Chapter 62 — Propositions

_May 8, 1984, Chicago, Illinois_

{psc} "Can we talk about last night?" Violet asked, coming into my office mid-morning on Tuesday.

"Yes. Close the door, please."

She closed the door, and we sat on the settee.

"I'm really sorry," Violet said.

"There's nothing to be sorry for," I said gently. "We talked about taking things step-by-step."

"But you obviously wanted to."

"A true statement, but immaterial."

"I wanted to," Violet said. "But I felt like I was going to lose control."

"That feeling is nature's way of ensuring babies are born," I said with a smile. "I can't say for sure because I'm not a girl, but I suspect the feelings were similar to your panic attacks, though I suspect your panic attacks didn't have a pleasurable component."

"Not even!" Violet laughed. "I don't know; I mean, after thinking about it, I'm pretty sure it was both, plus being nervous."

"That makes perfect sense, and we can take it as slowly as you want. And I know you're struggling with the type of relationship we'd have."

"You know I don't think you have to be married to do that."

"Yes, but you also said you felt it was OK with a guy you thought you might marry. One thing that we didn't discuss was what you would want if it was up to you. Assume, for the sake of argument, that you can actually go to bed with me and not have a bad reaction."

"To be together as a couple and have a baby together," Violet said.

"That's a change," I said. "The baby, I mean."

Violet giggled, something rare for her.

"I was infected by the Sofía virus!" she declared.

"She is an adorable little thing," I said. "And I would love to have a baby with you eventually."

"Really?"

"Really. When we're both ready."

"If it were up to you, what would you want?"

"That's the major thing with which I'm struggling. I don't know what I want. What I can offer now is friendship, which could include physical affection, anywhere from, to use a metaphor, first base to a home run."

"Because you think sex can be just for fun, right?"

"Can be, yes. But what I'm saying is that if you just want hugs, that's fine; if you just want to kiss, that's fine, too. It doesn't _have_ to lead to going all the way, as it were. And there's no rush, even if we were to decide to have a baby together. That could be ten years from now or even a bit longer."

"You weren't frustrated last night?"

Not frustrated, but certainly, I felt I'd missed out on something very special, something that would have allowed Violet to allow herself to 'lose control' with me. That said, the promise was there that when it happened — and I felt it was 'when' not 'if' — it was going to be mind-blowing.

"Not even a little bit," I said firmly and lovingly. "We can take this at whatever pace you feel is best."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She left, and I returned to work. Late in the morning, I called Tony, Pete, and Scott into my office to discuss the latest rate hike by the Feds, which brought the Prime Rate to 12.5%.

"What do you think, Scott?" I asked.

"My money is on one more round of tightening in June. Reagan is already bitching up a storm about the Fed, and it's going to get worse, but I think, in the end, Volcker sticks with the program. I'd be more concerned about the banking sector."

"Me, too. Pete?"

"50/50 on another hike in June. The optics just look bad for Volcker in the middle of a Presidential election. Even he has to bow to reality. If Reagan loses because of the Fed tightening, Volcker will be accused of stacking the deck when the numbers tell me that it's an even-money bet."

"Tony?"

"Volcker has inflation bore-sighted and he is not afraid to pull the trigger. He doesn't give a damn about the politics. I'd bet on an increase, but then the numbers will flip, and we'll see a round of easing in September and October."

"I agree with that last bit," Pete offered. "Volcker will squeeze until it hurts, then quickly back off so he doesn't completely choke off growth. He almost has to loosen as fast as he tightened."

"Target interest rates for November 6th?" I asked.

"12.25%," Tony said.

"11.75%," Pete offered.

"12.5%," Scott added. "I don't think he'll cut that fast."

"Let's go with 12.25%," I said. "I tend to agree more with Scott, but Pete makes a good argument about the reciprocal loosening. Pete, any more news on Continental Illinois?"

"Outflows are continuing apace, but they're defending successfully so far. Sustainable for maybe two weeks, but I hear they're already jawboning Treasury Secretary Regan and Fed Chairman Volcker for emergency assistance to ride out what they're calling a temporary liquidity problem."

"Temporary? Hah!" Scott declared.

"I did say they were calling it that. They're a zombie bank at this point — dead man walking."

"Thanks, guys. I'll be out this afternoon taking my Series 30 licensure test."

