‘That FUCKING WHORE!’ Hana thought as she packed her bags. ‘That back-stabbing bitch-face CUNT!’ It wasn’t the infidelity she minded as much as the dishonesty. Just last night Bonnie had the 8 inch strap-on inside Hana as she was whispering “I love you” in her ear!
It had been Bonnie’s idea, a few weeks ago, to exclusively belong to each other, “Let’s keep the dancing just on stage just for customers. But these lips…” she said, caressing her lips with Hana’s fingers, “They’re just for you.” She gently kissed Hana’s hand that she was holding. “And these lips too…” She said as she directed the hand to her pussy lips. Hana had laughed, but still used her hand once it got there for what Bonnie wanted.
Then tonight, the strip club where Hana worked closed early when some messy customer vomited all over the speakers and short-circuited the whole sound system. She had decided to surprise Bonnie at the casino where she worked as a showgirl. She brought dinner and flowers - a small pot of some live miniature orchids. Bonnie was suspicious about cut flowers but loved potted plants. So she’d brought her some white-pink-violet miniature orchids in a cute little ceramic pot, along with some chinese take-out. She was let backstage by the friendly bouncer who knew her just to find that bitch Bonnie getting straddled by her ex and making out with her bitch ex girlfriend who Hana hated. The two showgirls in full costume were kissing for what seemed like an eternity before they even noticed Hana was there.
She dropped the chinese food and noodles and shrimp went everywhere. The potted orchid she threw at Bonnie’s face. Bonnie ducked and the plant hit the mirror behind her and the mirror shattered. “Hana! Please!” The ex-girlfriend current home-wrecker was way too slow to get up as Bonnie struggled to push her off.
“Don’t come home tonight! I’ll be gone tomorrow morning and I don’t want to see you ever again!” She waited until she was back in her car to start crying.
She had half packed up her stuff before the crying started to give her a headache and she knew it was time to crash. She grabbed some blankets and fresh pillows and slept on the couch. Alone in a queen bed where Bonnie’s side was empty would not have been a good place to stop crying. She set an alarm for 5am. She had a long drive ahead of her and also wanted to get out well before that sloppy, lazy, cheating bitch came back from whichever whore ex-girlfriend was stupid enough to believe she’d not cheat if it was with them.
Thankfully, she had a deep, dreamless sleep. One thing she knew how to do was run herself tired and crash at just the right time. Things always seemed better in the morning - mistakes less devastating and goals less daunting.
Hana finished packing up all her stuff. They’d lived together for about 6 months, but still the lease and all the utilities were all in Bonnie’s name. Hana was a month behind in rent and about to be two months behind. Today was Halloween. She looked at the fairy wings hanging on the wall: one set white and blue; the other white and violet. Fairy was an easy costume. It was pretty much just a slutty outfit with wings.
Fuck Bonnie if she thought she was getting any rent money from her, but Hana still only packed up what was hers, which wasn’t much. The only thing she took that technically wasn’t hers were the white and violet fairy wings.
One thing she did have was a pretty nice tent. It was a long drive from Vegas to her mom’s house in Albuquerque, but she’d break up the journey by staying in her tent at Jackalope Ranch for the Samhain festival. It was free and it was sober. Two things she needed in her life right now. Bonnie wasn’t exactly an alcoholic, but almost. Hana had certainly been drinking a lot more than usual just to keep up with her.
Hana threw the last of bags into the back of her white Jeep Cherokee: the only thing she owned in the world. Strip clubs weren’t exactly the kind of places that required a formal two week notice. Their only requirements for employment were youth and beauty; Hana had both. Already she was getting excited to move on from Vegas and see her mom again. Hana’s mom was very supportive and could probably just make a few calls to get Hana a job as a stripper in Albuquerque if that’s what she wanted. She had the drive to think about it. Maybe she’d go back to retail somewhere.
Leaving Las Vegas by Sheryl Crow was blasting on repeat on her car stereo. She kept it playing on repeat until she reached the Arizona state line. There she skipped to the next song and whipped away the last of her tears for the romance that never was.
About an hour into Arizona, she paused the playlist and called her mom.
“Hello?”
“Hey, mom”
“Hey sweetie! How’s Vegas?”
“It’s in the rearview. I’m coming home for a bit. After the Jackalope Samhain festival, I'll be back home on the afternoon of the 2nd.”
“Are you going there to detox? Are you coming down from something?”
