Ms. Dodson was the one who taught Aiyanna her ABCs and 123s since her parents worked all day. She even taught her how to bake cookies at the age of 6. Aiyanna grew quite fond of Ms. Dodson as her personality was so warm and cheery. Not only was her demeanor captivating, but she was also spellbound by the artwork Ms. Dodson had hanging around her house. Ms. Dodson had impeccable taste. The art was rare, finely detailed, and looked rather expensive. It did not seem like artwork from regular stores.
Ms. Dodson's cultivated paintings and sculptures made Aiyanna very interested in art. At the age of 8, she began drawing. She even attempted to copy some of the paintings on the walls. Though she did not master three dimensional drawing at the time, her pictures looked very similar to the paintings. Aiyanna's art was so superb she passed all of her art classes throughout grade school with flying colours. In seventh grade, she already set the goal of majoring in art in college.
Over time, Aiyanna developed a serious crush on Ms. Dodson. She found herself drawing pictures of her. She threw most of the drawings away to keep her attraction under wraps, but kept one which was a 3D pastel of Ms. Dodson holding a gemstone rose. Behind her, in the drawing, the sun shined like a halo.
The thing Aiyanna loved most about Ms. Dodson was her touch. Ms. Dodson hugged her when she came over. She always gave Aiyanna a pat on the back whenever she did a good job on something such as gardening or baking. Sometimes, she held Aiyanna's hand when they had conversations, especially deep ones. At times, she would come up behind Aiyanna and surprise her by playfully wrapping her arms around her waist, lightly squeezing her., Aiyanna loved it because of the feel of Ms. Dodson's warm body against hers. Also, she loved cuddling. When Aiyanna was little, she would sit on Ms. Dodson's lap while watching television and fall asleep on her chest. Her heartbeat had the most soothing rhythm. Plus, her breasts seemed to be the softest place on earth...softer than her own pillow. When Aiyanna was 4, out of pure curiosity, she squeezed Ms. Dodson's breasts, not knowing what they were, and asked, "Ms. Doddy, what are these?"
Gently, Ms. Dodson took the little girl's hands off and laughed while replying, "Honey, you're a little young for that now."
"Will I get those too?" Aiyanna quizzed.
"When you're older, sweetie. Now let's concentrate on washing these dishes, shall we?"
That was the last Aiyanna heard of breasts until she was twelve years old. Then Ms. Dodson and Aiyanna's mother sat her down and gave her a lesson on having her period, sex, boys, dating, and STDs. Aiyanna was a bit of a late bloomer. She did not start her period until she was 14 and did not develop breasts until she was 17. From age 17 to 18, her breasts sprouted from AA to C. Plus, she went from having no curves at all to having shapely hips, round buttocks, and slim, toned thighs and legs. Standing at 5'6", many friends and family suggested she try modeling, but Aiyanna was more interested in art and Ms. Dodson than showing off her body to complete strangers.
Now, Aiyanna was 21 years old. Instead of majoring in art, she decided on communications in college. She felt she would do art as leisure, not pursue it as a full time career. She scanned her works and put them on MySpace and Facebook for fun, but people were actually interested in purchasing them. Depending on the size of the canvas, Aiyanna sold her watercolour and oil pastel works for as much as $400. Though she worked in a coffee shop, she made better money with her artwork.
Aiyanna was very scared to tell Ms. Dodson of her attraction to her. She felt Ms. Dodson wouldn't be interested, especially due to her age. Ms. Dodson was near 50...47 to be exact, but Aiyanna thought she looked good for her age. She admired her shoulder length curly blonde hair, blue eyes, and creamy skin. Her hair did not have a single strand of grey. She always kept her skin soft and moist. Aiyanna considered herself a plain Jane compared to Ms. Dodson although many thought otherwise. She had honey brown skin, long dark brown hair that came down to her butt, and hypnotic dark brown eyes. Her racial background was a wonderful mix of Arabian, black, Italian, and Asian.
Though Ms. Dodson relocated to another house outside of Aiyanna's old neighborhood, Aiyanna still visited her every now and then to help her with gardening, house cleaning, or they would just have fun together. They visited art galleries that came to the community and have funny debates on which work was better even though Aiyanna though the best work ever made was Ms. Dodson herself. She was the ultimate masterpiece no matter where she went.
On this particular day, Ms. Dodson wanted to look at Aiyanna's art portfolio and possibly add a piece to the many she had hanging on her walls. Aiyanna became very excited despite having a long day at work and spending a few hours organizing her new apartment. She put on a pair of jeans, a black blouse, and a pair of old sneakers. Then she tied her hair in a ponytail and made her way to Ms. Dodson's place.
