Chapter Twenty Two
Linka sighed and laid her head on Wheeler's shoulder as the warm water cascaded over them, and he kissed her shoulder in return. They neither made a move to get clean nor initiated any further love-making, but stood under the shower head, contentedly naked in each other's arms.
The American savoured the curves of her soft skin as they pressed against him, thinking that nothing could be more perfect than being with her, while she marvelled at the connection she felt with him after each joining. This, she was sure, could not be the behaviour of two people only using each other's bodies for convenience.
The sound of the Geo-cruiser returning made Wheeler groan, and reach for the shower gel, "Dammit, I was hoping for a little alone time for once."
"Oh," The Russian immediately began to wonder if she'd been too clingy. "If you want to slip away for a while I can make an excuse for you…"
She was silenced with a kiss, "Not without you."
"But we were alone all day yesterday," Linka kissed him back, letting him wash her but apparently in no rush to speed things up. "Or have you forgotten already?"
He grinned and pointedly handed her the bottle of liquid soap, "Not likely. It's just never enough that's all, and it's always sneaking around behind the other's backs. Just once I'd like to be able to relax and spend time together at home like it's normal." He sighed and then thought about what he'd said and added quickly, "Not that I'd change what we have been doing, I just didn't want it to end yet… you know?"
Linka nodded, trying to find the words.
She was in fact very confused. When the Wind Planeteer had asked her lover to tell her the words she'd want to hear from her husband the night before, she'd assumed it was a harmless game to enhance the moment. It hadn't turned out that way though, it had felt absolutely real and everything he'd said and done since had seemed to confirm it.
Consequently she was afraid she was being too naïve; that she was only hearing what she desperately wanted to hear and that she would lose him entirely if she said the wrong thing, not to mention making a fool of herself which she couldn't bear.
She hesitated too long.
"Linka? Are you in here?" Gi's voice through her bedroom door made her turn away in embarrassment, though she knew the Water Planeteer wouldn't enter.
"Da, I am just taking a shower, I will not be long." She called back, conscious that Wheeler too had looked away and was now being quite efficient about getting himself clean.
The Asian sounded excited as she continued, "Well hurry up! There's an Art Festival going on, on the mainland. We spotted it on the way back, it's going to be so much fun!"
"Ok, I will meet you in the kitchen." Linka breathed a sigh of relief as her friend finally departed but it was short lived since Wheeler stepped out of the shower to dry himself off.
"Looks like I'm gonna get that alone time after all." He said sourly.
Hating that their rapport had evaporated so completely, Linka reached out to rest a hand on his arm, "Will you not come with us?"
Wheeler sighed and his shoulders slumped. "Yeah. Sure." He shook his head, "Whatever."
Linka turned the shower off and stepped out, oblivious to her nudity, "Yankee, please?"
"I said I'd come." He shrugged and tried to concentrate on drying himself. "Do you expect me to be enthusiastic about it as well?"
"Nyet," She replied with obvious annoyance, "Neither do I expect a sulky three year old whenever you do not get your own way. Perhaps you should stay here after all."
She returned to the shower and closed the door, swearing that she'd tell him where to go if he tried to follow her and feeling incredibly disappointed when he didn't.
Wheeler was cursing himself. First he'd tried to push her into a relationship she clearly didn't want and then he had, as she had said, thrown a tantrum when his plans were overset.
Sitting at the back of the 'cruiser he tortured himself all the way to the Festival with imagining the exact words she'd been going to use to let him down gently. He supposed he should be grateful for Gi's interruption, but at the time there had been just that small spark of hope that she was going to say that she wanted more too, and he'd been completely devastated when she'd looked away.
Gi was almost bouncing with delight when they alighted from their craft and was quickly drawn to some street performers enacting a play on a makeshift stage.
Kwame attracted at first to the sound of a Chinese zither, was soon caught up in some new age music performances while Ma-Ti became fascinated by the brightly coloured craft booths, offering both wares to purchase and instruction on making them yourself.
