Ali's Art Ch. 03

"It's just, she was a bit odd with me."

"Don't worry about it. She's probably not woken up properly yet - it is very early."

Jenni bit her bottom lip and smiled apologetically. "Sorry. But I couldn't wait."

I smiled back and leaned over and pecked her on the cheek. She smiled up at me, turned her face to mine and I went back and kissed her lips, lingering for a moment.

"I hope Greg likes his present," I said.

She grinned. "He will." She turned away, stopped, "God, I nearly forgot!" She leaned the frame against the doorpost and pulled an envelope from her jeans pocket. "Payment for your services. Thanks."

I took the envelope, pushed it into my own jeans.

"I put a little extra in there, Tom," Jenni said, turning away.

After she had gone I padded through to our small kitchen, sat at the table and drank the mug of coffee Mom put down.

"She's very attractive," she said.

"Who, Jenni?"

"You know perfectly well who I mean."

I looked across the table at her. She didn't have her arms crossed, she wasn't frowning.

"Yeah," I said, "Very attractive. I know."

She looked at me for a while, then shook her head. "Do be careful, Tom. I can't tell you what to do and what not to do anymore, you're an adult. You're going to be nineteen in two months, you can make your own decisions. Just take care."

I leaned forward and put my hands over hers. She turned hers over, palms up, and gripped mine, rubbing her thumbs over the back of my hands.

"Mom, I'm not going to do anything stupid," I said, hoping she would believe me. I wondered if wanting to fuck Greg Harris's wife was stupid or not. No, I corrected myself, it was stupid. But I still wanted to do it.

Mom sighed, not sure what to do, then shook her head as though clearing it. "What are you doing today, Tom?"

"Nothing," I said. "I thought I'd fix that loose shutter out back, then maybe take Sarah to the Mall and catch a movie. You want to come, Mom? It'd do you good. You work too hard."

She smiled back at me. "You're a good boy, Tom. The best."

"Yeah, yeah," I said mockingly.

"You are," she insisted. "But I'll stay home. It's such a beautiful day I might just put my bikini on and lie out in the sun in the backyard."

"Wow," I said, "Pushing the boat out."

"It's what I really feel like doing," she replied, "A bit of 'me' time." She grinned suddenly. "In fact, after you've gone I'm going to run a bath, laze around in it till it goes cold, and I might even sunbathe in my birthday suit. No one can see out back." She laughed as she saw my mouth drop open, squeezed my hands tight.

"I'd better make a lot of noise coming in then," I said. "Don't want you shocking Sarah."

"What about you?"

"I take more shocking than that, Mom."

Her smiled softened. "I bet you do."

I remembered my promise. As I pulled our old Ford into the driveway I sounded the horn briefly. My eight year old sister Sarah giggled beside me. "Do it again, Tommy," she said.

"You do it," I said, and she leaned over and sounded the horn. I grabbed her little hand as she tried to do it again.

"Better not, honey, don't want the neighbors complaining."

We went inside, and I made a show of slamming the front door.

It was after six, and the sun has moved into the west, still warm but not hot anymore. Inside the house I could smell the aroma of bath salts and a hint of the good perfume Mom kept for special occasions. I steered Sarah into the kitchen and sat her down with a glass of milk and cookies, wandered through to the back to check Mom has got the message.

I saw her with her back to me, pulling her old towelling robe around her shoulders. For a brief second I had a glimpse of her naked back and the top curve of her buttocks, and realized what a sexy woman she was. She was thirty-eight, and had put effort into keeping her figure. I shook my head, wondering what the hell I was thinking of. Jenni Harris had a lot to answer for. I couldn't seem to get my mind off sex.

Mom turned and saw me in the door and smiled, pulling the robe closed around her and tugging the tie tight.

"Thanks for the warning," she said.

"Good afternoon?"

She walked across to the back door and reached up to give me a hug. "Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. I think I dropped off for a couple of hours there."

"Just so long as none of the neighbors came round and saw you."

She grinned. "Can you imagine old Mr. Roberts catching me stark naked? He'd keel right over."

"But he'd die smiling," I said, hugging her back.

She stayed like that a while, curled up against me, warm from the sun, scented from her bath, the top of her head under my chin. I could feel her soft breasts pressing against my ribcage, her hip pushed against mine. I kept her there for a few minutes, enjoying the closeness. Mom and I had always gotten on well, but lately we had both been too busy to sit down and talk like we used to do. I could feel our relationship changing as she saw me as a man and not a kid. And, I had to admit, I was starting to see her as a woman, an attractive woman, and that thought bothered me.

