Fifty-four

DREW HAD SEEN ENOUGH of Amy’s Roller Derby bouts that he’d changed from calling her ‘Pretty’ to calling her ‘Amalia Want’. On his other arm he escorted Bree. Damon held Allison and Whitney by the hand. Sandra was with Walt and he lent his other arm to Erika. Of course, my parents were there because this was also commencement weekend. Lexi was determined to help us move and to be present at the birth of our child late in June.

Melody’s fashion show at the gala was later in the evening this year. Senior projects were presented after nine o’clock, so when the fourteen of us stepped out of our limo, we were relaxed and ready to party.

Kate and I had little to show at the gala. Our year’s work was in a church several blocks away. Clarice resolved the technical issues and Doc Henredon cleared the way for a slide show between the fashion show and the dance recital. It included our work and Jerome’s crucifix.

“I’ve got a great idea, guys,” Kate said when we were standing on the sidewalk. “How about a gala with no drama?” We all laughed.

And we got our wish. Melody and Lissa received a standing ovation when Lissa took the catwalk and modeled the new line of maternity sportswear and the new fabrics Melody designed this year. Melody had a beautiful tapestry on display in the main exhibit area, too.

“We made it!” Rio exclaimed when she showed up with Matt.

“What took so long?” I asked.

“I ... uh ... had trouble with my dress,” she said.

“What kind of trouble?” Kate asked. It was an innocent question.

“I couldn’t put it on while I was tied to the bed.” It would have passed had not Wendy leaned over Rio’s shoulder and bit her ear.

“Grrr rawr rawr,” Wendy growled at her.

“Oh!” I swear we all saw Rio’s nipples pop straight out against her dress like they were spring loaded. She leaned against Matt.

“I understand you could show me a few tricks, Miss ... uh ... Tiger,” he said. We laughed and got food from the buffet.

“Tony,” Matt said standing beside me. “I’ve got what you need.”

“That’s great, Matt.”

“That vicar-guy is going down. I’m not sitting around while that predator is on the loose.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I found pictures of him with boys—some as young as Damon. They weren’t portraits.”

“Jesus Fucking Christ!” I swore.

“I already acted. I sent them to the Archbishop with a message that I’d release them to the police in twenty-four hours. If he doesn’t turn the vicar in, he’ll have committed a crime, and have violated a pact among American bishops that could end his prospects of advancement.”

“What happened?”

“We’ll know tomorrow. I’ll tell you more later.”

We met more friends, talked to more people, and called it a night.

“I’ll see you later, Tony,” a quiet voice said from behind me. I turned to see the most stunning raven-haired beauty I’d ever met. If I hadn’t seen her nude a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have recognized her. Some of her hair hung down in her face and some stuck almost straight out. I’d only seen that hairstyle in anime. The dress she wore—or was it a nightgown?—left little to the imagination. Her nipples were clearly visible through the semi-transparent black top. The hemline of her skirt was almost high enough to see the gates of heaven. Garters stuck from beneath it to hold up leaf patterned stockings that looked like they were tattoos on her legs. Her four-inch heels put her eyes almost at my eye-level. I exhaled, suddenly realizing I’d been holding my breath.

“Wow, Morgan. You’re kind of blowing your cover tonight, aren’t you? Now everyone will know you’re a stone-cold fox.”

“Are you kidding? Three guys I have class with tried to have an intimate conversation with me and not one of them recognized me.”

“I can imagine they’d want to be intimate. You aren’t leaving much to the imagination.”

“My father would be scandalized.”

“Did you say he was Tulalip?”

“No. That’s my mother. Dad’s a stuffy professor over at SCU.”

“Oh, my! Not Dr. Dennis!”

“Yeah. You know him?”

“Not well enough to report what you’re wearing,” I laughed. My Anatomy and Human Physiology professor was my newest model’s father. My, my.

“My debut as a nude model was rudely interrupted by some old priest,” she laughed. “I’m hoping to convince the artist for an encore.”

