Chapter 2

The Monday after my weekend with Lou found me in my studio bright and early. I felt amazingly refreshed and energized. It's amazing what some good loving will do for the mind, body and, most importantly, the soul.

As I said, I was at the studio fairly early, certainly before Naomi would be there. When you own your own business, there's always something that needs to be done. Naomi could handle scheduling any sessions for the week, and she could handle the retouching, packaging and the delivery of photos. I also had worked with her on sales, so if something came up, I was confident in her handling that, also. In fact, she did everything except take the pictures! However much she could do, it was up to me to plan and execute any marketing plans. I also kept the books and did the payroll in addition to the actual photography.

I was anxious to call Diamond, the owner of the spa and bath where I wanted to do my special session with Lou. I was fairly confident that I'd be able to convince Diamond of her participation. Like many business owners, she was open to do a certain amount of 'in-kind' business, especially if it could lead to more business for her. What I had planned could lead to a whole marketing campaign, giving her fledgling business a brand that would set her apart from the other spas in the area.

At 9:00 AM on the dot, I gave her a call. She had just walked in and said she didn't have a lot time right then to talk. That was just fine by me, as I wanted to take my time in my explanations. I asked her if she could do lunch that day, which was fine with her. We set a time and place and said good bye. I spent the rest of the morning puttering around, doing a little clean up around the studio, getting something organized.

I was at the restaurant at the appointed time and got us a nice, quiet booth where we could talk. Diamond came into the restaurant and I knew nearly every head turned to look at her. Diamond was a tall, lithe, beautiful African-American woman. She was very striking and was always very stylishly dressed. Today, she was in a nice mini skirt and high heeled boot that rang on the wooden floor as she walked across it to where I was standing next to our booth. She held out a hand, which I took, and we leaned in close to each other and gave 'air kisses' to each other. I think she may have thought I was gay, as it was her opinion that the only men who men who could be 'artistic' had to be those that were gay.

I, obviously, am not gay, but sometimes it's better to allow someone their preconceptions than it is to burst their bubble, so to speak. However, I was not immune from her very sexy dress and perfume, and I could feel myself getting hard.

The waitress was there almost immediately and we both ordered sandwiches and tea. We exchanged a few pleasantries, inquiring about any general health and what we'd been up to lately. This took a few minutes, and Diamond seemed anxious for me to get to the point.

Eventually, Diamond said, "Enough with the small talk, Jonny. On the phone you said you had something you wanted to discuss. A business deal, I think you said. I have to tell you, I don't really have the need for a photographer at the moment."

"I have to disagree with you there, Diamond," I said. "Is your spa doing as well as you thought it would by this time?"

She was immediately defensive. "It does alright," she said.

"Enough to justify the bath? I'll bet that doesn't get near the use you were hoping it would," I pressed. "I haven't seen much advertising for it."

"We just haven't found the right concept in which to frame it," she said.

Our meals arrived, and we took a moment to start eating.

"I think I may have an idea you can use to promote not only your spa, but feature the bath as a 'need to have' part of the whole spa experience." I said. "You can build a whole campaign around a central theme and make everything come back to the idea that women want the pampering you can give them."

Now, I don't want to come off sound like a marketing genius, because I'm not. I do, however, have some inkling into how women think. I seldom understand them, but I do know certain things are fairly constant and almost unanimous in regards to women and their creature comforts. I also knew that Diamond would nibble at the bait I was going to dangle in front of her. Whether she'd agree was the gamble.

"I'll give the idea, gratis, but I have to be the one who executes the pictures," I said. "Are you interested?"

"Well, you've got me interested," she said. "What's this about?"

