A/N: hello again, everybody. I know it has been a while since you have last received a new chapter of Mamiwata. But here it is now. This chapter is quite long, I know, yet this will be not only worth the read, but also to make up for the elapsed time between chapter postings. In any event, here is Chapter 6 of Mamiwata! Enjoy! :)
Elaine woke up, in Jerry's arms, to a couple of phone calls the following morning. The first one was from Conn, asking her to come into the store and head directly into the studio they had met in the day before last.
The second one was from Elaine's Aunt Florence, who was calling to let know that her dress was ready. Elaine suggested that her aunt bring it by the store she worked at. Aunt Florence obliged.
Afterward, Jerry and Elaine snuggled up with one another.
"Good morning, Lainey," Jerry said, with a smile on his face.
"Good morning, Jerry," Elaine said. Granted, she went by Elaine. However, when Jerry addressed her by this name, she declared, "okay. You will be only person upon the face of this earth who will ever be allowed to call me that!"
"Agreed," Jerry smiled. "May we kiss on that?"
"Yes, we may," Elaine said, going in on a kiss to her newly minted boyfriend.
"Want to have another round?" Jerry said, smiling at his newly minted girlfriend.
After a brief pause, Elaine answered, "how about…in the shower, since we both need to get going."
"Agreed," Jerry said. He and Elaine went into the bathroom for a quick shower. Elaine pinned up her hair before getting in. The two of them enjoyed their shower together, being further aroused and turned on as they were in bed the night before. The new lovers went at it together, without getting Elaine's long, thick, curly mane of hair wet.
Afterwards, the two of them dried each other off with the same bath towel, then got dressed, had bowls of cereal together—Cap'n Crunch, for those mornings Elaine needed to run, this being one of them—before each headed on for their respective days. Jerry to look into further opportunities to further his comedic prospects, Elaine on her way to the department store for another day on the job.
The couple parted with a kiss on the lips.
Upon arrival at the department store, Elaine's Aunt Florence met her with a garment bag containing the dress she had submitted for her aunt to put together. Elaine, upon checking in, slipped into a dressing room to try the dress on. As Elaine came out, she was confronted by Conn, who asked both Elaine and her aunt to join him in the studio he was working in.
Upon meeting Aunt Florence, Conn was kindly taken back by how they were both aunt and niece, particularly given Elaine's light-skinned complexion and her Aunt Florence's dark, coco-colored complexion. The three of them talked on their way to the studio area.
"So, I see she is your aunt," Conn asked.
"Yes," Elaine said.
"Oh, I see" Conn said, adding, "well…even better!"
The other models gawked at how beautiful Elaine looked in the gown she designed and that her aunt had put together for her. Conn, Elaine, and Aunt Florence struck up a trialogue between the three of them, while Conn began photographing Elaine.
As much as Elaine had designs on working in the fashion industry and working further in designing dresses and various other styles of clothing, she often wondered about what it was that people saw in models which drew people to them all over the world.
"It does seem silly to make a living as a human clothes hanger," Elaine chuckled, wearing her rainbow-colored dress, holding her arms stretched out, as Conn photographed her.
"I never figured you for quite an underachiever, Ms. Benes," Conn said, walking away from her for get another angle at photographing her.
"Oh, I am very much an achiever," Elaine said, "It's just that I'd rather make the clothes rather than wear them."
"Did you make that?" Conn asked, replying to Elaine's very dress.
"Yes, I did," Elaine said, smiling, "me and my tailoring department right here," pointing to her Aunt Florence, who smiled and took a brief courtesy for a job well done.
"Well, I'm impressed," Conn said.
"Thank you," Elaine said.
After Conn responded to her salutation in kind, he continued. "You've impressed me," he said. "What are you going to do with it?" he asked Elaine.
"Sell it," Elaine answered, "this and a whole lot more. An entire collection."
"In Chicago?" Conn said.
"What is wrong with Chicago?" Elaine asked.
"Nothing," Conn said, "that a trip to Europe would not cure."
"This is a long way from Europe," Aunt Florence chimed in.
"No question about that," Conn said, "In fact, they'd love you in Rome."
"How would you be so sure?" Elaine said.
"Because, in Rome," Conn said, "they don't send their pretty things out to get coffee!"
"She don't know nothing about no Rome," Aunt Florence chimed in.
"I know that" Conn said, quickly taking Aunt Florence's photo, with Elaine's auntie giving a quick, painted smile in return. "That's what would work," Conn said walking away from the auntie-niece tandem.
"What would you mean by that?" Elaine asked.
"Your innocence, your glow, your wonder," Conn said, turning back towards them with a smile. "Rome is like a rich old lady. She loves to have her wrinkles covered with pretty young things." Conn then asked Elaine if she knew how to shine.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked.
"Do you know how to dance?" Conn asked.
"Yes, I do," Elaine said.
"Great, come on, let's go," Kramer said.
"Really?" Elaine said, surprised.
"Hey, it's your dress, you're wearing it," Conn said, "let's go!"
