Chapter 19

The next morning I still didn't know how to fix things between Greg and me.

"Tommy, just let it sit for a while. Give Greg a chance to cool off for a few days," Beth said over breakfast.

"Okay. I just can't believe I did something that stupid!"

"Hey, you were trying to do a friend a favor. You just didn't think it through."

Oh, really?

I was in the garage a couple of days later when George walked across the alley.

"How's it going young fella?"

"Well, not so good right now," I sighed.

"What's wrong?"

I told him what had happened and he just shook his head.

"Tommy, you blew it. You can't step on a guy's pride like that and not expect to get in trouble."

"Yeah, I know that. I just really put my foot in it and I'm not sure what to do about it."

"Maybe turn your lady loose. I'll bet she can talk anybody into anything," he said with a grin.

"That would probably work ... Hmmm...

"Anyway, enough of my problems. What're you up to?"

"Well, I'm going back to Alaska once things warm up a bit up there."

"Again? You must really like it there."

"Son, if you ever get the chance to get there, grab it. You just can't believe what it's like until you go there."

I walked into the house just as Cindy came out of our place carrying John. She saw me just as she started up the stairs.

"Hi, Tommy! How are things going?"

"Oh, pretty good, considering. How about you?"

"Not bad. Taking care of the little one here is certainly different from going to class every day," she replied with a funny little grin.

"So are you considering becoming a full-time mom?"

"No, I don't think I'm ready for that. As a matter of fact I'm pretty sure I'll be more than ready to get back to school this fall."

"Well, if we can help at all..." I offered.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I have a feeling a night alone with Greg is about due."

I just chuckled as she started up the stairs.

"So what are we doing for dinner?" Beth asked as I walked in the door.

"How about just ordering a pizza? I know it won't be as good as running out to the Palace, but I'm ready to stay home tonight. Okay?"

"Sure. I'll call one in," she replied.

Something was definitely up. When the pizza arrived I should have figured my sneaky, devious, lovely lady was up to something—no onions.

We were maybe halfway through the pie when Beth looked at me.

"Tommy, do you have a price list?"

"Huh? You mean for my photography? Well, sort of. I'm still using the one your dad helped me make up. Why?"

"Oh, just curious. Have you added anything for portraits?"

"Not really. I haven't done enough of them to think I needed anything listed."

"Oh..."

"Beth, what's going on?"

"Well ... Cindy and I were talking before you got home and she was saying if she could show Greg your price list, we might be able to end this silliness.

"What did you charge for the last portrait you did? Can you just use that?"

I thought back to my previous portrait jobs, few as there were, and thought about how much time I'd spent, on average, doing them. A little quick and dirty math in my head—multiplying the average time by my standard hourly rate—surprised me. It was obvious the flat rate I'd charged for my past portraits was barely half of what I would charge on an hourly basis. Either portrait photographers used a totally different system of figuring charges, or it was obvious that, based on my rates, I wasn't going to be spending a lot of time taking pictures of drooling babies. But it did give me an out with Greg. If I showed the flat rate fee I'd be able to give him a discount he wouldn't even know about.

"Um, well, for this one time, I suppose..."

The next day at school I ran across Fred Clark in the cafeteria and couldn't think of a better person to ask about getting some basic video training. I wasn't about to switch sides, but between the stuff I'd shot on vacation and the video I'd done for Jim Moore I was convinced that it couldn't hurt to learn more about these new-fangled movin' pictures.

"I'd suggest Video Production 101 but that's normally only for people on the video path, besides it's a freshman course and you're going to be a senior, right?"

"Well, so much for that idea. Thanks, Fred."

Damn, looked like I'd have to start doing some searching.

That night I spent some time on the web looking for a class offered by the local tech schools and not finding anything that seemed to fit. A lot of the schools offered video courses, but only as part of a career path.

Looked like I was going to have to talk my way into a class that wasn't part of the normal curriculum for my major.

"Tommy, can I talk to you?"

I had just walked into the house after school the next afternoon when Greg came down the back stairs.

"Sure. What's up?"

"I was wondering ... um ... oh, dammit, would you still do a portrait for us? Cindy's not going to leave me alone until we get some pictures, especially some of the little one. I still think we should pay you, though."

"I'd be happy to do your pictures, Greg. But first let me apologize for being such an idiot for not thinking about what you'd feel when I said I wouldn't charge you. I'm sorry."

"Hey, I should be the one apologizing. It's just sometimes I feel like we're freeloading on you and Beth."

"I'll bet you didn't feel that way when you were up on that rickety ladder changing windows!" I kidded him, thinking back to our experience that first Fall when we'd just moved into the duplex. "Look, let's just forget it. I mean we've been friends too long to let this get in the way. And if you'd feel better paying me for the pictures, I'm not going to argue."

