Chapter 17: Business as Usual

WE GOT THROUGH dinner Wednesday night with minimal problems. I was able to cook my ever-famous meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy. I even managed to serve a green vegetable with it. Everyone was satisfied. Min returned to the bathtub to soak for a while; there were still patches of the bronze color on her skin. Leanne kept assuring us that it would come off.

I danced with Toni and read stories to her. Once she was down for the night—she loved her new big girl room and bed—I danced around with Patricia. Ronda and Anna, of course, had dinner out and then went to the show. I had a feeling they’d be caught by Kathleen to go out after the show and meet Damien. Leanne disappeared into her room.

“I’m feeling awful tired tonight,” Patricia said. “My period is due and it’s been wearing me out lately. Why don’t you check on Min and make sure she’s doing okay. Leanne is feeling bad that the color isn’t coming off as fast as she expected.”

“Are you sure, love? I could just come to bed with you.”

“No, Nate. Really. Check on Min. I love you.”

“I love you, sweetheart.”

Patricia kissed me and went to our room. I went to the guest bath and knocked softly.

“Min, may I come in?”

“Yes.”

She was submerged in the bathtub and I could see a ring of the color around the waterline. I was going to need to scrub the tub as soon as she was out. I sat on the stool next to the tub and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you doing okay, dear?”

“Yeah. I guess so.” She leaned her face against my hand. “Tell me it was worth it. It was such an exhausting day and I kind of snapped at Leanne.”

“If it helps, I think we got some absolutely spectacular photos. You were spectacular.”

“Thank you. The stuff is coming off. I know it’s not permanent, but I kind of thought I’d take a bath and get out and that would be it.”

“Would you like me to wash your back?”

“Yes, please. And anything else you can reach. I have no idea if I’ve gotten it all out of my crack. Do you think that was really necessary? I’d like to be clean enough, you know, that I wouldn’t be completely disgusting if a really nice photographer checked me with his tongue.”

“I’m pretty sure I know a photographer who would do that.”

I pulled my shirt off so I could get my arms down into the water to scrub her. We’d put in a good supply of Dove soap for the girls and I noted this bar was nearly half gone already. I held Min in my arms as I washed her tenderly. When I was well down below the waterline, she got on her hands and knees in the tub so I could reach her bottom. I took special care in cleaning her crack, all the way through her pussy. Fortunately, Leanne had only given a light spritz of the color to this area, and I felt it was pretty clean. She stood and I washed her legs just as thoroughly. My hand kept running up to caress her pussy, though.

“Your skin is going to be all dried out from so long in the water and the makeup,” I said. “I have massage oil. Why don’t we leave the tub and let me oil you thoroughly.”

That was quickly agreed to and with both the master bedroom and the guest room in use, I took her to the spare room and got my oil out. She tugged at my jeans and I slipped them off to cuddle next to her. We kissed and petted, then I started oiling her body and working the oil into her skin as I massaged her. And, yes, I oiled her butt crack and labia, making sure they were fully soothed. I oiled her neck and chest, checking to be sure I’d gotten all the makeup off her nipples by using a taste test.

“Will you make love to me tonight, Nate?” she whispered as I oiled her feet and made sure her toes were covered as well.

“Yes, Min. If you’d like to make love, I’d be honored.”

“Please.”

My massage turned more sensual as I caressed her skin and kissed her. Before long, I had a condom on and was sliding into the Asian beauty. She gasped.

“Slowly! I don’t think I’ve had anyone as big as you. In high school I stuck to Asian boys who all wanted a light skinned Asian girl. You fill me so much! Oh!”

I moved in her slowly until she began to pick up the pace and we made it to our climaxes within a few strokes of each other. After such a long and exhausting day, she fell asleep soon thereafter and I lay holding her and dozing lightly.

“Oops! The spare room is in use. I thought it might be,” Ronda whispered outside the door.

“Are Leanne and Patricia together?” Anna asked.

“No. Two big beds with only one girl in each,” Ronda said.

“Why don’t you cuddle Leanne and I’ll hold Patricia. Nobody needs to be alone in bed, do they?”

