by KG MacGregor
always like to start with the bare minimum.”
“Like an artist with a blank canvas.”
“I guess. My dad always taught me that good portraits were
mostly about light and composition. I have everything I need for
that.”
“Is your dad retired?”
“No, he died about six years ago. Liver cancer. We never even
knew he was sick until it was too late.”
Clearly sensing her melancholy, Claudia patted her forearm.
“I’m sorry. I bet you were close.”
“We were. But I feel like he’s with me whenever I’m
working.”
“That’s sweet. So what about your mom? Where is she?”
“She moved to Modesto to live with her sister, my Aunt Ellie.
They were always close, and…well, I can’t really say the same
about Mom and me. She worked as a receptionist at a doctor’s
office, so I didn’t see her as much as I saw Dad. After he died,
she said she always felt like she was on the outside of the circle
because we talked all the time about the studio.”
“Do you see her now?”
“She visits once or twice a year, and I try to see her on
holidays. We love each other but we’re not all that close.” They
fell silent for a long moment. Then Leo cleared her throat and
gestured toward a doorway. “That’s the kitchen through there.
And believe it or not, it’s actually still a kitchen.”
“Look at these cabinets!” Claudia exclaimed, eyeing the
windowpane facings. “I bet they’re the originals.”
“Probably. They’ve been here as long as I have.” Leo pointed
toward a staircase by the back door. No one had ever asked to
see her darkroom, and only a handful of friends had visited her
apartment upstairs. “Downstairs is the darkroom, and upstairs is
where I live. Do you want to see those?”
“Are you kidding? I want to see everything. I would have
loved growing up in a house like this. We moved at least six times,
always because Mom wanted something bigger and better. They
all felt the same to me—empty and bland, no character at all.”
“If there’s one thing this house has, it’s character,” Leo said.
“Especially when the roof leaks or the bathtub backs up.” She
flipped the light switch and started down the stairs. “I ran the
exhaust fan for an hour after I did your pictures, so it shouldn’t
smell too bad. Still, we probably ought not stay too long unless
we put on masks.”
Claudia chuckled. “You only promised the nickel tour, so
maybe just a penny or two down here.”
Leo guided her into the darkroom, where one wall was lined
with a sink and developing trays and the other with shelves
of equipment and supplies. She indicated her main tool, the
enlarger, which was mounted on a counter in between. “I don’t
use this room much, to tell you the truth. Most of my film goes
out to the lab. I do some touch-up with the airbrush once in a
while, especially for glamour shots.”
“I’m surprised this isn’t your favorite room.”
“No, the studio is where the real fun is. And if I don’t do that
part right, I don’t have a whole lot to work with down here.” She
pulled the door shut behind her as they walked out. “That just
leaves the upstairs, which, I have to warn you, isn’t as neat as the
rest of the house.”
“Will I get to meet your feline photo critic?”
“Madeline? That depends. Some days she’s bashful, other
days she’s your best friend.”
They climbed two flights of stairs to emerge on the upper
landing, which branched off into four rooms. She started the tour
in the back corner, where her double bed nearly filled the room.
“I’ve been sleeping in this room since I left the crib, but it
seemed so much bigger back then. Maybe because I used to have
a twin bed.”
“This is lovely, Leo,” Claudia said, running her hands over
the well-worn blue and yellow handmade quilt folded across the
bottom of the bed. “It looks so comfortable. I don’t know how
you ever get up in the morning.”
“That’s what Madeline’s good for.”
“Madeline! Where is she?” Claudia spun in the doorway
and shot her a grin. “I bet you’re wondering what you’ve gotten
yourself into, letting some crazy woman roam through your
whole house.”
Leo had to admit it was unusual to allow someone she had
only just met so deep into her personal space. But Claudia’s
fascination with the house was charming and an easy subject to
talk about as they got acquainted. “It never occurred to me you
might be crazy. I thought you just liked old houses.”
Claudia smirked and leaned through the next doorway.
“Guest room?”
“Correct, except that I haven’t had any guests since my
mother visited last Christmas. I hate to think how much dust is
under that bed.” She gestured across the hall. “The bathroom,
which we all shared because it was the only one in the house until
we added a powder room off the kitchen. Now for what used to
be my parents’ room.”
They walked into her den, a circular room that comprised
the second floor of the turret. The corner by the window was set
up as a reading nook, with a Scandinavian recliner and gooseneck
lamp. Across the room a tan leather couch faced a coffee table
and entertainment center made of teak.
