by Joy Argento
It was during one of these conversations that Hope suggested a walk along the path of the Erie Canal. They were hoping for a bright sunny day to help cut the chill in the air, and that was exactly what they got on Saturday.
There were few other people on the trail. In the summer it would be full of people walking, jogging or riding their bikes. Most people found it much more appealing in the warmer weather.
“Thank you,” Hope said. “I have never let anyone read my writing before.”
Carrie’s voice betrayed her surprise, “No one?”
“No. I guess my writing has been like a private piece of me that I kept for myself,” Hope said.
Carrie stopped walking. Hope took another two steps before realizing she was walking alone and stopped. She turned back toward Carrie. Carrie just looked at her.
“What?” Hope asked.
“You never showed them to anyone, ever? But you let me read them? Wow. I am truly honored.” She took a step closer to Hope and touched her arm. “How come you showed them to me?”
Hope shrugged her shoulders. She couldn’t quite put into words how close she felt to Carrie and why she had let her read what no one else even knew existed. “I guess because I trust you.” She looked up at the deep blue sky and tried to find the right words to explain. “I knew they would be safe in your hands,” she said looking back at Carrie. “I feel like my heart is in those pages. I…” Hope stammered. “I kept my heart in that box in the closet along with my notebooks. Maybe I thought it was time to let it out. I trusted that you wouldn’t read my words and think I was a fool.”
“Thank you for that. I would never think you’re a fool. You are a wonderful person and an excellent writer and I think you should try to get your work published.” They began to walk again.
“I’m not sure about that,” Hope said.
“Why? Because it’s so personal?”
“No, because I’m not sure it’s good enough.”
Carrie reached out and touched Hope’s arm again. “Believe me, it’s more than good enough.”
Hope liked the feel of Carrie touching her, even through the sleeve of her light winter jacket. But, the touch also brought a bit of fear with it. A fear that brought back a memory that Hope had long ago pushed aside. So, it was a feeling of regret and relief when Carrie removed her hand from Hope’s arm.
They walked in comfortable silence for several minutes. They were two people enjoying each other’s company without the need for constant talk.
“Would you like to read more of my writing?” Hope asked as they got to a paved section of the trail. The area ahead was the backdrop for several restaurants and specialty shops.
“I would love to. I really would.” Carrie grabbed Hope’s hand and led her off the trail towards one of the small buildings. “Come on,” she said. “I’ll buy you a cup of coffee.” They walked around the front of the small coffee shop. Carrie held the door open for Hope. “This place has the best coffee,” Carrie said. “Have you ever been here before?”
“I have been to some of these shops but I haven’t been in here.” The smell of warm coffee and a hint of vanilla swarmed around them as they entered. The women looked at the coffee choices written on a large blackboard behind the counter. The day’s special was pumpkin spice coffee.
“What’ll you have?” the tall teenage boy with thick glasses and in bad need of a haircut asked.
“I’ll have a medium vanilla low-fat latte,” Hope said. She turned to her companion. “Want to split a piece of coffee cake?”
“No. I want my own piece,” Carrie smiled. She turned to the teenager. “Two pieces of coffee cake and I’ll have a cup of umm, let’s see…” She looked the board over again. “A cinnamon caramel latte. Medium.” She handed him a ten-dollar bill. She tucked a dollar bill and the loose change he gave her back into the tip jar.
The boy took two pieces of coffee cake from the back of the glass display case and set them on the counter in front of the women. He added a fork to each plate before starting to work on their drinks.
Carrie picked up both plates. “Do you want to sit while we wait for the coffee?” She nodded towards one of the last two tables left unoccupied. Hope led the way to the one in the far corner, and pulled out a chair for Carrie. Carrie put a piece of cake in front of Hope before sitting down with her own piece.
The shop was small with less than a dozen tables. Most of the tables accommodated two chairs. A few had four chairs surrounding them. All but two of the chairs were now occupied. The soft sounds of classical music floated through the air. Two large windows in the front of the shop allowed the sun to pour in.
