Today People
Barbara G.Tarn
***
Barbara G.Tarn copyright © 2016
cover art by Marta Baroni
electronic edition by Unicorn Productions
May 2016
***
Table of Contents
The Photographer
Obsession
Love and Prejudice
Rapture
Variations on a theme (m/m short stories)
Best of Friends (novella)
Six Months (novella)
Choices (novella)
Openings (three short stories written in 2015)
Changes (novella)
***
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
The Photographer
Obsession
Love and Prejudice
Rapture
VARIATIONS ON A THEME
Dismissed Gay
Band-mates
Heartbreaker
Gardener
Legacy
Rockstar
Best of Friends | 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Six months | 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Choices | 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
THE NEW STORIES | Openings – Writing Prompts
Meeting in Kyoto
Wishing Parenthood
Christmas Gifts
Changes | 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
About the Author
Further Reading: Body Switches
Also By Barbara G.Tarn
The Photographer
"She's late, as usual!" Charlie frowned in his armchair, one finger tangled in his shoulder-length hair.
The photo set was empty except for two armchairs (the other was occupied by Derek, Charlie's assistant), a table on which leaned tall and handsome model Johnny, and Charlie's high stool on which Marsha was perched. Alex, the lights technician, sat depressed at his workstation.
"She's gorgeous, but totally unprofessional," Johnny sighed. He was ready for the fashion shoot and hated waiting, just like Charlie.
"Christ, I need a new girl, I can't go on like this!" Charlie jumped up and started pacing. He was a professional photographer! He couldn't wait for the whim of a model!
"Call somebody else," Johnny suggested.
"They're all busy," Charlie grumbled. "I should find a new face."
Johnny glanced at Marsha, the make-up lady, hoping to help his friend and stop the waiting, but she was plump, short and not pretty enough to model. He sighed, silently cursing beautiful Carol who was late once again. He didn't like her much, but he was a pro and accepted Charlie's decisions without objections. Charlie was his photographer and had the exclusive of his image – they had started together, they'd keep going together. Probably not with Carol, though.
"Anybody wants coffee or anything?" The door of the foyer opened and Tanya's head popped in, her ponytail swinging, her face half hidden by glasses.
"No, thanks," Charlie said without even looking at her.
"Wait!" Johnny said as the idea struck him at the sight of the secretary. "Charlie, you wanted a girl, right? Put Tanya in Marsha's hands, and let's move on."
"What?" Tanya came in the room, showing her slim body. "Are you out of your mind? What's up, Carol didn't show up again? I'll call her..."
"Stop." With two steps of his long legs, Charlie reached her and grabbed her wrist, preventing her from running away. With his other hand he took off her glasses. She blushed.
"Charlie," she protested weakly.
"To make-up, Tanya," he ordered, pushing her towards the dressing-room. Marsha immediately followed her with a triumphant smile, and Johnny nodded, satisfied. It was time to give Carol a lesson.
"Charlie, I can't see a damn thing," Tanya protested while Marsha pushed her in the dressing room.
"Good, you can't worry, now," Charlie replied, going to check his camera for the umpteenth time.
"I'll switch on the answering machine," Johnny said, relieved and happy for the switch.
Moments later Tanya came back with her hair loose and light make-up that enhanced her pretty face. Johnny almost whistled in admiration. He knew behind the glasses, ponytail and clean face something nicer was hiding. But she looked even better than expected.
"What do you think?" Marsha asked triumphantly.
Charlie was observing Tanya's new look with a satisfied expression. The new model was the only one who felt depressed because she couldn't read her friends' faces and wasn't aware of their silent admiration.
"Go on the set with Johnny, Tanya," Charlie ordered.
"Charlie, I don't..."
"Just be yourself. Ready?"
Tanya was upset, excited and happy while she moved with Johnny. She couldn't discern Charlie's face, but followed his voice. She wondered if that was how he wanted her, if it was worth changing at twenty-three (she looked eighteen anyway) to become a model just to please him. But she knew how Charlie treated his models, therefore she'd rather stick to her secretary position. As soon as the photo shoot was over, she'd take off her mask and be the public relations girl again.
They were almost done when Carol rushed in. Derek and Alex exchanged disgusted glances, Marsha rolled her eyes, Johnny and Charlie ignored her and Tanya wondered, as without her glasses she wasn't sure of her identity.
"I'm sorry, Charlie..." Carol began with her most humble look.
"No problem," he said without looking at her. He didn't know what tied him to Carol. She was beautiful and a good bed partner, but... He understood her boyfriend who had knocked her up and dropped her.
Carol had a perfect body again, two years after the birth of her son, and Charlie liked taking photos of her. But he hated being late, and had had enough with Carol.
His indifference prompted Carol to turn to Johnny for support, so she noticed Tanya, but didn't recognize the secretary with the ponytail.
"Who's that?" she demanded.