We talked for a bit and decided on Saturday afternoon for the big shoot.

As we crawled into bed that night Beth reached over and ran a hand up my leg.

"I heard you talking to Greg. So what did he want?"

I told her about our conversation. Or at least what I could remember what with the major distraction she was causing.

"At least we won't have to put up with the two of you acting like nothing was going on," my lady said with a low chuckle as she reached her destination.

WE? My final rational thought was that it was pretty obvious Greg and I had been played like a pair of Wurlitzers by our lovely ladies. A pair of consummate organists if ever there were was my final thought before I made a mess all over Beth's talented fingers.

Saturday I had the living room set up for Greg and Cindy's portraits. I'd moved most of the furniture out of the way and had my lights and one of my painted backdrops all ready to go when they came down. I'd bought some inexpensive LED light panels to use in place of my usual strobes. I figured flashing strobes and a baby probably wouldn't be a good mix.

The four of us sat around and talked for a while with little John just snoozing quietly. He was still pretty small to be creating much of a fuss.

"Tommy, I put together a short list of what we'd like, if that's okay?" Cindy asked.

"Sure. That will make things a lot easier." I looked at the list and didn't see anything unusual. Since John was still asleep, I opted to start with just Cindy and Greg. Beth held John as I got Cindy seated and arranged Greg behind her.

Ten minutes later we were ready to add John to the mix.

As Beth handed the little guy to his mother he woke up and whimpered a little. I was afraid he'd really turn on the water works and we'd have to reschedule the rest of the shoot, but after just a few seconds he snuggled up to Cindy and I was able to finish the session with the three of them in short order.

The last item on the list was John by himself. Cindy brought his favorite blanket and she formed it into a little cocoon for him. When she put him down he just looked up at me and smiled, and that was that.

"Tommy, I'd like one last picture."

"Sure. What did we miss?" I'd thought we'd been pretty sure to get all the possibilities.

"I want one that, I guess, you could call 'Mother and Child, '" she said as she started to take her clothes off.

Now obviously I'd seen Cindy in her birthday suit, but I still glanced at Greg to get his reaction. After all, even though we'd all been nude together at the farm, this was a different situation. The math types say two things equal to a third are necessarily equal to each other but I didn't agree, at least not in this situation. It may have been true in math, but not when you're talking about a guy and his lady. But Greg obviously knew what Cindy was up to and didn't seem to have any problems with it.

By the time I looked back Cindy was naked and holding a now equally naked John to her breast. It was obvious what image she was looking for and, with just a little adjustment of her pose for propriety's sake, and a little fiddling with the lights, I had what I hoped she wanted ... All the time trying to ignore the fact that she'd worked off her pregnancy pounds and was looking fine.

"I know better than to ask when they'll be ready," she said as she finished getting dressed, "but could you give me a hint?"

"How about Monday afternoon?" I answered with a grin.

"Sure! Thanks again, Tommy!" she said as she gave me a big kiss. A little incentive to get them done early?

After Greg, Cindy, and John left I loaded the files onto my computer and started working on them. I had just started on the "mother and child" image when my lady walked up.

"I wish I had tits like Cindy's," she sighed.

"I don't," I replied.

Beth gave me a disbelieving look. "Don't kid me, Tommy. I've seen how you look at her and the other girls. All you guys are the same!"

'Here we go again, ' I thought to myself, remembering that first weekend we spent together. The old Beth was back. The one who felt inadequate because she felt her chest didn't measure up.

"Beth," I said as I stood up and looked into her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you it doesn't matter. In fact, I'm glad you're not built like Cindy."

"Come on, Tommy, I don't believe that!"

"Think about it. If you looked like all those other girls would we have ever gotten together? You wouldn't have felt inadequate and would have been hanging out with the jocks and the A-list group. I wouldn't even have shown up on your radar."

I could see her getting mad at the thought that she could have been one of "those people."

"That's not true! I know we'd have still..." she stumbled to a stop.

"Wouldn't we?" she finished in a little voice.

"If you hadn't felt so plain, don't you think you would have ended up with the 'in' group?"

She was silent for a long time.

"Do you really think I would have? Then why didn't I end up with them after you convinced me I looked good? Do you really think I could be like those people?"

That brought me up short. I thought back to my fears of what would happen that Monday after her rebirth and I suddenly didn't feel very good about myself.

"Well?" she insisted.

"Beth ... I ... Oh, shit, I guess I didn't think this through very well."

"Tommy, I'm grateful every day that we met and I think we would have met even if I hadn't felt the way I did. It's fate and you're stuck with me!"

I could live with that.