Chapter 30: Anne

When I got up on Monday it was sunny and warm for mid-November, so I wore my Polartec and a pair of those really tight ski pants with half-boots. The Polartec feels nice and fuzzy on my breasts and it almost covers my buns. The zipper neck lets me control the draft. I didn't need a coat. I thought it looked pretty good.

After lunch, Saul waved frantically at me as I started to leave the Union, so I went to where he was sitting.

"Dad left a message on my answering machine over the weekend. I want to call him back this afternoon. You busy?"

"No. Mary's posing today. What time?"

"Three thirty okay? You look yummy." He beckoned me closer and I bent down so he could whisper in my ear. "I love the way your tits bounce."

I gave him a better look. "So do I. See you then."

At Saul's room, Will met me outside the door.

"Super outfit." He gave me a kiss, grabbed my cheeks and slipped his hands up my back. Then he pulled down my zipper and looked inside.

Saul's room was like a steam bath. He was wearing only a tee-shirt.

"You planning a sweat bath?"

"No. Heat's screwed up. Have a seat."

Will and I sat on his couch. Saul put the telephone on the table in front of us and sat on the other side of me. I took off my Polartec. Saul dialed.

"Really glad they don't have video phones yet... Hi, Dad, Saul. Got your message. I'll put you on the speaker."

"Thanks for calling me back. I wanted to talk to you about the art work you sent me. I can't seem to get you over the weekends. How about giving me another number to call? Is someone else there?"

"Yes, Will Spector, the artist, and Anne Stilwell."

"Stilwell. You any relation to Vinegar Joe, Anne?"

"He was my great-grandfather, sir."

"My name's Harry."

"Thank you, Harry," I said.

"Watch out for her, Saul. She comes from a line of cantankerous bastards."

"I figured."

"Anne, are you the one with the braid?"

I looked at Saul, shrugged. "No, sir, uh, Harry. She's Mary Travis."

"Texas name. Alamo."

"She's from Colorado."

"Okay... now... Will, you there?"

"Yes, sir."

"Humph. Listen. Saul sent me your work. I've gone over all of it and talked with some friends about it. I'm not talking now as Saul's father, but as a collector with some experience. Understand?"

"Yes, Harry. Thanks."

"Better. All right. First the horses, then the nudes, and those two kinds of erotica. All right?"

"Dad, we call the first group of erotica 'Erotics'. The second group we call 'Explicits'."

"Got it organized, eh? Okay, that makes sense. But first, the horses.

"Will, I really like the horses. They are beautifully drawn, your detail is excellent, the modeling is outstanding. I can see that you are learning some, but even the earliest of them is excellent. The one pastel you sent is really wonderful. Top quality stuff."

"Thank you."

"The problem is that you aren't going to sell many horses in pastels. Maybe some of the drawings will sell, but you can't get enough money for them. Not more than a couple of hundred each. You've got to start doing horses in oíls or acrylics. That's the only thing horse people will buy. Clear?"

"Yes, that's clear, and I agree. But you think I could sell some?"

"Oh, sure. I can show some of this to a couple of people at the Institute. They'll go for it. You any good with oils?"

"I'll use acrylics. Easier to work with. I've got some learning to do, Harry, but I could do credible work now."

"That sounds realistic. Now, the nudes. Anne, I'm going to be blunt about this, okay?"

I looked at both guys. "Go right ahead, Harry. I don't have anything to worry about."

"Not with a body like yours... Will, the two nudes you sent are truly outstanding. The one of Anne has a feeling of wantonness and abandon that is absolutely breathtaking. I would like to see some of your others. I'll bet you've shown her in some of her other moods, as well."

"Harry, he's done at least five others of me in that style, and dozens of sketches and studies. Some of them make me blush."

"I suspected that, Anne. Thanks for telling me.

"Now, the one of Mary is also a definite keeper. Anne is Venus Today. Mary is a modern Diana. She has that same clean, strong and purposeful look, but she also looks like hell in bed. Is that what you intended?"

"Yes, it was."

"The next group, the ones that are so erotic and anonymous. You call them 'Erotics', is that it?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Well, all of them are certainly collector quality. I suspect that, as time goes on, they will get even better. I want the three in that sequence for my own collection; I'll send you a check. But beyond that, I've talked to some of my dealer friends, men who specialize in erotica. You sent a couple to Ralph Barstow and to Manny Fox, didn't you, Saul?"