I explained, in detail, what Lou and I had thought out. Luckily, I had brought the sketch along as a visual aid. My concept for Diamond was to build an entire ad campaign around this picture emphasizing the luxury and near-hedonistic indulgence a spa experience could be. Add aroma therapy and hot rock massage along with the heated bath. With the bath being heated, some perfume and oil and the person getting the treatment felt like she was getting a very special treat. I even had an idea for the ad lines: 'The bath and spa as the ancients and the gods knew them!' Corny, I know, but sometimes you have to appeal to the vanity and ego of the client. First, you had to get them in the door and this would get them thinking they deserved to be treated like a princess. One you go them in the door, you treat them better than they expect, they'll be back and they'll be back and they'll tell their friends, and then they come in and if they feel special, well, there's no telling where it will all end!

Diamond's eyes were glittering with excitement. It was obvious she could see the possibilities. Her only question to me was, "What do you need from me?"

"That's the easy part," I said. "All you have to do is let me use your new bath for the picture. Oh, and maybe some candles for effect."

We discussed details for the remainder of the meal. When we had finished and I had paid the bill, I asked to come over and scope out the local so that I could get things set, at least in my mind. We had decided that the coming Saturday night would be a good time, after everyone had left and we could have the place to ourselves. One thing I had not expected, and I probably should have foreseen, was Diamond's insistence on being present. When she said that, and I reluctantly agreed, an idea formed in my head. I'd have to ruminate on it and nourish that idea and see where it went.

When we arrived, Diamond asked me to wait at the desk until she had checked to see if the bath was clear of clients. I flirted with the receptionist, a very pretty girl still in high school. I asked why she wasn't in school, and she said she was in a work/study program. She asked what I did and I told her I was a photographer. I asked her who had done her senior pictures, as it was a major part of my business, and she told me a friend of hers. Her mother had not been very happy with the outcome. I was giving her my card when Diamond came back. I told the girl to have her mother call me and we'd work something out.

Diamond, and the phone, interrupted us. The girl, whose name I did not get, answered the phone very professionally and Diamond steered me away from the desk. Diamond said, "The bath is occupied at the moment. Can I show you around? Maybe you'll get some other ideas."

So, I let her show me around. She had the usual array of hair dressers and mani- and pedi- cure stations arranged in a very open layout. There were corridors and rooms off to the sides of the main room and Diamond proudly showed me that she already had some rooms where privacy could be attained and massages could be performed. I also noted in a few of the rooms some pots with what looked like wax in them. Diamond confirmed that, yes, that was where they also did bikini and more waxes. I shuddered at the thought of the pain women went through to look pretty for man. Throughout the tour, I was introduced to quite a number of her employees, almost all of who were young, pretty and very, very vibrant. Yes, my cock took notice, too! The idea that had started to germinate in my mind now started getting firmer, along with my cock. There were some real possibilities here!

Finally, we made it to the bath. It was in a fairly large room and it was pretty humid in there by its very nature. Off in one corner was a small, two-person Jacuzzi. Judging by the subsiding bubbles, someone had very recently vacated it. The room was done in blue-green tiles and the water looked very relaxing. The bath itself was kind of small, only about 10 feet wide by 15 feet long and maybe 3.5 feet deep; not large enough for laps, but certainly large enough for a small, intimate party. The end nearest the locker room doors had a walkway about 6 feet wide, while the walkway around the rest of the bath was maybe 4 feet wide. Interestingly, sitting at the center of the wide walkway was a series of steps, each about nine inches square leading upwards pyramid-style. It left a three foot walkway past it, and I thought it was perfect for what I wanted.

I asked Diamond if the water was heated, and she replied that it was. I was hoping we could get some wisps of water vapor off the water, but I wasn't counting on it. I asked what the decorative steps were for, and was told that they were for holding candles. Perfect, I thought. The lights were dimmable, and that's when I thought I could pull it off. The only problem I could see was going to be where I and the camera were going to be located. The only place I could figure it would be in the bath itself, at the far end. Oh, well, I'd protect that camera somehow.

I was explaining what my vision for the picture was, complete with the candles on the steps. I asked if she had enough for all of the steps, and I was assured there would be enough, both electrical and real. That satisfied me and then I broached my other idea.

"How would you like to be in another picture in the bath?" I asked Diamond.