Wheeler, who was hoping that Linka would let their argument slide if he didn't act that way again, asked her cheerfully, "So Babe, what do you want to do first?"
She shrugged, and began to wander slowly along the street without direction.
Wheeler fell in beside her, "There's a lot here, I don't think we'll get around it all."
"You do not have to stay with me." She said, her voice tightly controlled.
The Fire Planeteer dropped the happy act and replied quietly, "Yeah I do, I told you I wanted to spend the day with you."
"Not like this," she countered, "and not with all these people."
Wheeler looked around at the crowded street, strangers of all sorts laughing and having fun, oblivious to the strained conversation going on in their midst. "They don't count, they don't care what we do and you don't care what they think. Right?"
She shrugged again and he took her hand, gently but firmly leading her over to a quiet spot at the back of the booths. He took her other hand then and leant down to catch the gaze that had been avoiding him. "Babe, I'm sorry, don't be mad at me, please?"
Linka looked into his eyes at last but remained silent, waiting for him to say something more.
"I got caught up in it all and I forgot..." He sighed. "Look, let's not fall out over this ok? We have something good, I don't want that to change because of one bad mood and I know you don't either."
Linka nodded slowly feeling like she'd lost something she'd never had, and let him pull her into a hug. He didn't try to kiss her but held her to him in a way that made her feel like he didn't think they had long left.
"Hey look!" he exclaimed, releasing her and pointing to something behind her.
Linka turned, made off balance by his sudden change of mood - he apparently had no such apprehensions as she had attributed to him - and saw a collection of easels with a few people milling around. She looked back at him in confusion.
"Look at the sign, it's a painting class. It's on your list, remember?" he said excitedly.
"The last thing..." she agreed, not as happy as he would have expected.
Wheeler took her hand back in a warm clasp, and correctly judging her mood, said, "We'll add more."
Her smile finally broke out and she agreed, allowing herself to be led over to the artist who was helping her pupils set up.
They took the last two places, and the guy who happened to have selected the easel between the empty ones made a show of moving so that they could be next to each other.
The guy was young and what Wheeler thought Gi would call 'hot'. Linka might think he was just being nice but the American knew better, and sure enough every time Wheeler glanced his way while their teacher was giving instructions, the guy was staring at the Wind Planeteer. Fortunately Linka was absorbed in the lesson.
Wheeler sketched the collection of bottles, shoes, fruit and other assorted knickknacks that constituted their still life, onto his canvas with ease, while Linka was plainly struggling.
Their teacher Anne, stopped behind her to suggest that she focus less on the detail and just plot out the various shapes instead, it was just a guide for the paint after all. The 'hot guy', whose name was Angelo, also weighed in but his suggestions were vague, "I tend to go for more of an impressionist look for my sketches but then I've been a professional artist for several years now. Though of course I love having the opportunity to work in other styles and learn from my colleagues."
Anne rolled her eyes nearly making Wheeler choke. She'd already offered the young man some advice and he'd ignored it. She was old enough to be his mother and had been a teacher professionally for a few years and she no longer had the patience to persevere with people who didn't want to listen.
She wandered around the class a little longer and then suggested they start mixing their paint, demonstrating different techniques and recommending they experiment with all of them.
At that point it seemed to click for Linka and she placed her brush strokes with confidence. The American however felt like he was trying to tie shoe laces with mittens on.
"Arghh," he groaned at last, drawing both Linka and Anne's attention, and to his annoyance Angelo's who laughed loudly at the indistinguishable blobs and wonky lines.
"I give up," he shrugged. "I guess there's more than one way I resemble a three year old, huh Babe?"
Linka tried to hide her giggles, "You cannot be good at everything."
He gave her his kooky lopsided grin, and then turned to their teacher as she placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "You showed some real promise with your original drawing, why don't we try some sketching instead?"
