The parking lot of the bar at the corner of Third and Oak was packed. Cars lined the street a block in each direction. Realizing that he wasn't going to be able to park anywhere near the bar, Dan pulled over at the curb in front of the bar. He let Diana and his mother out so that they wouldn't have to walk through the rather rough neighborhood. Once they had gone inside the bar, he drove off in search of a parking place.
He parked a block and a half away. Another car with a pair of women pulled in behind him. He got out and waited for them. When they approached, he said, "Hello, ladies. Would you mind an escort?"
"We don't want one," one of the women said. Her voice was cold enough to freeze water.
"Do you mind escorting me?" Dan asked with a smile.
"We don't need a man," the other woman said staring at Dan.
"Okay. I'll see you at Pat's," Dan said as he turned to head up the street. There was a small sound behind him suggesting that someone had been surprised by his statement.
One of the woman said, "Hold on. You're going to Pat's?"
"Yes," Dan answered looking back at the pair of women.
The other woman snorted and asked, "Do you know what kind of place that is?"
"I think so. I've never been there before, but I've heard that it is a real nice place," Dan said smiling at the two women.
"They don't like men there."
Dan shook his head and said, "Really? I find that amazing. I'll definitely have to check it out then."
He turned and headed up the street. The two women followed behind him laughing. They thought he was going to be in for the shock of his life. They decided that they wanted to see the expression on his face when he realized that it was a lesbian bar. After a half a block, one of them said, "Wait up for us."
Dan waited for them to catch up. As they walked, he said, "I hope that I haven't kept my mother and sister waiting too long."
The two women cracked up on hearing that. One of them said, "Let me guess. Your girlfriend is there too."
"Yes," Dan said. He was going to add that two of his girlfriends were there, but decided that they would start laughing so hard that they'd never get to the bar.
When they reached the bar, Dan held the door open for them. The pair rushed in and then turned around to see watch his reaction. Dan stepped into the bar and looked around. He nodded his head as he considered the atmosphere of the place. The low gravely voice of Pat cut through the noise as she said, "Dan! I'm so glad that you could make it."
The two women were shoved apart as Pat came over to Dan and hugged him. Dan said, "Ah, Pat. How are you doing, my love?"
"Don't let Betty hear you talking like that. She'll think you're trying to steal me away from her," Pat said with a laugh.
Betty shouted, "The male stripper is here."
Dan laughed and said, "Betty. I'm going to get you for that one."
The two women who had entered with Dan were staring at him open mouthed. Pat didn't allow gay men in the bar much less straight men. To see her hugging this guy was too much. One of them asked, "Who is he?"
"Be nice to him. That's Dan Parker. He's a friend," a woman answered. The woman added, "He's Sue's muse."
"That's Dan Parker?" the woman asked. Everyone, with the exception of Dan Parker, knew that Sue considered him to be her new muse. He was the one who had inspired her to return to painting.
As if to emphasize the exchange, Sue came over to Dan and kissed him on the cheek. She said, "I'm glad that you could make it."
"I'm glad too. It looks like it is standing room only in here." Dan said.
"It is. Pat reserved a table for us. Cathy will be here in thirty minutes. I'll meet you over at the table before she gets here. I've got to mingle," Sue answered with a smile. In a way, she was very pleased to show him off to the crowd at Pat's bar.
"Go ahead. I'll talk to you later," Dan said. He started to make his way to the table where his sister and mother were seated. The crowd shifted and he could see Ann and Sally at the table as well.
"My God! I can't believe it. Dan Parker! You are such a fucking loser. Only you would go to a lesbian bar to pick up dykes! Loser!"
The woman shouting did not notice that the bar had become very quiet. She didn't feel the woman she was with hitting her in the side trying to get her to shut up. Everyone within five feet of her moved away. It was only when no one said anything that she looked around. Based on all of the angry faces she knew something was wrong.
Pat turned towards the woman and, in a very low controlled voice, said, "Get that cunt out of here!"
When hands reached out to grab Kim, Dan said, "Pat, I'm not offended. Let her walk out of here."
Furious at the idea of Dan Parker protecting her, Kim said, "You can't throw me out of here. I came here to get Sue Adams to paint my picture and I'm not leaving until I talk to her."
