Chapter 6

Back to town and back to work. George Stankovich had left a message with a name and phone number of a company that produced complex molded plastic parts and mentioned what they were looking for might be right up my alley. I called and talked to Nils Johansson, the owner.

"Tommy, we've got the same problem Chuck Jones had: High-gloss parts with little surface detail, except ours are black plastic. Can you help us?"

"Well, I can't really say without seeing the parts. Can we set up a time when I could come out and look at what you've got?"

"Um, sure. Do you mind if I ask how much you charge per hour?"

I told him what my normal rates were and assured him that I wouldn't charge for the trip out to look at his problem. We agreed on the following afternoon and I dragged myself downstairs to clean up my "studio." The last week had been kind of hectic and things had gotten a little messy downstairs.

Beth called as I was sweeping the floor.

"Tommy, can I make a deal with you?"

I immediately went into letch mode, "Depends on what you're bargaining with, little girl."

"Wellll ... I think you'll like my offer..."

"Hmmm. This sounds promising. Tell me more."

"How about over dinner?"

"Oh, a BIG favor," I chuckled.

"Oh, not that big ... just burger-sized."

"Okay, I'll pick you up as soon as I get myself cleaned up." I hung up and headed for the shower.

I picked up Beth and we stopped at a local mom-and-pop restaurant.

"All right," I said after we placed our order. "what's the favor you want. If it's not too much I'll consider it." Yeah, like I could refuse Beth anything!

"Tommy, I want you to buy me a camera."

"Um, Beth, you've already GOT the Nikon. What more do you want?" I asked. And, more to the point, how was I going to afford it?

"I just want a small point-and-shoot camera—its what I've wanted all along. And then you won't have to feel you have to keep bringing the Nikon back all the time."

"Beth! I can't take your camera. There's no way I can afford it!"

"Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, you're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Thinking you have to pay for everything you get! I didn't say I was giving you the camera, just that you wouldn't have to bring it back all the time. I just want a camera I can carry around with me and I figured that if you bought it for me you wouldn't feel so guilty about ... about..."

Damn, she knows me too well. I WAS feeling guilty about using her camera and making money from it.

"Okay, I'll get you a camera. Do you have one in mind?"

"No. I don't now anything about cameras, that's why the Nikon was sitting in my closet!"

Our food came about then and it gave me a chance to think about what Beth had said, and what she hadn't.

She was right, I was uncomfortable taking anything that smelled like charity. My dad had told stories of growing up in a poor family and how much his father had hated accepting handouts and I guess the idea of paying for what I got carried through the generations. I thought I was past that with Beth. I guess not.

"I'm sorry. Remind me to tell you what it was like for Dad growing up. But something else is going on here. What is it?"

Beth chewed her bottom lip for a minute—always a sign she was nervous about something, "Tommy, do you think I'm a spoiled rich kid?"

That stopped me cold. Did I? "Do I think you're spoiled? No. But you've got to admit, you're luckier than most of us."

"And that bothers you, doesn't it, Tommy?"

I thought about it. "It did at first. I mean we all thought of you as the ice queen, always above us. We couldn't figure out why you didn't hang with the other rich kids. But you don't flaunt it. I mean think about the parking lot at school—brand new Jags, Porsches, Mustangs. You could have had a car like that, but you're happy with your three-year-old Jeep. You don't have that I'm-better-than-you attitude.

"There is one thing that's bothered me, though. Why me?"

Beth looked at me as she considered my question, "Because you're you."

"Beth, that's no answer! I really want to know. I mean I'm happy we're together, but I've always wondered—did you plan that Friday night meeting?"

She looked down at the table, "Yeah. Yeah, I did."

"Why? I mean why me?"

"Tommy, I'd been there for a few Friday nights and I saw what you were like, I mean you'd give the guys a lot of grief, but it never seemed mean, it was just kidding. And remember the Friday before we met? The day Deb's boyfriend dumped her? She needed a shoulder to cry on and you were there. I talked to her later and she said at first when you offered to take her home she was thinking you were just out to take advantage of her feeling sorry for herself. She said you took her home and just held her for an hour until she stopped crying then walked her to her house and left after you knew she was okay. I'd say that was being a pretty good guy.

"That's when I realized you were somebody I'd like to know better. So the next Friday I got a ride to the café hoping you'd offer a ride home to anybody who needed one. I'd heard you do it several times and was just hoping..."

"How about later," I asked quietly. Was the whole night, hell, the whole weekend just a plan to seduce me into liking her? Did I really want to know?

"You mean when we got to my house? Did I mean for you to stay? N-no, I thought I'd just use the ride as an excuse so I could build up the courage to talk to you in school. When I heard myself ask if you had to go right away I about died! I couldn't believe I'd said it!"

"So you were really planning on watching Sherlock Holmes. You weren't just making that up?"

"No, I really wanted to. When you said that was what you were gong to watch too, I took it as a kind of a sign. After that things just kind of happened."

They sure had!

"And when you took you bra off?"

"Oh, god! I couldn't believe I was doing that! But it felt so good to have you hold me, and when you acted so scared when you realized you had my boob in your hand, well, I guess I felt safe with you, and I was sure of it when I asked you to stay and you offered to sleep on the couch!"

