by Giselle Fox
“Well, he seems to like you,” I said.
She looked up at me. “He was with you last night, right?”
“Yes, he was.”
“So beautiful,” she whispered to him again.
“He sheds, just to warn you.” I could see tufts of Skip’s black and white fur clinging to her black tights already.
“Oh, I don’t mind. I need my dog fix every now and then,” she said as she rose to her feet. “So is this where the class is held?”
“Yep. The workshop is in the back,” Shep said. “Why don’t you give her the tour, Rocky.”
Candy looked back and forth between us. “I’d love a tour.”
I looked at Shep again, trying to figure out what he was up to, but he waved me on. “Okay, let’s do a tour.”
CHAPTER FIVE
I walked her down the long hall that led into the back. “Oh my gosh, that’s you!” Candy said from about fifteen feet behind me. I hadn’t realized I’d lost her. She was staring at a black and white framed picture on the wall. “Is that Keith Richards?”
“It is,” I said.
She looked up at me and smiled. “You haven’t changed.”
I laughed. “Okay.”
She moved along the wall to another set of prints. “I love this poster. The White Stripes in Chicago.”
“It was a fun show,” I said.
“You were there?”
“Sure, they sent me tickets.”
“Awesome,” she whispered. “And this one? Did you see Nirvana too?”
“Not that tour, but a year later, yes. I was busy the first time around.”
“Your work is incredible,” she said. “You’ve always been one of my favorites.”
“Thanks. It’s a bit of a dying art but I like it.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re a legend!”
“I’m a legend alright,” I laughed.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” she frowned.
I looked back and saw Shep watching us while he stood with his chin in his hand. He was grinning from ear to ear. Skip ambled his way slowly toward us and leaned his body against Candy. He looked up at her lovingly.
“Should we check out the workshop?” I suggested.
“Let’s do it.”
As we walked toward the big double doors I thought about something. “So… sort of a strange coincidence, you moved into the building and now you’re here.”
“I’m subletting Ron and Linda’s place while they’re away in Europe.”
“Oh, right. I know them. We’ve had dinner.”
“They’re friends of my parents,” she said. “They mentioned they knew you.”
“Ahh,” I said though I still didn’t quite get the connection.
“I studied printmaking at the Ontario College of Art,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to meet you and then I found out that you did this workshop.”
“So what brought you to BC?”
“Well,” she looked around. “I wanted a change of scenery and I hadn’t been out here in a while.”
“Your friend, the guy, did he come out with you?” I asked hoping it wasn’t too obvious that I was fishing for information.
“Jeff? No, he moved out here in the spring after he graduated.”
“OCA?”
“No, Ryerson.”
“Okay.” I wanted to ask if he was her boyfriend but there was no way of doing it without it feeling too personal.
We walked through the big metal doors into the back shop area. Steph and Mason were working at their computers. Mike was off in the corner doing his technical wizardry. I heard the gentle clatter of the letter presses running beyond the semi-soundproof wall. Candy’s eyes opened wide.
“Here’s the lab,” I said proudly. “It’s not quite as big as the one I had in San Francisco but it’s efficient.”
“Is that place gone now?” Candy asked.
“Yes, unfortunately, the building got torn down,” I sighed. “It’d been for sale for years. I tried to get a bunch of people together to buy it at one point but it needed too much work anyway. So... had to say goodbye.”
“You’re American?”
“And Canadian. My dad worked in DC for years, met my mother in Toronto at a conference.”
“Are they still around?”
“Yeah, retired and living at their cottage in Ontario. They travel south for the winter with the birds.”
“I’m from Ottawa,” she smiled.
“Really? Huh. I’ve spent a lot of time in Toronto but not a lot there.”
“It’s pretty nice but really cold in the winter. I’m not going to miss that,” she laughed. “Do you see your parents much?”
“Not as much as I should. The last time I went out there was after...” I was going to say after my break-up but I stopped myself. “About six months ago.”
I walked us around to the big windows that shielded the noise from the old letterpress machines. “Look at these babies,” I said proudly. “I had them shipped up from San Francisco when I moved here.”
Candy stared through the glass “Wow. They’re beautiful. How old are they?”
“One is 70 years old. The other is close to 80.”
“Wow,” she said.
“Old-world technology. Still can’t replicate it digitally, not the same anyway. I found the oldest one in a barn behind an old tractor. The guy sold it to me for nothing.”
“And you got it working again?”
“Well, Mike got it working again. I keep him busy.” I pointed her to the other end of the lab. “Let me show you the screen printers.”
I walked us around to the other side of the workshop where the screens were.
“Those are big screens,” she said with a grin.
“Posters. These ones are heading down to Los Angeles. We do most of our business in the USA still.”
“How much of the design do you do?”
“I do all the big projects. We run a traditional print shop on one end and we have a graphics department for all the regular jobs. I like to control production for the stuff I design because I’m picky and prefer my own equipment. I used to work in here with everybody but I like it a bit quieter these days. My office is back down the hall. It’s better if Skip isn’t in here because of his fur.”