"Tell you what," I said to the top of her head. "I'll go down to the store and rent a movie for us. After you've put Sarah to bed we'll chill out together and watch it. Drink a glass of wine or two. Something stupid and mindless, yeah?"

Mom tightened her hug around me. "That sounds way too self-indulgent, Tom. It's a deal."

I kissed the top of her head and eased myself out from her arms. "I'll go start a pizza for supper. You go get changed."

"I might just stay like this," she said.

"OK. Go sit down then, watch TV. Kick back."

She laughed. "God, Tom, why all this spoiling?"

"Because I love you Mom, and I want to spoil you. I'll be gone soon enough."

Her smile faded and she nodded. "Don't remind me."

She turned into the living room and I went back to the kitchen. Sarah and I talked about stupid stuff while I made the pizza. When it was ready Mom came through and joined us and I poured her a glass of white wine.

"Mommy," Sarah said, "Why don't you have any clothes on?"

Mom laughed. "I'm wearing my best robe, I'll have you know, young girl."

"But that's all!" Sarah said.

"I had a nice long bath, sweetheart, and couldn't be bothered to get dressed again after, that's all."

Sarah nodded seriously. "I thought you smelled nice," she said, and both Mom and I burst out laughing.

After supper Mom and Sarah went back to the living room to watch a cartoon, and I washed up the dishes and tidied everything away. When I came through they were just going upstairs.

"Sarah wants a bath as well," Mom said. "I'll tuck her in and come down for our movie."

"It's a date," I said.

I went into the hall, picked up the car keys and then decided I'd walk the half mile to the video store. I was just opening the front door when our telephone rang. I turned back and picked up.

"Graham residence."

"Tom, good, you're home," Jenni said. "Can you come over?"

"Now? To your place?"

"Yes now. Yes to my place. Greg's opened my present, and he wants to thank you personally. He's absolutely in love with it, Tom. Thank you."

"I dunno, Jenni," I said, "I kind of had something planned for tonight."

"Please," she begged, "Just for a half hour. Please please please..."

"Who's on the phone?" Mom called from upstairs.

I covered the mouthpiece. "Jenni Harris" I said. "She wants me to go over to her place for a half hour. Greg likes his present and wants to say thanks."

Mom came to the top of the stairs and looked down, an odd expression on her face, then she smiled. "Go, of course. We can catch up on that movie again. There's plenty of time before you go away, Tommy."

I looked at her, smooth bare legs showing under her robe, her face flushed from the sun. "I'd rather stay here with you," I said.

She shook her head. "Go and come back if you can. But you have to go - Greg Harris is important people in this town, you want to keep on his good side."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Go now, then maybe you'll get back in time for a movie."

I lifted the receiver. "Fifteen minutes, Jenni?"

"Great! I'll tell Greg."

After I hung up I turned back to the stairs, but Mom had gone back to finish Sarah's bath. I picked up the car keys and pulled our Ford out into the road and drove east out of town.

I don't know why, but I hadn't expected a party to be in full swing. I pulled up at the end of a line of cars snaking down the long driveway, locked the car and walked up past Mercedes, BMWs, Lexus - even the American cars were all new. I hope no one would report our old clunker and have it towed away.

The front door was open, music and voices filtering out. I looked around before going inside. Thankfully most of my work was more or less finished at the front. The pond looked good, as though it had been there for years. The piles of soil were all covered with rock or plants. I nodded. Good enough.

Inside I brushed past people, most of whom I vaguely recognized. I tried the kitchen, no Jenni, no Greg. I tried the living room and the big conservatory at the back. Still no sign of them. I wandered outside and round the back. They were sitting together on the bench where I had drawn Jenni, heads together.

I stood away from them and coughed. Jenni glanced up and then jumped off the bench and ran across to me. She put her arms tight around me and hugged me, kissing me loudly on the mouth.

I saw Greg stand and come over, a big man, tall and broad, his dark features placid. As he came up to us he grinned and stuck his hand out. I offered mine and we shook, then he switched grip, pulled me in and bumped shoulders.

"Outstanding, Tom," he said. "I completely love what you've done. I've never seen Jenni more beautiful than in that drawing."

I shrugged, might have blushed. Greg released my hand and I flexed my fingers. Nothing broken. Jenni still had her arm through mine, pulling me tight against her side.