“No, mom! I’m not coming down from drugs, I’m coming down from Bonnie! She was a cheating whore and I caught her at it.”
“Oh, honey… I’m so sorry. I never liked Bonnie anyway. You’ll be ok. There’s plenty of guys or girls who’d be lucky to have you. Maybe a guy this time? My neighbor’s son is coming home for Thanksgiving and I want you to meet him. I’m telling you, if I was younger, I’d not be telling you about him because I’d be keeping him for myself.”
“Gross, mom.”
“He’s not just a dumb jock but he does have a football scholarship and is studying to be a doctor. I want grandchildren, and I’d appreciate it if the father wasn’t a woman with a turkey baster of mystery sperm!”
“Haha, gross. I’ll be there for Thanksgiving, but I’m not making promises to any studs you’re trying to pimp.”
“I’m not a pimp! I’m a mother with a daughter who gives me no hope for accident babies because she keeps dating women.”
“I do go both ways, but you know if you try and push me towards someone I’ll probably end up hating them so don’t try too hard to push me to be a doctor’s wife. What I’ll need is a job. Does Cheryll still own that jewelry boutique at the mall?”
“Yes. I’ll give her a call to see if she needs any help. I also heard they’re opening a new Tiffany’s here so that might be a good place for you to get a job that could turn into a good career. I’ll make some calls and maybe have some interviews set up for you when you get back. But you have some fun at Jackalope, OK? Love you baby. You’ll always be my baby no matter what dumbass Bonnie tries to cheat.”
“Thanks, mom.” Tears started to well up and she needed to get off the phone before she started crying again. “I’ll see you on the 2nd! I’ll call from the road when leaving Jackalope.” She hung up the phone and blasted some Doja Cat. It’s not that she couldn’t cry in front of her mom, it’s that she preferred not to. She needed her to think she did a good job in making her stronger than she was.
She started thinking of her parents and how happy she was when they divorced. She loved them both, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out they weren’t good together. Her caucasian mother had been as lazy as her Japanese father was strict. He’d come home from working all day and yell at her for “sleeping all day.” They could never figure out how to work together or rest together; she was 5 years old when they divorced and still remembered them being amazed that she wasn’t upset.
“That’s ok. I want you both to be happy and you two don’t make eachother happy.” she told them. Her mom had burst into tears at that, so both she and her dad went over to comfort her. Her parents worked much better as friends than as married, and they had still managed to stay some sort of family even after her dad remarried and moved to Santa Fe.
She never really wanted for anything. Her dad was on time with child support and her mom made good money as a photographer. The last time she’d seen them fight was when she told them both together she was moving to Vegas to work at a high-end strip club that had a great hourly rate plus great tips.
“This is your fault that she wants to be a prostitute!” he yelled.
“She wants to be a dancer who doesn’t get paid in peanuts!”
“Dancing for drunk assholes is not an art! She’ll be in danger because you never taught her enough self-respect!”
“Or she has enough self-respect to take money from idiot men who think they can buy what’s not for sale!”
“GUYS!” Hana had intervened, “Stop it. I’ll be working out and learning amazing choreography all day. And protected by the best bouncers when on stage. It’s my decision and I don’t need this slut-shaming bullshit for dancers whose job doesn’t include any slut activities.” The job had turned out to be pretty fun. But it wasn’t half as fun as clubbing after hours with Bonnie… back when she thought Bonnie was trustworthy.
By the time she’d reached New Mexico she’d let go of most of her resentment towards Bonnie. By the time she was pulling up to the gate to Jackalope Ranch, she was mostly just excited to be there. This was only her second festival here; her first one had been Beltane two years ago when she was 19. She loved the serious but friendly air of the Jackalopes - what she called the men who lived there.
“Hello and welcome to Jackalope Ranch” said a friendly man who was working the gate. “Have you been here before?”
“Yes. About two and a half years ago.”
“Name and picture ID?”
She showed the man her license. “Hana Takahashi”
The man scrolled down a list on his work pad, “Ah, here we go. We do have your signed waiver here on file.” He handed back the drivers license. “Welcome and Happy Samhain!” The gate opened, and Hana drove on through, pausing for a bit for the first gate to close behind her and the second gate to open before she drove on through to the community compound. Workers were at every turn directing her to the parking lot and where to park.