It was only a couple of minutes before their lattes were ready and Hope rose to get them. She tucked a few napkins under her arm before picking up the tall paper cups.
“Did you miss me?” she asked when she returned to the table.
Carrie’s face lit up with her smile. “Sure did.” She reached for her coffee. “Thanks.”
“It turned out to be a really nice day, didn’t it?” Hope said.
“It did,” Carrie answered. “Nice day, good coffee.” She held up her cup. “Great company.” She cut into her piece of cake and took a big bite. “Mmm,” she said, her mouth still full.
“That good, huh?” Hope smiled. She took a bite of her own cake. “Mmm,” she said repeating Carrie’s response. “This is good. It’s so moist.” She took a swallow of her coffee drink.
They sat and talked while they enjoyed their coffee and cake. They stayed while many of the other customers finished their purchases, left, and were replaced by new customers. An hour and half passed before they returned their empty plates to the counter and threw their coffee cups away.
Carrie led the way to a small novelty shop next door. “I love this place,” she said as they entered. The small store was crammed full of handmade items that ran the gamut from delicate crocheted baby blankets to hand painted rocks.
“Oh, this is beautiful,” Carrie said picking up a glass Christmas tree ornament. Inside the delicate glass was a tiny painting of a winter scene. The slip of paper was surrounded by more paper cut into tiny snowflakes. She looked at the price tag. “It’s fifty dollars,” she said before carefully setting it back down. “I would think that they would have something this delicate and expensive in a show case or something, not just sitting here out in the open.” Hope nodded her head in agreement before wandering over to a selection of hand carved figurines that caught her eye.
Carrie strolled through the shop, stopping here and there to examine some of the merchandise a little closer. By the cash register she spotted several very elegant looking writing pens. Each one was individually packaged in a box made of wood that matched the pens. She gingerly picked up a pen from its box. The smoothness and weight of the pen felt good in her hand. The small label hanging from a string tied to the pen announced the pen was made from Zebrawood. Other pens were made from oak or walnut or ash. Carrie definitely liked the look of the Zebrawood the best.
“Aren’t they superb?” the short, plump sales woman behind the counter asked Carrie.
“They are,” Carrie agreed.
The woman pulled a pad of paper from under the counter and set the tablet in front of her. “Here,” she said. “Go ahead and write with it. Give it a try.”
Carrie wrote her name and drew a few squiggles on the paper. The ink flow was smooth and even. “I’ll take it,” Carrie said leaning forward and lowering her voice. “Do you have gift wrapping here too. It’s going to be a gift for my friend over there.” She subtly tilted her head towards Hope.
“I understand,” the woman whispered back.
Carrie gently put the pen back into the wooden box and closed the lid. She handed it to the woman, followed by four twenty-dollar bills. Carrie tucked the change the woman handed to her, into the front pocket of her jeans.
“I’ll be right back,” the woman whispered to Carrie. She slipped through a doorway behind the counter,
taking the pen with her.
Carrie’s attention was drawn to a display of hand painted rocks on a table to the left of the counter. She picked up a rock with a tri colored collie painted on it. The irregular shape of the rock lent itself perfectly to the outline of the dog. She examined the painting closely.
“Those are painted by a local artist, Christine Darna. I just love them,” the saleswoman said as she returned. She discreetly handed Carrie a small bag containing a neatly wrapped package, complete with a small white bow. Carrie slipped the bag into the pocket of her coat.
“She puts so much detail into them. I swear I’m going to touch fur when I pick them up,” the woman continued.
“It’s really beautifully painted,” Carrie said, turning the rock over in her hand.
“And see how she matches the subject to the shape of the rock?” The saleswoman picked up another rock painting of a squirrel. Once again, the shape of the rock lent it self perfectly to the shape of the squirrel, almost as if the rock had been created just for that painting. “Do you have a collie?”
