by Miley Maine
“Good, because you’re not getting rid of me,” he said with a wink.
I was about to say something else, but just then my class arrived and they started snickering and whispering amongst themselves when they saw Victor standing there in one of my aprons.
“Quiet down class,” I said. “Mr. Eldrige has decided to graciously join us again today and I expect you all to be polite.” I leaned forward and put one hand up to my mouth as if I was sharing a secret with them. “If you want to know the truth, he forgot to wear the proper clothes so he had to borrow an apron.” I winked at them, and they all giggled.
The class took their seats and I had Vincent sit up near me again so that he felt more apart of the class. Then I took out the air dry clay that we would be working with today, as well as the example piece that I had made.
“Thanks to Mr. Eldrige’s donations we’ve been able to expand a little bit. Now, I want to let you guys work with some cooler types of clay, but we have to cover the basics first, do you guys think you can do that?”
There was an excited chorus of affirmation from my ten students.
“Great. Today we’re going to sculpt a little fox. Then, next class, they’ll be all hardened and we can paint them!”
I produced the clay fox that I had sculpted and painted, and there were several exclamations of excitement.
“I’m going to pass out the clay now, as well as cups of water so you can keep your hands and the clay from drying out. You can start if you’d like to, but I’m going to show you the best way to shape it.”
I began to pass out chunks of the air dry clay, as well as some basic plastic tools and cups of water. A few students were already starting to play with shaping the clay, excited by this new art medium.
I handed Vincent his tools last, giving him a little wink. “You might want to wait for the directions on this one.”
He raised his eyebrows as he took the clay from me. “So much distrust in my ability, Emma, I feel insulted.”
“Nothing personal!” I laughed.
I went back up to the front of the classroom and began to walk the students through the basics of sculpting, showing them how to use the tools to make a little fox face and then attach it to a curled-up body. We worked on adding some soft, fur-like texture to it and smoothing out the other areas with wet fingers.
There was lots of giggling as the students added strange expressions or additions to their little sculptures. I helped some of them add on wings, or horns, or little mustaches. They seemed to really be enjoying this project.
When I looked over to Vincent, I could see that he was struggling a bit, but still trying very hard. His fox had come out looking a little wonky and his hands trembled as he tried to use the tools to smooth out areas or get some texture in there. Smiling, I walked over to him, resting my hand on his.
“Here, let me help you with that,” I said.
He looked up at me in surprise, but let me guide him through the motions of carefully shaping the fox to be a little more realistic. Then I helped him add the fur texture, guiding his hand with mine. He was so close to me I could feel the heat of his body, the trembling of his hand beneath mine.
I wished that I could kiss him, show him in some way that I really was falling for him, but we were in a room full of my students.
“Thank you,” Vincent said once I had finished helping him. “It looks a lot better now.”
I smiled. “You just needed a bit more confidence and instruction. Trust me, you had it in you all along.”
I looked down at my watch to see that we were running out of time for the class, so I went around one more time to check on each of the students and let them know that we needed to wrap it up.
“Alright students,” I said when the hour was up. “You can leave your beautiful creations on your desk. I will make sure they get to a safe place to dry and are waiting for you next class.”
“Are we getting to paint them then?” one of them asked, already grabbing his bag. His hands were covered in drying clay dust.
“Yes Samuel,” I said with a smile. “We are painting them, but make sure to wash your hands before you leave, they’re all gray.”
He grinned, looking down at them. “Do you think Ms. Willis will think I’m turning into a statue?”
“Let’s not give her that fright. Come on, wash your hands now.” I guided him over to the sink, watching as he washed all the clay off. “That’s much better,” I said. “Now your hands won’t feel all icky.”
“I guess that’s true,” he said with a sigh. “I hope we can do clay again.”
“We will, I promise. Now get to class everyone,” I said, directing the last part at all of the children.
They all dispersed, and then I was left alone in the room with Vincent once again. Feeling suddenly nervous, I began to carefully collect each of the sculptures and place them on a table near the windowsill to dry.
“You did wonderfully,” he said, watching me as I worked to clean the room. “I’ll never know how you manage all those kids, especially when they start doing crazy things like adding wings.”
I gave him a small smile. “Oh, but part of the fun of art is adding your own twist to things. Why limit what they can do, especially when their imaginations are so boundless at this age?”
“Is that how you see it?”
“Yes, that’s how I see it. What kind of question is that?”
He sighed. “I guess, I never got to see Gavin grow up much, but he definitely had a large imagination. I wish I could have seen what he would create.”
Being reminded of the tragic past that Vincent had come from stung me for some reason. Maybe it was because I wanted to make things better for him.
Or maybe it was because it reminded me of why I shouldn’t get involved with him, or have these feelings for him. He was still grieving and I shouldn’t take advantage of that.
“I’m sure he would have created wonderful things,” I said. “But for now, you should create wonderful things for him.”
“You think?” Vincent sighed, sitting back in his chair and taking a good look at his sculpture. “I don’t think my fox is nearly creative enough for him.”