Unpacking and all that could happen later. Right there beside the side of the car she stripped down to her white bra and panties. She donned a long sleeve white tee with a violet floral pattern and jeggings with the same pattern, then a purple mini skirt over that and purple boots with sturdy flat soles. She checked her makeup. All she’d put on that morning was some eyeliner and it still looked fine. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Everything she owned she left in the car. She pulled out a small black purse with a long strap that went over her shoulder. On top of that she strapped the fairy wings to her shoulders but it felt wrong with the purse strap getting tangled in it. She took them off and threw the purse back in the car. She took out a shiny silver fanny pack and it fit pretty well strapped around her waist above the miniskirt. Then she donned the wings and put what she needed in the fanny pack: car keys, flashlight, taser. Locking the car behind her she was hoping it would be the kind of trip where all she needed would be the keys and the flashlight.
Just then, the dinner bell rang and she realized how hungry she was. She joined the crowd making its way to Warren’s Hearth. This place had a special magic. Formal introductions were frowned upon. Usually whoever just went up to whoever and started talking about whatever. The intent in the air to be always respectful and occasionally friendly was almost palpable. Everyone here was of age and some people were different degrees of naked. Fine for now but the temperature in these mountains would drop pretty quick when the sunset.
Rabbit meat from the rabbits they raised themselves was the only meat they ate here but it was amazing the different ways they’d dress it up. Tonight they were serving rabbit meatloaf along with mashed potatoes and sauteed asparagus. She served herself a big plate and a big glass of lightly sweetened green tea. They had several different 10 gallon glass jars with different types of tea, then a pump dispenser of a runny, easily dissolved simple syrup for people to sweeten to taste. It was like everything here was about options and consent and she loved it.
She sat with a group of people dressed as fairies and almost felt under-dressed. Most of them had elaborate makeup and some full on masquerade masks. Tomorrow afternoon to tomorrow night would be the concert with a medley of different bands. The Jackalopes loved to do things in 12 hour blocks and tomorrow noon to midnight was the Samhain concert. Tonight was just the Samhain bonfire drum circle. The fairies got up to frolic to the fire temple fire pit. They called for her to join but she waved them a friendly see you later that was in no way a goodbye. She needed a moment to ground herself and to finish her dinner.
An older, tall, thin, black woman with a shock of white hair came down and sat beside her. “Brave of you to dress as yourself tonight.” The old woman was wearing an elegant black dress and carrying an emerald green purse, and didn’t seem to be in any kind of Halloween costume herself.
‘Is she making fun of my lack of costume?’ Hana thought to herself. “I’m dressed as a fairy.” She said in her defense.
“I’m not here to make fun of your lack of costume,” the woman said as if she read the thought behind the statement. “I honestly think you're brave and very close to the eternal now. Look around my dear, you’ll see most faces here have either heavy makeup or full on mask. They mock death, thinking their costumes are wishes for a version of themselves whom death cannot see.”
Hana was not afraid of witches, and at this point she’d bet this was not the kind of woman who arrived by car. “Do you think I’m unwise for not wearing something more spooky or strong tonight?”
“Oh no, my dear child. Your boots are in the ground and your simple makeup accentuates your natural beauty perfectly. The beauty of life is easy to find for those who don’t hide from death. Those wings you're wearing might as well be yours; how you wear them so well.”
“Thank you. I don’t know what to say.”
“Thank you is the perfect thing to say. Look tonight for people dressed as themselves and you’ll find people as brave as you.” And just like that, the old woman gave her a warm smile and got up to go on her way. There were no introductions. There was no ‘Tell me your net worth so I know how to treat you.’ It was just the kind of conversation that made her feel seen and appreciated.
Hana took her dishes to the kitchen then made her way to the fire pit. There were 4 large statues of the same lage dog with goat horns; each was cut out of red marble. These statues were facing the four directions, and in the center between them was a large fire pit with about a twenty foot diameter. She’d arrived at just the right time. The wooden pallets stacked in the middle of the firepit were about to be lit.
There were people with all sorts of percussion instruments around the fire circle. Some had metallic handpans; others just had deer hide drums; others had more modern drums. All these musicians were seated outside the larger circle made by the fire god statues; the circle between the larger circle and the actual fire pit was just for dancing.
