The Inn of Destiny

by Gene P. Abel

  François reached into the closet and pulled out his tablet that contained the sketch he had started that afternoon.

  Jackie was surprised when she looked at it, and said, “You’ve only completed my face. When will you do the rest of me?”

  “Well, how about now?”

  “Only if you have some good wine,” replied Jackie. “It always puts me in a relaxed mood.”

  “Please take a seat on the sofa,” responded François. “I’ll be right back with your wine.”

  François returned in a few minutes and said, “Lie on your side like you were this afternoon.” He placed her portrait on the easel and began to sharpen his pencils. Jackie wondered if he would ask her to undress and contemplated what she would say if he did. She didn’t have to wait very long.

  François came from behind his easel and sat on the edge of the sofa next to her. “I would like to complete your portrait in the nude.”

  Jackie looked up into his face and asked, “Will you give me the drawing when it’s complete?”

  “If you like,” he responded. François reached down and slowly began to undo the buttons that started at the collar and ended at the bottom of her skirt. It soon became evident Jackie was not wearing a bra. He already knew she didn’t have one on by the way her breasts poked through her dress. However, he was surprised to find her naked stomach as he opened the buttons at her waist. By this time Jackie was blushing, and it seemed like a lifetime until François opened the last several buttons to reveal her dark red patch.

  He removed her dress, which enabled him to see the true extent of her beautiful body. It was a sight to behold. He thought to himself, I have never had a sexier model. She is exquisite. He couldn’t wait to capture her likeness on paper and began his labor of love.

  Jackie’s long red hair fell lightly over her shoulders as if to guide his eyes to her uplifted breasts. She was a C cup that seemed to poke upward toward the ceiling. Her waist was small but not so small that it looked out of proportion to her hips. She had a flat tummy and perfectly shaped legs that led to her delicate feet to round out this five-foot-six beauty from America.

  “Lie more on your side. Rest your right arm on the seat of the sofa, and place your left arm on the top of the sofa back. Bend your left leg, and place your foot on the seat of the sofa, and extend your right leg.” This pose placed Jackie in about the same position she was in when he started her sketch. It also enabled him to capture all of her outstanding body.

  “Is this the way you draw all your nudes?”

  François responded, “Each model is special. I try to capture that in all my drawings. No two women have the same body. That’s what makes drawing nude women so fascinating.”

  It took him about an hour to complete the sketch of her body. When he finished, Jackie took the clothing she wore when they went cycling and got dressed.

  “You are welcome to stay the night even if you insist on sleeping alone. You can use my bed, and I will sleep on the sofa,” he said.

  “No, thanks. I told Barb I would be home tonight.”

  They walked to his car and he drove Jackie home.

  When they arrived at 12 rue Royal, she thanked him for a wonderful day and started to get out of the car.

  “I will call you just as soon as I complete the details on your portrait,” François said. Walking her to the door, he gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. “Au revoir.”

  “Au revoir,” she responded. He got back in his car as she went in her door. She watched as he drove away and thought, I cannot remember a better day in Paris!

  Several weeks passed, and Jackie began to wonder if François would ever call her. Had she become just another portrait in his collection? As lifelike as his drawings were, it was as if he had taken a nude photograph of her. That reminded her of the nude pictures she had allowed her high school boyfriend Rick to take of her. She often wondered if he still had those pictures, or if some other guy was looking at them.

  Rick and Jackie were an item in high school, especially during their senior year. Rick was a placekicker on the football team. He was a bit headstrong, but Jackie was able to keep control of their relationship. That was surely the case when it came to sex. Most of the time, she would allow Rick to go only so far. Generally, when they were out parking, she would allow him to slip his hand under her bra or take it off, giving him complete access to her breasts. During the entire time they were going together, Jackie only allowed Rick to go all the way a few times. It was during one such occasion, in Rick’s bedroom, that Jackie allowed him to take nude pictures of her using his father’s Polaroid camera. Rick and Jackie had a lot of fun together, but their relationship ended when Rick was admitted to Penn State and she chose Smith. Jackie hadn’t heard from Rick since the middle of their freshman year. At this point, the only thing that made her remember him were those nude pictures.

  About a week later, the telephone rang. Barb answered, “Hello?”

  “Bonjour. It’s François. Is Jackie there?”

  “No. She’s out shopping for groceries.”

  “Will you ask her to call me when she gets home?”

  “Sure thing. Goodbye.”

  Jackie returned carrying two bags of food. Barb greeted her at the door and said, “Who do you think called you?”

  “François,” answered Jackie. “What did he say?”

  “He wants you to call him.”

  “He must have my picture finished.” Because they were very close and told each other everything, Jackie had told Barb about the nude portrait. “I can’t wait to see it,” Jackie remarked.

  She put the two bags on the table and took the phone over to the sofa to call François. The phone rang seven times, and Jackie had decided he was out. Just as she was about to hang up, François answered, “Bonjour?”

  “Hi. It’s Jackie. Barb said you called. How have you been?”

  “Very busy. I secured a commission to draw some landmarks in Paris, which I just completed. How is school?”