Sue walked up to Kim. She stared at her remembering the last time the two of them had met. In a very tight voice, she said, "I am Sue Adams."
When Kim started to say something, Sue hauled off and slapped her as hard as she could. Furious, Sue shouted, "That was for insulting my friend. Get out of here before I really get mad."
Holding a hand to where she had been slapped, Kim stumbled towards the door wondering what had happened. She couldn't believe that a bunch of lesbians were sticking up for Dan Parker. She had just stepped through the door when a tall blond haired woman hit her in the stomach. The woman leaned over and said, "If I ever see you again, I'll kill you. No one comes in my place and insults my friends like that."
Kim found that she was sprawled out on the ground in front of the bar. The big blond woman had gone back inside the bar. Kim stood up and shouted at the door, "You bunch of fucking freaks."
Inside the bar, Dan said, "I apologize for that. I did not want my presence here to be a problem."
Pat turned to Dan and said, "It wasn't your fault, Dan."
Dan shook his head and walked over to Sue. Giving her a hug, he said, "Thank you for standing up for me."
"You're welcome," Sue said remembering the flowers that had showed up the day after she had poured water on that woman. The memory brought a smile to her face.
Still angry, Pat shouted, "Who brought her here?"
A woman raised her hand and begged, "Don't throw me out Pat. I had no idea that she would act that way."
Dan looked at the woman and recognized her. He remembered her as a member of Kim's high school entourage. It had always been a little pathetic the way that she would grovel at Kim's feet for the least bit of attention. Seeing her here, he realized why she had been so desperate. She had been in love and there had been no way to say it to Kim without becoming a social pariah. He said, "Hello Jennifer."
"Hello Dan," she answered looking down at the floor. She was too embarrassed to look at him.
He said, "I see that you're still trying to get her to notice you."
"Yes," Jennifer said.
"You thought that if she got a painting with the two of you in it that she'd realize you were her true love," Dan said.
"Yes," Jennifer said in tears. Thinking back to the number of times that she had humiliated herself to get Kim's attention, she said, "All I've ever wanted was for her to look at me. Just once; that's all."
"You deserve better than her," Dan said.
"She's never going to love me," Jennifer said in tears.
"It is not your fault. She doesn't know how to love," Dan said. This was a good example of a woman wasting her life trying to change another person's character.
She said, "I realize that now."
"Look around you. There are a lot of women in this room who do know how to love. Don't waste your time on someone who can't," Dan said. He hugged her and looked around the room. Several women were looking away and wiping tears from their eyes.
Unwilling to punish another victim, Pat said, "She can stay."
Dan led Jennifer and Sue to the table. He had them sit down and performed the introductions. Sue already knew everyone there, but Jennifer was virtually a stranger. Jennifer nodded blankly at everyone in the group and then stared at the table. She was a hurt, lonely, and sad young woman.
Dan's mother was furious. For years she had listened to Dan cry about how Kim Parker had treated him. This was the first time she had ever observed it in person. She wanted to destroy Kim for all of those sleepless nights. She said, "I want to kill that bitch."
"Get in line," Diana said.
Still furious at Kim, Sue said, "She came here for a painting. She's going to get a painting."
"What?" Diana asked turning to look at Sue.
"I am going to paint her just as I see her," Sue said imagining the painting that she would create. She smiled and said, "It is going to be huge. I'll hang it in Lynn's gallery."
Shocked, Ann said, "Lynn has been after you for years to hang a piece of yours in her gallery."
"Yes," Sue said, "She's going to get a masterpiece worthy of a museum."
Dan was standing beside the table since he had given up his seat for Jennifer. A number of women offered him their chairs but he waved them off with a smile. He looked down at the young woman worried about her. She was staring at the table with tears streaming down her face. Slack jawed, her mouth was slightly open. He leaned down to his mother and whispered, "I'm worried about her."
Dan's mother looked at Jennifer and bit her lower lip. Dan was right to be worried about her. She looked like she wanted to die. Concerned, she said, "I don't think she should be left alone. We'll take her home with us and call her parents."
Wondering what was going on, Cathy strolled into the bar right on time. All she knew was that Pat had called and asked her to stop by the bar that evening at eight for a few minutes. The parking lot had been full and she had to park almost two blocks from the bar. She had almost considered skipping it, but her curiosity got the better of her. She hoped that Pat was trying to fix her up with someone.