They left the office, and I ate lunch with Violet in the lunchroom, then left the office and walked to the building where the test was being given. It was a relatively short test consisting of fifty questions, either True/False or multiple choice, so I'd be gone less than two hours — ten minutes each way, fifty minutes for the test, and about twenty minutes waiting time as I needed to check in for the exam.

Most of the material would be the same as for the Series 3 exam, except from a manager's perspective rather than from the perspective of a broker. Given I'd had both the Series 3 and Series 30 training courses, and had reviewed the material on Sunday, I was positive I knew the material. As I entered the building where the test would be given, I felt extremely confident as I'd only need to achieve a score of 70% to pass the exam.

I found the correct office, showed my ID, and, per the rules, put my wallet, keys, notebook, money clip, and checkbook into a small locker. I locked it, then went into the room where a proctor was waiting. I chose a seat in the second row and sat quietly, waiting for the exam to start.

At precisely 1:00pm, we were told to turn over the test booklet, break the seal, and begin the timed test. I worked methodically through the questions, none of which stumped me, though there were a few that used tricky wording that I believed was intended to catch people who weren't reading carefully.

I completed the test with fourteen minutes remaining and was confident I'd passed, so rather than spend time checking my answers, I signed the booklet and handed it in. I left the classroom, collected my items from the locker, then returned to the Hancock Center.

"How did you do?" Violet asked.

"I'm positive I passed, but I won't know until they notify me, which could be as soon as Friday, but more likely sometime next week. Then I have to file the application, and the license will be issued, probably sometime in late June or early July."

"But you'll keep this role, right?"

"Yes."

"I'm happy for you!"

"Thanks!"

I went into my office and spent the rest of the afternoon on research. At 5:00pm, I left the office and made the three-elevator commute to the condo. I greeted everyone, then went upstairs to change clothes. Five minutes later, I was back downstairs and sat down with Bianca and Sofía.

"You had a phone call from Britney Krause," Bianca said. "She left her number and asked you to call as soon as you could."

"That's the art student. Let me make the call."

I called Britney, and we agreed I'd meet her at 2:00pm on Saturday in a studio at the School of the Art Institute. The Summer session didn't actually start for two weeks, but she wanted to get a head start. I opened the calendar and wrote that in, then went back to sit with Bianca and Sofía until dinner. At dinner, Deanna invited me to come to Ateljé D with her, and as I didn't have anything I needed to do, I agreed. Once we finished eating, we left the condo and drove to the gallery.

"Is there anything left to do to prepare for Sunday?" I asked.

"Just hang four paintings," she said. "I called the building handyman, and he'll come by on Thursday to put proper fasteners in the walls in the open area and a few in each bedroom, though I don't plan to hang anything on the bedroom ones — each person has to decide what they want. For yours, probably just one more, given you have the Japanese prints you chose, including _Octopuses and Ama_."

"I'm happy for you to decide what to put on my walls," I said.

"Speaking of that, CeCi will give you copies of all the photos she takes, and we discussed creating some kind of display or collage, but we weren't sure you would want a bunch of photos of you hanging on the walls."

"Not particularly," I said. "I'd be OK with some kind of photo album, but I really don't want them on the walls. You're already going to display 'Nuclear Family' in the gallery room, right?"

We were interrupted by the tinkling of the bell on the door, indicating a visitor. Deanna left the studio, but I remained behind to allow her to interact with her visitor. She was back about ten minutes later.

"Could I get some additional capital?" she asked.

"For?"

"Art supplies. The woman who just stopped in was looking for supplies and we talked about how tough it can be to find them. I had planned to do that once I started offering classes after I graduate, but I think it would be a good thing to start now. There's enough space in the pantry room to keep a stock of supplies, and I could put up a sign with the list of things I'd have — charcoal, pencils, paper, canvas, and paint. I wouldn't buy a large supply to start, that way, if they didn't sell, I could use them or offer them to other students. It would also create a bit of additional foot traffic, which is the lifeblood of galleries."

"Figure out how much you need and let me know."

"Will do!" she said, picking up her brush. "Back to your question — yes, I plan to display them, though you did express concern about Sofía."

"I'm OK with it now," I said. "We'll worry about the display when she's older. Maybe you're right, but I'm not sure. Anyway, when is the next one?"

"When she's three months old, then six months, then a year. After that, once a year on her birthday until you say «¡No más!» like Roberto Durán!"