Wheeler agreed and went with her to sit at the side of the class with a drawing pencil and pad. He began again with the still life and made a couple of drawings that Anne was pleased to praise, but it couldn't hold his attention for long.
Angelo seemed to have given up on his own artwork, which was annoyingly good anyway, and was completely focused on Linka. He helped her exchange her canvas for a new one and she began work again, laughing at something he said to her.
Feeling the Fire Planeteer's gaze on her, Linka's eyes flicked up to meet his and she smiled, warming his heart and calming his irritation.
Wheeler began a new sketch, one he spent much more time over and all of Anne's gentle suggestions were assiduously listened to and applied, making him a firm favourite.
"You are hard at work Yankee moy?" Linka's voice made him look up and he smiled. "The class is over, we need to go so that Anne can get ready for the next."
"Sorry." He replied sheepishly, "Guess I got into it."
She sat on the bench beside him, pleased by his interest since it was an item on her list. "Can I see?"
He handed it over and she gasped at the beautifully rendered image of herself, "Is that how you see me?"
"Well no," he said defensively, not understanding her reaction, "I'm only a beginner Babe, I think you're beautiful, you know that. My drawing's never going to come close!"
She looked again at the image which in her opinion had a quality to it that she would never see in the mirror, and then put her arms around him. "Jason this is wonderful, do not doubt yourself..."
"You both have a lot of talent," Anne said, "I wish I could teach you full time, I hope you'll keep it up?"
"Da, we will!" Linka told her, positively glowing at the thought, "I will go and buy the things I need today."
Wheeler laughed affectionately, "So do I get to see your masterpieces?"
She blushed but nodded and the three of them walked over to her easel.
"Oh Babe, wow!" Wheeler stared in wonder at the rendering she'd made of the cove where they'd been skinny dipping the first time. "It's incredible, you're amazing!"
"As I have been telling her," Angelo said from behind them, causing Wheeler's fists to bunch at his side, "I think she has done this before after all, yes?"
Linka laughed and shook her head, "Only a little at school and nothing like this, but when Anne explained… it just finally made sense to me." She looked at the older woman and told her a sincere, "Thank you."
The artist hugged her, and then handed her a card. "Pupils like you and your boyfriend are the reason I still come to these festivals, my blog is on there and there's an artist's community where you can post pictures of your work. I want to see your progress."
Both Planeteer's promised to keep in touch, then took their work and headed for the Geo-cruiser. Wheeler was surprised and pleased that Angelo hadn't offered his contact details as well, but then he thought that maybe he'd already given them to Linka, and his mood waivered dangerously.
Propping Linka's canvases up on the back seats of their craft, Wheeler looked again at the ocean view and said, "That really is something you know, I wasn't just saying that. Wait 'til the other's see it."
Linka blushed prettily, she was far more susceptible to his praise than the other artists' if he'd only noticed. "I loved doing it… it is more abstract than I intended though."
"I can see where it is." Wheeler grinned, "I have very fond memories of that spot."
"So do I," She confessed, and let him pull her into his arms and kiss her with a great deal of relief on both sides.
Their closeness restored, the Wind and Fire Planeteers walked hand in hand along the street at the edge of the festival and eventually moved away, and down onto the seafront looking for a restaurant for lunch.
"Perhaps we should call the others…" Linka sounded hesitant and her companion took advantage of it.
"Nah, they'll all take ages to get here because they're absorbed with whatever they're doing, and then they'll all want to eat somewhere different so that it'll be hours before we find anywhere."
"Hungry Yankee?" The Russian asked laughing.
He squeezed her hand and agreed, though he mostly just wanted to keep her to himself. "Starving!"
They found a quiet little café with outdoor seating and after giving their orders at the counter, sat themselves in the shade with the cans of drink they'd selected.
"I hope we can find the shop Anne recommended." Linka said, relaxing as she took in the scenery.
Wheeler grinned, "We passed it didn't we?"