She eyed me skeptically. "What do you mean?" she replied.

"Well," I stated, "I thought that the ad campaign should not only include goddesses but also princesses. I could see you as either one, and the Black women in the community could more easily identify with you than with a white chick."

"That's true," Diamond said, furiously thinking about what I'd said. "What would you want me to do?"

"That's actually the easy part," I said. "I want you to basically do what I'm going to have Lou do. You know, model and look pretty in a robe and in the water. Nude, of course. The other part is a little more difficult."

"Well, I can do the modeling, nude or otherwise. I used to do it in another life." I could believe it. She was nearly as tall as I am when she was wearing heels, and she was model material, for sure. "What's the hard part? And who is Lou? Do I know her?" she asked.

"Lou is my model. Lulu LaRue. She's also my accountant," I replied.

"Oh, I know Lou!" Diamond nearly shouted. "She's my accountant, too! Good choice: pretty, but not so beautiful people are scared of her. Now, what's the hard part?"

"I need you to get at least three other girls to be in your picture, too. Kind of like servants to you. And, I'd really like your receptionist to be one of them. I know she's young, but that's why I'd like her in it. The others would have to consent to nudity, but not the receptionist."

"She's awful young, you know. She's only 17. I'm not sure her mother would go along with it. I know of just the right girls for the part. Sure you only need three?" she asked, eyebrows arched.

"Well, if you can recruit maybe a couple more," I said. "We don't want it too crowded in here. Besides, I'm going to be in the water with the camera, and I don't want the water splashing around too much."

I had a thought. "Diamond, could you stand right here for a moment?" I asked, indicating the edge of the bath near the decorative cubes. I moved to the other end of the pool. The water had assumed a glass-like stillness and I could see, despite the bright overhead lights, a faint reflection of Diamond in the water. I found the light switch, which was actually a dimmer control and turned the lights lower. As I did this, Diamond's reflection became much clearer. Maybe I wouldn't be in the water, after all.

I had all I needed, so we left the bath. This might work out very well, I thought. I told Diamond that I'd call her to confirm everything, and we'd be there around 8:30 on Saturday for the session. Both Diamond and I were excited about the prospects of this concept. However, I had to shake my head at how complicated it had become.

When I got back to the studio; I checked my messages, etc, and thought about the additional pictures I now wanted. I was casually leafing through a catalog when something leaped out at me. There it was: the perfect robe for the shoot! It was a long, silk robe with a hood. It was blue and green and had some sort of bird-of-paradise motif on the back. I jumped into my imagination on Lou's body. I had to have it for her and another for Diamond. I had something special in mind for her. I got on line and ordered the two after assuring myself that they were both floor length.

The rest of the week went by pretty quickly, with only one incident on Wednesday. That morning Diamond called me an asked me to come by around closing time to explain to the women she had selected for her retinue what we would be doing. I was glad to do this, and I got there around 8:30. We met in the break room there and she had four of her ladies there, two of her hair dressers, a nail technician and an aesthetician. Just as we were settling in, in came the receptionist, apologizing for being late.

We made some introductions, and I found out that the hairdressers were Portia and Michele, both African-American. The nail technician was Leigh. She was Asian and the aesthetician was a white woman who was introduced to me as Jordan. The receptionist was named Tricia.

I explained the idea again, and again the sketch helped a lot. When we were done with the concept explanation, I asked if there were any questions. The first one was the obvious one and was asked by Leigh.

She raised her hand and when I nodded to her she asked, "Will we have to be naked? Diamond said we might be naked." She sounded very concerned about this, and I saw Tricia nodding her head vigorously.

"I don't know yet. It all depends on what things are looking like and whether or not you're willing. No one gets forced into anything they don't want to do. However, there are a couple of things I have to insist on.

"First, I can't have any clothing lines on anyone. That means that from about noon on, no bras, no panties, no underwear, no slacks. I want you to wear dresses that are loose-fitting, so no skirts. That will give your skin time to rebound from any straps or other tight-fitting things. I have some chitons for you to wear when we get to the session. How much you show will be up to you. I should warn you, these 'togas for women' are very sheer and will not hide anything.