It did not take her long to get there as she only lived 30 minutes away. When she arrived, she drove on an unpaved driveway through a set of trees. When she entered the clearing, she saw the big, blue house. Aiyanna drove up to the garage and parked in front of it. The second she stepped out, the potent scent of roses entered her nostrils. With every step she made toward the door, her heart raced faster. To calm down, she closed her eyes and breathed in the rosy scent surrounding her. It encased and warmed her heart causing its hyperactive beating to slow down. Then she opened her eyes and rang the doorbell.
Seconds later, there was a hard click and a turn of the knob. When the door opened, Aiyanna swore her heart stopped at the alluring sight she saw. There stood Ms. Dodson. Though she wore a plain pink shirt and black slacks, Aiyanna felt an overwhelming amount of calming, positive energy radiating within Ms. Dodson's aura. Gently, she took Aiyanna by the hand.
"Come in, sweetie."
As she entered Ms. Dodson's home, Aiyanna was greeted by the warming scent of lavender and vanilla candles. Leading her to the living room, Ms. Dodson hugged her and asked, "How are you, honey?"
"I am fine, thank you," Aiyanna replied trying not to let the quiver in her stomach transfer to her vocal cords.
Cheerfully, Ms. Dodson said, "That's good. Why don't you have a seat here and I'll get you something to drink? What would you like?"
As Aiyanna sat down, she wanted to say "wine", but she did not want to give Ms. Dodson any clue of her crush. She deterred her answer to "a glass of juice or iced tea with lemon if you have any."
"You are just in time, sweetie. I just made a fresh batch of sweet tea. I added some raspberry flavouring if you don't mind."
"I like raspberry. That's perfect."
"Ok. You get comfortable while I get the tea."
As Aiyanna waited, she sank into the couch and took in her surroundings. The atmosphere was very welcoming, not just with the scent in the air, but the couch had absorbed the scent. Plus, it was very comfortable. The window across from her had beautiful, custom made, sky blue drapes with bluebell flower designs at the bottoms. The wall behind her had a painting of a sunny meadow a couple of feet above the couch. The grass looked almost real, the birds and flowers nearly lifelike, especially since the painting was almost 4 feet across. Aiyanna's mind wandered into the image of her and Ms. Dodson in the meadow, the breeze blowing...
"I've got your iced tea. I also sliced a few apples if you'd like."
Aiyanna's imagination shattered like glass revealing Ms. Dodson holding two trays. One contained the two glassed of iced tea. The other had the sliced apples.
"Oh, the apples are fine, "Aiyanna said. "And you have the red delicious kind too. My favourite!"
Ms. Dodson sat down next to Aiyanna and sipped her tea. "Let's get down to business, shall we?":
Aiyanna picked up her big, black binder and asked, "Which theme would you like to see?"
"Hmmm...the gemstone themed pastels."
Aiyanna opened her binder and first showed Ms. Dodson a 3D pastel drawing of a leaf shaped emerald with 3 diamonds shaped like raindrops seeming to run down the leaf. Then she turned to the next drawing which was a sapphire shaped like a bluebell flower. It had leaf shaped emeralds as well as the stem.
"I love that one," Ms. Dodson commented. "It is so beautiful, so lifelike. I almost want to pick that flower. How does $500 sound for the drawing?"
Surprisingly, Aiyanna did not want money. She wanted Ms. Dodson herself. The $500 sounded great, but money just didn't match the attraction she felt.
"I'll lower the price to $250," she said in protest.
Ms. Dodson countered mildly, "I know you're doing your best to be reasonable with your pricing, but you put a lot of effort and timing into this drawing. I can see the passion in every speck of colour. Actually, a superior work of art like this would be worth about $1200 if you were to auction it."
Flattered but still disinterested in the offer, Aiyanna insisted, "Ms. Dodson, I've known you for a long time. I can't be greedy. $500 sounds good, but don't you think it's a bit much? I couldn't take that from you."
But Ms. Dodson was already writing a check. "Sweetie, you already know money was never an issue with me. You are a great artist and you sacrificed a lot of time to create such a masterpiece. How long did you take to draw this?"
"About four and a half hours."
"Commitment, concentration, precision, and passion deserve to be well compensated."
I'd rather be compensated with you, Aiyanna thought, but she said, "I guess. Thank you, Ms. Doddy."
"Call me Miri, sweetie. I know you're used to calling me Ms. Doddy. You've known me since you were a tiny little thing, but you're all grown up now. I'd like to have more than a friend connection rather than just being your former babysitter."
The first step in getting closer," Aiyanna thought. Calling her by her first name.
Suddenly, Aiyanna heard a clicking sound. It came from the front door. Who was coming in Miri's home? Her confusion only increased when she saw a man in a suit come in the living room carrying a suitcase. He was taller than Miri and had a head full of silver grey hair. Aiyanna finally pieced the puzzle together when she saw Miri's eyes brighten.