I paused what I was doing to come over and look at his fox with him. “I mean it’s a cute fox. Some of the imagination comes in the painting you know.”
“Then should I come back for the next class?”
I gave him a little smile. “If that’s something you want to do. I would certainly like you too.”
“Then I’ll see what I can do about it,” he said. “In the meantime, I’ll try to think about how Gavin might have painted a fox.”
“That’s a good idea. Doing art in honor of the ones you’ve lost is a good way to grieve for them,” I said, my instincts as a trained art therapist taking over.
“Maybe,” he looked wistfully into the distance. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing this all right. The grieving, the living. It feels like I can’t figure out how to honor and remember them properly, or even how to move on with my life.”
“They would have wanted you to be happy,” I said. “You should start by finding the things that you enjoy. I know it can be hard in the midst of grief, but it’s still important to have things that bring you joy. They would have wanted that.”
He laughed a little, but it was not a happy sound at all. “You’re probably right.”
“Do you need a moment?” I asked. “I can go do something else if you need some time—”
He cut me off by reaching out and grabbing my hand, making my heart skip a beat.
“No, stay right here. I like being with you.”
There it was again. No matter how much I continued to tell myself that I shouldn’t have feelings for this man, he kept on doing things like this that dragged me back in. I couldn’t escape it. Maybe I should just give in.
“Are you going to be okay?” I asked, not sure what else I should do in this situation. My feelings were messing too much with
my head and I couldn’t think straight at all.
“I’ll be fine,” he said, looking up at me with a sad smile. “You know, I really like spending time with you, Emma. I hope we can become closer friends.”
“Me too,” I said, feeling my heart beat faster inside my chest.
“You know, I was thinking it would be fun if we had a pool day,” he said, taking me a bit off-guard.
“Oh? I do think the kids would like that,” I said, already running over the process of getting the right permission slips in my mind.
“No, not the class. I mean you, and me, just hanging out. Like you said, the weather’s been nice and I have a pool. I would love for you to come over.”
He was still holding my hand and I knew that my face had to be red enough for him to notice a difference. Was he just pretending not to notice? This was so aggravating.
“This weekend?”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.”
“Okay, just text me the details and I’ll be there,” I said, wondering what exactly Vincent had in mind. No, I couldn’t think like that. It wouldn’t do me any good.
“Good, I’ll see you then.” He stood, releasing his grip on my hand and took off my apron, handing it back to me. “I should get going, I’m assuming you have other classes to prepare for?”
All I could do was nod and watch mutely as he left.
What kind of mess had I gotten myself into this time?
Chapter Ten
Vincent
It had been a while since I’d had anyone over, so I felt a bit like a headless chicken, running all over the place trying to get ready for Emma’s arrival.
I no longer had any idea what was the proper etiquette or how prepared I should be for having a guest over. Maya was usually the one who took care of such things and I had never bothered to pay much attention.
Part of me wished that I had, but then I realized that that was a rather morbid thought tied to the idea of her death and then I was glad that I had let her do things. I did miss her though.
She would have loved Emma. And she would have known exactly how to make her feel welcome and not overwhelmed.
At the moment, I had out several bottles of champagne, a tray of fruit, another of crackers and cheese, and some more snacks ready to be carried out. I made sure that there were extra towels by the pool and I had the gardener bring in some fresh roses.
There were candles around to add the right amount of lighting, and I was just considering if I should see if the seat cushions needed a few extra pillows to accompany them when one of the maids came to let me know that Emma had arrived.
I did a quick cursory glance over the setup, told the maid that she should put on some nice music, and hurried to the front door to meet my guest.
Emma was standing in the entry hall, looking small against the high ceilings and extravagant furniture. She was wearing a light pink bikini with a little white cover-up, and had a bag that I assumed held a change of clothes in it for after the pool.
“You really live in a nice neighborhood,” she said. “And your house is so big!”
“I would say it’s an average size for the area,” I said with a shrug. “I haven’t ever really seen it as big, but I also grew up in these kinds of houses.”
“I guess that really would make a difference,” Emma said, still sounding awed by it.
“Shall we go to the pool?” I asked, offering her my arm.
She seemed to snap back to reality and gave me a big smile. “Yes, let’s.”
She took my arm and let me lead her through the house, back to the gardens, and then to the pool. She looked around again, seeming surprised by my setup.
“This is beautiful, you didn’t have to do this.”
“I didn’t really know what was appropriate,” I admitted with a shrug. “I wanted to make you feel welcome.”
“Well, you certainly have.” She set her bag down and then wandered over to the table where I had set up some drinks and food. She popped a grape into her mouth. “Mmmm, I don’t know if I’ve ever had anything so delicious before.”
I laughed. “All that? Just for one grape? I’ll have to take you to some of my favorite restaurants.”
She looked back at me with wide eyes. “Really? You will? I would love that.”
“Of course, though I must admit the reason is a bit selfish. I just think it would be entertaining.”