"Second, tell no one, except maybe spouses, or in your case, Tricia, your parents. We want this to be a surprise ad campaign. We think if we play on the sheer luxury of the 'Roman-style' bath, with all of the other amenities you ladies have here, we can make this a destination spa, so secrecy is important.

"Finally, we want to have fun, but you will have to realize this is going to be some very serious work we're going to be doing. We'll have some wine to help us relax, but we can't goof around until we're finished. Any other questions?"

Portia raised her hand. "What about make-up? It's going to be pretty warm and humid in there," she said.

"Excellent question and great observation," I replied. "Now, I don't know all that much about make up, but I would think we need to go minimalist, here. Diamond is going to be the centerpiece, a queen, so you the rest of you will be background. Just make sure that whatever you do, it is very subdued and in waterproof makeup. Just a thought: Diamond, could we do your eyes up with gold glitter?"

Diamond frowned slightly in concentration and then her face lit up. "That would be awesome," she said. "I have just the stuff. Portia, when Jonny's through, attend me." There were giggles at this. Diamond was getting into the role.

I asked if there were any other questions. The ladies looked at each other and then shook their heads. I stood up and thanked them and they started leaving, chattering to each other as they left. I realized that Tricia hadn't gotten up. She looked like she was almost in tears. I sat beside her and watched as everyone left, leaving just the two of us.

I got to the point. "Tricia," I said, "whatever is the matter? You look like you could start crying any minute. What's wrong?"

She looked at me and then turned away. I seldom let something like this go.

"You've gotta tell me," I said. "You can't keep secrets from your photographer. It's the rule."

That started it and the next thing I new, she was bawling hot tears on my shoulder. I put my arms around her as she threw her arms around my neck. "There, there, hon," I said. "It can't be all that bad. Tell me about it. What's the matter?"

She pulled away a little. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied some napkins on the table. I grabbed a couple and handed them to her. She sat up, dabbed at her eyes and blew her nose, all the while still crying and sniffling. Finally, she got herself under some semblance of control.

"I can't be in your pictures!" she cried. "I'll ruin them! I'm just a big, fat, stupid cow!"

I just sat there, stunned. I know my mouth was hanging open. How could anyone think this beauty was fat and ugly? I said to her, "Who thinks you're fat and ugly? Who?"

"My mother, for one," she sniffled.

I was almost overcome with rage. How could anyone, let alone a mother, tell a child that they weren't worthy? Children are our most precious resources, and we can't afford to run them down. This girl could come to some serious harm with a self-image as damaged as this one appeared to be.

I mean, to me, this girl, on the surface at least, was one of those very rare beauties one only sees in magazines: she had beautiful auburn hair that fell in ringlets around her shoulders. She was fairly wide shouldered and tall, but had a narrow waist that couldn't be more than 21 inches around. Her hips flared nicely into a set of hips that were slim, yet showed the curves of a woman. She was large breasted, true, but she was definitely not fat. And her face! Oh, her face was that of a typical red-head's, with even, but pale features, a spray of freckles across a near-perfect nose. Her eyes were large and green, spaced widely, but not so far apart as to appear vacant, and her lips were slightly puffy, the kind that promised to be wonderful and sweet when kissed.

"It's OK if you don't want me in the picture," she said sadly. "I'll understand." She started to rise.

I rose with her, and I decided that maybe what this girl needed was someone who would be forceful and direct. "Sit down," I said. It was direct and forceful, but I did my best to not sound belligerent.

She sat, and so did I and I slid my seat a little closer to hers. She had her head down, not looking at me. I took her face in both of my hands and raised it up until her eyes were looking into mine. I didn't let her go until I was finished speaking.

"I don't know why," I began, "your mother has told you you're fat and ugly, but I know it's not true. You are a very beautiful young woman and I want you in my pictures. It's a big deal and Diamond chose the other women, but I chose you." Tricia's eyes went to wide at that. Maybe she didn't know.