On that note, Conn motioned for his assistant to begin playing music out a portable AM/FM Stereo cassette tape deck he was holding. From there, Elaine started dancing. First, she did her usual shimmy-and-kick dance she was known for. Then, as Conn urged her on, she began to pick up the pace, really started moving with all kinds of rhythm, and even turned around the manikins where she and Aunt Florence had been standing, and even turned to give her auntie a kiss, while being lured towards a white background where Elaine spun around hard, laughing, crying out squeals of glee and ecstasy, feeling a semblance of freedom she had never seemed to experience professionally. Yet here she was, spinning around and having the time of her life, as the music was playing in the background. Even the other models in the background were happy for Elaine and enjoyed seeing her moving around, looking as if a star was literally being born right before all of their respective eyes.
All except one.
"What is going on here?" Mrs. Evans yelled. The music continued to play as Elaine continued to spin around and Conn continued to snap away.
Mrs. Evans walked closer towards the area where everything was happening and made herself heard. "What is going on here?" she repeated, even louder.
At that moment, the assistant stopped the music, Elaine stopped spinning around, and Conn stopped the photography. The three of them, together with Aunt Florence, who was happily seeing her niece spinning around, until this moment, gathered around with them. Following a brief pause, Conn began talking.
"Let me tell you something, Mrs. Evans," Conn said, "I have been looking at girls for two days now. Secretary or no secretary, Ms. Benes here is a model and the best person for this shoot."
Mrs. Evans, however, was having none of this. "Oh, dear heavens that is absolutely out of the question", she said, shooting that idea down on the spot, while denying Elaine, out-of-hand, once again.
Conn shot right back.
"Seriously? Who are you trying to shit, Mrs. Evans?" Conn said, quickly incredulous at Mrs. Evans' blatant disregard for Elaine and all of her potential.
"Well, Mr. McKramoy, it is just that the people we work for who are arranging for this entire project have, say, a rather conservative policy and look they would prefer to maintain," Mrs. Evans answered.
"Are you trying to tell me how to dictate my business, Mrs. Evans?" Conn said, very angered over how belligerent Mrs. Evans' attitude was regarding Elaine's involvement and his own sense of instinct of the potential he clearly saw in Elaine which Mrs. Evans refused…or maybe just did not want to see.
Semi-embarrassed, Mrs. Evans walked towards Conn, standing on his other side, and said, "not at all. Now, I never try to tell any person or company how to dictate their business, even if I may, personally, feel very different about it." The company woman, as well as Elaine's boss, not wanting to ruffle any feathers fluttered above her pay scale, quietly then walked away.
After Ms. Evans left, Conn said to both Elaine, and her Aunt Florence, "and you want to know what's wrong with Chicago?" before walking away from the two of them, visibly upset and disappointed. Elaine and her aunt both stood there dejectedly.
The action then moved to an abandoned tenement on a drab, cold, overcast day. There were several of the models more to the liking of Mrs. Evans and her corporate overlords, dressed in all kinds of 1920s-inspired dresses and gowns. Meanwhile, there was one model who was not to the liking of Mrs. Evans, but who was allowed to assist Conn with the photoshoot he was looking to conclude.
Elaine helped moved the models into position. As she did so, she moved to an area inside the fenced in area, near the fence itself, when Jerry showed up. He and Elaine had a dinner date at an Italian restaurant downtown and was going to pick his girlfriend up from the shoot as soon as they were finished.
"What's going on here?" Jerry asked his girlfriend as he approached the fence and was met by Elaine.
"Another ten more minutes, then we can leave," Elaine answered. As the two of them watched Conn work, Jerry queried Elaine on him.
"Is that the guy right there?" Jerry asked.
"Yes, he is," Elaine said. "Watch him move…he is like a dancer or something," she added, remarking about Conn's agility given his 6'4" frame running through the building and through the models posed as they are. "You know, he used to be a combat photographer, yet you would not know that about him, would you?"
"Well, if he hangs around here much longer, he may well become one again," Jerry said. On that note, Conn called Elaine over to set up another shot. Conn then asked for Elaine to grab a patron from behind to fence to be in the shoot. Elaine, upon asking the patron, then brought an elderly Black woman over to stand in front of the old building facing opposite a blonde, white model who was part of the shoot. The elderly Black lady smiled, and she had no front teeth, but her face was interesting enough to feature her in the shoot. Conn sincerely thanked Elaine for bringing her into the shoot. Afterward, Elaine returned to the area of the fence where Jerry was standing.
"How much are these models being paid?" Jerry asked.
"Oh, about $300-500 an hour," Elaine answered.
"How about the old lady? How much is she getting?" Jerry countered.
"I don't know, but that's not important," Elaine answered. "This is fashion, this is not your observational comedy."
"But everything is observational, even this" Jerry said.
"Yes, but you are in my world now," Elaine said.