Pat came up to her and said, "Hello, Cathy. You came just in time. Sue is going to unveil a new painting."
After looking at the covered painting, Cathy said, "She said that she was going to do one of me. I can't wait for her to get started on it."
Sue rose from her chair and went over to where the covered painting hung on the wall. Turning to face everyone, she said, "Ladies and... Gentleman."
There was a small titter of laughter when she said gentleman. Sue continued, "I am here to unveil my latest painting. Pat has been gracious enough to let me showcase it here on the wall for a year. I hope that you enjoy it."
There was a polite sprinkle of applause around the room. They hadn't come for a speech, but to see another of Sue's paintings. Most of her paintings were handed over to the person who paid for it without much fanfare. She only had public unveilings for special works. The tension in the air was palpable. Sue looked around as if seeking someone and then spotted Cathy. Smiling, she said, "Cathy, would you come over here?"
Surprised, Cathy walked over to where Sue was standing. She looked at the cover and realized that she was probably the only one in the place that could reach it. She asked, "Do you need me to remove the cover?"
"Just stand right there," Sue said with a smile. Once Cathy was in place, Sue tugged on the cover and it fell to the ground revealing the painting.
The painting showed a very tall woman gazing down upon a much smaller woman. The smaller woman was seated with her back to the audience. Her face and frontal features were hidden from view so that she could have been anyone. The tall woman was moving towards her to deliver a kiss. There was a hint of awkwardness to her movement. It wasn't a physical awkwardness, but the uncertainty of a woman approaching her true love for the first time.
It was not a remarkable painting until you saw the face of the tall woman. It was a strong angular face with well defined features. The strength of the face was offset by the emotions written across it. There was so much love and devotion expressed there that it caused the heart to skip a beat. Everyone, including Dan, visualized themselves as the subject of the tall woman's affection. If the painting had a voice it would have been screaming, "You want to be that lucky woman upon whom she gazes with such love."
Cathy stared at the painting with tears coming down her face. It was her face in the painting. Unable to believe what she was seeing, she asked, "Is that me?"
"Yes," Sue answered with a smile. That was a too common reaction to seeing one of her paintings. It was also the reaction that let her know that her work was good.
Dan's mother was moved by the picture. She said, "That could inspire a straight girl to run right into the arms of a woman."
"Cathy is so lucky," Diana said. She considered the painting that Sue had done of her to be her most valued possession. There was no amount of money that could separate her from that painting. She knew that Cathy would feel the same way about that painting.
Thinking about the number of women who were going to see that painting, Dan said, "She is going to be overwhelmed with women wanting her with that hanging here for a year."
Sally said, "It is another masterpiece."
"Sue's in a class by herself," Ann said.
Jennifer rose from the chair and walked towards the painting as if in a trance. She stopped two paces away from Cathy and looked up at the woman. In a soft voice that barely carried to her, Jennifer said, "Look at me once that way and I will make all of your dreams and desires come true. Ask and it will be yours."
Smiling as he drove down the street, Dan said, "You know Mom, you might want to let Dad know that he should be worried."
"Why?" his mother asked.
"I saw the way some of those women were looking at you tonight," Dan said.
From the backseat, Diana laughed at the comment. Flustered, his mother said, "I'm sorry but I don't swing that way. He's got nothing to worry about."
Dan laughed and said, "I know."
"It sure was a surprising night, though," she said. It was stressful more than anything else.
Shaking her head, Diana said, "Did you see the look on Coach Jenkins' face when Jennifer walked up to her?"
"Yeah, it was in the painting," Dan said.
"I thought I was going to cry right then and there," Diana said.
The evening had bothered Dan's mother on many levels. First there had been the entire episode with Kim Parker. Then there had been the drama of the unveiling of the painting. Throughout the entire evening, she had been surrounded by lesbians. Shaking her head, she said, "I was moved and I don't even like the idea of lesbianism."
"You don't?" Dan asked surprised to hear that. He had thought his mother didn't have a problem with it.
"Don't get me wrong. I like your friends. I even like Pat," his mother said giving a nervous little laugh. She wasn't going to tell the kids that Pat scared her. There was nothing feminine about Pat except her biology. She said, "It is just that I find the idea of women doing sexual things with each other very disgusting."