I chuckled, "Talk about an obscure reference! I vaguely remember the dustup about that."

"Yes, back in 1980 against Sugar Ray Leonard. My dad is a boxing fan, and he talked about that for weeks with his friends."

"You know, this is the first time I've actually watched you paint one of your abstract paintings. What's this one?"

"It's called _Afterlife_," Deanna said. "I'm not sure about it, and I might trash it and start over."

"How often does that happen?"

"Often enough. I have false starts fairly often, but then the emotion takes over. Well, usually. Sometimes, I just abandon the idea because it never flows."

"How long from start to finish?"

"It varies, but a couple of weeks, usually. Sometimes, the concepts percolate in my brain for weeks or months before I put the first paint on the canvas. The ones I've done for you were actually outliers in that the concepts just sprang fully formed in my mind."

"May I ask what you're trying to capture?"

"Keiko's «kami»," Deanna said. "This one is for me, never to be sold."

"I hope you'll display it."

"Probably in my room," Deanna said. "Consider it the equivalent of the portrait of her in the Japanese room or the urn in your room."

I nodded, "That makes perfect sense."

There was one other visitor that evening, though just someone who was passing by and curious. Deanna had me lock the doors at 9:00pm, though we stayed another hour while she worked on her painting. Just after 10:00pm, she threw in the towel and said she intended to start over. We headed home, and at her request, she joined me in my bed.

_May 9, 1984, Chicago, Illinois_

"I don't think it much matters," Tony said as we discussed the Soviet and East Bloc boycott of the Summer Olympics in LA that had been announced on Wednesday.

"I tend to agree. Mostly a tit-for-tat thing, and it's not like any advertising money flows past the Iron Curtain. Sure, we're missing some great athletes, but in the end, the rest of the world will be there."

"On a different topic, did you see they suspended the game between the Sox and Brewers last night and are resuming today?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I saw it on Bloomberg this morning — seventeen innings so far. I didn't realize the rules required the game to be suspended at 1:00am."

"American League rules; not sure about the National League because it's not like games going past the 12th inning are very common. And it should have been over after the Brewers took a two-run lead in the top of the ninth. The Sox rallied with two in the bottom of the ninth with two out. And that was against Rollie Fingers, who's a sure Hall of Famer.

"It has a ways to go to break the modern record of twenty-five innings by the Cardinals and Mets in 1974. The all-time record is from 1920, when the Brooklyn Robins and Boston Braves played to a tie after 26 innings. They basically just gave up because ties were OK in those days."

"Brooklyn Robins?" I asked.

"The Dodgers. That was their name for about fifteen years. They had a bunch of other names before that, including the Grays, Bridegrooms, Superbas, and Trolley Dodgers. All of those were actually nicknames because their official name was Brooklyn Base Ball Club. In 1933, they put 'Dodgers' on the uniforms, and that was it."

"I know the Reds were the 'Red Stockings' and 'Redlegs', and 'Reds' was shortened. At some point during the 60s, they avoided using 'Reds' because of the Soviet Union, but in the end, it won out. Anyway, unless there's some fallout beyond the East Bloc nations not showing up, we agree there's no effect on any of the markets."

"Yep."

He left, and I returned to a review of my portfolio and made a minor adjustment to the mix of Treasury instruments to ensure I didn't have any forced redemptions to make the estimated pension payouts. I had lunch with Violet, and we went to the gym together. The rest of the day was typical, and at 5:00pm, I left the office and made my way to the condo.

We had a nice dinner, and after dinner, Deanna left for Ateljé D. CeCi was at work, so it was just Bianca, Sofía, and me at home. Around 8:00pm, I was holding Sofía, and the phone rang, so Bianca got up to answer it. After a quick chat, she put her hand over the mouthpiece.

"It's my cousin. OK to invite her and Katy over on Saturday?"

"You don't need my permission! I have class in the morning and my modeling session with Britney in the afternoon."

"OK."

She finished her call with Esme, then came to sit with Sofía and me.

"They're coming over around 1:00pm," Bianca said. "I'm not sure how long they'll stay."

"It's your condo as much as mine," I said. "Remember, you're building equity with every rent payment."

"I can't see you ever selling this, even if you build a house elsewhere."

