Part 9
Okay, another update on time in the bank. Yay! I always had a warm thought for authors and artists who updated their projects regularly, I never knew I should have sent them quantities of alcohol (or substance of preference within certain legal and contractual limits) until I had this brilliant idea to serialize a story. It works so well for the first few weeks with the schedule you set up for writing and editing and posting it all....and then you have a life lesson and it all goes to hell. I want to run across one of those life lessons that the tv shows used to air, the ones narrated by Lavar Burton with rainbows and such. My educational TV these days has Mr. Crappy the bitter Paperwork Gnome with leprosy. He Craps! He misfiles! He has no extremities!
Bugger. Now I keep seeing that as a web comic.
Damn my eventual need to self sabotage!
Enjoy the story guys.
"I found this looking forlorn in the kitchen and thought we could use the company." He wheeled it into the room so mother could pour but she motioned to me with her head and kept on with her embroidery. Father smiled and gave the trolly a shove parking it in front of me. Freed of it's support he moved very slowly carefully placing his feet so that his limp would only slow him instead of tripping him. Many years of familiarity guided him to his chair without mishap, normally he would have a stick to help him but the furniture had been arranged to present a hopscotch pattern of support should it be required. "So Luther, what is it that you do?" Father said.
"I have employment with a natural history museum restoring exhibits and preparing diorama for public display as well as for private instruction."
China rubbing together alerted me to the fact that I had lowered the tea pot till the spout was scraping the rim of the cup. If ever I had fantasized about having employment I would have wanted, no, lusted after that very situation. Having access to someone in such a position that happened to be kindly disposed toward answering several hundred questions…
"You have the undivided attention of our Cora," Father was smiling now. "She has an interest in that field."
I felt his question as he looked at me, "I occupy my personal time with the research and recreation of unknown species from the various scientific expeditions to which I can obtain access." I handed mother a cup of tea and stood to take father his cup. "How do you take your tea Mr. Strasberg?" I said pivoting back to the trolly.
"Black with lemon if there is any, sugar if there isn't." He replied promptly.
Luckily we had lemon for mother, it was hard to come by with any regularity this far north. I set about getting the maximum juice in the cup without spraying it in my face or sending pips flying about the room. I turned back to him and proffered the cup and had to try not to stare as that thin limb slid out of the cloak and under the saucer stabilizing it and curling over the far side edge to lock it in his grasp. Another limb circled the cup twining around the handle and lifted it to his face. The movements were so precise and almost dainty that they seemed out of place on his frame. He caught me looking and winked, so quickly I could have been mistaken. I couldn't help smiling at him, it was so absurd.
I turned to my chair and saw my parents had been watching us, I blushed suddenly. They looked so content and knowing sitting there holding hands with their tea. A postcard picture of the perfect proud couple. I sighed internally as I pushed the little pang of resentment further down like a hot marble in my throat. They had worked so hard to have a life together and sometimes it was so perfect and exclusive it hurt. I would never wish them less than they had, but I couldn't help resenting just a little how much it bound them up in one another, and how much it reminded me I was always alone.
After the tea and scones had gone down I was asked to show my work and with both parents discussing the finer points of the animals I drew out of their boxes and Luther asking attentive questions I lost another hour. By that time I was cramped and stiff from kneeling on the floor and stretching back and forth between the seated figures. I had been handing little figures of fish to Luther for some time before I realized he was only far enough away from me to preserve decency and had been very comfortable rolling up his sleeves and exposing the many limbs. At one point he was holding his teacup, three maquettes, and a small box I had absently handed him. My first thought was how handy it would be to have someone like that around the house. My second was indecent in the extreme and I thoroughly enjoyed it before moving on.
Standing took some time and was accompanied by odd popping noises as my knees reacquainted themselves with standing. I began to ferry my boxes back to their bench and stuff them under it. On the second trip Luther was standing with the rest of the stack balanced in front of him. I motioned to him to follow me and went back to the work room stooping to place the boxes under the table as he handed them down to me. He was so quiet I nearly smacked my head on the underside of the table when he spoke.
"I should arrange a tour of my museum and work spaces for you, if you have achieved this much without guidance you could be quite extraordinary with an education in craft."