An Elder Jackalope, a man with a headdress that held the horns of a pronghorn deer, quieted the crowd by raising his hand in the air. When all were still and silent, he began, “A single spark can become a symphony of sound when the right time meets the right place! Tomorrow we will hear musicians gift us with their well practiced skills, but tonight!... Tonight we will hear anyone with an instrument and anyone with a voice join together in finding harmony within chaos. Soon enough there will be a bonfire that will burn through the night, but the one thing we ask of you now is to start slow and quiet with your sounds as the fire grows. And roar with the fire as the fire roars!” There was a loud applause after the speech that quickly fell back into silence as the Elder approached the fire pit with his lighter.
He lit the kindling at the base of the woodstack. Whispered yelps and soft drumming began.
Hana went right into the dance circle. The space between the dancers was like the empty space in a masterpiece: just adding to the fullness of the figures between them. People were fluid and the energy between them was extremely exciting in a consensual kind of way. Of course it was. Countless eyes were on that circle and the fear of public shame was just enough fear to wake people up to the importance of playing by the rules. Within all boundaries is limitless potential and the rule of respect usually wasn’t called into question at gatherings. People were just there to have a good time in a way that added to others’ good time and everyone knew it.
There were all sorts of characters casting shadows from that fire: some spooky, some slutty, and everything in between. It was a lot of fun to pretend the characters were exactly as they were dressed: not costumes but just regular clothes for all sorts of creatures.
Then a man stepped into the dance circle who interested Hana. He was very handsome and fit the exact description from the oracle she just met. Between fairies and dragons, stepped in this ruggedly handsome young man who was just dressed as a person. He was wearing a lightweight white hoodie and gray jeans. His clothes were tattered and old, but clean and form-fitting. He was somewhere between slim and built in all the right ways. He was a little bit shorter than Hana, which she loved. Her father had been shorter than her mother, and the only good thing about their relationship had been how he had never pressured her to wear flats or been ashamed to get on his tiptoes to kiss her.
Inconspicuously, she danced closer to the short king with fair skin and mousy brown hair. His eyes weren’t just blue, they were ice-blue; husky dog eyes. She decided to just turn around and back into him - easy for him to back away awkwardly if he wasn’t interested. But he stayed where he was feeling the music and felt her back with his hands when she got close. In a friendly way to let her know he was there in case she hadn’t seen him there. She didn’t shy away from his hands; she grabbed one and wrapped it around her waist. He got the message and went with it with all the right kinds of enthusiasm. In the cacophony of sound, they found the slowest beat and rocked to it as his hands explored her front with her back pressed against him.
She could feel exactly how excited he was as he was pressed against her and she was ready to fuck. She thought of just fucking right there on the dancefloor, not against the rules but also not at all private. She knew this place had open surveillance and didn’t feel like the surveillance cameras capturing every moment was the kind of rebound sex she needed.
“Wanna take a break with me?” she asked
“Sure,” he said; completely shamelessly sticking his hand down his pants to flip up his boner so it could rest against his waistband until it went down.
They went to a water station that was just beyond most of the drummers and got a couple glasses of water. Some long wooden benches were at this outer circle and they took seats at the end of one.
“I’m Lance,” he said, looking directly at her.
“Do you want my given name or my fairy name?” she asked, amused at his directness.
“Whatever you want me to call you is fine. But I’m a conservative liberal so once you give me a name, it’s the only thing I’ll ever call you.”
“Haha, in that case, I’ll tell you my given name. It’s Hana.”
“That’s a beautiful name. So do you want to go back to dancing some more or do you want to ride me like a pony?”
“Haha… both. Let’s dance some more then fuck. I’ll lead you off the floor when I’m ready.”
He scooted closer to her and put her legs over his. “Where are you sleeping tonight? Do you have a nice tent?”
“Yes but I forgot to set it up. I was gonna just sleep in my car tonight.”
“I have a private house here. You’re welcome to spend the night if you’d like to. Cuddling is better than sex sometimes.” They made out for a few minutes.
“Haha! Is that what you call cuddling?” She asked before she started kissing his neck.
“I mean, if it’s part of it, that would be nice too.” His hands were on her lower back and caressing her in a way that made her want to purr.
“Alright SlutPup, let’s dance some more” she said, jumping up. “The night is young and I wanna be worn out before you lay me down!”
“Haha, only you can call me SlutPup. That’s your special privilege.” He followed eagerly. It was adorably like a dog wagging his tail.
The foreplay was keeping his half-hard cock semi tight against his jeans. He’d playfully break away to cool down and she’d playfully chase him. A couple times she whipped him in time with the beat with an imaginary whip that he responded to like it was very real. Then she’d pull him close and grind to the music in a rhythmic and soothing way. Soon his hoodie was off and tied around his waist. His smooth, muscular body was glistening with sweat and she loved his clean, natural smell. It was like fresh moss and cut wood. She licked from his collarbone to his earlobe. He was whimpering with pleasure and she loved it.