  “About like your art. I handed in two papers that I’ve been working on for over a month. Have you had a chance to finish my portrait?”

  “Yes, I have,” answered François. “How about coming over Saturday to get it?”

  “OK. What time?”

  “How does two o’clock sound?”

  “Great. I’ll see you then. Goodbye.”

  “Au revoir,” he replied.

  Jackie was on a high after her call.

  “What did he say?” Barb asked.

  “My portrait is finished. He wants me to come over on Saturday and pick it up. I don’t know if I can wait!”

  Both girls were so excited they decided to get dinner at the café where Jackie first met François.

  On Saturday morning, Jackie had some last-minute work to finish for school and tried to complete it before she had to leave for François’s. This proved to be an impossible task. All she could think about was her picture.

  “Why does time seem to move so slowly when you want something?” Jackie asked.

  “I know what you mean,” Barb replied. “There are other times when time seems to fly.”

  Jackie chose to be a little dressier and wore a brown silk blouse and a knee-length tan skirt. She also wore a wide dark-brown belt that accented her figure. Jackie completed the outfit with leather sandals. About one thirty, she picked up her purse and said goodbye to Barb. It was raining lightly, and she decided to take a small umbrella along. As she stepped through the front door of her apartment, she opened the umbrella and began to walk toward the Métro.

  It was just after two when she arrived at François’s flat. He was looking for her out of his third-floor window. He wondered if she really knew the Métro stops as well as she said she did. Apparently, she had mastered the subway. He came down the stairs and greeted her at the front door. “Y
ou found it,” he said.

  “Didn’t you think I would be able to find you?”

  “Well, I was not sure,” François admitted. He was glad to see her, and it seemed Jackie couldn’t get up to the apartment fast enough. In fact, she was so excited she ran up the stairs with her umbrella still up. “Do you think it is raining in here?” François wanted to know.

  Jackie waited in the living room while François got her portrait. He hadn’t mounted it because he thought it would be easier for her to take rolled up. He handed her the picture, and she saw he had done it in color. She took one look at his work and said, “Oh my God! I have never seen anything so beautiful!” There was little doubt this would leave most people speechless. The drawing captured every detail of Jackie’s outstanding body, including her red hair and deep blue eyes. François had captured the faint freckles that began on Jackie’s face and continued down her chest, her breasts, and her stomach, to her shapely legs until they stopped short of her feet.

  “What do you think?” François asked.

  “I can’t believe it. It looks like I’m looking at myself in the mirror. In fact, it’s better than that,” she remarked.

  “I take it you approve?”

  “Yes!” she exclaimed. At that moment, Jackie wondered where she would be able to hang it. What would she do with it after she left Paris? She knew explaining how this portrait came about would be difficult.

  François could see that the experience of seeing her picture had begun to stir Jackie’s passion. Because she had fastened all but the top two buttons on her blouse, the telltale signs of redness were displayed on her neck and the upper portion of her chest. As was often the case, she was not wearing a bra. François came over to the sofa and sat on the floor aside of Jackie. She was intently looking at her portrait, which she had propped up against a stool. François, ever so lightly, brushed his finger across Jackie’s erect right breast. She made no attempt to restrain him and continued to peer at her likeness. He continued to caress her through the silk blouse, which produced a most sensuous feeling. He then turned to the left breast and rubbed the same way. Jackie looked down at him and said, “It looks like you know how to do more than just draw.” He caressed the nape of her neck and began to kiss her. By this time, Jackie was becoming more than a little aroused. She returned his kisses and thrust her tongue into his open mouth. He responded in kind, and it was clear he was an experienced lover. In fact, François had made love to many young women and had far more experience than one would have expected of a man at twenty-nine years of age.

  François was a lover who understood that men became aroused and moved to orgasm much faster than women. He was the type of lover that took the time to bring his partner along, He gently unbuttoned Jackie’s blouse to reveal her breasts. It was all he could do when he drew Jackie’s picture not to make love to her. By this time, Jackie decided to get involved, and it wasn’t long before they were lost in giving each other the utmost pleasure. Jackie reached a level of satisfaction that night that was much better than any previous sexual encounter she had experienced. It was as if her previous lovers had been amateurs, and for the first time she made love with a man who knew what a woman wanted.

  After they finished, they lay on the bed. Jackie pretended she had never used the bidet and asked François if he would show her how it worked. They went into the bathroom, and he proceeded to show Jackie how to operate it. She mounted it and began allowing the water to reach her innermost parts. Standing next to Jackie as he watched her on the bidet, François again became aroused. What followed was another explosion of passion that would remain in Jackie’s memory for a long time.

  After they finished making love, they got dressed and François drove Jackie back to her apartment with her portrait. Jackie had other lovers while in Paris, but none was the equal of François. She continued to see him until she left Paris at the end of the summer. Jackie learned a lot about herself that year. She got a great art education and learned what she wanted from sex. This experience would influence all her future relationships and prove to be one of the best times of her life.

