“Understandable, kid,” Dad says. “It’s been a long time.”
“Yeah, but on the other hand, it feels like just yesterday we were together.”
“I take it Alice is no longer in the picture,” Mum asks.
“Nah, Bella put pay to that when she attacked me in the middle of the night with Alice sleeping next to me.”
Mum chuckles and looks at Bella, who doesn’t look perturbed in the slightest. “She didn’t have what it took to be in this family,” she simply states. “Plus, trashing those sneakers was worth the collateral damage.”
“Finally,” Mum shouts in delight. “Bella, you get extra pudding for that.”
Bella grins as I sit in shock. “Mum, you bought me those sneakers!”
“Yes, four years ago and before they smelled like hot garbage.”
“Well, this is fucking charming,” I pout.
Dad laughs and pats me on the head. “It was time, kid.”
The laughter dies down and everyone grows serious. I know they’re waiting for me to say something more, but I don’t have the words. I need to paint. Maybe once I have my feelings on canvas I can articulate them to the group.
“Thanks for lunch.” I stand up so I can get started on detangling my emotions. “I need to go paint.”
My family and friends aren’t surprised in the slightest and I get no pushback. I’ll talk about Sloane when I’m ready.
“I’m coming too,” Bella says. “Becca will probably be back.”
“Can I come?” Pia asks.
The three of us leave Mum and Dad with a promise to talk soon. The walk home is…slow. Pia waddles as fast as she can, but shit, it’s still sloth speed.
Becca is waiting for us when we enter the apartment. Instead of greeting Bella like she always does, Becca heads straight to me and engulfs me in a bear hug.
“Go paint,” she says. “And then we’ll talk.”
I don’t need to be told twice. Leaving the girls alone, I head for the spare room, which is my art studio. It’s the size of a shoebox but has a large window that lets in all the natural light, making it the brightest room in the apartment.
Setting up a new canvas, I sit and stare for a while. I should be finishing the fucking ferret piece, but the only thing my muse is offering is the silhouette of a body I once treasured. Picking up some charcoal, I set to work. My hand works almost separately from the rest of me. Dark lines cut through the white until the shape of a torso is formed.
Hours later, I sit back and study the drawing. It’s Sloane as I remember her…arched into my hand as I pleasured her for the last time. I can’t say why I drew it, or what it’s supposed to mean. All I know is Sloane’s form will influence my art until I deal with her being back. Now I’ve given myself permission to think of her, all other muses are nowhere in sight.
Fuck.
Stretching my back, I head into the living room where Becca, Bella, and Pia are sitting. Pia has the armchair to herself. She barely fits, but she says it’s the most comfortable seat she’s ever sat in, so whatever works, right?
Bella and Becca are sitting close together, with Becca resting her head on Bella’s shoulder. All three women turn to me as I step through the door.
“Better?” Becca asks.
“Take a look,” I say, gesturing over my shoulder to the open door to the studio.
Becca hops up, walks past me, and into the spare room. She’s only gone a second before she comes back out and gives me a knowing look.
“I’m fucked, aren’t I?” I whine.
“You going to see her?” Becca asks. Pia grumbles as she struggles to stand up. Bella finally helps her, and we all watch as she plods past and into the studio.
“Yeah, you’re fucked!” she shouts.