"Probably not, and it'll all go to Sofía and any brother or sister she might eventually have. But if you ever need the equity, you can cash it out."

"What are the chances of that? If you stay at Spurgeon, I'll make great money; if you leave Spurgeon, I'll make even more money!"

"I agree, but it's an important point."

"One which I acknowledge. Sofía's asleep, so I think you can put her down."

I nodded, carried my daughter upstairs, and put her in her crib.

_May 11, 1984, Chicago, Illinois_

On Friday, at 5:15pm, Bianca and I met Jack, Kristy, Meg, and Nicole in the lobby of the Hancock Center for our triple date.

"_Firestarter_ or _The Natural_?" Kristy asked. "Stephen King or baseball."

Everyone voted for _The Natural_, which made the decision easy. There was more debate about where to eat dinner, but in the end, we all agreed to Maxim's because of the varied menu. The easiest way to get there was the Streeterville bus, so we all walked out to Michigan Avenue to the bus stop.

The six of us chatted amiably while waiting for the bus. The bus arrived about ten minutes later, and fifteen minutes later, we were seated in the downstairs of Maxim's. We ate, then took the same bus route back to Water Tower to see the movie. We all enjoyed the movie, which had a mythical storyline enhanced by amazing cinematography. When the movie ended, Jack and Kristy headed back to the house, and Bianca and I invited Meg and Nicole to come back to the condo.

"Holy shit!" Nicole exclaimed, stopping dead in her tracks when she walked into the condo, causing Meg to bump into her.

"Almost everyone has that reaction the first time they see the view," Bianca observed.

The girls moved further into the condo, and I shut the door.

"Hi, Jessica," I said. "How was Sofía?"

"She's an angel! She had her two bottles of expressed milk, and I put her in her crib about fifteen minutes ago."

"We have it from here. You can head home, but mark your time card for the full shift, please."

"Thank you!"

She left, and Bianca went to check on Sofía.

"Babysitter?" Meg asked.

"Nanny," I replied. "There are two who cover 6:00am to 6:00pm Monday through Thursday and 6:00pm to midnight on Friday.

"Unreal," Nicole observed. "I might have to reconsider my future! If you're taking applications for full-time, live-in girlfriend, I'm in!"

I chuckled, "Not at the moment, but Bianca might be."

"Mercenary much?!" Meg teased.

"Right, like YOU didn't think the same thing!" Nicole challenged.

"Maybe…" Meg admitted with a silly smile. "Being serious now, who is living with you now?"

"Besides Bianca and Sofía? Just Deanna and CeCi. Jack and Kristy are renting the house in Rogers Park from me."

"How many bedrooms?" Nicole asked.

"Six. Four are being used by the adults, one is a nursery, and the other is an art gallery. Let me give you a tour."

I did that, concluding in the art gallery.

"Those two paintings are very cool," Nicole observed, standing near the two paintings in the 'Nuclear Family series.

"Deanna intends to add at least three or four more — three months, six months, a year, and two years."

"It's fantastic work," Meg interjected. "Neither you nor Bianca seem to have any qualms about posing nude."

"Except about the extra baby weight in the second one," Bianca groused. "But I'm going to the gym in the afternoons now, so I'll fix that."

"It's a bummer about the hot tub, though," Meg observed.

"The one major downside," I said. "But as you saw, four of the bedrooms have large whirlpool tubs, and the other two have soaker tubs. You can fit two in them or even three if one person sits at the opposite end. It's not perfect, but it'll do. It's similar to not having a backyard and fire pit. That said, there's an indoor swimming pool on the 47th floor that we have access to. The other thing we don't have is a fireplace. Tradeoffs, really, for the location and the view."

"Our commute is basically three elevator rides," Bianca interjected. "And Deanna and CeCi are much closer to school."

"What about Deanna's studio?" Nicole inquired.

"It's in the back of the gallery at Ateljé D. Did you visit?"

"On Saturday," Nicole replied. "But we didn't know there was a studio."

"It's a private space for Deanna, though she may allow some other art students to use it. Shall we go downstairs? We have beer, wine, bourbon, rum, and vodka, plus Coke and OJ."

"Well," Nicole said. "I think Meg and I would be up for a sloe comfortable screw!"

"Sorry, no sloe gin and no Southern Comfort, though there's a liquor store that will deliver to the building if you really want that."

"A glass of wine will do!" Nicole replied.