“You know that Bob Bowers claims that Tony makes love to all his models?” Kate whispered. She’d edged closer, not to me, but to Morgan.

“Oh, I hope so,” Morgan breathed. “I mean ... not for anything more than that, Kate. I wouldn’t try to get between you.”

“There’s a chance you could get between us—while we carefully take what remains of your clothing off with our teeth.” Kate kept getting closer and closer to Morgan until she moved the last couple inches to press her lips to my assistant’s. That deepened until I noticed people watching and reminded them it was time to go to the after-party.

“Like I said; see you later, Tony,” Morgan said.

“Not tonight, love,” Kate whispered to me as I watched Morgan’s ass. “We have a different commitment tonight.”

“Really?”

“Although, maybe we should get the blonde Native American in the same bed as the raven Native American,” Kate said thoughtfully.

I had a feeling it could be a long night.

“Mom?” I said when we came through the door. The lights were ablaze. I was ready to rush in with our cohort and get ready for the after-party. Everything was already set out and waiting. “What are you doing here? I thought you and Dad were at Jack and Lexi’s for the night.”

“Oh, we’re all here,” Lexi said as she came from the kitchen.

“What a way to greet your mother!” Mom said at the same time.

“Did you bring the boys back, too?”

“Molly’s with the boys,” Jack said as he and Dad came out with a big tray of shrimp and bottles of champagne. I poked my head into the dining room and saw a bigger spread than I purchased at Costco.

“Whoa! Look at all the food!”

“It’s your graduation party, Tony. And Melody’s.”

“Wendy and I worked it out with Lissa,” Kate said. “The parents wanted to make the party special.”

“And you kept it a secret from us!” Melody exclaimed. “I hope you’re ready for an art party.” The doorbell rang and the party was on.

And everyone came. I think that if we’d met a person in the past four years, that person showed up at the party. A few people had moved away when they graduated a year ago, but so many others were there. We spent the evening accepting congratulations. Father Andrew even showed up. He’d proven to be a real supporter, even though he couldn’t do anything about the archbishop. The archbishop would shit when he saw the book. I hoped it was a hard one.

Amy had a new girlfriend—at least I assumed it was a girl. They were roller derby teammates and, in this relationship, Amy was the fem and Glo was the butch. Glo wore leathers and glared at me every time she was near. Amy’s little sister, Trudi, was there, too.

“What are your plans, Tony?” Noelle James asked me.

“Well, we’re moving at the end of the month. Kate and I are getting married in July, and by that time Lissa should have our girl.”

“Not to mention that you’ve been distracted from painting long enough,” Clarice said. “You and Kate have gallery openings soon.”

“I’ve been working all year, Clarice,” I whined. We’d talked about this enough times to have our call and response worked out.

“You need paintings people can hang on their walls, not have to go to church to see.”

It was almost three a.m. by the time we got cleaned up after the party. I was surprised to see Bree, Whitney, and Allison leave. I’d expected them to stick around. Melody and Lissa headed to bed and Erika went to the downstairs guest room. I hopped in the shower with Wendy and Kate and we lovingly cleaned each other without going overboard. When we left the bathroom, Wendy shoved Kate and me out the door.

“Little private time for us tonight, Tiger?”

“No. I’m staying up here. I have to give Melody her graduation present.” I’m sure I heard a low growl. Or maybe that was a purr. “Kate has your present,” Wendy finished, kissing me.

Kate led me into the downstairs guest room. We weren’t wearing anything and when we entered Erika’s room, neither was she. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at us we walked in.

“Do you know how hard it is to just sit and wait for y’all?” Erika drawled. “I ‘bout broke ranks and ran upstairs to get you.”

“You know,” I said, “every Native American I’ve seen naked is drop-dead gorgeous. Why is that, Miss Redhawk?”

“I don’t know how many of us you’ve seen, but I’ve heard a girl in heat is always attractive to a man. I think I need to take you two down to Oklahoma this summer to see the heart of the Cherokee Nation.”