She let out a giggle. “Is that why you set up this whole spread?” She gestured to the food, and then the roses and the candles. “It looks like some sort of romantic picnic.”
I let out a laugh. “Really? Maya and I never went on one of those, so I wouldn’t really know.”
“You never took her on a romantic picnic date? You must be joking.”
“No, she liked restaurants much more instead. We still went on plenty of dates....” I trailed off, feeling saddened as I remembered all the good times that the two of us had had together. “Those are stories for another time though. Let’s just enjoy ourselves.”
“Are you sure?” Emma asked, resting her hand on my shoulder. “I’m here if you ever need to talk about things.”
“I’m sure. I want you to enjoy yourself, not bog you down with stories of the old days.”
“You know it doesn’t bog me down.”
“Perhaps, but still, we should be enjoying ourselves.” I gave her a wide smile, then gestured to the pool. “Shall we take a dip?”
“That sounds lovely,” she said brightly, then angled herself slightly away from me as she started to undo her coverup. I knew it was indecent of me, but I couldn’t help but watch her as she began to take it off, revealing radiant skin and beautiful curves. Her bikini hugged her figure beautifully and revealed all the right amounts of skin. In short, she looked incredibly sexy.
She looked over her shoulder, catching me watching her, and blushed profusely. I turned away and stripped myself of my shirt so that I was just in my swim trunks, but I knew that there was no pretending I hadn’t been looking.
I turned back to her and saw that she was looking shyly at the ground, her arms crossed in front of her chest.
“Hey, you don’t have to be embarrassed,” I said, wondering if I should reach for her to gently pull her arms down. But would that give the wrong signal? Did I care about sending that signal anymore? Maybe I wanted her after all.
“I don’t know about that.” She looked in the direction of the pool. “I’ve never really been comfortable.”
“Hey, nonsense,” I said, crossing the few steps to stand in front of her, gently pushing her arms down. “You’re absolutely beautiful. You have nothing to worry about. Besides, it’s just me. We’re friends, remember?”
“I guess.” She still wouldn’t meet my gaze.
“Emma, seriously. I would never judge you. We don’t even have to go in the pool if you don’t want to. We could just hang out here and you can put your coverup back on.”
She looked up at me then, her face still red, then her eyes traveled down my body to land on my exposed abs.
“No, I want to go swimming. I really do. It just might take me a moment to get comfortable.”
“Take as much time as you need,” I said. “I’ll be here, don’t worry.”
“Thank you,” she said, giving me another small smile. I let go of her arms and stepped back. This time she didn’t bring them up to cover her chest, but I could see that she was struggling not to.
“Well, it’s a lovely day, so I’m going to get into the pool,” I said. I popped a grape into my mouth and then went over to the diving board. I took several short hops and then ran and leaped into the pool, contorting my body into the arc of a swan dive.
I entered the water gracefully, water rushing past my face and bubbles surfacing all around me. I popped my head out, running a hand through my hair to smooth it back from my face and saw that Emma was watching me.
“You going to join me?” I teased. “You’re welcome to just walk down the st
airs, I don’t know if the swan dive is exactly your style.”
She laughed. “I think I’ll just dip my feet in for the moment, thank you.”
Seeming to be in a little brighter spirits, Emma skipped over to the edge of the pool and plopped herself down, dipping her legs up to her upper calves in the water.
“Mmmmm,” she said. “You’re right, the water is nice today.”
“It would be even better if you came in all the way,” I said, swimming over to where she was and then hovering in the water in front of her.
“Is that so?” She cocked her head to the side, a mischievous smile on her face. She leaned down, letting the fingers of one hand trail in the water and then brought it up abruptly to splash me in the face.
I turned my face away to try to avoid the brunt of the splash, but it still hit me.
I let out a low laugh: “You little devil!” and sent a large splash of water her way.
She shrieked, trying to scramble up to avoid it, but she was now thoroughly soaked.
“How dare you?”
“You brought this upon yourself,” I said, turning around so that I was floating on my back. “You really shouldn’t have splashed me, you know. That was like poking a sleeping bear.”
“I swear I’m going to get you back.”
“Be careful sweetheart, I would say the tables are pretty even right now. Wouldn’t want me to have to retaliate again.”
“Nonsense,” she said, running around over to the diving board. I watched with thinly-veiled interest as she took several bounding steps and then launched herself into the pool, tightening her body into a small ball so that she made a large splash.
The waves hit me full force and I looked over at her with shock as she surfaced, a grin on her face, wet hair slicked back like a little seal.
“I swear, you are a little devil,” I said. “And here I was, peacefully enjoying floating on my back, but now I’m going to have to even the tables again.”
“You’re welcome to try,” she said, sending another wave of water that hit me full force in the face again.
“Oh, now I’m going to really have to get you,” I said in a low growl, making her giggle. I lunged for her, pulling her to me and started tickling her, making her gasp and laugh and wiggle around in my grip.
