On Friday, everyone had marks from the previous week´s exams. The group average did turn out to be 98.7%. Mary ran another review and estimate – the prediction for that week´s exams was similar.
“Now, all we have to do is keep working at this level,” Tom said. “I was kind of worried at first, but I seem to have gotten a lot of confidence from working with the group. Thanks.”
Will said, “Okay, now something else. Thanksgiving is only a couple of weeks off. What are everyone´s plans?”
Anne began. “I´m going home. It´s not just that I want to, I think it would be hard to justify not going, seeing I live so close.”
“I´m going home, too,” said Tom. “Sigrid lives not too far away from me. She´s asked me to come to her place, meet the family.”
“Uh-oh. Sounds like you´re being set up for something serious,” Will said.
“Actually, when I found out she lives nearby, I suggested it. I really like her.”
“Good for you, Tom,” Mary said. “I´m staying here. I want to work a lot with the horses, and anyway, it´s really too long a trip to go home.”
“Saul?” asked Will.
“Home. Tom, why don´t we try and take the same flights?”
“Fine with me, if we can get cheap seats. I´ll see what Sigrid´s doing.”
Alex volunteered, “I´ll be here.”
“That´s three of us,” Will noted. “Mary, Alex and me. See Henry at the Art School – the girls know him, he´s the instructor of their life study classes. Henry and his roommate have a house over on 23rd Street. He said any of us who want could house-sit for them while they go home for the weekend. We can have it Wednesday night to Sunday night. Okay with you?”
“Sounds terrific. I´ll be glad to get out of the dorm for a while,” Alex said.
“Want me to make Thanksgiving dinner?” Mary asked. She got kisses from the two men.
“How about we all meet here Sunday night, when we get back?” Anne asked. “By then, I know I´ll be wanting to see you all again and tell stories. I´m going to want your bodies, too.”
Will smiled, “I´ll make sure there are plenty of English Muffins.”
“Guys,” Alex got up and dug in his case. “I´ve got something here I want you to look at. See what you think... I asked Will to lend me a couple of sketches the other day and I took them and scanned them and played with them a little with one of my graphic programs.”
He handed around several envelopes made of thick, quality letter paper.
“Take a look at the paper inside these envelopes and tell me what you think.”
They pulled the sheets from their coverings. Each was heavy, high-quality rag letter paper with a name and address printed in one corner. In the other corner was a small, extremely simplified version of one of Will´s sketches.
The sketches had been nudes. Alex had scanned them, reduced detail and cut away whole sections. The picture of Anne, for example, showed her hair and profile, a shoulder and the sweep of one bare breast. In all, perhaps an inch and a half high, sexy, but in an intimate, simple and non-exploitive way. Saul´s was similar, stressing his powerful pectorals and semi-shy smile.
Will said, “Alex, these are great! You´ve really caught in miniature what I was saying in the larger drawing. I really like these.”
Anne asked, “It makes me look just as I want to appear to people I know well. When can I have a hundred of these? This is now my official stationery.”
“Me, too,” said Mary, holding up hers. In the tiny design, her braid fell between her breasts and disappeared into the page. “It looks like me as I really am, but it doesn´t look like I´m saying ‘Hey, look what a great piece of ass I am´. Or ‘Available by the hour´. I´m going to use this a lot... Except when I write mom.”
They laughed.
Alex said, “As far as quantity, that´s not a big deal. I could get that done anywhere. What I´m thinking of is…”
“Can I guess, Alex?” Anne asked.
“Go ahead.”
“Well, I think this is a great idea for personal stationery. We could offer people a sketch and make the note paper from it and have it printed. Be a great product for, say, girls who want to write sexy letters to their guys.”
“I don´t really need a sketch, Anne,” Alex said. “I can do pretty much the same thing if I take a picture with a digital camera. Here´s one I did of myself that way.”
He passed around a page whose digitally created sketch of him was in the same style as the others.
“Greater and greater,” Saul said. “Means Will doesn´t have to sketch every horny girl on campus.”
“Say, Saul, that´s not really such a bad idea, you know. Don´t start limiting my options.”
Anne suggested, “Will, how about we offer two products? You sketch the cuties, or rather, those who are willing to pay extra; we photograph the rest. The high rollers get the sketch as well as the stationery.”
“Anne, I love you. I´m game.”
“Just looking after your love life, Will. Don´t want you to feel fenced in.”
“If we get good response from those things we sent out this week, you may not have time,” Saul said.
“Well, we´ll see what happens. Won´t we?”
.oOo.
After her riding class on Saturday, Mary put Sarah´s saddle on The Bay and, riding Hero, led him around to the office. Sarah came out and looked him over.
“He´s been really sweet when I groom him lately.”
“He´s probably trying to set you up as a new source of apples.”
Sarah came down the steps, took The Bay´s reins from Mary. She went to him, talked to him and rubbed his cheek. The horse moved firmly into her hand. At his side, she leaned against him, picked up his near fore-foot, set it back down. Finally, Sarah set her foot in the stirrup and gently mounted the tall horse. He looked at her, but hardly moved.
Sarah and Mary rode through the yard. Some of the other riders, ones who knew The Bay by reputation, gathered and watched.
They went into the big ring. Sarah worked with The Bay for a few minutes, not pressing him, just getting acquainted.
“I think you´ve already taught him a few things, Mary. Of course, I´ve never ridden him before, but he´s in pretty good shape.”
“He´s had some training. Not a lot. I´ve taught him maybe five new cues. There´s a lot of work to do, still.”
Shortly, they left the ring and went riding through the woods, cantering up and down the ride. When they had given the horses good exercise, they went back to the barn. Sarah took off her saddle and groomed The Bay while Mary put Hero away. Sarah gave The Bay his apple.
“I´d be careful who you let ride him for a while, Sarah. I want to wait until he acts up on me once or twice before I let him be available to just anyone.”
“What do you mean, ‘acts up on you´?”
“He hasn´t had a relapse since I got him calmed down. I want to find out what sets him off, if anything. When I know that, I´ll know his weak spot and we can work with it.”
“Makes sense.” They walked toward the office. Will came toward them from the school ring, where he had been sketching.
“Sarah, Mary, I need to learn how to ride. I´m not going to be able to draw horses really well until I know how to ride them, too.”
Sarah said, “I won´t put you in with the girls, Will, I promise. You can work with me when I do adult classes, though.”
“If you want to ride Hero when I school The Bay, Will, he´ll teach you everything he knows.”
“Guess we´ll work it out. Thanks.”
“Mary, there´s a Western Pleasure Riding show over Thanksgiving weekend. On the Friday. If you´re here, how about going with me? See what it´s like.”
“Yes, I´ll be here. I hope you don´t figure to get me to enter.”
“No. No matter how good you are, you´re not ready. You need to see some of the competition, learn what you´d have to do. Then, Practice. Practice. Practice.”
Mary laughed. “Saul says that´s how you get to Carnegie Hall. No. I´m not ready.”
Will said, “Saul´s right. So is Sarah.”
“I know. Yes, Sarah. Let´s go and take a look at what the big guys do. You coming, too, Will?”
“Of course. I´ll bet Alex comes, too.”