The four of us headed downstairs, where I opened a bottle of Sutter Home White Zinfandel. I poured four glasses and handed one to each of the girls, then they went to sit in the conversation pit formed by the sectional sofa while I put the Billy Joel Compact Disc into the player and turned it on.

"How are things going, Jonathan?" Meg asked.

"Work and school are going well," I replied. "I'm still dealing with Keiko's death and the best way forward. I miss her terribly, and I still hurt, but things are better."

"I'm sorry if the innuendo before bothered you," Nicole said.

"It didn't, but I can't speak for Bianca's opinion of her date propositioning me!"

"You know I don't mind!" Bianca declared. "And I'm not exactly ready to have sex, even if it's just oral. Doctor Wisniewski suggested at least eight weeks for any kind of genital sex. Well, assuming Nicole would be interested."

"Nicole would be," Nicole said with a smile.

"Mark June 16th on your calendar then!" Bianca declared. "The four of us should go out again."

"A foursome?" Nicole smirked.

"I'm down for that!" Bianca declared. "I'm not sure about Jonathan and Meg."

"Meg's not sure about Meg," Meg said. "But I'm down for getting together. Who knows what might happen?!"

"Let's plan dinner and a movie and take it from there," I suggested.

"Good plan!" Meg agreed.

_May 12, 1984, Chicago, Illinois_

On Saturday morning, I got out of Bianca's bed and went to my bathroom to shower. I had considered Meg and Nicole's implied offer to stay but chose, in the end, to call it a night at about 1:00am, and they had gone back to Loyola. They hadn't been disappointed and had said they were looking forward to getting together in June.

As I showered, I thought about Violet and the significant change that had occurred the previous Monday. No matter what else I did, I had to ensure I handled the situation properly. The difficulty was I didn't know what that meant. All I could do was what I had said many times to many people — take each day as it arrived and figure out the best way forward.

It was warm enough to bike to Violet's house, and I did a rough calculation that I'd have enough time to bike to Violet's house, but I didn't want to go to class sweaty, and the L would risk being late, so I drove.

"Hi!" Violet exclaimed when she opened the door.

"Hi!"

She gave me a tight hug and a soft kiss on the lips, which I suspected would be the new normal greeting, after which I walked into the house. She had breakfast ready, so we sat down to eat.

"I wasn't fair to you on Monday," she said.

"I disagree," I countered. "We agreed we'd take it a step at a time and stop if you wanted to stop. You didn't lead me on in any way, shape, or form. I liked making out with you, and, as I said on Tuesday morning, I was not frustrated in any way. Please don't pressure yourself because you think I'm unhappy because I'm not. I enjoyed kissing you. I enjoyed touching your breast. I liked the feel of your pubic hair."

"But you wanted more," Violet said.

"And, unless I'm completely off base, so did you. But you felt we needed to stop, so we did. You did want more, right?"

Violet nodded, "Yes."

"And, if that's what you truly want, we'll get there, and it'll be glorious."

"But I've never done it before."

"But you know how it works, right?"

"Yes," Violet said, laughing softly. "Obviously."

"Then there is nothing to worry about. The basics really are that simple and feel very good."

"But other stuff…"

"All we have to do is tell each other what feels good," I said. "If there's something you don't want to do, you tell me, and I won't be upset. May I say something a bit crude?"

"Yes."

"If the dumbest jock and biggest airhead cheerleader can figure out how to have sex, anyone can!"

Violet laughed, then said, "I suppose so."

"And, given human beings have been having sex for as long as there have been human beings, long before there was even language, I think that says that we could figure it out even without lessons or an instruction manual!"

"Probably," she said with a silly smile.

"Not to mention Sofía is evidence I have at least a minor clue as to how to make a baby, which involves the same activity we're discussing!"

"Obviously!"

"So don't worry, OK? Just let things develop, and don't push yourself beyond what you're ready to do."

"OK."

After we finished our meal, I helped Violet clean up, then headed to class. I returned to Violet's house for lunch, receiving a greeting kiss and hug, and we had a nice lunch together.

"What happens when this class ends?" she asked.

"I'll have class on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays during the Summer. The Saturday class goes to 1:00pm, so I'll have breakfast with you. We'll play lunch by ear. OK?"

"Yes. I see you basically every day except Sunday now!"

"And I'm very happy about that. Are you enjoying your work?"