“I like the way you think,” Ronda whispered as their voices retreated in the night. I glanced at my watch to see it was just after midnight. They must have had a very good time after the show.

“Do you need to go to your own bed?” Min whispered without opening her eyes. “It’s okay if you do.”

“No, honey, I’m here with you for the night unless you prefer that I go.”

“Oh, good. Can we make love again?”

Her request. What could I do but comply. And thoroughly enjoy the experience.

Life returned to normal for the most part. When the transparencies got back on Thursday, I looked at them with Dave and we were both incredibly pleased. I decided it was silly for me to be amassing such a huge collection of slides and not have a projector.

He had a new projector from Bell and Howell that took a whole roll of slides and stacked them in a cube. I bought the system and took it home to set up a slide show for the family. Of course, the 4x5 slides would not fit in it and I’d simply have to look at them on the light table.

Everyone was pleased, even with the black and white proofs I pulled.

There were all kinds of considerations to be made in terms of making Cibachrome prints. I was willing to make blowups of the picture for both Leanne and Min, but Min said she really couldn’t use anything larger than an 8x10. She said that she hoped one day she could order a large print to hang in her mansion when she was rich and famous. In my book that was a sure thing.

Leanne was a little more difficult to determine. She was afraid she’d only be able to carry around and show an 8x10, but I talked her into a 12x15. Really, it was the first major piece of color artwork we’d done together and I felt she should have a hangable image.

After talking things over with Anna, and Anna talking to Leanne and Min, it was determined that I should print one full size 20x25 print to have framed and put up for sale. Min, Leanne, and I would all sign it and we’d give it the title of “Min the Gold, a Mythical Dragon.” Of course, all these prints were pulled from a 4x5 transparency, so the quality of the image was unbelievably fine, even at the largest size. I hadn’t actually pulled a Cibachrome in the large size, but I had the paper, so I decided to try it. I didn’t think I’d be printing many at this size, but I loved this one.

I spent the better part of Thursday in the darkroom, sometimes accompanied by either Leanne or Min. They were both interested in the process, but they also both wanted some loving reassurances. Min was nearly completely clear of the skin color, though she kind of glowed with all the scrubbing that had been done and the amount of oil we used.

Leanne desperately needed reassurance that she hadn’t done wrong in painting Min. It ended up with both Min and me providing reassurance and Leanne having multiple orgasms in the darkroom.

I finally emerged from the day’s work printing the Cibachromes to find Anna and Leanne in a deep conversation with the woman who had poked her head in the studio on Wednesday to see the incredible paint job on Min. She had said she wanted to see the finished product and that she wanted a portrait done in a similar style.

“Doreen wants to know if we can do a sitting for her similar to what you did with Min,” Anna explained to me. I carefully laid out the three prints on a table so they could be seen and examined. It was pretty sensational. We decided that we’d sign all three prints, and those would be the only ones signed by all of us. I might sign additional prints or Leanne or Min might sign prints, but only the three would be signed by all of us. Anna had already set the price for the big print and I assumed that it meant she simply wanted us to keep it. No one was going to pay that much.

“I’ve explained that I’m not going to use the bronze paint again,” Leanne said. “Min was very upfront with Doreen about what a pain it was. I do have some other body paints, though, that we could use.”

“I want a big picture of me ... Not as big as that one, but like the medium size one. I’ve been trying to work myself up to posing for a nude portrait for a long time, and this would be just the thing,” Doreen said. “Of course, I don’t want to have a duplicate of this painting. It’s just so beautiful, I can hardly believe it. But something that shows my body as an artist’s canvas. I’m willing to pay the price to have an exclusive print.”

Really? I wondered what kind of price Anna had quoted. It didn’t make a difference as to what it was. I begged to have a day off and do the project on Saturday. I hadn’t really slept much the previous night. Spending a night curled up with a girl I’ve never had sex with before makes me lie awake just appreciating her body, even when she’s asleep. And making love with Min again in the morning was a great wake-up call.

