Part 8

Chapter 31

Nearly a week had gone by. Ted had given his two teenage models some time off after the weekend party. Jenny knew he was using the week to get to know Megan, a young girl that he had met through Jenny.
The end of the school year was approaching, and with it all sorts of exams and boring tests that Reina and Jenny should be preparing for. So in many ways Jenny should have felt lucky to have some time to devote to school.
All she could think about however was this Sarah woman that she had met at Ted's party, the woman who had given them a ride home, and with that ride a very special present that she and Reina had only just begun to enjoy. All these memories flooded Jenny's head. But even more than that was the image of this beautiful woman and what she had been wearing at the party. She'd worn a sheer dress and clearly underneath was some sort of corset. Stunning. This was how Jenny had experienced how Sarah had looked. Simply stunning. And this made Jenny all the more curious.
She'd kept Sarah's card carefully in her drawer. She hadn't called her. Nor had she called her uncle to ask him what this Sarah person was like. But everyday she'd asked Reina if she had heard from either Ted or this woman Sarah.
All week Reina had responded that no, she hadn't heard anything, and that actually that was good because who knew when her mom or someone else from her family would answer the phone. Jenny smiled. Reina was so careful with her family. And then she was so wild when she was away from them. It made Jenny excited that she had such a friend.
She began to consider how her relationship had changed with Reina. They had only gotten closer since they had begun working for her Uncle Ted. Jenny loved Reina's fashion sense (when she could dress how she wanted without her family knowing). That meant that Reina spent more overnights at Jenny's house. Jenny's mom was getting busier it seemed. Or was it this man that her mom had begun to talk about? Was she going out more? Jenny thought maybe she should pay more attention to what her mom was doing. Except that Jenny was getting busier herself what with her best friend staying over more and her Uncle Ted hiring her to work more. And now maybe this Sarah would hire her as a photographer's assistant. Two jobs! At fifteen! That would be fantastic. And doing things she loved to do! When Jenny thought about how a few short months ago she had been bored out of her mind she couldn't believe it.
But what led her to think these thoughts had been originally that she had begun to feel that boredom of several months ago. Just fleetingly. The week had gone by without anything to do except school work. Horrible!
It was after class on Friday, when Jenny trudged home without any prospect of something to do for the weekend, that Jenny's life changed. There was a message on the phone machine for Jenny to call Sarah.
The voice on the machine was asking if Jenny was available this weekend for a photo shoot at Sarah's studio. And could Reina come as well? Saturday at noon would be the time to show up. They should plan to spend the day and into the evening. It would depend how the shoot went what time they would be done. Please leave the evening free. That was the message.
Jenny's heart raced. She called Reina immediately. No answer. Then she called her mom at work.
"What are you doing tomorrow?" asked Jenny innocently when her mom got to the phone.
"Um, well, I was thinking of going to an auction with Mike," she said.
"Mike? Who's he?" Jenny asked. Immediately it dawned on her.
"Only the man I've been dating three times already," her mom said with some impatience.
"Oh, right," Jenny's eyes raised and it was a good thing her mom could not see her.
"You do know who I mean, don't you?"
"Yes, mom, of course I do," Jenny said to try and placate her. She wanted to change the subject. "I was wondering if Reina could spend the night on Saturday. We want to make a day of it in the Haight. We want to find all sorts of great clothes and then try them on for each other after pizza or something."
"Sounds like a plan," her mother said relieved that her daughter would be occupied. "Do you want me to call Reina's mother and let her know what's happening?"
This was a little code between Jenny and her mother. They both knew how ridiculous Reina's parents were and had developed ways to help her out.
"You read my mind, thanks, mom, I love you!" Jenny said.
"Ok, I might be home late," her mom said.
"I'll keep the second latch off for you," Jenny said, again, their code for not locking the door a double time until they were both home safe. Jenny hoped she would be home before her mom got in. Little did she know.

Chapter 32