Hmm, I wasn't too sure how to take that.

"And when I heard what you whispered after you thought I was asleep. Well, I think that's when I first realized I loved you. I just didn't know what to do about it!"

I had to chuckle, "We're quite a pair, aren't we? I mean we could have ended up going all the way through school and never have met. I'm glad you took me up on my ride offer that night."

"So am I," she said. "So am I."

I met Nils Johansson at his factory the next day. He showed me the parts he wanted photographed, and this was going to be a challenge. The parts were molded from a shiny black plastic with several threaded holes on three sides.

"What I want is to be able to show all three sides at once and I can't figure out how to do it. Maybe mirrors? I don't know!"

He gave me a sample piece and I headed home to see what I could do.

"Tommy, it's time for dinner!" That was Mom.

"Okay, just a minute!" I turned off the light and headed up the stairs.

After dinner went I back downstairs and dove into my latest project. There had to be some way to get what I wanted.

My brother Kevin followed me and after we got to my studio area he asked, "Tommy, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure. What's up?"

Kevin blushed, "I-I need some more rubbers."

"Oh, so that's what's 'up'." I chuckled.

"Tommy, cut it out. I'm serious. Gail thought she could get some, but it didn't work out and I, well, I don't think the store would sell me any."

"Not to worry, I'll have Cindy pick some up."

"Thanks! Here's the money for them." Since Kevin became a teenager last year, he'd gotten real serious about not owing anything to anybody. Hmm. Where had I heard that before?

"What are you doing?" he wanted to know.

I explained what Nils Johansson was looking for and what I'd tried—and rejected—so far, "I can't figure out how to get light inside these threaded holes."

"Hey! I was in the surplus store the other day and they have some lights that look like fiber optics. Would they work?"

I thought about it for a minute, "You know, that might work! Thanks, Kevin! I'll run over there tomorrow." Maybe having a younger brother wasn't such a bad deal.

I was waiting at the door when our local surplus store opened the next morning. I found the lights Kevin mentioned—they looked like fiber optic threads bundled together with a penlight flashlight on one end. With a little 'adjusting' I thought I could make them work so I bought half a dozen of them. At $3.95 each I figured I could splurge!

I dragged my new goodies home and started fiddling. If I pushed a fiber optic bundle into one of the holes I could light the one on the other side, but that would mean I'd have the battery pack in the way on the other side. ARGGH!

Beth saved me a couple of hours later. "Tommy, it's too nice to spend the whole day stuck in your basement! I'll be there in fifteen minutes so you can take me for a ride ... in the Healey, you letch!" she giggled.

I was waiting on the front step when Beth skidded into the driveway. "Jeez, woman, where's the fire?"

"I want to go swimming!"

"Okay, let me get my suit." I stood up just in time to see that look that said I was being dense, again. "Oh, you mean at the farm!" Beth had hopped out of the car and slid in the passenger seat. Obviously, I was driving.

We got to the farm only to find Greg's car already parked in the field above the pond.

I looked at Beth, "Looks like we're not the only ones with the idea of taking a dip. Should we let them know we're here?"

Beth got that look on her face that said our friends were in for a surprise. She jumped out of the car and started pulling her clothes off. What could I do but join her?

As we got near the bushes screening the pond we could hear Cindy's giggle. Beth peeked through the bushes and saw our friends at the far end of the pool with Cindy floating on her back as Greg licked one of her prominent nipples. Beth looked at me with an absolutely evil grin, "Let's go."

She darted around the bush and yelled a she dove in the pond. I was a couple of steps behind her—just enough that I saw the result of her charge. Greg whipped his head around, lost his footing and fell back into the water, pulling Cindy under with him. They both came up sputtering.

"God damn, son-of-a-bitch! Who was that!" Greg yelled, then he saw who it was. "I should have known. Lookin' pretty good there, Beth," He leered.

Beth realized she was standing in water only up to her knees. She turned around and looked ready to bolt back to the bushes when she stopped. "Oh, the hell with it. We're all friends, right?" With that she waded out and swam across to our friends. I joined them a couple of seconds later.

"I hope you don't mind us being here," Greg apologized.

"Greg, I said any time," Beth looked at our friend. "I hope you don't mind if WE'RE here." I could hear the grin in her voice.

"Ah ... um, no, of course not!" Greg stammered as he looked at Beth standing in water that JUST reached her hips. My lady might not be as well-developed as Cindy, but she looked damn good in her skin.

Cindy looked at me and winked. Obviously, she had no problem with Greg leering at Beth.

Did I?

I'd spent a lot of time thinking about that. Ever since the day Beth and I were here and she had kidded me about an orgy I'd often thought about seeing Beth with another guy. I realized that I was still very uncomfortable with the idea.

Cindy waded over to me. "Tommy, don't worry, Greg's just looking—just like you are."

Damn, I was! Here I was thinking bad thoughts about my best friend looking at my girl and I was doing the same thing!

That snapped me out of it.

"Sorry, Cindy. My head's not screwed on too tight this afternoon, I guess."