"With a little color thrown in for effect," Jerry said. On that note, he and Elaine paused to look at Conn at work. In one sequence, he lit a cigarette and put it in the mouth of a middle-aged Black man to smoke, only to have the man cough as if maybe he was not a smoker or maybe too sick to even be smoking.
On that note, Elaine and Jerry continued their conversation.
"He seems pretty fond of you," Jerry said, referring to Conn. "Has he shown you his darkroom yet?"
Elaine took a long, dim look at Jerry before continuing. "Look, maybe I ought to just meet you at the restaurant, ok?"
On that note, Conn called out for her. "Elaine, I have a plane to catch," he said to her from atop of the building.
"I guess you better get over there in case he needs another neighborhood face for his picture," Jerry bitterly said.
"Where do you get off talking to me like that?" Elaine said, suddenly agitated by Jerry's change in attitude and tone.
"I'm sorry, Lainey, but I hate seeing you being sucked in like this," Jerry said.
"Sucked in? To what?" Elaine asked back.
"This whole thing, this whole scene, Elaine…this is all a rip off!" Jerry said, pleading with his girlfriend.
"Jerry, this is my job," Elaine said. "This is what I do!"
"So, this is the dream for you, eh?" Jerry asked her, sighing.
"Yes, it is," Elaine answered. "I am working with the great Conn McKramoy. You don't seem to understand what that means to somebody like me"
"Baby, I don't understand this whole trip," Jerry said, "making clothes for rich people to look at in a magazine. Do you think that means anything to any of these people around here?"
"It means something to me," Elaine countered.
"But hey, as long as you're getting something out of this for yourself!" Jerry said.
"Jerry, are you forgetting that I am from down here, too?" Elaine said.
"Well, I am wondering if maybe you are forgetting that you are," Jerry said.
Elaine felt that further low blow from Jerry. After a brief pause, she responded in kind.
"You know, all of my life, I had to listen to people tell me what I can and cannot do, what I can be and not be, and I have had to balance that with my own inner belief of what I knew I was capable of and what all I could easily accomplish," Elaine said, adding, "I never thought I would ever hear that coming from you!" As Elaine spoke, the more she became hurt and disappointed about a man she had fallen in love with only to hear him voice not so much doubt in her abilities and skills but her making a career in a field he did not have a lot of confidence in, especially given Elaine's chosen field of endeavor.
"Does anything I say make any difference to you, Elaine?" Jerry said, disappointed in seeing Elaine's evidential interest in a field he did have contempt for, "except maybe good-bye?"
"Look, Jerry, I cannot get into this with you right now," Elaine said.
"Honey, you cannot get into this ever," Jerry said.
Conn then chimed back to Elaine from his building perch up high, "Elaine, I have a plane to catch."
However, just before Elaine could return a reply to Jerry, the comedian broke up with her right then and there on the spot, saying good-bye right then and walking away. Before Elaine could say anything else to the departing Jerry, calling his name out faintly, one last time, Conn called her name out again.
"Elaine," Conn called out.
Elaine, having had enough and frustrated that her boyfriend had dumped her on the job, on the spot, turned towards Conn and answered him, barely concealing her frustration, with an exasperated look on her face, "Yes? What is it?"
"There! That's it, perfect!" Conn said, taking her picture, with that very look on her face, right then and there! In a moment, he captured a facet of her raw, unadulterated essence.
A short time later, right outside of the Moxy Downtown Hotel in Chicago, far away from where they were photographing their shoot, just as the sun was setting, Elaine assisted Conn and his assistant in packing their gear, along with the rest of their belongings, into a yellow taxicab which was about to take them to the airport to take them back to Rome. As soon as the trunk was loaded up with their equipment and belongings, Conn approached Elaine on the sidewalk and took one more look at her before having parting words.
"Don't look distraught," Conn said, "you look as if you are sorry to see me go."
Elaine looked at Conn with a sad look on her face. He then went on.
"Well, you were going to be saying goodbye to your friend soon, anyway," he said.
"What do you mean?" Elaine asked.
"Pretty soon you are going to be coming to Rome," Conn said confidently.
"Bullshit," Elaine said, "no way that is happening. You know that and I know that. So please quit saying that."
Conn, however, remained unfazed and kept talking, inching closer towards Elaine in the process. "I don't bullshit, Elaine," Conn said, adding, "there is something about me that you don't know that you need to know. I am the kind of man who is too obsessive to let a very sure pretty thing, such as you, slip through my fingers. You are coming to Rome, and you will be hearing from me."
On that note, Conn walked closer towards Elaine and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. On that note, Conn turned, walked away and got inside the waiting yellow taxicab.
Elaine, still not believe a word Conn said, walked up to the passenger-side window and said, through the glass, in a sing-song kind of way, "Conn, it's been a very wonderful experience," just as the cab pulled away from the curb and drove off.
As the cab headed towards the airport, Elaine looked in that direction, silently wondering if Conn was really coming back for me, or was Conn conning her? All she could do was wonder what was coming next. Her meeting with him gave her all kinds of pause wondering what the future was going to bring her.