"Did we?" Linka blinked, and re-focused on his face. "I am sorry Jason, I just never thought that painting would be so…"
"Easy?" He suggested.
The Russian shook her head, "It is not easy at all, I still have a very long way to go before I will be comfortable calling myself an artist, it is not something you can learn in one lesson." Laughing, he agreed with her, thinking of his own efforts. Her face softened in sympathy but she continued, "I was going to say that I did not think it would be so energising. I loved it, I know that I said I wanted to learn properly but I did not really think it would go beyond a few lessons. Now I am motivated to teach myself until I excel."
"That's great Babe, and I know you will, you can do anything you put your mind to." She thanked him quietly, pleased and embarrassed by his faith. "So do I get to keep your first effort, you know the 'one before she got famous'?"
Linka laughed with him, "Only if I get to keep the sketch you did of me?"
Her companion rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, "Yeah, if you want it."
"I do."
They were interrupted with the arrival of their respective lunches which they re-arranged to their satisfaction with practised ease, that is she took the slices of fresh tomato and cucumber from his plate and he took the onion rings from hers.
"So, are you going to keep drawing?" She asked at a convenient moment.
Wheeler shrugged, "Sure if you want to pose for me. I kinda enjoyed it but I'm not much interested in concentrating that long on anything else."
"I would like to try painting you too," She agreed, "It will be a lot harder than a sea scape though."
"You could add me in to one," He gave her a wicked glance, "I seem to remember you saying I resembled a Greek statue."
She choked and went very red at the recollection, "Yankee! I did not mean to paint you in the… without… like that! Is that what you meant, about drawing me I mean?"
Her eyes had gone very wide and the Fire Planeteer was laughing so hard that it brought tears to his eyes, "Oh Babe you're priceless! Yeah, I'd love to draw you 'without', I'll add it to my list!"
By the time he'd finally recovered himself her embarrassment had transformed into amusement, "I do not think I could make you just a statue though Yankee, how about the centrepiece to a working fountain?"
He was about to answer in kind that she should also be a part of that tableau, when a family came and sat down at the next table. He glanced their way then leant over to whisper his response in somewhat graphic terms which made Linka's face return to its rosy hue, "Wheeler!"
Placing a kiss on her cheek he turned his attention back to his lunch and they kept their conversation on safer topics until they were ready to leave.
At the art shop Linka's enthusiasm returned so after selecting a drawing pad and set of pencils with an eraser, the American sat on the staircase that led up into a gallery while he waited for her to find all of the things she needed.
He watched in affectionate amusement as she debated between various mediums, wanting to try them all but not being able to afford more than the basics. When she was finally done and brought her selections to the till, Wheeler grabbed a set of assorted canvases that she'd been torn by and handed over the money for them. "You'll need these too."
"Jason… nyet. The sketch pads will do for now, you do not need to do that."
"I know I don't need to," He shrugged, "I want to… if it bothers you, you can give one to my Mom, she'd like that."
Linka gave him a slightly horrified look, "To hang beside Trish's?"
He laughed, "Not 'til you're happy with it, but sure, why not?" She was still hesitating so he added, "Seriously Babe, it's not a big deal, it doesn't come with an obligation."
"I know that," She looked so surprised that the tension that had begun to build in him evaporated, "I just do not think it is fair for you to spend your money on me."
"What else am I gonna spend it on?" he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close and she unconsciously leant into him. "I like seeing you this happy, it makes me happy. Let me spoil you for once huh?"
"Spasiba." Conscious that the shop keeper was watching them Linka pulled away but the light in her eyes told him everything he needed to know.
The old man at the counter rang up their purchases saying in a friendly way, "You two make a quite a picture. You've been together a while now, I can tell, but the spark is still there. That's what keeps it interesting…" he started telling them about his own long and happy marriage, to which they listened politely, neither one of them seeking to correct his assessment of their own relationship.
To be continued…