"Hey, it happens. You know Beth's been a friend of mine for a long time. Well, except for a few minutes at the café when I realized the two of you had set me up with Greg, but, hell, even that worked out! Don't worry about the two of them. Nothing's going to happen."

We made our way over to where Greg and Beth were standing.

Cindy grabbed Greg's arm. "Remember me?" she kidded.

He wrapped Cindy in his arms, "Always, babe, always. Even if I do get distracted sometimes." I looked at Beth and saw the red creeping up her throat.

Greg turned to say something to me, lost his footing on the bottom and fell face-first in the water, almost taking Cindy with him again. By the time the laughter stopped, all the tension was gone. We were back to just a bunch of friends hanging out. We swam and goofed off for a while then climbed out and grabbed our towels. I was drying Beth's back when I heard, "CUT THAT OUT!"

I turned around and saw Greg trying to dry a spot between Cindy's thighs. The problem was ... he'd forgotten the towel! Beth and I just laughed as we started up the hill to the cars and our clothes.

We left as soon as we got dressed and took the long route home, letting our hair dry in the breeze.

The next morning I tried to work my way around my lighting problem. I figured if I could just...

"Hi, Tommy!"

After some serious mouth-to-mouth to get my heart going again, I showed Beth what I was trying to do and the trouble with the fiber lights.

"Tommy, those colors will really show off everything! I'll bet Mr. Johansson will love the results."

"I hope so, once I figure out how to get a big hole in the bottom of the piece.

"What brings you over here so early? Not that I'm complaining or anything!"

"Oh, I just missed you and thought I could tempt you with lunch." She purred.

"Sounds good. Time for a break anyway. So where are you taking me so I can buy you lunch?" I asked as I climbed in the Jeep.

"Well, we haven't seen Jeanie for a while."

"Great. The Pizza Palace it is!"

"Hi, kids!" Jeanie said as she led us back to our favorite booth. "The usual? With or without onions?"

"Well," Beth looked at me. "Since he's buying I suppose without." Her little pout didn't fool me.

As we waited for our pizza I told Beth what I wanted to do so I could get the fiber optic lights into the part.

"Looks like I'll have to get the old electric drill out and try not to puncture myself—too often."

Beth sat there with a funny little grin on her face.

"Okay, lady, what's so funny?"

"Oh, just a way to save your hide from becoming too holy," she chuckled at her pun.

Just then Jeanie came around the corner with our pizza. And that effectively tabled any further discussion.

As I bit into the last slice of our lunch, Beth brought up what should have been obvious, "Is he going to use your pictures on his web pages too?"

Dope slap! I hadn't even asked him if he had a site! Better call him and find out. If he didn't maybe I could steer some more work in Jim and Dan's direction.

As soon as we got back to the house, Beth grabbed my problem piece of plastic, one of the fiber optic lights, and started for the door, "Follow me!"

"Where are you going?"

"Where WE'RE going is to work!"

Work?

I realized what she meant as we turned into the parking lot at the shop Beth's folks owned.

"Beth, I don't want to bother your parents with this."

"Oh, we won't be bothering anybody!" She laughed as we walked toward the loading dock door.

"Hi, Bud!" Beth greeted her parent's foreman.

"Hey, kiddo. I didn't know you were working today. Oh, hi, Tommy. You two up to something? Should I call the fire department now or wait 'til I smell the smoke?"

"Bud! Won't you ever forget that?"

He just grinned.

"Um, Beth, what's he talking about?" I felt like I was missing something.

"Oh, nothing. Right, Bud?" I was glad my lady wasn't glaring at ME like that. Bud just chuckled.

We walked through the shop itself, with its double row of CNC equipment.

"Ah, Beth, all I need is a hole in the bottom of this piece! Isn't this a little over-kill?"

"This stuff, oh yeah. That's why we're not going to use it!" She said as she led me over to a stairway leading down to a basement I didn't even know the building had.

She led me over to what looked like the only piece of equipment in the whole place that wasn't numerically controlled—an ancient Atlas milling machine. Beth was obviously no stranger to the mechanical beast that was taller than she was. She had the plastic piece fastened down on the table and all the cuts made before I figured out what all the wheels on the machine were for.

"How does that look? Do you need anything cut out on the back?"

"N-no, that should work great." I took the fiber optic head and tried a couple of angles. Everything was perfect. "How did you know how to do that?" I looked at the mill that looked like a huge drill press on steroids.

She just laughed, "Tommy, you don't think I could grow up in a place like this without learning how everything works do you? Especially with parents who are both mechanical engineers!"

I just stood there wondering how much else I didn't know about my princess.

When we got back home I wanted to try out the modifications Beth did right away. I threw together a small stand that let me put the fiber optic lights under the piece and use the strobes to light the sides. It took a lot of fiddling around with positioning and a couple of changes of gel colors before I got what I wanted. Beth just lounged on our basement couch and watched.

"Hey! I could use some help as long as you're here. Just grab that reflector and..."

An hour later and we were done. A little Photoshop touch-up and I could get the JPGs to Nils.

I called him to get his e-mail address. "Um ... how long before I can get the pictures, Tommy?"