"I chose you," I continued, because as soon as I saw you in the lobby, I knew I wanted you." She was staring into my eyes at this point. Those green eyes of hers were searching mine for hints of lies. I hoped all she saw was sincerity. "I see a beautiful girl, almost a woman, one I don't run into everyday. I'll bet you don't have many girl friends, do you?"

She shook her head. "The only girls who really say anything to me are the girls here," she said, "and they're all so beautiful. Oh, and my best friend, Robin," she added.

"I'll bet not many guys talk to you either, do they?" Again, she shook her head. "That's because the girls are jealous of you and the boys are afraid of you! I would have been at your age. You are so beautiful that the guys are afraid to say anything. They probably all feel like you're out of their league. And the girls are jealous and are also afraid that you might take their boyfriends away from them. You scare them because you are so beautiful!"

She tore her head away from mine. "If I'm so beautiful, how can you talk so easily to me?" she asked.

"Oh, that's easy," I said. "I talk to beautiful women all the time, so beauty doesn't frighten me so much anymore. However, if I were to ask you for a date, I might get all tongue-tied, just like any of the boys at school." She laughed, despite the tears. I pressed on: "Do you know why I chose you?" She shook her head. "It's because I needed beautiful women in my scenes and you are fresh and look so innocent, yet so beautiful. You belong in that scene. Someday, when you've matured a little bit more I'll find the perfect picture for you. Do you like the outdoors?" A vigorous nod was my answer. "I think I may have something. It'll have to wait, but I can definitely see something for you."

Finally, the tears had stopped. She wiped at her eyes one last time and asked, "Do you really have something or are you just trying to make me stop crying?"

"Oh," I said, "I can see it in my mind's eye, alright. Maybe not all of the details, but I'm thinking that I might just have a series of pictures coming to mind. Modern renditions of old Greek and Roman goddesses. I'm thinking of you as Diana, the Huntress."

"Cool," she said. She picked up the napkins, stood up and threw them in a nearby trash can. I stood up as well. She came back to me, reached out her hand to my arm, stood on her tip toes and kissed me on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered and then walked out of the break room. She had no sooner left than Diamond came back into the room.

She looked over her shoulder at the retreating teenager and started lightly clapping her hands. "Well done, Jonny-boy," she said, "well done." I wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not. "You've probably done more for that girl's self-image in the last five minutes than we've been able to do in the last year-and-a-half."

I must have had a very puzzled look on my face. She motioned for me to sit down and when she had sat, she explained it to me. "When she came to work for me, oh, about 17 months ago, she was kind of short and rather plump. She couldn't look you in the eyes and talk to you she was so shy. I took her on as a favor to a friend at the high school, hoping that we could help break the cycle she was in. Her mother and father are both morbidly obese and neither one of them seem to know anything about raising a sensitive young lady.

"We were hoping that a little bit of kindness from us, and maybe some guidance in nutrition and social skills, hair and makeup we would help her out of a deep depression. Feeling good about yourself is very important to getting out of a funk.

"To make a long story short, after about a month of being with us, we started seeing a change, at least physically. She was eating better, so her skin started looking better. Her hair lost its bedraggled look because she was using good shampoo, and then it started getting curly. She suddenly started growing, too. She came to us at about 5 foot nothing, and, last time we measured her, she stood about 5 foot 9. It's amazing to us to have seen the physical differences. About the only thing that didn't change was her bust size. As tall as she is now, at least she doesn't look too top heavy.

"She looks great and she's really great with our customers. They all love her. She smiles and jokes around while she's out front. But, the moment she walks through that door, the old Tricia shows up, sullen and depressed. We didn't know what to do. Her birthday is next month and she graduates in May. She's a project almost the whole staff has worked on, and we don't want her slipping away. She's too good a person to allow that to happen!" There was a passion for this child in her voice. I suspected that Tricia was Diamond's Galatea.