"Yes! I mean, sure, the filing and creating the index are pretty boring and repetitive, but there's other stuff I do, and I'm learning a lot. But seeing you every day, even if it's just to say 'hi' is awesome."

"I enjoy that as well."

"Do you have to leave right away after lunch?"

"I can stay about an hour."

"And we can make out?"

"Yes."

We ate lunch, cleaned up, then went to sit in the front room, where Violet sat on my lap while we kissed, and I cupped her breast through her sweater. I felt that was best so as not to push things beyond what she'd requested, and Violet didn't object. I very much enjoyed the make-out session, something I'd never actually done with any girl before Violet and I had first made out on Monday evening. Bev and I had, as I'd said many times, gone from first kiss to sex in under five minutes. And in Chicago, French kissing had been a precursor to sex basically every time.

At 1:40pm, I said 'goodbye' to Violet and received a hug and soft kiss, then headed to the School of the Art Institute to meet Britney for my first modeling session. I parked, then headed into the building and located the studio she'd specified. I stopped at the open door and knocked.

"Hi!" Britney exclaimed. "Come in!"

I stepped into the studio, and she moved over to close and lock the door, then closed the blind over the window in the door.

"For privacy," she said. "Just have a seat on the sofa."

"How does this work?" I asked as I sat down.

"For each medium, I have to use the same subject, though the poses can be different. There are no requirements other than that. Nudes, semi-nudes, and fully clothed are all OK. Unless you object, I intend to do all nudes."

"No objections. How do you do the plaster and bronze?"

"Using the 'lost wax' method. I make a clay model, then make a mould from that model. I then use the mould to make a wax model, which is then used to make a bronze casting. There are a number of steps to each of those, but that's the basic process. You may have seen a picture of the bronze sculpture 'Artemision Bronze', also known as 'God from the Sea'. It's a lifelike, two-meter-high nude of a Greek god. You're about 190 centimeters, so roughly the same height."

"I take it that it works similarly for plaster?"

"It'll be similar to the bronze, working from a clay model to create a silicone mould for the plaster. I'm allowed to use the original clay sculpture for the bronze and plaster, and I'll probably do that."

"How much time are you going to need from me?"

"Probably a total of four sessions. Today, I'll shoot the photos and do the pencil sketch. The next session will be charcoal, then one for paint, and finally, one for the clay sculpture that I'll then use for the plaster and bronze. I'll be able to work from the photos and sketches as well."

"Sounds good."

"That's for my class. If you're game, I'd like to do some things for my portfolio, too."

"What's that?"

"A very detailed drawing of just your genitals, both flaccid and erect, and plaster moulds, again, both flaccid and erect. That would require making a latex mould, which would require you to shave."

"May I think about that?"

"Of course! Let me get the releases."

She walked over to a table, picked up a clipboard, and brought it to me. I quickly scanned the release, and it seemed identical to the ones I'd signed for Claire and Natasha. I scribbled my signature and the date on the two forms and then handed the clipboard back to Britney.

"If you'll get undressed, we'll start with the photos. I'll take two rolls, one black-and-white and the other color. We'll use two poses — one reclined on the sofa, the other with you standing."

I undressed, and Britney put a green velvet cloth on the sofa, then had me recline on my right side with both legs bent at the knee — the left vertical and the right horizontal. She had me put my left hand on my left knee and my right hand on my left collarbone.

"Perfect! Hold that pose, and I'll take twelve shots with each camera."

She did that, moving to different places to have different perspectives, then had me stand up. She directed me to stand with my right light forward and slightly bent, with my center of gravity slightly forward, then had me stretch out my right arm, palm down, and place my left hand on my left hip.

"Excellent. Hold that for ten shots with each camera."

Once again, she used both cameras, moving to different locations, including behind me.

"All set. Next are sketches of those positions. Stay standing, but get as comfortable as you can because it's going to take as much as an hour for me to complete the pastel sketch."

I adjusted my stance a bit, and she sat on a stool with a sketch pad and an array of pastels. It took almost fifty minutes for her to finish, and I was thankful as I was starting to cramp. She showed me the sketch and it really did look like me.

"Sorry about how long that took. Back to the couch, in the same position you were in before. It should be comfortable enough for you to stay still for the thirty minutes or so it'll take to complete the pencil sketch."