They had danced for an hour that seemed like just a flashing moment. She wasn’t close to worn out but she was ready to wear out the eager boy. She grabbed his hand and led him out of the dance circle.
* * * * *
Lance had never been with a woman, but he wasn’t about to tell Hana that. She seemed to know what she was doing, and that definitely helped him feel more comfortable.
He led her back to his private home that was a big one-room building on the outskirts of the compound. It was a high tech building in a modern age where Jackalope Ranch was metaphorically a city on a hill - a community that led the way in balancing open surveillance public space with respectfully private personal space. Lance put his right hand on a scanner pad beside the door to unlock the door as he opened the door with his left hand. “Welcome to my humble home.” He wasn’t exactly a clean freak, but he was a minimalist with good cleaning habits and was proud to show his well cared for space to his new friend.
“Really nice place! And I love the view,” she was looking out the large front window that overlooked the stained glass roof of the bathhouse.
“There’s no cameras outside but sometimes mobile cameras fly by. I’m just going to tint the windows and turn on some lights if that’s OK.”
“Sure, go ahead.” She took off her fairy wings and hung them on a wall hook. She shimmied out of her miniskirt and hung it on a hook beside them. Lance’s pulse quickened.
He went to the smart-house control pad. He’d set the windows to be tinted during the day and clear at night. It didn’t take long to set the windows to full tint and turn on some mood lights that were pretty close to candle light - without breaking the rule of no fire outside the fire pit.
Hana was already taking off her shirt and jeggings. Lance dropped his pants so he could be in just underwear - same as her. She slowly walked towards him and took off her bra as she did. Her breasts were medium size and just the right size to be all perk with no droop. Lance went forward to meet her and cup her breast as he moved her nipple to his mouth. Her moans of pleasure drove him mad with desire but he still was slow and intentional with every move. He gave her other nipple some attention with his mouth as they moved to the bed. She sat down, then moved up the bed so her head was on the pillows. Lance took off his socks and underwear. He slid off his boxer briefs to reveal his rock hard cock that was already dripping with precum.
Slowly, he crawled over her to grind his cock against her wet panties. They made-out passionately for just the right amount of time before they broke apart for some air and Lance made his way kissing down her body: from neck, to chest, to nipple, to other nipple, to slowly kissing down the navel. Then he shimmied her panties off her to reveal a tight little pussy with neatly trimmed pubes. He didn’t know exactly where the clit was, but he knew it was somewhere at the top. So he started at her belly button and kissed all the way down. When he got to the top of the pussy he started licking his tongue around in little circles. She definitely liked that. And her moans just got louder as he grabbed her ass and pressed his tongue into her; exploring all up and down the pussy; intoxicated with the delicious taste of her.
He came up for air. “Do you want me to fuck you?” The moment seemed like it needed a check-in.
“Fuck yea, SlutPup. I want you to cum inside me.”
She didn’t need to tell him twice. Like a pilgrim ready for some missionary work, he positioned himself on top of her - supporting his weight on his elbows. He slid inside her wet pussy and they both let out a moan and a sigh. He loved the feel of her legs wrapping tightly around him, pulling him in.
How hard the kisses were let him know how hard to fuck. They both had stamina for it in a way that just energized the other. He loved the feel of her nails on his back. He hoped they left a mark; he wanted them to. Soon, he was pounding hard and really enjoying every feel of her every touch.
“I’m getting close!” she whispered.
And that’s all he needed to ramp up the speed to just where he knew it would send him over the edge. It was like a little death of two falling stars that enjoyed every second of falling and enjoyed the end of the fall most of all. They lay there together, panting. They moved so he was on his back and her head on his chest. They talked long into the night about any and everything until they both drifted off to sleep at about the same time.
* * * * *
Hana woke up the following morning to find herself alone. She didn’t know where she was for a minute until she joyfully remembered the love making of the night before. ‘But where did that mutt go off to?’ She thought as she scanned the room that was still dimly lit with romantic lighting. There was a note on the bedside table, “Doing some morning farm-work. Make yourself at home. The door is set unlocked so feel free to come and go. We have all tonight for more of the same if you’d like to. I definitely would like to. XOXO -Lance.”
