Chapter 5: Jewels

"I have a letter from Jimmy Lin in San Francisco. He wants to talk to us about some kind of cross-marketing agreement. He sent us a catalog before. We were going to look into it further, but we never did. "

"Who's he again?" Saul asked.

Anne said, "He's the guy who sent us his catalog of Asian erotica, bought a few pieces from us. Here's the catalog from our files."

"More than a few, Anne," Sigrid said. "I put a watch on that account and they've bought quite a few more Erotics and Explicits."

"When I first saw the catalog, I liked what they had," Will said, leafing through it again. "Very high quality, pricing like ours, and a lot of the stuff was totally different. Gave me a few ideas, but really, it's a different kind of thing.

"Different how?" Saul asked.

"The drawings are very oriental. Totally different from my work, all of it imported from the Far East. The jewelry and sculpture doesn't seem to be imported, at least not much of it. But it is outstanding, very sensual and if the pictures are accurate, outstanding quality. Some of it is really museum quality."

"Anything there we can use?"

"Oh, yes. Certainly. We could sell quite a bit of it. It's just nothing like ours."

"Doesn't really compete, then."

"I don't think so. If we could sell some of it, it would just expand our range."

Anne said, "That's what I was thinking. Saul, how about a trip to San Francisco?"

Saul wore his blue suit, Anne, a tan gabardine suit with a mid-thigh skirt. Her blouse was translucent white cotton that showed the dark tips of her breasts. It had short sleeves, a wide-bordered jewel neckline and ended in an elastic cuff at her waist. With her jacket buttoned, she was the essence of professionalism. On the plane, she took the aisle seat and kept flashing Saul.

They took a cab to Chinatown. The address was off the main tourist and shopping streets, but in a neighborhood that catered to the well-to-do. The entrance was a little hard to find, and when they did find it, Saul had to push a button and announce themselves before the door buzzed and let them in.

The shop was lit by windows from the rear of the building and was tastefully done, everything of excellent quality, though not quite luxurious. Certainly not ostentatious. There were erotic drawings in the Chinese and Japanese traditions on the wall, and a broad case of jewelry at one side, lit by halogen fixtures. A low table and chairs in a corner by the high window overlooked a pleasant garden that was neither Japanese nor Chinese, but oriental. Jimmy was a good-looking Chinese man who met them, shook Saul's hand delightedly, paid the same attention to Anne.

"I'm so glad you were able to come. Please, sit down and have some tea."

They sat, talked about trivialities, and drank green tea.

"I have asked my wife, Mei-Ling, to join us shortly. If you agree, I would like her to show Anne our selection of jewelry while you, Saul, and I look over the drawings you have brought. Then, perhaps you can look at our own drawings and sculpture and see what agreement we can come to, if any."

In a few minutes, the curtain to the next room swung aside as Mei-Ling entered. Seated on the low chair, Anne first saw small feet in scanty sandals, sinuous legs in a black leotard, a prominent mons, a taut, slightly rounded tummy. After a stretch of golden skin and the start of the rib cage, a black bolero embroidered with gold and silver. The golden skin led unbroken to the face of an oriental fairy queen.

Anne felt her eyes widen and her smile grow as her eyes moved upward. She stood up as the tiny woman walked toward them.

"Thank you," Mei-Ling said, extending her hand.

Anne managed to get her mouth closed. "You are exquisite, Ms. Lin."

"Please call me Mei-Ling. May I call you Anne?"

"Of course."

The men rose also. Saul's chair crashed to the floor, but appeared unbroken. Anne laughed. "Please excuse Saul, Mei-Ling. When he meets beautiful women he gets clumsy."

"No harm done, Saul. Thank you for the compliment." extending her hand. He shook hands with Mei-Ling before Jimmy drew him, despite his obvious reluctance, into another room.

"May I show you some of our jewelry? Jimmy and Saul are going to be a while, and we can join them later."

The case at the side of the room held rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets of excellent craftsmanship and considerable value. None of them held Anne's eye for a moment. Still, she took her time looking at them, not wanting to be rude.

After a few moments, as Anne began a second round of the display, Mei-Ling said, "I can see that you are disappointed. You're right. There is nothing interesting there. I buy this stuff and sell it to our more conventional customers. It pays a lot of the bills. Would you like to see my own work?"

"Yes, of course. But I hope you don't feel offended that I'm not interested in these pieces. They are very good, just not what I'm looking for."

"I know that, and I'm not offended at all. It confirms my hope that you can help us reach wider markets for my work. Please, come in here."

Anne followed Mei-Ling's perfect buttocks through the curtain into another room, also lit by a window to the garden. There were no cases here, only small stands on shelves around three sides of the room. Each stand held a piece of gold or silver. A table before the window separated two simple chairs. Anne began to look at the pieces on the stands.

There were earrings, necklaces, bracelets again, but of a sort Anne had never seen before. Each piece was incredibly erotic, subtly arousing, and exquisitely crafted. Anne exclaimed over the beauty and uniqueness of many of them. After a while, Mei-Ling took something from a drawer.

"I think you might find this interesting."

The necklace was gold, with a pendant of two bodies engaged in the act of love. The forms were perfect, the act unquestionable, yet in no way obscene. Only tremendously exciting.

Mei-Ling lead Anne to the table. They sat down.

"If you remove the chain, Anne, and twist them like this..."