“No, my grandmother did. She loved…loves collies. How much is this?”
“Twenty-four ninety-five, plus tax of course. Always got to give the government their share,” the woman said with a smile. “I’m sure your grandmother would love it.”
Carrie looked over at Hope. She was busy looking through a rack of hand drawn greeting cards. She mulled over the idea of adding another collie to the collection that her mother had started for her grandmother. “Oh, what the heck,” she said, “I’ll take it.”
The woman carefully wrapped it in tissue paper as if it were fine crystal and gently placed it into a small red bag with paper handles.
“What are you buying?” Hope asked as she approached the counter.
“Another collie for my grandmother’s collection. I think I am starting to be as crazy as my mother. But it was so cute, I couldn’t help myself.”
“Crazy can be a good thing,” Hope told her as Carrie paid for her purchase.
The two women left the store and started back on the trail, heading in the direction of their cars. Hope was reluctant to see their time together come to an end.
Chapter 10
“I need you to take all your clothes off.” Carrie said to Hope the following week.
“You aren’t even going to buy me dinner first?” Hope laughed. “Usually my dates buy me dinner before ordering me to get naked.”
“Hey, I gave you a glass of juice and a snack when you got here. What more do you want?” Carrie adjusted the blinds on the window, letting more light into the room. Her tone turned more serious as she gave her full attention to Hope. “Not too late to back out of this if you don’t feel comfortable with it.”
Hope gave her a reassuring grin. “I’m just kidding. I’m fine.”
“Okay. I’ll leave the room and you can get undressed. You can leave your underpants on for this part, but your bra needs to come off.” Carrie handed Hope a neatly folded length of light blue satin that was about six inches wide and ten feet long. “You can wrap this around you so that you’re covered and call me when you’re ready. I have the heat turned up nice and high so you shouldn’t get chilled.” She looked into Hope’s brown eyes, and noticed the tiny gold flakes reflected in them. Beautiful eyes, she thought to herself, beautiful woman. “Are you ready?” Carrie asked her.
“I’m ready.”
Carrie left the room, and closed the door behind her.
*****
Hope took a deep breath. She wasn’t overly modest and being naked didn’t bother her, but for some reason she wanted Carrie to find her body pleasing. I just want to look nice for the painting, she told herself.
Hope unfastened the buttons on her blouse and removed it. She folded it neatly and placed it on a chair in the corner. The rest of her clothes, except for her panties, followed. She wrapped the satin cloth loosely around her, covering her breasts and letting it fall over her waist. It didn’t quite cover all of her hips. She held it in place with her hands.
Hope called out to Carrie, “All right. I’m ready.” It only took moments for Carrie to return.
“Perfect,” Carrie said, as she looked Hope up and down. Hope blushed slightly.
Carrie turned on two lights and pointed them in the direction of a tall wooden stool positioned a few feet in front of the window. “Okay,” she said. “Come on over here and sit on the stool and I’ll pose you.”
Hope did as she was told. “Pose away.”
“Can you put one foot on the bottom rung of the stool and let the other hang free, touching the floor?” Hope positioned herself on the stool. “Great. Now turn your face this way a little.” Carrie gently lifted Hope’s chin. She placed a hand on each side of Hope’s head to tilt it a little towards the left. Hope looked into Carrie’s eyes. She felt the warmth of Carrie’s hands on her skin and it sent a chill through her. Hope closed her eyes and swallowed, willing the feeling away. “Okay?” Carrie asked her.
Hope opened her eyes again. “Yep, just fine.” She stared pass Carrie and found a spot on the far wall to focus her attention on.
