Help wanted part 5

“That we develop six or eight patterns and use them over and over. Butt two together if it has to make a larger piece. Put three or more together if it needs to be larger still.”

“Hey Doug, this is why I go to you.”

“When do you need drawings?”

“End of week?” he was stretching, he knew it.

“Caitlyn, is that enough time for you?” I asked.

She looked at me in shock. Her face completely changed as she turned to him. She smiled at Frank and said. “That will be plenty, we’ll have drawings to you by Friday afternoon. Thanks Frank.”

What a pro.

“Together with our cost estimate proposal,” she said as she smiled to me.

Oh the devious little wench.

“What makes you think that I can design a bunch of lilies?” she asked as we drove away.

“If you can design and draw up that tattoo of yours, you can design and draw up a bunch of stupid lilies.”

She was grinning as we drove along.

We stopped by Talbot’s dress shop on the way home. Caitlyn had horror written all over her face as we approached the older sales lady. “Could you please set up this young lady with a sexy dress? Something flowery and feminine? Preferably pink. I’ll be back in a half hour to pay for it.”

“Certainly, come right this way dear.” She smiled and held her hand out to Caitlyn.

Caitlyn took the lady’s hand and turned her face to mine. Poison darts flew at me together with an upturned middle finger behind her back.

I left the store chuckling.

On my way to the food court I sussed out a couple of other stores. Shoes and a handbag. Plus make-up. All pink.

Caitlyn was going to kill me.

It was perfect.

I didn’t see her in the dress, it was packed up ready to be paid for when I got back.

We went to the other stores. I sat on the bench outside as she sorted herself out inside. I just showed up at the cash register at the right time.

By the time we made it to Victoria’s Secret the look of horror on her face had been completely replaced with a mischievous smirk.

I needed to figure out a coming out event.

Dinner that night was T-bone steaks, fried potatoes dashed with paprika, peas and carrots with melted butter and a lettuce, cucumber and avocado salad with a lemony vinaigrette dressing.

She followed me outside to watch me barbeque the steaks. I flipped them onto the hot grille. Steak on a gas barbeque? Man’s world stuff, right?

Wrong.

“Not like that,” she said as she lifted the steaks off. She repositioned them at a forty five degree angle to grille.

“And when you flip them, flip them a hundred and eighty degrees so it’s still at a forty five degree angle to the grille. Then the next flip is at ninety degrees,” she showed me with her hand, “and then the final flip is a hundred and eighty degrees. And that’s it. No more flipping. That way the steaks will have perfect X’s from the grille marks, back and front.”

I stood then with my mouth open in disbelief.

“And turn it up to high,” she said as she walked away.

“Yes ma’am.”

She was right. They were perfect. They tasted the same I suppose, but they certainly looked better.

“So when did you lose your virginity?” I asked as I gathered salad on my fork.

“Oh gees, it seems like last week. I remember his name, yes, it was Doug Jenner.”

“Fuck off, I wasn’t your first.”

She chewed her steak for a while then said smiling, “Maybe not my first, but certainly my best.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet. Liar.” I cut into the steak. Maybe it tasted better too?

“It was only when I went to art school. I was a virgin all through high school.”

“Really?”

“I told you,” she said, “no one wanted to date me.”

I sliced another piece of steak and chewed for a moment, then said “As I remember high school, yes there were a number of dates that I went on, but for the most part it was a bunch of kids hanging out together. That’s where the social and sexual interaction took place.”

“Is that how it worked for you?” she asked and then added, “when did you lose yours?”

“It was exactly like that. It was a house party. I was fourteen. So was she. Maria Lopez. I’ll never forget her.”

“Was she cute?”

“Cute and drunk. So was I.”

“Cute?”

I smiled at Caitlyn and sliced another piece of steak, purposely ignoring the last question. I said, “You must have been in similar social situations during high school, you know, hanging around with other kids and then fooling around.”

“Yeah, I did I guess. But that’s how girls got reputations, like my friend Carly did.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, and it’s not fair,” she said, “if a girl sleeps with four or five different guys she’s called a slut, but if a guy does that…”

“Then he’s gay. Most definitely he’s gay.” I interrupted smiling.

She laughed.

“So you managed to avoid having a reputation in high school by not having sex?” I asked.

“I didn’t say I didn’t have sex,” she corrected me, “I just said I remained a virgin.”

“And you avoided getting a reputation?” I asked.

“Yes, but that was by mutual threat. I told Billy that if he told anyone that I sucked his cock I would tell everyone the truth.”

“Which was?”

“That he had a tiny cock, which was true.”

“Oh so you came to a mutual agreement.