"We've been talking," Greg said, then looked at me and added, "You haven't got a drink. Jenni, get the man something. What's your poison, Tom?"

"A beer would be good."

"Just a beer?"

I nodded. Jenni released me, reluctantly it seemed, and Greg said, "Come sit down, I want to talk to you."

"OK," I said. I went to the chair I had used when I drew Jenni. Greg went back to the bench. He sat heavily, leaned forward with his arms on his thighs.

"I really am hugely grateful for what you did this week. It's changed Jenni, and I love the picture. Really love it. It's made me see her in a completely new light. You get in a rut, sometimes, yeah?"

I nodded, not really knowing what he was talking about.

"I'm seeing Jenni differently now, and it's thanks to you, Tom." I thought he was going to get up and come over to me again, but he seemed to change his mind and sat back. "I want to ask you something, Tom, and don't take this the wrong way."

Oh-oh, I thought.

"How much did Jenni pay for that drawing?"

"I can't tell you that, Greg. It was a present to you." I thought of the 'little extra' she had slipped in. The price had been $100 - more than enough, I had thought, but they were rich folks and I'd bumped my rate up. Inside the envelope Jenni had put twenty $10 bills.

He laughed. "Ah, it was worth a try. I want you to do me another one. At least another one. I was hoping to get an idea of how much it would cost me..." He looked across at me. The sun had dropped below the horizon now, but light still glowed in the sky. I wondered where Jenni was with my beer, hoping for rescue.

Greg breathed in, said, "OK. Here's the deal, Tom. Would you be willing to draw Jenni again, just like this week, but a bit more of her?"

"Full length?" I said.

"Yeah, full length. But... " For the first time ever I saw Greg looking embarrassed and lost for words. "I'm not sure how to say this, so I'll just come out with it. Could you draw her in the nude? A life study, is that the word?"

"You want your wife to..." I started, tailed off.

Greg held his hands up. "Yeah, I know it's weird, but after this first one, I would really love something more... uh... revealing. More explicit? You know what I mean?"

"I think so, Greg."

"So, what d'you think, Tom? How does five hundred bucks sound?"

"Five hundred!"

"OK, OK, give me a price then."

"No, Greg, five hundred is fine, more than fine."

Now Greg did stand and come across, his hand held out. I stood and he grabbed my hand, squeezed again. I squeezed back, knowing the game, knowing I had to match him at this. Luckily landscaping had built my muscles over the year and Greg nodded in approval.

"Good. That's settled. I'm going to be on the West Coast most of next week, but Jenni tells me you won't need me around for anything. I'll write you a check before you go."

"You can pay me when it's finished, Greg. I trust you."

He laughed. "Good. I trust you too, Tom. Jenni tells me you're a perfect gentleman."

"She's too kind," I said, as she came back to join us, handing me a cold beer. I guessed she had been standing in the kitchen, waiting for us to conclude business.

She went to Greg's side and put her arms around his big stomach, only just managing to clasp her hands together.

"Tom says he'll do it," Greg said.

Jenni smiled. "I knew he would." She looked at me around her husband and smiled. Something glittered in her eyes, something I didn't recognize.

Noise spilled from inside and someone shouted, "The bastard's out here! Hey, Greg, what kind of party is this when the birthday boy's hiding out here?"

Greg laughed and pulled himself out of his wife's arms. He slapped me on the shoulder. "Stick around, Tom, enjoy the party. I'll see you later." He lumbered off to join the crowd inside.

Jenni drifted over to me, smiled and touched my arm. Her face was shadowed as light leaked out of the sky.

"Did I just hear all that right, Jenni?" I said. "Your husband wants you to take your clothes off and pose for me?"

She nodded.

"And he's going to be out of town most of the week?"

She nodded again.

"And you told him he could trust me?"

She nodded again, slipping closer to me.

"I said yes to Greg, but I might need to think about this," I said.

She put her hand flat on my chest and leaned close. "There's nothing to think about, Tom. Greg's happy with the arrangement."

The arrangement?

"Greg really did like your sketch. And he really does want another one of me - in the nude... Can I tell you something, Tom, without shocking you?"

"I don't know," I said, "Try me."

"Greg and I, we don't... have sex much anymore. I still love him, I love him deeply, but he just doesn't need that physical side of things. But today, I saw a look in his eyes when he saw your sketch." She smiled sweetly, leaned close. "And this morning he tore my clothes off and fucked me till my brains shook. That was all your doing, Tom. Thank you."

