Interlude: 25
th
Anniversary
Cindy:
"Nanny CC is an interesting case. Her devotion to Mom is the stuff of legend, but she always referred to Aunt Frannie as her teacher. Perhaps rabbi or guru would be closer. With CC, you always have to fill in gaps."
Chapter 11a -
New Hire Orientation
CC:
I am Christine Collins, commonly known as CC, and I did not want to do my job. I was a waitress for R&T's Coffee Shop, also known as the 7
th
Street Diner. It was a dead end job at a greasy spoon, but it almost paid the bills. I had already been through two other jobs and was looking, quietly, for another. If Mr. Fredricks found out, he would fire me on the spot.
I was 19 years old, less than a year removed from high school. At 5'8" and only 110 pounds, I'm a bit thin, but have the tits to fill out a uniform. It gets me interviews, but I have trouble when someone wants me to talk. It has always been like that.
I am neither pretty nor beautiful. In spite of my tits, I have had only a handful of boys show interest and could count the physical encounters on one hand. I suppose it was partly it was because I did not understand how to dress or use make up, but mostly it was because I was painfully shy. As dead end as this job was, it would not be easy to find another one, much less a better one.
That day was slow. I had already had a regular old geezer, getting his daily soup and sandwich. My next table was another guy that came in occasionally. He is not big, but comes across as solid, dangerous and ex-military. With him was a shortish accounting type, who did not give a shit if anyone knew he was gay.
After I served the geezer his lunch, I picked up the plates for the other table. As I approached, I quit worrying about serving the food, getting a tip, or paying my bills. In fact, I did not want to do much of anything, except listen to the conversation at my last table:
Guy 1: "Save the last one for a moment. It's a female subject, and I want you to view it separately. What do you think about the others?"
Guy 2: "Hot. Really hot. There are things that could be better. For example, the lighting is all passive. None of these used a flash. The camera is good, but not studio grade. That said, the composition is excellent. Every shot looks completely unstaged. That is odd since the kiss mark is central to each shot. Where did you get these?"
It was the reference to a female subject that caught my attention. It sounded like they were talking about pictures. The way Guy 2 said "Hot. Really hot." told me he was not talking about the weather. The lust was almost tangible.
Guy 1: "Not yet. Turn to the last shot, the one with the female subject. Tell me about it."
Guy 2: "This is fine work too, exceptional in fact. I have done thousands of female nudes in the last year. Dozens of them are in this vein. I would stack this torso shot with any of them. The framing is outstanding. In this case, the face would distract from the interest. At the top, you get these fantastic shoulders. It takes a moment to notice that the arms are bound. The hair forward is inspired. The line leads you down to a glistening pussy, with just the tip of the clitoris poking out. That is very difficult to stage. The pubic hair could be shorter, or removed, but here it looks very natural, as if this were a candid shot."
The part about "arms are bound" sent electricity through my body. The line about "glistening pussy" could refer just as well to me. He went on.
Guy 2:"But, there is still more. The asymmetry, caused by the hair, draws attention to the perfection of the breasts. The shape is very nice for breasts this heavy, almost as if they were never subject to gravity, yet the skin says a woman in her mid to late 20s. The cherry on the sundae is the little curl of hair framing the nipple of the covered breast. That kind of touch is often purely chance, again, making the whole image look spontaneous.
"That last shot is an award winner if it ever gets entered. The others would have a dozen publishers pounding on the door. If you can get the photographer that shot these, why do you need me?"
Guy 1: "You clearly respect the artist. As you might guess, she is the owner of the lips. She staged each of the shots, save the last one. It happens, I staged that one. Is this woman someone you could work with? You would still be behind the camera, but she would have artistic control?"
What lips?, I thought. What the hell was he talking about?
Guy 2: "Holy Moses, Sean. You sure know how to drop a bomb. If you had asked me without showing me the pictures, I would have told you to fuck yourself. Better yet, I would have told you to lean over the table so I could do it without lubrication. But, as you clearly intended to point out, you have me over a barrel. I would do a lot to finish this project, and she clearly has the talent to help get that done. So yes, I can work for this woman, if she can work with me. Humph, she probably does half her work with closet gays as it is. I might let her stage me, or have you do it."
Guy 1: "OK. Here is where things stand. I have a lunch meeting with her tomorrow. We are friendly, but I also know that her schedule is packed. Hopefully, Helen can help shift some of that load. One way or another, we will know by one o'clock tomorrow. So, go to Mass. See a movie. Take some time for yourself. Either I land her at the meeting, or I am well and truly fucked. If it makes you feel better, I consider her to be replacing me, not you."
Guy 2: "That's a point. If she has artistic control, we might get a coherent theme, finally. That is one area where you well and truly suck. As a sucker of no mean repute myself, that is my highest praise. But, there is something you have not told me. Give."