"Carol, I'm sick of your unprofessional behavior," Charlie replied. "You've been replaced." He signaled to Johnny and Tanya. "Okay, you two, enough for today."
Johnny and Tanya retired to the dressing room while Charlie took the film out of the camera and threw it to Derek who disappeared in the lab.
Carol went to Charlie, humble again.
"Charlie, forgive me, but the baby-sitter was late..."
"A single mother shouldn't be a model," he replied bluntly. "You have a great body, but you're wasting my time."
"I can do it, Charlie," she said. "I want to be a top model and show the world that even a single mother can make it!"
"If you go on like this, I doubt it," he scoffed. "Carol, I've been patient long enough with you. I have dozens of other models ready to give me what you fail to provide. Now I have work to do if you don't mind."
Johnny and Tanya tip-toed out of the set, unnoticed.
"Give me another chance!" Carol begged. "I swear I'll be on time!"
"Okay. But if you're not on time, don't come at all."
He
turned his back on her and went back to work. With a sigh Carol went back to the foyer.
The walls were covered with Charlie's works and Johnny was the most recurring model, from his late teens on. One corner of the room had couches and fashion magazines on a low table. Tanya sat at her desk by the set door, ponytail and glasses as usual.
"Where's Johnny?" Carol asked.
"He's gone, he was busy," Tanya answered with a shrug. She didn't like Carol, and she knew Johnny had rushed out so he wouldn't have to drive Carol home.
Carol glared at her and left. Tanya finished listening to the messages on the answering machine and started to call back.
"Need a hand?" Alex asked, emerging from the set.
"No, I'm fine," she replied, then shooed him away as someone answered her call. He left with a smile.
Charlie came out of the set when she was done with the phone calls and used a corner of her desk to write something.
"Do you want a chair?" Tanya asked, puzzled.
He shook his head.
"Vogue called," she continued. "They want the spring collection covered. Which girls should I call?"
"I'll have to think about it," he said. He handed her the bank check he had been writing. She noticed her name on it, but it wasn't pay day.
"What's this for?" she asked.
"I always pay my models," he answered, staring at her with an amused look.
"But I'm not..."
"You modeled today, and I don't see why you should do it for free. I'm thinking about using a new face for Vogue, by the way."
"Don't you even think about me!" she shook her head, her ponytail shaking in horror.
"Pity," he smiled. "You think about it, though."
He went back to work and she sighed. She didn't want to be a model, although for Charlie... She'd give him the exclusive, like Johnny. But she really didn't like the transformation required to get the job.
She discussed it with Marsha during lunch break. "So he offered me the job," she said, depressed, after relating the whole episode.
"That's great!" Marsha brightened. "You accepted, I hope!"
"No way! I'm not a model, forget it!" She denied as much as she could the little, invisible dream of being noticed by Charlie.
"You can be a much better model than Carol," Marsha said. "You're nicer to work with, and more trustworthy."
"Marsha, please," she snorted, silencing the pleading little voice inside herself. "I was hired as a secretary! I never considered a career in modeling."
"Why don't you give it a try, though? You might even succeed." Marsha pointed eloquently at her body.
"It's not what I want, Marsha," she said, depressed. "I want to work with Charlie, but not as a model..."
Marta grinned. "You like Charlie, don't you?"
"Let's call it a small crush, okay?" she admitted. "I mean, if I really had to, if he insisted, I'd do it, just because he asked. But I'd rather not do it."
Marsha shrugged. "Well, it's your life, I guess..." she gave up.
Tanya nodded, determined to stand her ground. The little voice whined that she'd never get Charlie's attention like this, but she silenced it. She wanted to be herself and wanted him to like her as she was, not as a top model or any other kind of muse. He was an artist in his field, but his muses never really lasted, and she wanted to be near him forever. Hence the secretary job and clean, good-girl look.
***
Tanya went back to work and forgot about modeling while she answered the phone and the door. Around closing time came a middle-aged man who needed models for an advertising campaign. Tanya gave him all the information, but as he wished to speak with the photographer, she directed him to the couches with a couple of portfolios, telling him Charlie would be there soon.
The phone rang, a Patricia wanted to have a portfolio shooting. Tanya gave her an appointment for the morning after and hung up. Derek and Alex said good-bye, the visitor kept flipping through portfolios.
The cleaning lady came in, then the phone rang again. It was Johnny.
"I wanted to tell you that I knew that behind those glasses of yours was hiding a gorgeous swan," he said. "And I was wondering if you'd have dinner with me."
Tanya smiled against her will. Someone had noticed her all right with her new look. Pity he wasn't the one she was aiming at.
"I'm sorry, when I get out of here, I only want to crash in bed," she answered.
"How about weekends?" he insisted, disappointed but still hopeful.
"I don't know, Johnny..." she was tempted to accept. Johnny was a very handsome top model after all. His fans would be dead jealous of her.
"Do you have a jealous boyfriend?" he asked.
"No," she chuckled. No boyfriend, unless someone...