“We were going to leave,” Leanne said. “Isn’t Leslie coming in this weekend?”

“We’ve got room,” I said. “Anna, do you think it’s a problem?”

“Absolutely not,” Anna said. “If Leanne and Min can stay for a few extra days, we can do the makeup, photo shoot, and get everything printed so you can both sign it before they leave.”

“Min, baby? Would you like to spend a few more days? I’m sure we could find a way to make it up to you.”

“Mmm. Maybe I could do that one you designed that is just black and white tracery all down the torso. At least the black makeup comes off pretty easily,” Min said.

“Oh, you know I’ll have to do all the drawing on that one. I don’t think Nate can do that intricate design without a lot of practice that we don’t have time for. Is it okay?” Leanne asked, still unsure if Min had forgiven her.

“Of course it is, sweetie. I’m sorry I got upset last night. I’m not mad at you. If you put the design on me, maybe Nate will take it off.”

“Okay. We’ll stay if we can agree on a design for Doreen,” Leanne said.

She sat down with her sketchbook and Doreen started going over possible designs.

I was blow drying the new photos when Rachel and Sam came in. Anna ushered them into the studio, which was a very busy place at the moment. They looked at the new picture of Min and were just gaga. I moved those prints aside and Anna pulled their photos out of the package from the frame shop. The two were nicely matted and wrapped in plastic. Sam and Rachel were ecstatic.

“I’d love to do something like that one sometime, though,” Rachel said pointing at the picture of Min. “I’m not exactly svelte like this gorgeous woman, but I think I’d make a wonderful canvas.”

“I’m afraid we’re booked up this week,” I said.

“Oh, we have to leave Sunday anyway,” Rachel said. “Where will you be over Christmas break?”

“Well, I suppose I’ll be in Chicago. Leanne is the makeup artist, though. I’ll have to see if she’s available.”

“If she is and you are, I could probably get to Chicago for a few days. My family is in Minneapolis, so I’ll already be three-quarters of the way from Seattle to Chicago,” she said.

“Okay. Let me pencil you in for the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Give me a call to solidify the date when you know what your schedule will be and I’ll talk to Leanne.”

“Nate’s card is on the back of your mattes,” Anna said. “That has both our office number here in Stratford and in Chicago. Remember, we’re only here in Stratford until the end of August, then we all have to rush back to Chicago for the start of the next school year.”

“I hear you,” Rachel said. “For another year, my life is dictated by the school academic calendar. Then, I’m sure it will be dictated by any production schedules I can find.”

We hugged Sam and Rachel goodbye and wished them luck and success. Rachel managed to lay a deep kiss on me before she pulled away.

“I still owe you a blowjob,” she whispered. “I had to rush out to give Sam his Monday.”

That answered the question of who got Sam off. I was sure that with Leanne working him out of his costume and makeup, it didn’t take long for Rachel to finish the job.

“We’ve decided,” Leanne announced when Rachel and Sam left. We showed the new print to Doreen and she thought it was quite funny. “We’re going to do the magical muse design, possibly modified a bit. See?”

She showed me her sketch and I thought it was pretty cool.

“You know this is going to take a while to get made up?” I asked Doreen.

“Leanne and Anna have explained the process pretty thoroughly,” Doreen said. “I practically grew up in theatre and performed here until I got pregnant and married two years ago. Yes, in that order. I’m not body shy, though I’ll ask you to please not put another baby in me.”

“Uh...”

“I know. Anna told me, no fucking in the studio. I guess anything else goes,” Doreen said.

“We’ll see you Saturday morning at eight o’clock, then,” Anna took over. “Please try to not be late as Nate and Leanne will be working on your body—makeup—for anywhere between two and four hours before you are ready to photograph. We’ll try to have some modest refreshments available so no one faints from hunger or caffeine deprivation.”

Anna walked out with Doreen.

“Do you have everything you need to do this piece?” I asked.

“Almost. I need to run over to the theatre and talk to Trish. She’ll let me borrow what I need,” Leanne said.

“The theatre will let you borrow things?”