“I am going to need to rearrange the cloth now.” Carrie waited until Hope nodded before she continued. She pulled the cloth away from Hope’s body, briefly exposing her nakedness. Hope brought her attention back to Carrie and noticed that Carrie’s eyes remained on the cloth as she moved it over Hope’s shoulders and laid it back down covering Hope’s breasts. Carrie let out a small sigh. She took the remaining material and arranged it so it covered half of Hope’s waist and the tail end of it was laid across Hope’s lap. “I am going to pull your underwear down a little on the side here. Okay?”
“Sure. That’s fine.” Hope continued to watch as Carrie pulled the lavender underwear down a couple of inches exposing the skin on Hope’s hip. The artist arranged the rest of the material so that it covered up the underwear and draped down over part of Hope’s long legs.
Carrie stepped back and looked Hope up and down. She slowly nodded her approval. Smiling at Hope she said. “I think that’s it. Are you comfortable?”
“Yep,” Hope said, staying as still as possible.
“Okay. I am going to take some photos so I have something to work from when you aren’t here, and then I’m going to start a pencil sketch. It will probably be about thirty minutes before we get a break, but let me know if you need to move before that.”
“All right.” Hope said, barely moving her mouth.
Carrie laughed. “It’s ok to talk. You can move your mouth, at least right now. So just relax.”
“All right,” Hope said. “Should I smile or not smile?” She smiled wide and then dropped the corners of her mouth. She smiled again waiting for Carries reply.
“Anything you want is fine at this point. When I get into the details of the face I will let you know what to do.” Carrie picked up the digital camera from the table. She removed the lens cap. It dangled from the camera by a strap. She turned the camera on and checked the manual settings. “Okay, here we go.”
Carrie looked through the viewfinder and snapped a few pictures. She moved around Hope and snapped a few more. Carrie moved the camera away from her face to look at Hope directly. “How ya doing?”
“So far so good,” she smiled.
“You are doing great.”
Carrie walked over and stood by her easel. “I just need to get a few more from over here so that I have the correct view.” She pushed the shutter several more times. Carrie did a quick review of the photos and shut the camera off. She set it down and picked up her drawing pencil.
Carrie looked at Hope for several long moments before making a few broad sweeping strokes on the drawing pad, set upright on the easel in front of her. “Doing okay?”
“I am doing fine. Stop worrying about me. You just draw, and make me look beautiful.” Hope smiled.
“That won’t be hard to do because you really are beautiful, especially when you smile like th
at,” Carrie said.
Hope blushed, but continued to smile. “Thanks.” She looked down, breaking the eye contact with Carrie.
“Don’t be embarrassed. I have seen hundreds, maybe thousands of beautiful naked women and you rate right up there in the top one or two percent.” Carried grinned as she glanced at Hope.
“Thousands, huh?” Hope brought her eyes back up to Carrie’s. “And where did you happen to see all of these women?” Hope felt a confusing pang of jealousy, despite the fact that she knew Carrie was only joking.
Carrie continued to draw as she answered. “Okay, I may be exaggerating. It was probably more like nine or ten. They were models for my drawing classes in college. And now that I think about it, you are definitely the most beautiful one.” She paused for a moment. “Really.”
Several minutes passed without any talking while Carrie sketched, her eyes traveling between Hope and her sketchpad.
Carrie broke the silence. “So, how is everything going? How is work?”
“I’m doing good. Work is fine for the most part, but I did something really stupid.”
“I can’t imagine that. What did you do?” Carrie’s pencil was still as she focused her attention on Hope waiting for the answer.
“They are starting a bowling team for our office and when they asked me to join it, I did.” She shook her head. “I told them no at first, but they kept bugging me about it because they were one person short. They wore me down and I gave in and joined.”
“And why exactly is that a stupid thing to do?” Carrie went back to drawing as she talked.
“Because I don’t bowl. Not really. I haven’t done it since I was a teenager and then I sucked at it.”
“You are in luck then, because I am a great bowler. Not just a good bowler, I mean a great bowler. Do you know what a turkey is?” Carrie’s sketch was starting to take shape and was beginning to look like a female body.