" I would very much like that, so many of the scientifically minded institutions allow women only in selected parts of the exhibits that they think don't go over our heads. A chance to see how the displays are constructed would be invaluable. " I straightened to show him my face, how much I wanted what he offered me.
"Shall we go for a stroll? Your excellent scones have rendered me in need of a constitutional and I understand there is a park not far from here." He stood aside to let me exit my nook.
"Let me get my hat."
Bugger. Now I keep seeing that as a web comic.
Damn my eventual need to self sabotage!
Enjoy the story guys.
"I found this looking forlorn in the kitchen and thought we could use the company." He wheeled it into the room so mother could pour but she motioned to me with her head and kept on with her embroidery. Father smiled and gave the trolly a shove parking it in front of me. Freed of it's support he moved very slowly carefully placing his feet so that his limp would only slow him instead of tripping him. Many years of familiarity guided him to his chair without mishap, normally he would have a stick to help him but the furniture had been arranged to present a hopscotch pattern of support should it be required. "So Luther, what is it that you do?" Father said.
"I have employment with a natural history museum restoring exhibits and preparing diorama for public display as well as for private instruction."
China rubbing together alerted me to the fact that I had lowered the tea pot till the spout was scraping the rim of the cup. If ever I had fantasized about having employment I would have wanted, no, lusted after that very situation. Having access to someone in such a position that happened to be kindly disposed toward answering several hundred questions…
"You have the undivided attention of our Cora," Father was smiling now. "She has an interest in that field."
I felt his question as he looked at me, "I occupy my personal time with the research and recreation of unknown species from the various scientific expeditions to which I can obtain access." I handed mother a cup of tea and stood to take father his cup. "How do you take your tea Mr. Strasberg?" I said pivoting back to the trolly.
"Black with lemon if there is any, sugar if there isn't." He replied promptly.
Luckily we had lemon for mother, it was hard to come by with any regularity this far north. I set about getting the maximum juice in the cup without spraying it in my face or sending pips flying about the room. I turned back to him and proffered the cup and had to try not to stare as that thin limb slid out of the cloak and under the saucer stabilizing it and curling over the far side edge to lock it in his grasp. Another limb circled the cup twining around the handle and lifted it to his face. The movements were so precise and almost dainty that they seemed out of place on his frame. He caught me looking and winked, so quickly I could have been mistaken. I couldn't help smiling at him, it was so absurd.
I turned to my chair and saw my parents had been watching us, I blushed suddenly. They looked so content and knowing sitting there holding hands with their tea. A postcard picture of the perfect proud couple. I sighed internally as I pushed the little pang of resentment further down like a hot marble in my throat. They had worked so hard to have a life together and sometimes it was so perfect and exclusive it hurt. I would never wish them less than they had, but I couldn't help resenting just a little how much it bound them up in one another, and how much it reminded me I was always alone.
After the tea and scones had gone down I was asked to show my work and with both parents discussing the finer points of the animals I drew out of their boxes and Luther asking attentive questions I lost another hour. By that time I was cramped and stiff from kneeling on the floor and stretching back and forth between the seated figures. I had been handing little figures of fish to Luther for some time before I realized he was only far enough away from me to preserve decency and had been very comfortable rolling up his sleeves and exposing the many limbs. At one point he was holding his teacup, three maquettes, and a small box I had absently handed him. My first thought was how handy it would be to have someone like that around the house. My second was indecent in the extreme and I thoroughly enjoyed it before moving on.
Standing took some time and was accompanied by odd popping noises as my knees reacquainted themselves with standing. I began to ferry my boxes back to their bench and stuff them under it. On the second trip Luther was standing with the rest of the stack balanced in front of him. I motioned to him to follow me and went back to the work room stooping to place the boxes under the table as he handed them down to me. He was so quiet I nearly smacked my head on the underside of the table when he spoke.
"I should arrange a tour of my museum and work spaces for you, if you have achieved this much without guidance you could be quite extraordinary with an education in craft."
" I would very much like that, so many of the scientifically minded institutions allow women only in selected parts of the exhibits that they think don't go over our heads. A chance to see how the displays are constructed would be invaluable. " I straightened to show him my face, how much I wanted what he offered me.
"Shall we go for a stroll? Your excellent scones have rendered me in need of a constitutional and I understand there is a park not far from here." He stood aside to let me exit my nook.
"Let me get my hat."