“This looks so homey. Except that I haven’t seen your cat
yet.”Leo nodded in the direction of her television cabinet where
Madeline looked down on them with her usual curiosity. “Check
out the highest point in the room.”
“Aw, she’s adorable.”
“She knows. I have to keep the kitchen door closed or she’ll
come into the studio to try to get in everyone’s picture.” She picked
up the packet on the coffee table. “Speaking of pictures…”
Claudia’s face lit up as she thumbed through the three poses.
“Damn, I look good. What was I so happy about?”
“Maybe it was twenty-five kids trying to get you to laugh.”
She studied the photos again. “That was a fun day. It was my
first full day in charge of the class and when the last bell rang
Sandy said she never wanted them back.”
Leo had decided to mention her friendship with Sandy and
Maria over dinner, just in case Sandy hadn’t made it clear. That
way she could let Claudia know she too was gay. “You looked
like you were enjoying yourself that day. I take a lot of school
pictures. Most of the teachers I see look miserable.”
“Yeah, maybe I haven’t been there long enough to get cranky.
My grandmother that I told you about, the one with the Victorian
house…she was a teacher for forty-some years. I’ve always wanted
to be just like her.”
That certainly explained why Claudia seemed like such a
natural in front of her class. “I don’t think I could be around kids
that much, but I have a lot of respect for people that do.”
“Grandma alway
s said we were meant to do something
worthwhile with our lives. But it’s a battle I’ve had with my mom
since junior high.”
“What sort of career did she have in mind for you?”
“She wanted me to major in art history or romance languages,
something I wouldn’t actually use except to impress the women in
my bridge club. That’s her idea of a worthwhile life. Fortunately,
my dad is more like my grandma. He’s a pediatrician and he loves
kids.”
Leo was glad Claudia had taken after her father. She had seen
her share of social climbers in the studio, both men and women
who hired her services but couldn’t be bothered to be friendly,
as though she were only a minnow in society’s food chain. In
those cases it worked best to maintain an air of professional
detachment, since she wouldn’t get a word of praise for her work,
just a check to cover her fee. From those kinds of people the
check was enough.
“I think you made the right choice,” Leo said. “Your students
do too because they obviously love you.”
Claudia grinned. “It’s mutual. I just hope I can find a job for
next spring. It’s hard to get on board in the middle of the year,
but I’m graduating in December.”
“Maybe something will open up.” Leo grabbed her wallet
from the coffee table. “If you’re finished rummaging through my
house, why don’t we go grab a bite? You like Isabella’s?”
“Never been.”
“Pasta and seafood.”
“My two favorites at the same table. Who could ask for more
than that?”
As they turned the corner at the top of the stairs they dodged
the thin rope that hung from a door in the ceiling.
“You have an attic?”
“Yeah, it’s where I hide all my junk. Don’t tell me you want
to go up there too.”
“I do, but not today. Now that you mentioned food I’m ready
to eat.”
There was much to do in the attic to make it presentable, but
Leo was already turning over her schedule for when she might
start. Getting it cleaned out was a built-in excuse for having
Claudia come back for another visit.
0
Chapter 5
Their table on the rail afforded a full view of the marina,
which was bustling with activity on the docks as boaters cleaned
and secured their craft after a beautiful day on the water. A crisp
breeze rippled the tablecloth, but both of them were prepared
for the cool California night. Leo had donned her brown leather
bomber jacket and Claudia had plucked a tweed blazer from her
car when she dropped off her packet of photos. A waiter brought
their drinks, a chardonnay for Claudia and a Black Russian for
Leo.“This sure beats doing laundry,” Claudia said, raising her
glass in a toast. “I’ve been in Monterey since August and this is
my first time at the wharf.”
“So you aren’t from around here?”
“My folks live in Cambria down the coast near San
Simeon.”
“Where the Hearst Castle is?”
“Right, and to hear my mother tell it, we’re neighbors,” she
said, rolling her eyes. She was relieved that Leo had loosened up
during the walk down to the wharf. The shyness that Sandy had
described wasn’t evident during the house tour, though she had
indeed seemed a bit nervous. “I ended up here because I went
to school at UC-Santa Cruz. They try to place all the teaching
interns as close as possible so they can drop in unannounced and
watch from the back of the room. Very unnerving.”
“Melrose seems like a pretty good place to teach. You could
have done a lot worse.”
“You’re telling me. And I couldn’t have asked for a better
supervising teacher than Sandy Irwin. I was so lucky to get
someone who wasn’t jaded and grouchy all the time. Can you
imagine if I’d been paired with Betty Tyler? The kids would be
schizophrenic, what with my positive reinforcement one minute
and her harping at them the next.” She wondered if Sandy had
mentioned her invitation to the Halloween party. “How long
have you known Sandy?”