"See, I know nothing of you, even if you've been working for Charlie for well over a couple of years," he said. "I'd really like to get to know you better."
"I'll think about it," she promised.
"Okay, I'll let you think about it," he sighed."See you tomorrow, then."
She hung up, smiling and shaking her head. That was interesting. And Johnny was Charlie's best friend, so it was a good way to getting to know both better...
Charlie came out of the set having heard the final sentences of the conversation.
"Who was that?" he asked as the visitor stood up.
"Johnny," she said quickly. "Charlie, this is Mr..."
"Freeman," the man said, offering his hand. "Michael Freeman. Nice meeting you."
Charlie shook his hand, while with the other he handed Tanya some printed photos.
"Have a look at these," he told her before turning to the potential customer. "How can I help you, Mr Freeman?"
The two men started talking business while Tanya looked at her first official pictures. She didn't recognize herself in the beautiful girl near handsome Johnny. Was she really like this? She wondered. Was that how Charlie saw her now? And Johnny? Did he want to date her because of her new look or...?
"May I?" Mr Freeman picked up one of the photos she had already put down and looked closely at it. "Is this your latest work?" he asked Charlie.
"Yes, for a fashion magazine," the photographer answered.
"This model looks great, may I see her portfolio?"
Tanya blushed and hid behind the rest of the photos.
"She doesn't have one yet, she's a last minute stand in," Charlie replied with a triumphant glance at Tanya who rolled her eyes. "You see, the official model was late, so I picked up the first girl who walked through the door."
"She's very fresh," the customer said, admired. "Why don't you make her a portfolio, so we can discuss it further?"
"Of course. I'll call you when I'm ready."
When Tanya and Charlie remained alone, she did her best to avoid his eyes, pretending to be busy with a messy desk.
"How about that portfolio?" he asked.
"What, now?" she protested.
"Everybody is gone, you can relax," he smiled. "And I'll pay you the extra hours."
"It's not the money or the time, Marsha is gone and so is my make-up," she shrugged.
"Can't you do your own make-up?" He looked puzzled.
"Have you ever seen me wearing make-up?" she replied.
"Okay, tomorrow, then." He put the photos in a folder and looked at her again. "Let's go home."
They locked the studio and left the building.
"Need a lift?" Charlie asked for the first time. Not that they left together every day, but it had happened before.
"If you don't have anything better to do..."
"I don't. Besides, I need to talk to you."
"What's wrong with you guys?" she frowned. "First Johnny, now you..."
"I don't know about Johnny, but I definitely need to talk to you," he said, unlocking his car.
She hesitated, then sat in the car, wondering what was next.
"Do you want to be a model?" Charlie asked as he drove her home.
"No," s
he answered immediately. "If I had wanted to, I'd have asked you a long time ago."
"But now I want to take pictures of you," he said.
"You're already in love with me as a model," she said sourly. "I'll end up like all the others..."
"I don't know what you're talking about, I only said I wanted to take pictures of you," he said, serious.
"I don't want to be a model, Charlie, I'd rather be your secretary and friend than one of the many girls who come and go from your bed and your life. Not all women dream of being top models." There, she had said it. Now what? Maybe she had blown her only chance with him.
"Pity, I'd have loved to photograph you," he said, not looking at her.
Oh, Charlie, what should I do?, she wondered, confused. She wanted to please him, but at the same time feared it would hurt their friendship. She longingly looked at him, then sighed.
"Hell, Charlie, do whatever you want," she grumbled.
He smiled at her – that dazzling smile that often made her wonder why he wasn't modeling himself.
"Good," he said. "Tomorrow we'll shoot your portfolio, and you'll hire an assistant."
Someone who would take her place as secretary, she thought, depressed. While she'd become one of his many muses, to be discarded as soon as the next sensation showed up.
He parked the car by her front door and looked at her, puzzled by her sour and melancholic expression.
"I won't force you, Tanya, if you don't want to do it, just say it," he said.
"I told you it's all right, do whatever you want," she said quickly. "Thanks for the lift, see you tomorrow."
She almost ran to her apartment, conflicting emotions struggling inside her.
***
It was an average day, aspiring models in the morning, real work in the afternoon. At nine Patricia showed up, an Hispanic beauty whom Tanya introduced to Marsha and Charlie.
At ten a brown-haired young man came in with a shy request for a portfolio. Johnny came in about at the same time, and Tanya sent him to ask Charlie if he was free, as Patricia hadn't come out of the set yet.
"You can come in," Johnny invited the newcomer from the set door. Charlie came out with Patricia and asked Tanya to jot down Patricia's data.
Patricia left and Johnny came back to keep Tanya company while Charlie went back to work with the nervous male model. They had some small talk and he didn't mention his phone call. As if it never happened. Tanya wondered if it was good or bad.
Charlie came back with the boy, Matthew, and asked her to put him on their files. Johnny left, soon followed by Matthew.
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