“It will be more like give me things since they’ll get used up, but they’re really nice over there. When I toured it with Kathleen, they said to just check with them if I needed something. When they see that photo of Min, I’m pretty sure they’ll give me anything I want.”

That was amazing. First Kathleen had borrowed stuff for her photo shoot, then she just brought us costumes and props for our shoot with Sam and Rachel and stayed to help. Then they offered to loan Leanne anything she needed. Anna told me that one of the actresses I met Friday night had called and wanted to set up a time for a portrait. I remembered Bridget Gray as the red-haired Irish actress who was another attendant in the show and, I gathered, had nice parts in School for Scandal and in Vatzlav, the last show of the season. The festival was a true repertory company and the productions of all the plays overlapped.

Well, I was pleased with the way that relationship was developing. If we could borrow costumes and props, or get actors as models for projects, we’d get along fine in Stratford.

When I got up on Friday, I kissed all the family, including Min and Leanne, and went out on my own for the day. I took the 35, but I was feeling kind of disconnected from my art, so I had it loaded with black and white film. I thought I might get some cool shots of the town as I walked around.

My first objective was to find a coffee shop for breakfast. I got a kick out of seeing a little restaurant I hadn’t noticed before called ‘That Scottish Café.’ Nice sense of humor. Several businesses in Stratford had names that had some association to Shakespeare. Why not? Shakespeare was making the town famous.

The menu had pretty typical café breakfast foods on it. I was about to order a corned beef hash and eggs when I saw the ‘Full Scottish Breakfast.’ There was a ‘Full English Breakfast,’ too, but I decided to try the Scottish version. I was asked how I wanted my egg—over easy—and what kind of toast—whole wheat—but those were the only options I was asked about. I’m sure I could have specified something else if I knew what options there were, but I prepared to just immerse myself in a bit of the local culture. I grabbed a copy of the newspaper and they brought me coffee while I was waiting. It took about five minutes to read everything of interest to me in the paper, but my breakfast was served pretty quickly.

I just stared at the plate for a few seconds. Or platter. This breakfast was huge, and it looked like everything on the platter had been fried, with the possible exception of the beans. I stood up so I could get a better angle and focused the camera on the plate to take some pictures.

“It’s beautiful, but not likely to get as many views as my bare breasts,” Kathleen said from behind me. I turned to find her and Damien standing there.

“Kathleen! Damien! I didn’t expect to run into anyone I knew. This might not show up in black and white as well as in color, either, but it was worth recording the event.”

“May we join you?” Damien asked.

“Yes, by all means. Please forgive me for eating, but I’d like this to be hot when I eat it.”

“Oh, go ahead. We’re just having tea and sweet rolls. Getting our day started,” Kathleen said.

“I’m glad we ran into you,” Damien said. “Leanne brought that latest photo you did yesterday and I have to tell you how impressed I am. Both with the makeup and with the photo. That is a spectacular piece of work.”

He paused to order their tea and crumpets. And Kathleen reached over to squeeze my hand.

“It was truly beautiful,” she said. “Half the company is talking about what they’d like for their character.”

“Wow! We’re doing another one tomorrow and one slightly less involved on Sunday or Monday, but Leanne and Min are leaving sometime mid-week or so. My photographer/model friend Leslie will be here tomorrow sometime.”

“You’re absolutely Victoria Station with people leaving and arriving!”

“It will be that way all summer. Wait until you meet Adrienne. Possibly the most exquisite creature to ever walk the earth.”

“Oh, my! I’ve seen Min and that really takes a lot to beat.”

“Anyway, Nate,” Damien said, “between the pictures of Kathleen and Min and that couple you just did this week, it got me thinking about the whole realm of performance art. Watching you create this piece and then photograph it could be an exquisite work of art in itself.”

“I’ve done a couple of limited audience photo sessions for my patrons in the past, but not with the whole makeup thing. It took us over four hours to do Min. But like I said, Leanne will be leaving soon,” I said.

“Well, it’s something to keep in mind. We’d have to moderate the audience and make sure everyone was of age and knew there would be nudity.”