“Right,” Candy said and looked down at her black tights.
“I have a clothes brush,” I said. “I keep one in my office.” I pointed back to the metal doors.
“I’d love to see your office.”
“Follow me,” I smiled. We walked back through the workshop and out into the hallway. Skip was waiting patiently on the other side of the door.
“Does he follow you everywhere?” she asked.
“Pretty much. Border collies get pretty attached to their people.”
She looked up at me and smiled. I noticed how beautiful her eyes were again, a gentle color of blue-gray that seemed ocean-like. I stared for a moment longer than I probably should have. “Um... sorry,” I said. “Your eyes... they’re a really nice blue. Reminds me of the Pacific in a storm.”
“I’ve never heard that before,” she said with a shy smile. “Your eyes... they’re like chocolate.” She smiled at me as she looked into them. It was a little unnerving at first but I let go and relaxed. She was beautiful in a young and unconventional way. Her skin seemed so soft and fresh and glowed with vitality. Her lips were plump and full.
“Is Candy short for something?” I heard myself ask.
She blinked a few times and took a deep breath. “Yes, Candice. No one calls me Candice though.”
“No one calls me Rochelle,” I laughed. “I don’t know how I ended up with such a butch nickname.”
“You’re like one of the iconic rock n’ roll designers,” she laughed. “It suits you.”
“I suppose. People still call and expect to talk to a guy.”
“Really? That’s a bit sad. They don’t bother to do their homework?”
“I
guess not,” I said.
“Well, I’ve done my homework,” she said softly and winked at me.
My cheeks suddenly felt hot. “Um… how did you like art school?”
“I loved it,” she said.
“So you know what you’re doing, you probably don’t need a screen printing workshop.”
“Ahh but I wanted to learn from the master,” she grinned.
“I’m not sure I’m the master,” I said suddenly feeling a little shy.
“Well if you’re not, I don’t know who is. How many poster fonts have you designed?”
I’d lost count. “I don’t know, fifty? Maybe more.”
“Sixty-two,” she said.
I laughed. “You have done your homework.”
“I told you.” We stared at each other a moment without saying a word. Skip bumped my leg and it reminded me that I was going to get her a brush for her tights. “Right, my office.”
“Right,” she said and followed me inside.
“It’s kind of small.” I realized the spare chair had stuff piled all over it. “Here, sit in my chair. I’ll just move this stuff.” I picked up the pile of papers and files and shifted it onto another cramped surface. Candy took a look around the walls. “You have a lot of pictures,” she grinned.
“Uh, yeah. I look at them sometimes when I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“That can’t happen very often,” she smiled.
“You’d be surprised,” I said.
Candy sat down and watched as I tried to organize things quickly.
“Clothes brush,” I muttered to myself as I scanned the room. “Wait, it’s down here.” I reached for the drawer beside her leg and as I bent down I caught the scent of the warmth rising from her body. I faltered as I crouched down. When I looked up she was smiling again. I began to feel nervous and I couldn’t figure out why. Skip trotted between us to his little bed under the desk and laid down. I pulled open the bottom drawer and rummaged around for what I was looking for. I ripped off a new sheet of the adhesive and handed the brush to her. I watched while she rolled it up and down her legs. As she bent over to get the area around her ankles, I caught a perfect view of the soft curves below the neckline of her dress. I didn’t realize I was staring until she looked up at me and I was caught.
“Um… would you like to do the backs of my legs for me?” she asked. “You can probably see better.”
I blinked a few times and composed myself. “Sure.”
She stood up in front of me, our bodies only a few inches apart. I caught her scent again and couldn’t move. She gently placed the roller in my hand and turned slowly. Then she looked over her shoulder at me and grinned. I gazed at the roller in my hand like it was a foreign object. Something had gotten into me and I was now completely muddled.
“Ready when you are,” she prompted.
I snapped back to reality. “Okay,” I said and placed my hand on her shoulder to steady her. That just made it worse. I felt her lean into me as I bent and rolled the brush down her leg. My eyes were parallel with her hips. Her bum was fleshy and curvaceous. I swallowed and tried not to stare at it but I realized I had no choice and would have to roll her there as well.
“Mmm,” she said softly. “It’s like a massage.”
Well, that didn’t help at all. My hand grazed her leg and bum repeatedly as I tried to remove all of Skip’s stray fur. I glanced over at him and he was panting. I swear he was smiling at me too. Then I heard Shep walk down the hall outside my door.
“Oh!” he said. I turned around and I was pretty sure that I’d turned fifteen shades of crimson. He grinned and then shuffled on.
“How’s it going back there,” Candy said. I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Uh, good.” I shifted the roller to run down the length of her other leg. But then everything got strange again. The hem of her dress lifted slightly and I saw that her tights were actually stockings. And then… oh gosh, I saw the garters and I was a goner. I was unfit for society over a woman in garters at the best of times. In my own office, while kneeling at Candy’s feet, it was as if someone had suddenly smacked me upside the head. I had to reach back and steady myself against the desk. “Okay, I think I’m done,” I announced.