"Hi, honey! You're home!"
Miri stood up and pecked the man on the lips. She turned to Aiyanna and said, "This is my husband, Steven. I've known you for so long and never got to introduce you to him because he travels so much."
Husband! Aiyanna thought. Husband? Ok how did I miss this from age two to 14? I know Miri mentioned something about a Steve when I was little, but I never knew who she was talking about.
Aiyanna's stomach burned as she stiffly stood and shook Steven's hand. She smiled weakly as she greeted, "Hi. I'm Aiyanna. Miri used to babysit me."
Steven smiled. "It's nice to finally meet you for the first time! Miri told me so much about you and she was right. You have blossomed into a very sweet, young woman."
"Not only that," Miri added. "She has the most talented hands ever. I bought us a new addition to our art gallery. Look at this beautiful pastel she drew! Doesn't it look almost like you want to pick it from the paper?"
Steven nodded, looking at Aiyanna's drawing. "Wow! That is impressive. How much did you pay her, Miri?"
Before Miri could say anything, Aiyanna cut in. "Well I offered her $250, but she paid me $500."
Miri added, "And I told her commitment, concentration, precision, and passion deserve to be well compensated. She spent nearly five hours drawing this magnificent piece."
"That's a long time!" Steven gasped. Then he changed the subject. "Miri, honey, would you like for us to head out to dinner? Then we can come back here and spend some quality time together. I have missed you."
Miri obliged, "Certainly, Steve. Would it be a bother if Aiyanna came with us?"
"Not at all. Aiyanna, would you care to join us for dinner? It will be our treat."
"Umm..." Aiyanna hesitated. "I think I should go. Thank you for the check, Miri."
"Oh I am sure you are hungry dear," Miri persisted.
Aiyanna lied, "It's ok. I'm fine. I'm sure you two would like to be alone. Besides, I'm not that hungry--"
But her growling stomach proved otherwise.
Miri laughed. "Sweetie, you are eating! There is no way I am letting you go hungry. I never let you go home hungry when I babysat you."
Aiyanna had no choice but to accept, but she tried to get out of it once more by protesting, "I'm not dressed."
"Honey, you are beautiful," Miri countered. "It doesn't matter what you wear. Now quit trying to get out of eating with us. I will put on some slightly better attire and then we will go."
As Miri went to get dressed, Steve said to Aiyanna, "Miri is right, you know. You are beautiful. You have lovely skin. How do you keep it looking so nice?"
"I just wash with soap every day. Nothing special except I exfoliate once a week with a sea salt scrub. I paid $60 for it. Expensive, but it works."
Steve took Aiyanna gently by the hand and felt the back of it. "I see it does work. Your skin also seems to have a natural glow to it too. You are blessed!"
Aiyanna shuddered at his touch. Briefly, she sighed as her eyes wandered to the stairs where they locked on Miri coming down. She looked like an angel gliding down. She wore black dress pants with a sparkling blue floral print blouse with ruffled sleeves.
"Are we ready to go?" she asked.
Steve took her by the hand. "Of course."
"Am I going to be following you guys?" Aiyanna asked. Deep in her mind, she contemplated pretending to follow Steve and Miri, then purposely getting lost, but her plan failed as Steve replied, "You may ride with us. Save yourself the gas, hun."
Reluctantly, Aiyanna slithered into the back seat of Steve's car. She put on the seatbelt and slouched letting her body sink into the black leather. As she stared out of the window, watching the sunset beyond the winding road, her stomach plummeted at the sounds of Steve and Miri's cheery conversation and giggles.
The arrived at a relatively small Italian restaurant. Steve opened the door where Aiyanna sat, softly took her by the hand, and helped her out of the car. Then he playfully interlocked her arm with his. He had Miri on his other arm.
"Let's go, ladies, " he chuckled.
Miri shook her head in amusement. "Are you a ladies' man for tonight, sweetheart?"
Steve snickered. "I guess so! I must be one lucky man with two beautiful women on my arms!"
They walked into the restaurant, Aiyanna feeling like a third wheel. When they were seated, the second Aiyanna opened the menu, she blurted, "I guess the checks will be separate?"
"No, sweetie," Steve answered. "I'm treating everyone."
Aiyanna ordered fried calamari along with angel hair pasta in a red sauce with mussels, scallops, and baby shrimp. She started eating quickly until Steve giggled. "Hungry enough or is the food really good?"
Embarrassed, Aiyanna's cheeks reddened. The fact that her redness was visible did not help the situation. Only when blushing did Aiyanna wish her honey brown skin was darker. Miri and Steve were tickled by her blushing. She did not find it funny. In fact, she became irritated. Briefly shutting her eyes, Aiyanna suppressed her embarrassment and her cheeks returned to normal. She ate the rest of her food mostly in silence unless Steve or Miri spoke to her.