His handwriting was awful, but the note was one of the sweetest notes she’d ever got from anyone. She’d definitely keep it in her journal box if it made it from this house to her car without getting lost in the wind.
She got up and went to the smart-house control pad and figured out how to set the windows to half-tint and brighten the lighting. It was a cute house and very well decorated. She appreciated how well everything fit together in the morning light. There were a couple tables, a dresser, and a small bookshelf / altar below a framed poster of the Earth God. It was a beautiful green leaf design behind a large figure of a black rabbit with white specs. The specs were designed to both give the rabbit dimension and seem to be like the stars from the view of an advanced telescope. There were jackalope figures everywhere on the ranch, but she loved how their avatar of the Earth God was just a natural rabbit with unnatural coloring. She loved the way this poster was a centerpiece in Lance’s house.
On the opposite wall was the only other wall art in the space. It was a framed poster of about the same size but no altar underneath it. It was Odin Allfather. She knew not so much from the symbols as the only readable english words in the Nordic Design were the words “Odin Allfather” that came together under the throne of a man with a winged helmet and ravens circling around him. It was a really cute home that fit the attitude of the cute guy she’d just been with.
She checked the door to make sure it didn’t need Lance’s hand scanned for a key. It was a regular, unlocked door. She went to the restroom, then came back for her stuff to move it all, note included, into her car and grab a toothbrush, a towel, and a change of clothes.
She got back to the house to find Lance sitting on the bed with a large bowl of fruit salad that had two forks. “Hey!” he said, beaming. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to spend the day together, but I got back as quick as I could and I brought some breakfast!”
They spent the day together and had a great time. They went skinny dipping at the bathhouse pool. Hana had no problem with public nudity, but public sex was a boundary of hers and she loved the way Lance respected it. They danced together at the Samhain music festival in a relaxed way where it was sometimes together, sometimes with others, and sometimes apart but in a way where they always seemed to find their way back to each other.
That night was better than the previous one: multiple positions and multiple orgasms. She knew he was committed to the community there and a two night commitment was all she wanted to get over her last one that had blown up in her face. Good men are hard to find. Most of them either get too attached too fast, or refuse to attach themselves to anything other than their own delusional narcissism. Lance seemed like a good man but she knew he’d probably not do well in a city. She loved that he loved the land and was excited to come back to the occasional festival to see more than just the visitors passing through.
* * * * *
Lance had some of the best sex of his life last night, but he still woke up at dawn, as was his custom. He knew he’d have a sleep debt for a couple days and going to bed a bit early would be necessary, but it was worth it. He had intentionally told himself to wake up on time or earlier today. He wanted to give Hana something before she left today, and wanted to surprise her with it. He wanted her to know he didn’t take lovers lightly and she’d always have a special place in his heart and home.
He slipped out of the warm sheets and her embrace to get dressed in the dark. Silently, he left the house and closed the door.
He’d arranged with a friend the night before to cover his usual morning work today. Quickly, he made his way to the art building. It was locked to the public at this time, but he was a full-rights resident. Scanning his hand opened the door. He went to the wall of free frames and chose his favorite four. These were frames in perfect condition that had been accidentally made to the wrong size, or for whatever reason, were now free to residents for whatever projects.
He went to a monitor that had access to the surveillance cams. And rolled all the video of Hana and his time together in public space. In a snoopy mood, he rolled back Hana’s time from when she first arrived too. But then quickly got back to the task at hand. From their two nights of dancing, he got four freeze-frame images and printed them onto some quality paper. Two from images from Oct 31 and two from Nov 1; one from each night of just Hana and one from each night of them together. He cropped and edited the images until he was satisfied with the photo quality. He drymounted the prints onto some acid-free foamcore. Then, he cut glass and matt borders for all four and fit them into the frames. Quick finish of D-rings drilled into the back of the frame and hang-wire taunt between, and he ran back to his house.
He wasn’t too quiet coming in to see if she’d sit up when she heard the door, and she did. “Good morning! I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“You did, but it’s ok. What have you got there?”
“I made something for you to remember me by.” He showed her the framed photographs.
“Wow! Lance! These are really beautiful! I love the flames of the one with us dancing in front of the bonfire. Thank you. These are great.”
“I’ll make you some everytime you visit if you like…” he said sheepishly. They both knew she was leaving today, and couldn’t visit again until Yule.
She got up and gave him a great kiss. “Thank you for the pictures and thank you for a wonderful time.”