She reached up and put her hand on the back of my neck and pulled me down against her mouth. I felt her lips part, but kept my own closed, even when I felt her tongue sneak out and explore.

Jenni dropped back down, continued to look up at me. "You do understand, don't you, Tom?"

"I'm not sure, Jenni. Honestly, I'm not sure. You might have to spell things out for me."

She cocked her head to one side, then smiled. "No, I don't believe I need to do that." She turned away, fragrant in a short patterned dress, her hair tied up and her long neck showing. "If I don't catch you before you leave, see you Monday," she said, and was gone.

I dropped back into the garden chair, pulled a long swallow from my beer and felt it slide down my throat.

There was more laughter from inside, voices of men and women shouting, glasses clinking, music filling in any gaps. I sat and finished my beer, stretching my legs out, gazing off into the pitch dark that pooled under the trees. Up above the stars were winking on in dozens and millions. I put my head back and stared up, sipping beer.

After ten minutes a shooting star cut across from the north-east, leaving a bright trail. I remember Mom telling me you could get a wish if you saw a shooting star, but I didn't make one. I couldn't decide if I wanted a wish or not. Yesterday I was completely ready, today everything was different. Greg was making me a gift of his wife, a temporary one, to be sure, that had been made clear. Did I want the gift? Would it turn out to have a bad side?

I pulled myself up and left my empty beer bottle on the grass, walked around front to my car.

Back home I went into the living room to find Mom asleep on the sofa, an empty bottle of wine on the table, a glass with a tiny amount left beside it. She was flat on her back, her legs splayed, parting her towelling robe which had tugged and pulled. I could see high up along her thighs, not quite to her pussy, but almost. The top had opened and one full breast lay open to the air, her skin pink from her session in the sun. Good breasts, I thought, good beasts even for a woman half her age.

I knelt down beside her and pulled the robe closed, sat her up and turned her round so her legs were on the floor. I shook her gently, holding her head where it lolled on her neck, and slowly her eyes blinked open.

She gave a lopsided smile. "Tommy. My Tommy. Did you get a movie?"

"I think you need bed more than a movie, Mom," I said.

She nodded. "Good idea, Tommy." She started to stand but her knees gave way and I had to grab her to stop her collapsing in a heap.

"Carry?" I said, echoing the words she and Dad used to say to me when I was small.

She nodded. "Carry," she agreed.

I put my hand under her legs and lifted, cradling her against me. She flopped onto my chest and the robe slipped open again.

"Fucking thing," she muttered, pawing at it, but I couldn't tell if she was trying to close or open it.

"Bed time, Mom," I said, and carried her upstairs.

I pulled the covers back and dropped her gently onto the clean sheets. I didn't know quite what to do with the robe, leave it on or take it off. She pre-empted any decision by sleepily wriggling her arms up out of it. They came free and the robe dropped down onto her stomach. She lay on her back, eyes lidded, her breasts heavy on her chest. Still firm, I thought, looking down.

"Take it off, Tommy. Don't wanna sleep in this fucking thing."

I bent over and tugged the tie, sat her up and slid the robe off her, cradled her back down onto the pillows. She would not, I hoped, remember any of this in the morning. Maybe that was why I stayed for a while looking at her, splayed naked below me, her light pubic hair tangled over her pussy, hiding her secrets. She mumbled and rolled onto her side, lifting her knees up. I pulled the covers over her and turned away.

"Kiss g'night, Tommy," she muttered.

"'Night Mom."

"Kiss," she repeated.

I turned back and leaned over. She rolled onto her back again, lifted a hand behind my head and pulled me down to her mouth. For the second time that night I kept my lips closed as a tongue came seeking entrance.

I grabbed her hand and gently drew it away from my neck, tucked the covers back over her breasts.

"Sleep well, Mom," I said.

"Stay, Tommy," she mumbled.

"G'night Mom." I really, really hoped she wouldn't remember this tomorrow.

Sunday passed quietly. Mom didn't come downstairs until after eleven. I had gotten Sarah up and given her breakfast, then walked her over to her friend Molly's to play. Overnight the small heat wave had broken. I had been woken at three a.m. by thunder and rain against the window. By the time I walked Sarah to her friends the clouds were blowning away and a sharp blue sky showed through the gaps.

I came back just as Mom was coming downstairs. She still hadn't dressed, pulling on the towelling robe again. She looked pale.