“You’re awfully quiet.” They were tangled together, Jon was stroking Frannie’s arm and she had her head on his chest. “You’re thinking about it already, aren’t you?” She kissed his chest before rising up on her arm to look at him, “is that a problem?” He tucked her hair behind her ear, “I guess not, but I just have one, well, maybe more than one condition.” She eyed him warily, “why do I have a feeling I’m not going to like these conditions?” His lip twitched, “I have a feeling you’ll probably hate them.”
She shook her head, “does everything have to have conditions?” She threw back the covers and got out of bed, slightly irritated. Jon watched as she grabbed her dress off the floor, yank it on and head for the door. “Where’re you going?” She turned to him, “to get something to eat. I’m feeling a little hungry now.” She turned and left the room.
Jon pulled on his shorts and went after her, finding her in the kitchen pouring herself a glass of juice. “Pour me some?” She hesitated for half a second before getting out a second glass. She slid it to him and turned her attention to the refrigerator, deciding eggs were probably a safe bet for her stomach. She pulled a few things out and turned back to him, “are you hungry, should I make enough for two?” He nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders, “I could eat.”
He watched her, knew she wasn’t happy with him at the moment but he needed her to understand that because of who he was he needed to be cautious about venturing into something like this. “Frannie” he moved to stand next to her, “you didn’t even hear my conditions yet, how can you be upset already?” She sighed, “I just don’t understand why this has to be so complicated. All I want to do is draw you.” She cracked several eggs into the bowl and was reaching for the whisk when Jon stilled her hands, “you want to draw me naked.” She turned her head slightly to look at him, “I know and you said yes.” He turned her to face him, “I know what I said, but you’ve got to understand that because of who I am we have to be careful.”
Frannie sighed and turned back to the eggs, “I know. I’m sorry. I just forget sometimes ‘who’ you are. What are your conditions?”
Jon just smiled; he loved that she could ‘forget’ his other self so easily. He hadn’t known many that could, but she had no problem with it. He sat on the stool, “first, my kids can’t see it.” He watched her, waited for her to say something and when she didn’t he continued. “Second, it has to be tasteful.” He caught her frown, “what?” She poured the eggs over the potatoes and mushrooms that were already in the skillet, turned and pointed her spatula at him, “you think I would do anything other than tasteful? What kind of artist do you take me for?” He smiled, “all right, I’ll concede on that one. Other than Tico, you’re the best I’ve seen.” She stirred the eggs and choked back a laugh, “I think your nose grew on that one.” “Hey!” He tried to look insulted as he felt his nose, “it did not…, well maybe just a little, but I do think you’re fantastic.” Frannie rolled her eyes, “any other conditions sir?”
He watched her stir the eggs, she wasn’t going to like this last one at all. “You can’t show it, sell it or auction it off. You have to keep it.” Frannie shut the burner off and turned to him, “then what’s the point of me even doing this?” She dished up eggs for him and slid the plate across the counter, “here, enjoy.” He looked at her, “what about you?” She headed for the sliding door, “I suddenly don’t have an appetite any more. I’m going for a walk.”
How could he ask that of me? She didn’t understand. Maybe she should just forget about it. Was he the wrong person to ask this of? A question came to mind and she wondered if the answer would change his mind. She sighed and turned to head back, not surprised to find Jon watching from their villa. She walked back toward him and let him gather her in his arms when she got close. “You walked away from me.” She nodded her head, “I know; I needed to think. I have a question for you though.” He pushed her hair out of her face, tracing circles on her shoulder with his finger and thumb, “ask away.”
She took a breath, “What if you were told you can write your songs, record them but can’t share them, that no one would ever hear them but you. How would that make you feel?” He opened him mouth to say something and then closed it again, he hadn’t thought of it that way. Letting what she had just asked sink in, he understood now what he had asked of her and why it was bothering her. It would have pissed him off if someone had asked him that. What was the point of going through all the work if you couldn’t share the end product?
He sighed and rested his forehead against hers, “I’m sorry. That was as shitty thing to ask of you.” He kissed her lightly, “how about you do the drawing and we’ll decide at the end if it’s something we want to share?” She looked up at him; his eyes were sincere, “okay, I think I can live with that.” She kissed him, “what do you say we go back inside now and not talk about this again until we get back home?” Jon nodded his head, “okay” and he took her hand and they went back inside.
5 comments:
Always with the conditions! lol Though I agree on the one about the kids... I liked Frannie's analogy. It was perfect, and really made him think.
Good job, Steph!
~ H
It was a good analogy, but still hardly the same thing. Jon's condition that the drawing be tasteful was insulting and unnecessary and I'm surprised she took that so well! But perhaps Frannie might understand Jon's position a bit more if he wrote a song with intimate details about her life, things she prefers to keep private, and then recorded it and played it publicly where the "subject" of the song would be readily apparent? I understand her position, but I can also see his and I'm not sure Frannie is being reasonable here either. I hope that their relationship can weather a disagreement as people have a right to have their privacy respected. Great chapter, tho, Steph, as it begins to show the real life conflicts people have with those they love and the difficulty they encounter in getting beyond their own egocentric perspectives. This was an interesting twist in the tale and makes me curious to see where it goes next! I also really liked the fact that it was a thought-provoking chapter that challenges us to think about our own assumptions and values! What a great way to shed more light on the characters and how they think and feel about things (beyond my own selfish desire to see a nude drawing of Jon, LOL!) Seriously, great way to keep us hooked and wanting more!
I agree with Opester.
Drawing Jon sitting in a chair and drawing him naked is two different things.
Just as writing a song about love is different from writing a song about their intimate relationship.
I hope Frannie will see the light.
Yeah I just can't see Jon letting her draw him naked, I mean totally naked.
I agree with Jen's comment..
Sorry I didn't get here sooner Steph but you stopped notifying me of new chapters and I have been with out a computer for a couple of months. I have a new one now, so I need to get caught up...
Well done!
Artists create for themselves ... not for others. The fulfillment doesn't come from the ability to show their work. Jon doesn't write songs with for the purpose of sharing it. He writes because he needs to. If when the work is done and an artist wants to share it, then we, the viewer are lucky.
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