"Take your time," he said and returned his attention to his precious block of marble.
I slammed the door hard behind me and marched toward the beach, Ulysses at my side, trotting, his ears flapping.
"Men," I fumed and planted myself with a hard thump on a hill of sand. Ulysses looked disappointed that I wasn't walking any farther, but I wasn't in the mood.
"Now when he looks at me," I told Ulysses," he looks right through me. He's not seeing me, he's seeing that--that vision of his."
Ulysses panted, his tongue hanging over his mouth, his eyes wide as if he understood my indignation.
"I bet when you see a female you like, you see a female," I told him. He sniffed as if in response and plopped down beside me, convinced I wasn't going to move.
I stared at the ocean. Maybe I'm being too sensitive, I thought. Maybe I'm being too selfish. After all, Kenneth has made art his life and he has decided to include me in it. That's significant. He probably could have chosen any of a number of pretty girls in town, or maybe imported one. He was very successful; he could afford a very expensive model if he wanted. Yet he had chosen me. I was his special vision.
As I looked out over the ocean a lone cloud in the distance seemed to take the shape of a heart. A good omen, I thought. I lay back and Ulysses suddenly put his head on my stomach. It made me laugh. I closed my eyes and felt the sun on my face and the warm sand beneath me. It was all so soothing. In minutes I was asleep. I don't know how long I slept, but I woke to the sound of Ulysses barking. He was up and facing the road that lead to and from Kenneth's house. I sat up and turned to see a small purple car with what looked like astrological signs painted all over it in white come bouncing down the sandy ruts. The driver tapped out long, loud beeps on the horn as the car came to a stop in front of Kenneth's studio.
"Who's that?" I asked Ulysses. He gazed at me and then ran down the sand hill toward the driver as she emerged from the car. She was wearing a long, one-piece green and white dress, the hem actually touching the ground, Even from this distance, I could see long, silver earrings dangling from her lobes. Her dark brown hair was down to her shoulder blades.
"Ulysses!" she cried, kneeling to open her arms to hug him. Ulysses was all over her, licking her face, her neck, her hair. Her laughter was carried back to me in the wind. The woman stood up, shaded her eyes with her hand, and gazed toward me. Without knowing who I was, she waved and then turned as Kenneth came strolling around the house. I watched as she ran to him with the same enthusiasm Ulysses had run to her. He opened his arms in welcome and she was in his embrace an instant later. They kissed on the lips. I felt my heart do flip flops.
When she pulled back, her musical laughter trailed up to me. She was looking my way and he was obviously explaining who I was. She waved again and I got up and started toward them, my heart thumping with anticipation, a small fist of fear growing tighter and tighter in my stomach until I felt as if it would burn right through my skin.
"Melody," Kenneth said as I approached, "I'd like you to meet Holly Brooks."
"Hi, Melody," she exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement. She wore a purple tinted lipstick that matched the color of the car. When she extended her hand to shake mine, the half dozen silver and copper bracelets on her arm all bunched up at her wrist. On each of her fingers she wore a ring, som
e simply silver embossed with a shape, two looking like some sort of polished stone.
She was a small woman made to look smaller in her oversized broomstick dress. She looked as if she were swimming in it, yet when the material shifted, I could see that she was braless, her breasts pressing up against the thin cotton. She wore a thin leather collar around her neck with tiny multicolored stones embedded in the material.
There was something very bright and airy about her smile, and her eyes were filled with a happy light, making them look more hazel than dark brown. She had a small nose and soft cheeks that dipped just slightly to diminish the roundness in her face and make her mouth small enough too, so that her iridescent lipstick looked pretty, not garish. There were the tiniest freckles on her forehead and down the sides of her temples.
"Hi," I said offering my hand. She seized it and shook firmly.
"When's your birthday?" she asked quickly.
"June twelfth," I said, looking at Kenneth. He wore a deep smile and nodded slightly.
"A Gemini," she declared. "I knew it."
"Holly is an astrologer," Kenneth explained. "As well as an artist."
"Oh. Aunt Sara believes in that."
"Really? Well, your aunt's a smart lady."
"Please," Kenneth said. "Spare us the hoo-doo voo-doo for a while."
"Oh Kenny," she said. "You know I come to see you only when it's the right astrological time and you know we're always good together, right?"
He shot a quick glance at me, his eyes full of embarrassment.
"Right. Melody," he continued, anxious to change the subject, "is my model for the new project."
"Oh yes. I can see why," she said, turning back to me. "She's so pretty. She must make a wonderful model, Kenneth."
"She's doing a terrific job," he said looking at me. I smiled, enjoying my moment in his sunshine.
"Good," Holly said. "It's so beautiful here, so conducive to art, to inner expression. There's a positive energy here. I feel it," she said, closing her eyes and embracing herself. She took deep breaths.