while she slept for an hour. But Patricia has been lost this summer after marrying Tony and then him leaving for the army. She just got her first call from him a couple of weeks ago. She won’t actually get to see him until he has a pre-deployment leave in October.”

“Is she still coming to the studio?”

“Two or three times a week. All the girls do. They run around naked and pretend to rehearse poses or to help clean. My studio sparkles because they clean it so much. Patricia has begun collecting costumes for models and we have a whole rack of different things they can put on. But if she’s there when no one else is, she wants me to take a roll of pictures of her to show to Tony—always nude. Then she wants me to hold her and sometimes give her a little kiss. It’s ... Holding Patricia when she’s nude ... I mean...”

“Yeah. I’ll bet it’s hard,” Ronda said, stroking the front of my pants. It certainly was. “I’ll make sure to check on her this week. I’m glad she’s found a special area to be useful in the studio. Don’t be afraid to hold her naked body against you and enjoy it. Just don’t fuck her. That would do a lot of damage to your relationship and to her relationship with Tony.”

“I don’t think she’d do that intentionally. Sometimes, she fantasizes that I’m Tony and wants a kiss. I try to keep that short.”

“Who was your favorite model this summer?” she said, changing the subject.

“Oh. I had a model from Chicago who came one afternoon and was here for a total of an hour. She just wanted a cool glamour shot—not nude or anything. I caught her looking in the mirror while holding two dresses up trying to decide which one to wear. There was just something about the lighting and the reflection that called to me. Like I said, we worked for about an hour and never changed the basic pose, just trying different expressions and directions and lighting. It was beautiful.”

“Your favorite didn’t even get naked for you? Was she disappointed?”

“Not at all. She really got into it and it’s a beautiful picture.”