"Physics rules the universe and biology rules life," Dan said glancing over at his mother.
"I prefer the alternate wording. Physics is king, biology is queen, and their rule is absolute," Diana said from the back seat. She always said that whenever Dan mentioned that rule.
Although Diana had suggested on several occasions that she read the articles, Dan's mother hadn't. Frowning, she asked, "What exactly does that mean?"
Seeing that traffic was getting a little worse, Dan said, "Diana, do you mind fielding that question?"
Moving and leaning forward so that she was able to see her mother from between the front seats, Diana said, "It means that you can't violate the laws of physics or biology. It doesn't do any good to argue against them. They just are. It doesn't matter if you approve or disapprove of them; you are subject to their rule. The best that you can do is to accept it and get on with your life."
Dan's mother frowned while she considered it. She said, "You two put a lot of stock in those facts of life."
"You bet," Dan said.
"You really need to read those articles," Diana said.
"I'll get around to it one of these days," she said.
Diana sat back in her chair fully convinced that her mother would never read them. She said, "Right."
Wanting to change the subject, Dan's mother asked, "What are your plans for tonight?"
"I'm spending the night with Ann and Sally," Dan said.
That was another sore subject for Dan's mother. She knew that her husband was rather envious about Dan having relations with two women at once. It was an age old male fantasy. It seemed to her that every time he found out that Dan was staying the night with those two women, he would mention how much he'd like to have a threesome sometime. She said, "Okay. Just tell your father that you're staying with Alison."
"Why?" Dan asked rather surprised by the request.
"Because I'm getting a headache and I don't need to deal with his adolescent fantasies," she answered staring out the window.
Diana said, "You really need to read those articles."
"Just drop it, okay?"
Diana stared at her mother and then shrugged her shoulders. It seemed to her that there were problems in paradise, but it wasn't up to her to fix them. She said, "Okay."
Dan said, "Remind me to order flowers for Sue, Pat, Betty, and Cathy."
The bedroom wall was covered with a mural that turned the little bedroom into a palatial luxury suite. For a second, Dan had actually thought they had torn down the wall and extended the room. Looking at it, he said, "That's amazing."
Sally nodded her head in agreement. She still didn't understand what had inspired Ann to do the mural. She said, "I couldn't believe it when Ann started working on it. I've never seen her so passionate about something. Well... other than you and me. She worked on it day and night. She didn't get any sleep last night working on it."
"You can almost feel the heat from the fireplace," Dan said. It almost looked like the flames were dancing, it was so realistic. He moved closer to the wall seeing all of the little details that were there. A glass even had reflections of the room on it.
"I know. I came in here this afternoon thinking I was in a castle or something," Sally said. She moved over to look at one area of the mural. She smiled at the little detail she had missed earlier. She said, "Every time I look at it, I find something new. It is like it is alive."
Dan bent over and looked at the mirror in the mural. There was a reflection of a woman dressed up in a maid's costume. He said, "There's even a servant here."
"I know. If you look at the Chinese screen over there, you'll notice that there is the silhouette of a woman changing clothes," Sally said.
Dan went over and looked at that portion of the mural. He smiled and said, "It looks like you."
"Really? I didn't notice that," she said looking at the mural a little closer. The silhouette could have been of any woman. She laughed and said, "It could be anyone."
"Nope. It is definitely you. She's got the shape of your breasts perfect," Dan said.
Sally looked back at the bedroom door and said, "I wonder what is taking her so long."
"I don't know," Dan said.
"Wait here while I check on her," Sally said.
"Okay," Dan said watching her leave the bedroom. He stepped back and admired the mural some more. There were tons of little details sprinkled throughout the mural that made it live. It would take him days to spot all of them.
Sally stuck her head in the door and whispered, "Dan, come here."
Dan followed Sally into the living room. Ann was sprawled out in a chair sound asleep. Smiling over at Sally, he went over and picked Ann up. He carried her into the bedroom and laid her on the bed. Sally pulled the covers over her. Ann murmured softly and snuggled under the covers.
Tiptoeing out of the room, Sally said, "She didn't sleep last night. I know that she really wanted to be with you tonight."
"I understand," Dan said.
Lazlo Zalezac