by Allison
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Chapter Ten
A week later, Craig ran about Spectacular Designs, preparing for Jeremy’s class.
Everything had to be perfect. Ever since the day at the park, he’d made special efforts to calm himself down and settle into a safe friendship with Jeremy, but he couldn’t help wanting to make this presentation extra special. It was the one way he could show Jeremy how much he cared for him and not be so obvious.
Janet came into Craig’s office, interrupting his thoughts. “Are you ready for the kids?” Janet fidgeted with her bracelet, a sign of her nervousness.
“I think so.” Craig walked into the technology room where they kept the workstations and printers. “I need to wheel out the laptops so the kids can experiment with the design programs when I finish showing them what we do.”
She turned her bracelet again with a flash of pink-painted nails. “I still don’t understand why you agreed to let a bunch of seven-year-old kids come here. I’m concerned about our equipment. What if one of the kids has an accident?”
Craig burst out laughing, but regained control of himself when Janet’s expression became sour. “Uh, Janet, I think kids are potty trained at like two or three.”
“Well, how the hell would I know? I don’t have any kids.” She glanced around at the technology surrounding her.
“The way you’re acting right now, I’d think this hardware is your child and you are worrying the big mean second graders are going to bully your wittle baby.” Craig smirked at his own cleverness. The smile was wiped off his face by a slap to the back of his head. “Ouch. What the fuck?”
Janet smiled sweetly. “Language, dear. I wouldn’t want my wittle baby to learn such bad words at such a tender age. Make sure the kids don’t break anything.”
“Don’t worry about it. Everything will be fine.” He barely finished his sentence when Jeremy showed up with his class and the room filled with the excited murmurings of twenty second grade children. With a leap of his heart, Craig turned to Jeremy whose dark head of hair was wind-blown, giving him a disheveled appearance.
As the two men locked eyes, Jeremy smiled, but there was a hint of nervousness behind his gaze as well. Jeremy had always been the one in control, the one who had a handle on any situation. To see a flaw, a minor chink in his air of confidence, made him human and even more lovable…if that was possible. “You’re here,” he said to Jeremy.
”Awesome!”
Jeremy gathered his students around him. “Boys and girls, I want you to meet Craig. He is one of my friends and works here at Spectacular Designs. Today we are going to learn how he makes the pictures for the people who hire him and how he prints those pictures.”
The kids oohed and aahed and Craig couldn’t help but chuckle.
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Janet, who had moments earlier held a scowl on her face, melted at the sight of the kids. “I’ll run out and get some cookies,” she said. Craig looked at her as if she had lost her mind. She threw up her hands. “What? You didn’t tell me they were going to be so cute.”
Jeremy gathered the kids around Craig and addressed the class. “Okay, before we start, I want to ask if anyone here knows what I do for work.”
Several kids raised their hands. Jeremy helped by calling on students for him.
“Sean, do you have an answer for Craig?”
He faced Craig and puffed out his chest. “You make pictures for people.”
“Right. Very good Sean.” Craig said. “And, kids, why do I make these pictures for people?”
“Bernice, you raised your hand and remained quiet,” Jeremy said,” Bernice’s eyes widened and a smile crossed her face. “You make the pictures because people pay you to make them.” She quickly dropped her glance to her feet, flushing madly.
Another kid raised his hand. Craig pointed towards him. “What’s your name?”
“Nick?” His voice sounded more like a question than an answer.
“Hi Nick. What did you want to say?”
Nick sat taller, smiling widely at Craig, his chubby cheeks lifting and his blue eyes twinkling with excitement. Craig had a sudden urge to walk over to the kid and ruffle his dark hair, but managed to suppress himself. “You make pictures so people can put them outside and get other people to buy their things.”
Craig nodded his head approvingly. “Good.” He glanced at Jeremy, sure he had prepared the children before they arrived. Jeremy smiled, shrugging his shoulders.
“Now, the name of my job is a bit complicated. I’m what you call a graphic designer.
That’s a big fancy name for someone who draws pictures using a computer.”
The kids began to giggle. Another girl raised her hand and Craig motioned for her to speak. “How can you draw pictures with a computer?” she asked. “You need to use crayons or magic markers.”
Craig laughed. I don’t remember being this innocent. “Well, you’re right. I don’t actually pick up a computer and draw with it, but special programs are in the computer, which help me draw pictures.”
Jeremy piped in. “We use computer programs at school. Like when you read those books on the classroom computer, you’re using a program with stories in it.” The kids nodded their heads and a new round of oohes and aahes filled the room.
Craig spent the next few minutes walking the kids around Spectacular Designs, showing them the computers and the printing machines. Finally, he sat them down in the audio-visual room where he had attached a computer to the LCD projector.
“The first thing I do is ask my client, the person who is paying me to draw for them, what they want the picture to be. So, what should I draw?” Several students raised their hands and began to describe Jeremy—dark hair, tall and smiling. Then one girl called 89
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him pretty before burying her face in her hands giggling. Craig decided the little girl was one of Jeremy’s brighter students.