She turned slowly and looked down at me. “Too bad.”
I stood up and handed her back the roller. “That’s yours,” she said with a grin.
“Right! Of course. It’s mine.” I internally scolded myself and tried to regain my cool. I pulled open the bottom drawer and tossed the brush inside. When I stood up again I realized I felt hotter than normal.
“I think the HVAC must be out of whack again. Does it feel hot in here?”
“It sure does,” she said.
I grabbed the bottom of my sweater and pulled it over my head. My t-shirt lifted with it enough that I could feel a sudden gust of air on my abdomen. When my sweater was off, Candy was staring. Her eyes rolled up the length of my exposed skin. My upper arms weren’t completely covered in ink, but there wasn’t much space left on either side. I watched her eyes drift from image to image and then she clasped my fingers and turned my arm over so that she could see the inside. I held steady for her but she never let go of my hand.
“They’re beautiful,” she said. “It’s nice that you have such toned arms to show them off.” She looked up at me again and I saw that her cheeks had turned a little pink. “I have one on my back but I’d have to take off my dress to show you,” she said softly.
I tried to say something, I have no idea what, but it came out sounding like a whimper followed by a wheeze.
She grinned again. “I guess I should let you get back to work.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “But… yeah, I guess I have stuff to do.”
“What are you working on?” she asked.
I exhaled and scratched the back of my head. “I have a list that Shep keeps pretty full. Right now I’m working on the cover for a special edition vinyl pressing for The Veils.”
Candy smiled. “That is so incredible. How many album covers do you think you’ve done?”
“Oh gosh, too many, I’ve lost count. I do other stuff too now.”
“I saw the beer bottles out front. That’s different.”
“Yeah, those were fun. We get free beer. The staff likes it but… I don’t really drink anymore,” I said.
“I don’t either,” she said. “It just makes me sluggish.”
“Yeah, it does,” I said. “A friend of mine says it crosses the frequencies. I’m not sure what that means but… it sounds like something to avoid.”
“Well,” she said and held out her hand. I clasped it in mine. “Thanks for the tour.”
“Anytime,” I said. “I mean, not that you’re going to want another tour but if you want to come back...”
Candy smiled. “I’ll be back tomorrow night for the workshop.”
Idiot, I thought to myself. “Right, of course, you will.”
“Want to walk me to the front?” she asked.
“Yes, sure.”
When the door shut behind Candy, Shep was staring at me.
“What?” I said.
He shook his head and chuckled. “She’s super hot and she likes you.”
I looked down at my boots. “What makes you say that?”
“Um, both times I passed by your office I swear I could smell the sex.”
“There was no sex,” I said flatly.
“But you were both thinking of it.”
I walked back to my office. When I got there I could smell the lingering traces of Candy. So I sat back in my chair and breathed it all in.
***
It was after five o’clock. I’d been trying to concentrate on the Veil’s job for the last few hours. Most of the staff had already left and I heard Shep packing up his stuff in the next room. “Well, I’m out,” he said as he poked his head in my door. “The back door is locked.”
“Thanks.” I didn’t look up.
“Garbage day tomorrow,” he said.
I nodded absently.
“Putin has taken over the city and has forced everyone to wear gold hot pants.”
“No problem,” I said vacantly and then I realized what he’d said. I looked up into his smirking face. “Do you think she likes me?”
“Candy? I think she was totally crushing on you.”
“As in, she wants to go for coffee or she just likes my work? I’m confused.”
“Well,” he said and scratched at the stubble on his chin. “She checked out your ass a few times while you were giving her the tour. If I had to guess, she’s down for more than coffee.”
I considered the jeans I was wearing. “Do these jeans look okay on me? Like, from the back?”
“Yeah, they’re good,” he grinned.
I sat back in my chair and felt a little relieved. “I can’t ask her out. What if she says no?”
“You want to ask her out?”
“Is that weird?”
“I mean, you always have groupies but you don’t usually...”
“She’s different,” I said quickly.
“Wait, are you crushing too?”
“I’m not crushing. She just seems… interesting.”
Shep grinned. “Let her do the pursuing then, if you like her.”
I considered that for a moment. It wasn’t a bad idea. “Okay, maybe I will.”
“I’m going. Got a dessert date with that girl I told you about.”
“Really? I want details tomorrow.”
“Hopefully there will be something to report,” he grinned. “I’m not sure where she’s at yet.”
“Ahh,” I said. “Well, good luck.” Skip’s head shot up from his bed under my desk. “Okay, buddy. We’ll go too.” I grabbed my jacket and helmet and flicked off the lights.
“Night,” Shep called as he climbed into his truck.
“See ya tomorrow,” I waved. Skip was already in the sidecar. I buckled him into his harness and climbed on. It was a mild night but winter was definitely coming. I had another few weeks left on the insurance and hoped to get as much riding in before the rains came. At the intersection, I decided at the last minute to head down to the beach.