I did as she asked, and about thirty minutes later, she showed me a very lifelike sketch.

"That's great stuff!" I said.

"The release specified $20 for each session," Britney said. "If you'd rather, I'll fuck you!"

"Tempting, but I think we should keep this to modeling."

Britney pouted, "Bummer, but OK."

She went to her bag, got two ten-dollar bills, and handed them to me.

"Maybe when we finish?" she suggested.

"Ask again then," I said and began dressing.

I was reasonably sure I wouldn't take her up on her offer. It wasn't the casual sex, and she was certainly attractive, but the idea that basically every 'art school' girl seemed to think I was available for sex. Stefi and Tara had been fun, but both of them had at least talked to me a bit before proposing sex.

It was, in a sense, similar to Ellie assuming I'd have sex with anyone she presented. That had been partly my fault because I'd gone along with it, but it had gone too far. It was also the case that with Katy, Esme, and Taya likely still at the condo, one of them, or even all of them, might offer, and any of those three would win hands down over Britney.

I finished dressing, then asked when she'd need me again. We agreed on May 26th, and I left the studio. As I walked to my car, I decided to stop by Ateljé D and see Deanna. Ten minutes later, the bell on the door signaled my entry. Deanna came out of her study.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, coming over to me and giving me a hug.

"Hey, how is the foot traffic today?"

"Six, and I think four of them are interested buyers. I arranged for pieces from two more students as well."

"Great! How is _Afterlife_?"

"I'm not feeling it right now. I'll absolutely do it, but I really need to feel it. I'm working on one I'll call _Rainy Night_."

"OK. I just stopped in to say 'Hi'. Are you home for dinner?"

"Probably around 6:30pm."

"OK. We'll plan dinner for around 6:45pm. See you at home."

We exchanged a hug, and I headed to the condo. When I walked in, I removed my shoes and saw Bianca, Katy, Esme, and Taya sitting in the conversation pit.

"Hey!" Esme exclaimed, hopping up.

She came over and gave me a hug, and I followed her to the sectional sofa, where the others greeted me.

"Jonathan," Bianca said, "there's a letter for you from the SEC.

I got up and went to the kitchen and got the letter from the basket on the counter. I used a letter opener and extracted the paper.

"I passed!" I announced. "A perfect score."

"AWESOME!" Bianca exclaimed.

"Passed what?" Katy asked.

"My Series 30 licensure test," I said as I walked back to sit with the girls. "That's a license that allows me to manage other licensed professionals. I'll fill out the application on Monday and should have it before mid-June."

"That's totally cool! And this condo is nothing short of amazing!"

"Thanks! Taya, how was your first year at Princeton?"

"Straight A's and lots of fun, though not quite as crazy as Esme and Katy!"

"Katy and I both have straight A's as well," Esme added. "We're still having lots of fun!"

"How was your modeling session?" Bianca asked.

"Same as always."

Bianca smirked, "Meaning she offered to fuck you!"

"She did, but I put her off."

"We saw the paintings Deanna did," Esme said. "They're awesome! And your baby is SO cute!"

"Thanks. Bianca, how was she today?"

"An angel! It was just that one day, and I can't think of anything we did differently."

"Did you have plans for dinner?" I asked.

"We actually hadn't talked about it."

"Pizza? Italian? Chinese? Deanna will be here around 6:30pm. CeCi won't because she works until 10:00pm."

"Whatever the girls want," Bianca said.

"Chicago-style pizza," Esme said. "We can't get that in New Jersey."

"Traditional sausage or pepperoni?"

"Sausage, of course!" Esme said.

The other girls agreed, so I went to the kitchen to call Connie's and order pizza to be delivered at 6:45pm. We had a nice afternoon, and I had a chance to hold Sofía after Bianca nursed her. Deanna arrived home just before the pizza was delivered, and we had a nice meal at the dining room table, sharing a bottle of red wine. After we ate, I cleared away the plates, glasses, and flatware, then loaded the dishwasher. I had just finished when Taya came to the kitchen.

"Is it too soon to ask if you're interested in having me for dessert?"

Of the three girls, she was the one I would have chosen for a one-on-one encounter, and, frankly, that was more my speed at the moment.

"It's not too soon to ask," I replied with a grin. "Go ahead."

Taya laughed softly, "Would you like to have me for dessert?"

"I certainly would!"