When the three returned home, Aiyanna announced, "Well, I guess I should be going now. I have to work in the morning. It was nice meeting you, Steve, and thank you for dinner."
"I haven't been to the coffee shop in a while," said Miri. "Steve, how would you like to have a little coffee date in the morning? It will be a plus with Aiyanna there. She knows exactly what I like!"
"Definitely!" said Steve. "We'll see you in the morning, Aiyanna."
Aiyanna politely waved goodbye to Steve and Miri, got into her car, and quickly drove off. As she sped through the dimly lit roads, her chest hurt as though it had been hit by a bowling ball. Her heart felt crushed. She also felt dumb because she didn't put together the pieces. There was no way Miri could afford the exquisite artwork hanging in her house. Plus, how could Miri afford to throw away $500 and say that money is no issue? Unless Miri's family was wealthy, which Aiyanna knew they weren't, those words would have never crossed Miri's lips.
At work the next day, Aiyanna felt sluggish and out of focus. Her concentration went into even more distortion when Steve and Miri floated through the door. They sat at Miri's same spot by the window in the middle of the cafe. Aiyanna prepared Miri's hazelnut coffee with a slice of marble cake and a blueberry muffin for Steve. She walked quickly towards their table, but she was so out of focus she did not pay attention to her footing. Aiyanna's foot seemingly wrapped around the leg of a table before Miri's, throwing her completely off balance. Instantly, she reached for the empty chair at the end of the table, but she missed. The coffee flew out of her hand as well as the marble cake and blueberry muffin. The two pastries landed on the floor right before Aiyanna fell over like a tree. Her face went into the marble cake slice while the cup of coffee cartwheeled twice causing the lid to come off and the hot liquid to spill out. It all landed on Aiyanna as she slid across the floor and crashed into the leg of the table where Steve and Miri sat.
"Ooooohhhh aaaawwww," she groaned in pain.
Immediately, Steve got out of his chair and helped Aiyanna sit up. The coffee shop manager came running to her side.
"What happened, Aiyanna?" the manager asked.
Miri said, "She was bringing us our orders, but it seemed like she either slipped or tripped. I'm surprised the coffee didn't burn her, but oh, sweetie, there is a bruise on your arm and...oh my goodness! Your lip is swollen and bleeding!"
Not only that, Aiyanna's entire body ached. Although the coffee did not burn her skin, she felt as through she had been stung by needles. Her head hurt more than anything else.
The manager said, "You don't look like you're in shape to work any further. Your shift is almost over anyway. Go ahead and clock out early. Besides, your hair and face are a sticky mess now."
Both the manager and Steve helped Aiyanna to her feet.
"Go put some ice on that lip, hun," said Steve. "Drive home safe. I hope you feel better."
"I'll come over to check on you," Miri said.
After wiping the marble cake from her face, Aiyanna got in her car and drove away. On her way home, her emotions went haywire. First came embarrassment from her slip and fall at work, her swollen lip, coffee stained work uniform, face covered in marble cake, and now, sticky, hazelnut smelling hair. Then came anger. How on earth did she let yesterday's events get to her like that? It was dumb to even think that Miri would ever have any kind of feelings toward her, especially due to the age gap and the fact that she had a rich husband! Aiyanna's feelings were so intense she didn't notice the speedometer had gone up to 70 and she was in a 45 mile zone. Snapping out of her trance, she slammed the brakes causing the tires to squeal.
"Oh fuck!" she yelled. "Dammit, Aiyanna! Get it together! Get over that woman already!"
After regaining some form of composure, she drove the rest of the way home, this time, staying within the speed limit.
As soon as she arrived home, she dropped her purse and shoes by the door, stripped off her work uniform, left it in the living room, and jumped into the shower. Each drop of the steaming hot water stung her body, melting her aches and pains away. She washed her hair and body with extra soap to get rid of the embedded smell of hazelnut coffee. When she made sure she was thoroughly clean, she turned off the water and flew open the curtain.
"Dammit," she thought out loud. "I forgot my towel."
Dripping wet and naked, Aiyanna opened the bathroom door and started to make her way to the bedroom, but she nearly screamed seeing a figure sitting in the living room.
"WHAT THE FUCK!"
It took her a second to realize it was Miri.
"Take it easy!" Miri shouted trying to calm Aiyanna down. "It's me!"
Aiyanna shook her head in bewilderment. "Damn, Miri! You couldn't knock or call? Are you trying to have me go through another slip and fall?"
"The door was unlocked," said Miri. "I knocked several times and you didn't answer. Then I turned the knob and the door opened. That's when I heard water running, so I knew you were in the shower. I didn't want to scare you by walking in there, so I waited for you out here.