  4

  Jackie and Jerry Meet

  Soon after Jerry graduated from the Warton School in 1989, he rented an apartment in Princeton and commuted to his new job in New York. He was second in his class at Penn and landed a position with a most prestigious investment-banking firm on Wall Street. It was a real opportunity that didn’t come to many and was the result of his hard work at college. Jerry was an athlete in college and tried to keep himself in shape by jogging. Despite his busy schedule, he was able to hit the trail one or two times during the week and every Saturday morning. His dedication paid off, and he was able to keep his build in spite of the business lunches and evening business meetings.

  It was on one of his Saturday-morning runs that he first saw Jackie. She, too, kept her body in perfect shape by a combination of jogging and working out at the spa. It was in the spring of 1990 when Jerry looked up after completing his five-mile course to see this beautiful girl getting out of her car on her way to the running path. She saw Jerry about the same time he saw her. His six-foot-one-inch-tall athletic body glistened with sweat in the morning sun. He had a butt that caught Jackie’s eye, and almost immediately there was an attraction between them.

  Jackie walked to the path and said, “Hi. How was your run?”

  “Great,” he replied. “My name’s Jerry French. What’s yours?”

  “Jackie. Jackie O’Donnell.”

  “Oh, that’s why you have that red hair.”

  “You got it. Both my parents’ families came from Ireland.”

  “Where in Ireland?”

  “County Cork. Do you live around here?” Jackie asked. “I never saw you jogging before.”

  “Yes, I have an apartment in town. I was late today. Usually I run early on Saturday and finish before seven. However, I had a late night and overslept a bit. Do you live in Princeton?” Jerry asked.

  “Yes, I still live at home with my parents. I’m an art teacher at an elementary school in Princeton. Do you work in the area, Jerry?”

  “I work in New York, but I don’t want to live there. I’ve gotten used to the ride in and out of the city, and it allows me to get some work done at the same time.”

  Jerry was about to say goodbye and head for his car, when he said, “How about dinner tonight?” Jackie didn’t have anything planned, but was reluctant to let him know that. He sensed her hesitation and before she could answer, he said, “I guess that was a bit presumptuous of me. A girl that looks like you must have a full calendar.”

  Jackie responded, “Why don’t you call me later.” She gave Jerry her telephone number and they said goodbye.

  Jerry didn’t let any time pass before calling Jackie. In fact, he called her Sunday evening. Jackie’s mother answered the phone, and Jerry said, “May I talk to Jackie?”

  “Who is calling, please?”

  “It’s Jerry,” was his reply.

  Jackie sounded very friendly when she answered the phone. “Hi,” she said. “Have you recovered from your jogging?”

  “Yes. How was your weekend?”

  “Busy. I can’t believe it’s Sunday night already.”

  “How would you like to go to dinner and a show next Saturday?” Jerry asked.

  This time Jackie answered without delay: “Sure! Sounds like fun. What show did you have in mind?”

  “Let that be a surprise,” answered Jerry. “How about I pick you up at seven. That will give us time to get into the city for dinner by eight.”

  “OK, see you Saturday,” Jackie replied.

  The week flew by, and Jackie was looking forward to her first date with Jerry. She decided to go all out and wore a stunning midnight-blue dress that took every advantage of her outstanding figure. Jerry wondered what her body was like, since it wasn’t easy to see it i
n the jogging suit she wore the week before. He felt sure, however, that because she worked out he would be pleased with what would greet him at seven o’clock.

  To say Jerry was pleased was an understatement. He couldn’t believe it when she opened the door. For a second he just stood there, but then caught himself from staring too long. “You look stunning! Your dress is beautiful,” he said.

  Likewise, Jackie was pleased when she saw him dressed in a suit. “Hi. Come in.”

  Jerry stepped into the entry room of the three-story colonial. The home was evidence that her family had money.

  “Come and meet my parents,” Jackie said. She introduced her parents to him, and they spent a few minutes getting acquainted.

  A little after seven Jerry said, “I think we should get started.” They said their goodbyes and headed for the train station.

  “Do you use the train to go into New York?” he asked.

  “Sometimes, but I don’t get into the city very often,” she replied.

  Jerry had made dinner reservations at La Celebrities and had tickets for the Broadway show Cats. They both had a good time, and their date seemed to end all too soon. It was about 1:00 a.m. when they returned to Princeton, and Jerry drove her home from the train station.

  When they arrived at her house she asked him, “Would you like to come in?”

  “No, thank you. It’s late and I wouldn’t want to disturb your parents.” He gave her a kiss good night, which she returned. As he turned to walk to his car, he said, “I’ll call you this week. I had a great time.”

  “So did I,” she replied.

  Tuesday night Jerry called Jackie as he’d promised. “Do you like the Sixers?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she responded.

  “I have tickets for the game Saturday night. Would you like to go?”

  “Sure. That sounds like fun.”

  “We can have dinner at Bookbinders and then drive to the game.”

  Jackie dressed in a sporty outfit, and Jerry wore his Dockers. He picked her up about five o’clock, and they drove into Philadelphia.