The lovers broke apart.

"... You can wear them as earrings." She held the male and female bodies at her ears, each ready, yearning for the act of love.

"Oh, my God. I can't believe how beautiful these are. Show me more."

"First, Anne, put them on. I want to see how they look on you."

Anne replaced her gold knots with the two lovers. She turned to the mirror on the table beside her...

"Fantastic. I'll bet we can sell quite a few of these. You limit your editions, don't you?"

"Yes. This one especially. I only made two. Most of the rest I make many more of, but a maximum of one hundred of any piece."

Anne grew thoughtful, then got up and took off her jacket, hanging it on the chair. She began a systematic review of the displays. They were uniformly beautifully made, each in its own way extremely erotic. Several were explicit enough to be a complement to Will's sexual drawings.

When she came to these, Mei-Ling said, "Last year, when I saw Will Spector's drawings, I got the idea to do these. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, I think they are wonderful. I thought this one was familiar."

"That was the first one I tried. It's a copy of the drawing, really. I've gone beyond that now."

"I'll say. We've tried to do something of the sort, without success. You've got it right. But, what are these?"

It was a tray with pairs of pieces in gold and silver. Each was highly worked, with filigree, cutouts or carvings of an erotic nature. Some were simply erotic objects in themselves, usually in a circular form. They were deceptively light in weight, though often massive in appearance.

"Those are nipple rings."

"What? You're kidding."

Mei-Ling smiled and took off her bolero. Her firm breasts were tipped with dark nipples, each supporting an apparently massive gold disk carved in deep relief with an erotic motif. The disks covered her aureoles, appeared virtually weightless. Her nipples supplied a dark rose center to the design.

"Oh, my. That is gorgeous. May I touch them?"

"Please." Mei-Ling looked Anne directly in the eyes. "It will give me pleasure, too. I am very sensitive."

Gently, and with a caress, Anne ran her fingers over Mei-Ling's breast, tracing the edge of the disk. It was very light, having been carved on both sides to reduce weight, the rim heavier for rigidity. She looked at the other disk as well, caressing and cupping the supporting flesh. When she had seen enough, she ran her thumbs across the nipples. Mei-Ling shivered.

"Beautiful. And thank you. You are lovely, too."

"Well, I knew we'd get along, Anne, especially when you took off your jacket. You've got me really turned on, now. Would you like to try some of these?"

"I've never pierced my nipples, Mei-Ling, and I don't think I want to. I want to nurse my children when I have them."

"I've had my nipples pierced since my breasts matured. I nursed both my children."

"You have two children?"

"Oh, yes. They are the love of my life... But for most of these you don't need to be pierced to wear them. They stay in place by themselves. I only have these fastened for safety's sake." She pointed to tiny gold pins through her nipples. "Would you like to try them on?"

"You bet!" Anne took off the earrings, pulled her blouse over her head and put the earrings back on. Meanwhile, Mei-Ling slipped the retaining pins from her nipples and placed the disks on the velvet-covered table. Anne slipped one disk on her left breast, pushing the nipple through the hole. It remained, held in place by gently constricting the flesh. Anne looked in the mirror.

"Golly. That's fantastic. But I've got it on the wrong side. They should face each other." She removed the disk and put it on her other breast. She grinned at Mei-Ling. "Thanks for warming them up for me." She mounted the second disk on the other breast.

Mei-Ling laughed. "You're welcome. Now, come. Let's look at the rest of them."

The two half-naked women went through the rest of the collection, discussing materials, prices, availability. Mei-Ling stopped and fitted two elaborate dragons to her breasts, pinning them in place. The beasts circled each breast while appearing to devour the nipple. Later, she took Anne's disks and replaced them with two snakes of mingled gold and silver. Each snake coiled around Anne's breast. The heads, of course, engulfed her nipples. Mei-Ling fitted them on.

"If you had pierced nipples, there are gold pins that go through the jaws of the snakes to hold them in place."

"I'm not sure I'd want to have to wear something in my nipples all the time."

"You probably wouldn't have to. Many women who pierce their nipples find that, after a few months, they don't close up again. Others simply wear gold pins like these when they aren't wearing jewelry." She showed Anne two tiny pins that served to keep the passage open with gold balls on the ends to keep them in place.

"But you'd be surprised how many of our customers get in the habit of wearing something all the time. Seems to turn them on."

"It's turned me on, Mei-Ling, let me tell you that."

Mei-Ling cradled Anne's snake-wound breast in her hand. "That's only fair, I think." She grinned lasciviously as her thumb rubbed Anne's nipple. "Turnabout is fair play." Anne responded by pulling the little woman tight against her and kissing her hard.

Anne took off the earrings. "I can't wear these with the snakes," she said, laying them on the table. "What's involved in piercing? Does it hurt much?"

"Rather like ear-piercing. We use an antiseptic spray that is also a topical anesthetic. Want to go for it?"

Anne took Mei-Ling's hands in hers and drew her to sit across the table. The sunlight glinted from their golden trappings.

"You and I are going to do a lot of business, Mei-Ling, no matter what Saul and Jimmy decide. I want to buy the snakes for myself. There are two other pieces I want for myself as well. I'll be taking some other things for stock, too, because I know that I can turn this stuff over like hot cakes. I'm going to put some of it in our catalog. That's a promise. Okay?"