A warm twinge of affection for Jeremy filled him. He enjoyed the fact the kids wanted him to draw a picture of their teacher. He followed the students’ instructions and when he finished, had drawn a picture of Jeremy sitting in front of the class reading a picture book. The kids started talking all at once to one another.
Craig surveyed his work and realized he had embellished certain features. He’d made Jeremy’s shoulders broader, his bottom lip a bit poutier, more kissable, and his legs and arms longer and more graceful. He glanced at Jeremy who also stared at his drawing, a hint of pink on his face. He turned to face Craig and they locked eyes, before Jeremy lowered his head to face the floor.
Craig saved the picture. “Ok, so when I finish, I need to print the picture out so our client can tell us if they’re happy with the work. I’m going to print this and you can tell me if I did a good job.” The kids sat up straighter in their chairs, an air of importance in their body language, as they prepared to make a decision about whether or not the picture Craig drew satisfied them.
He printed the picture, went to the technology room to pick up the print, and returned to the audio-visual room placing it on an easel. “So, what do you think? Did I do a good job or do I need to make some changes?” For the most part, the kids loved the picture, but some kids suggested he add the classroom flag and others wanted him to change the color of the rug. Craig made all of the changes the kids wanted and printed out the new picture.
“So, who is happy with the picture now?” All of the kids raised their hands.
“Fantastic! Now you get a turn to draw pictures. Mr. Finn told me you wrote stories in class about a time you did something with your family. I set up our laptop computers in the main room and you can draw a picture to go with your story. How does that sound?” The kids erupted in cheers and Jeremy had to quiet them down.
Craig turned to face Jeremy who gazed at him with awe and a
doration mixed together. “Mr. Finn, if you would like to bring your kids and follow me, we can get them started on the laptops.” Craig turned and left the room, a bit flustered by Jeremy’s attention, and took a few deep breaths to control the arousal shooting straight to his groin. After a minute, the wave passed and he helped to set the kids in pairs, two to a computer.
Craig had expected this part of the field trip would be hectic, but couldn’t believe how easily the children took to using computers. He marveled at these young technicians, and was startled when a hand touched his shoulder.
Jeremy stood beside him. “You’re sweet when you talk to kids. I’ll admit, you kind of turned me on.”
The blood Craig had just gotten under control, flooded south once again, causing his pants to become restrictive. “The kids love you. When you left the room they asked if you could be their teacher too.”
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“Really?” Craig looked at the kids, but couldn’t process his thoughts. Jeremy’s arm touched his shoulder. The admiration he communicated was on behalf of his kids, but clearly came from him as well. It was all too much and Craig had to focus all of his energy on controlling his libido. Each time he saw Jeremy, the urge to sweep him into his arms and kiss him grew stronger. Finally, he found his voice. “I’m amazed at how well they’re using this program. It’s not a simple one.”
Jeremy laughed, maintaining his hold on Craig’s shoulder. “You would be amazed at how much these kids understand about computers. When we grew up, computers were new. Our generation was the first to use them regularly. This generation of kids has never lived in a world without PCs. They’re far more technologically sophisticated than we’ll ever be. Well, most of us anyways, other than people like you who make a living using technology.” Jeremy’s eyes held fast with Craig’s. “Seriously though, you’re sweet with the kids, talking to them at the right level. You didn’t baby them, but you didn’t talk over their heads either. I’m impressed.”
Heat rushed to Craig’s face. “Thanks.”
Jeremy let go of his shoulder. “Let’s check out what they’re drawing.” Craig allowed Jeremy to lead the way. Under any other circumstance, the suggestion of paying attention to anything but Jeremy would seem like a joke, but this was Craig’s passion. He loved graphic design and was able to share his love with Jeremy, making the work even more special. Add in that he was giving Jeremy what he wanted and the moment was charged with excitement.
Craig enjoyed the bright, colorful pictures the students drew. Most of the pictures involved children playing games or going on trips with their families.
One picture caught Craig’s attention. Not only the subject of the picture, but the complexity of the child’s use of shade, line, and depth to give the image dimension. The work was more sophisticated than anything he would expect from a seven-year-old.
Not many adults could work the program as well as this child.
The picture portrayed a mother and a father, both with serious expressions, with a little boy between them. What struck Craig as odd, was the boy had a wide grin on his face. The story being told eluded him, but the conflict drew his interest. Jeremy walked up behind him. “Ah, you noticed Seth’s picture. His is a sad story, but the way Seth processed his situation, I can’t be too sad.”
“What do you mean? The conflict in the picture is gripping. I can’t make sense of it.” Something in the picture seems sage, as if a life lesson lingered in the image. When making designs, artists aimed for this exact effect and often failed. Seth had created an image to capture attention and draw people in to learn more. Maybe Seth could design book covers when he gets older.
Jeremy explained. “Seth’s parents got divorced. His story is about the time they told him. The funny thing is, although his parents had been serious and sad while telling him, Seth had remained happy during the conversation. The last line of his story said something about how he learned kids sometimes need to take care of their parents.”