Leo squinted as if counting in her head. “About four years. I
ran into her at a party and recognized her from doing the school
pictures at Melrose. I already knew her…uh, her friend Maria
because she’s a photographer too.”
“Right, I’ve seen some of Maria’s work. She’s amazing.” It was
interesting that Leo had stumbled over how to describe Sandy’s
partner.
They put their conversation on hold to order dinner.
Once the waiter left Claudia continued, “By the way, Sandy
invited me to their Halloween party next weekend. She said you’d
probably be there. Is that right?”
“I…yeah, sure. I go every year.”
The quake in Leo’s voice suggested she was dancing around
the topic of being gay, probably because Claudia hadn’t yet made
it clear she was cool with having lesbian friends. “She warned
me I’d probably be the only straight person there but I told her
it didn’t matter. I just like to be around interesting people, and
I’m not the kind of person to go judging somebody or blabbing
their secrets.”
Leo nodded and offered a faint smile. “Good to know. Not
everyone feels that way.”
“That’s ridiculous if you ask me. What people do with their
personal lives is nobody’s business.” She waved a hand dismissively.
“I had a gay roommate my freshman year. I even went with her a
couple of times to a gay bar.” In fact, she had danced with several
of the women there when they asked, but not when the music
was slow and romantic.
“Wow, I have lesbian friends who wouldn’t dare go out to a
gay bar. They’re afraid of people finding out.”
“Yeah, that’s what Sandy said. She doesn’t think she’d get
fired after fifteen years in the classroom, but she’d still have to
put up with parents getting bent out of shape about it. And then
she’d end up with a big chip on her shoulder, worrying that every
single criticism on her evaluation form was really about who she
slept with, not what kind of teacher she was. Somebody who was
open about being gay probably couldn’t get hired at all.”
“I’m sure you’re right. I’d probably lose a few of my customers
if they knew, maybe even the school contract. Can’t have those
deviants around little children, you know?”
Claudia swirled the last of her wine in her glass, noticing that
Leo’s green eyes had gone dark in the waning sunlight. With the
black hair that flopped on her brow, it was an amazingly dramatic
look that most women only got with makeup. “Did your folks
know about you?”
“Good question. I never really talked to my dad, but I had
started seeing Melissa when he first got sick. I told my mom
about a year later and she said she wasn’t surprised, so I figured
Dad probably knew too.” Leo drained her drin
k and sucked an
ice cube into her cheek. “I wish I had talked to him, but I was just
figuring things out for myself. I think he would have been okay
with it though.”
“I’m sure he would have been. It sounds like you two were
really close.” Based on what Sandy had said about Leo keeping
her personal life to herself, she had a feeling she had just heard
something few others knew. “Whatever happened to Melissa?”
Leo shrugged. “It ran its course. She didn’t really want to
be tied down, which is another way of saying she wanted to see
other people too. I tried to be blasé about it, but I guess I’m not
cut out for the casual romance thing. After I realized she’d been
with somebody else…” She shuddered and shook her head. “It
wasn’t special anymore. I figure either it’s serious, or why bother
at all?”
“I hear you.”
On Leo’s signal, the waiter dropped off another round of
drinks. When he disappeared, she pointed to Claudia’s diamond
ring. “It looks like you’re serious. When’s your wedding?”
“Who knows? We can’t even figure out how to be in the same
country for more than a week or two at a time.”
“You lost me.”
“My fiancé, Mike. His family owns this enormous international
development corporation. And unlike my family, they really are
neighbors of Hearst.” She lapsed into an exaggerated haughty
tone. “In fact, Mike’s grandfather used to go to parties at the
Hearst Castle with all the Hollywood stars. What my mother
wouldn’t give just to live in their guest house. They have this
gigantic mansion right on the ocean in San Simeon.”
“I didn’t realize I was in the presence of such a celebrity.”
Claudia swatted her hand playfully. “Believe me, there’s
nothing about my life that says celebrity. I’m about as plain as
they get. Anyway, Mike’s in Taiwan right now building a mall.
I think this ring was his way of apologizing for being gone so
long.”
“It must be tough being so far apart.”
Lots of people said that, and they probably found her response
peculiar. “You know, it’s really not so bad right now. I need to be
concentrating on finishing my degree and that’s a whole lot easier
with him halfway around the world. And he needs to concentrate