"I overheard you conversation with her," Diamond said. "I thought her self-image wasn't in sync with reality. Did you mean what you told her, about her being your choice?"

Once again, I could hear the danger in the question. This time, I didn't have to hesitate or think things through. "Absolutely," I said. "I might not have chosen her if I had known her age, but she is beautiful, and I needed someone with her hair color in this. I just won't ask her to show anything, that's all."

"You just be very, very careful with her, mister," she said shaking a long and dangerously clawed finger at me. "She's very precious to all of us here, and we won't stand having her toyed with, is that clear?"

I looked at the finger and up at Diamond. I smiled. "I'm glad she has such a champion as you," I said. "Not to worry; I don't make it a habit of hurting women, especially ones as beautiful as you and Tricia. Besides," I added with just a trace of a smirk. "I don't think Lou would think very highly of me if I did!" With that, I stood up and took my leave of her.

Saturday morning found me getting the chitons out and cleaned. I made sure each of them had a lovely broach to hold up one shoulder. I also made sure to have matching rope sashes to hold the outfits together. Chitons are very simple dresses, just a piece of cloth either cut to allow the head through and gathered at the waist or, as I had them, a couple of pieces of cloth gathered at the shoulder and then gathered at the waist. It allowed for showing a LOT of leg! I guess in ancient Greece and Rome, modesty was not a high-priority item.

The robes had come in earlier in the week and I used a steamer to take out the wrinkles shipping had put into them. Around noon, I went over to the spa with the clothes. Tricia met me with a shy smile and together we took the clothes to the locker room where she hung everything up. We figured the dampness in that area of the spa would take out any new wrinkles.

I went up to each of the ladies and reminded them about the underwear prohibition and was pleased to see that all of them were dressed in rather shapeless dresses. By their self-conscious demeanor, I figured they were already without underwear and I made a few comments that earned me a few blushes and a couple of playful slaps on the arm. At least they were all, including Tricia, smiling and looking excited about the evening activities.

I thought to take one more peek at the bath and make sure of my angles. I took Tricia along, telling her I needed someone to us as a stand-in. Luckily, at that moment, no one was using the bath, but Tricia told me that someone had scheduled it in about 15 to 20 minutes. That was fine for what I had planned.

Tricia led me to the bath, and even though she was wearing a very loose dress, her body was moving delightfully beneath the dress. It was very visually stimulating, and I had to make an adjustment in my pants.

When we entered the bath, a wave of heat and humidity hit me. It felt like summer in Southeast Texas in there. I took a deep breath and entered. I had Tricia stand over by the decorative cubes and I moved to where I would be with the camera. I did the hand bit, and started seeing just how everything was going to shape up. Once I had everything I needed, I took my leave and went back to the studio.

Once there, I checked out all of the equipment I was going to need that night. I was taking some of my oldest equipment, lights and cameras, because the dampness I knew we were going to encounter. If I dropped a new camera in the bath, it would be a very expensive drop! On the other hand, I had a couple of cameras that were at least ten years old, and while still functioning well, their loss would not keep me from doing my regular job. Besides, everything was insured and I had this new camera that had caught my eye -- well, let's just say the mourning for a lost camera would be heartfelt but brief.

I had decided on some specialized flashes I had that were battery operated. All I'd really need to have happen would be an AC powered strobe falling in the water electrocuting someone - probably me! These flashes all were slaved to each other so they were in-sync. I just didn't have as fine of control over them as I might a larger strobe, but I had to balance the safety with control.

Finally, everything was ready to go and I took myself out to eat. I ate lightly and alone. Lou was to meet me at the spa, and I had planned to take the ladies out for a drink and some snacks when we were done. I had some wine in the van, chilling, for during the shoot, to help keep everyone happy and relaxed. The ladies all knew I was bringing it, and they heartily approved. I would have to be very careful of Tricia, but I had some sparkling grape juice for her and I. I didn't drink during a session; after all no one wants pictures of the floor!