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“Really? That sounds kind of disturbing.”
“Oh, I know, it does seem creepy, but I had a meeting with his parents after reading his story and they are really handling this well. They told him he had made them feel much better and apparently Seth ate it up.”
“No shit.” Craig walked closer to the picture. With the context explained, Seth’s work emerged with greater clarity. Both parents had sagging shoulders whereas Seth sat upright. Dull colors adorned the edges of the picture and the features of the room were fuzzy, but the closer you got to Seth, the clearer and more vibrant the picture became. The entire image placed Seth as the center of the happiness and clarity of the moment. “His parents must have handled the situation well. I’m happy for Seth.”
“What do you mean? I can’t even fathom having to deal with finding out your parents are getting divorced at such a young age. You remember how I reacted when my parents split. You and I still called each other once a week back then.”
Craig turned to Jeremy. “No, I’m not saying the fact his parents divorced makes me happy.” He took Jeremy by the arm and led him to survey the picture more closely.
“Look at his picture. Specifically, at him and then at his surroundings.”
Jeremy peered at the picture, and turned to face Craig, confusion evident on his face. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to be seeing.”
“May I talk to Seth? You can listen in and then you’ll see what I do.”
Jeremy nodded and Craig approached Seth. “Hey, Seth. I really like your picture.”
Seth turned to face Craig. “Thank you. I think this is fun. You’re a good teacher.”
“Thanks.” Craig ruffled his hair. “You’re pretty good at this,” he said. “Using the computer to draw pictures, I mean. You’re better than a lot of grown-ups.” Seth beamed with pride. “I like how you used color in your picture. The brightest and happiest colors are in the middle where you are.” Jeremy leaned over Craig’s shoulder, examining the picture closer. The heat of Jeremy’s body penetrated his shirt, sending a wave of excitement through him as it warmed his skin. Momentarily distracted by the contact, he turned to smile at Jeremy. He then returned his attention to Seth and continued. “I also like how you made everything so clear in the middle and how things get fuzzier on the outside parts of the picture. Did you want to show how you had the answers to your parents’ problems? These two people seem kind of sad. Were you the one to make them happy again?”
Seth looked up at Craig. “Yes, that’s what I drew in my picture. My picture told you the whole story?” Seth stared at his picture, running his fingers over the screen. Craig kept his focus on Seth, but didn’t miss the intake of breath behind him.
“Like I said, I think you are that good.” Craig knelt down next to him. “Mr. Finn tells me this is the time your parents told you about their divorce. You must have been kind of sad, huh?”
“Well, my parents were sad. I was scared at first, but they told me they loved me no matter what, which made me happy. I only wanted them to stop being sad, so I told 92
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them I loved them right back and I had enough love to give to both of them ten times around the world.”
Craig took in a breath, a lump forming in his throat. “What a nice thing for you to tell them. I bet you made them happier.”
“Yes. My parents are even friends now. Not like my other friend Abby. Her parents fight all the time.” A sad look passed over Seth’s face, quickly replaced by a happy smile once again.
Craig stayed with Seth for a few more minutes admiring his work. “Well, I should probably walk around and talk to some of the other students about their pictures, but I wanted to tell you I think this picture is extra special. You’re a talented little graphic designer. I’m impressed with your work.”
“Thanks, Craig
. Mr. Finn said we should call you Craig. Is that okay?” Seth had an innocent and questioning expression and large blue puppy-dog eyes.
“Of course. Keep working on your picture.” Craig walked over to Jeremy. To his surprise, Jeremy’s eyes were brimming with moisture and his bottom lip quivered.
“Hey, you okay?” Jeremy nodded, a smile slowly breaking through his taut lips. As he relaxed his face, Craig noticed one glimmering tear roll down his cheek and resisted the urge to brush it away. “Seriously, Jer, are you all right? Did I do something wrong?”
Jeremy let out a gentle laugh, almost an exhale. “No. You definitely did not do anything wrong. You did something incredibly right.” He put his hand on Craig’s shoulder. Craig sensed intensity in the touch, as if Jeremy wanted to communicate more than his words could say. “The tender way you talked to Seth. I never get a chance to watch others interact with my kids since I’m the one orchestrating their activities. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by your natural talent at working with kids. Watching you with Seth made me a little emotional. In a good way.”
Craig smiled. “Thanks.”
“What for?”
“For bringing the kids here.” Craig rubbed his hand up and down Jeremy’s back to comfort him. Seth turned to face them, a bright smile on his face. Craig had a feeling that Seth knew exactly what was going through his mind. Well, if you know what I’m thinking, cross your fingers for me. Maybe make a wish for me too while you’re at it.
Jeremy’s sniffle brought his attention back to the two of them. “These kids adore you.” Craig lowered his head and Seth turned back to face the laptop. I swear, that kid has got to be the coolest kid I ever met. He glanced at Jeremy who still looked a bit emotional, then walked over to another student to help them with their picture.