Ayden's eyes 59
I couldn't believe my eyes; they had designed the range around my paintings. Fairy folk, roses, butterflies and Ayden's eyes were everywhere, plus Evan's beautiful butt. Five separate lines, each line featuring a painting I had done. They had chosen six colours from my works for the base and down one side of the shirts and shorts were my paintings. The note said Bobby helped with the colours and he was perfectly spot on. I looked at board shorts, T-shirts, singlets, thongs, caps, dresses and towels.
"What's going on Bubs?"
"Well you now have something to fill up your space in the shop."
"You mean you have; this isn't for me, it's for you, I know it is."
"No, it has to be licenced through you and these are your copyrights, not mine."
"Then I'll sign them over to you and you can bring it in through your business. Evan I have more than enough, this is for you, I know that deep down this is your gig." I had to push this onto him. I paint, the shop is his.
"I can't take it off you Den."
"Look there's Ayden's Eyes, your bum, the rose garden, fairy folk and butterflies. They have used two of Ayden's paintings and three of yours Bubs, so you already own the copyright to at least three of them."
"What about Ayden?"
"Don't worry about it, he can't sign things anyway; you do this line bubs, please. Rory has given you the names of contacts in China for samples. It all sounds so easy and his agent will do the quality checks. I'll sign the copyrights to the paintings over to you, done deal." I leant in and kissed him.
"Den he's done sixties day dresses, evening wear and carry bags and mum's roses for the ladies."
"Good, I hope Rita buys some." I laughed as she took the pages off Evan and she and Susan cooed at the designs. I think she's going to order some.
"Den this is endless, we can get some of the tank tops framed and you can sign them for the walls, they can be yours to sell."
"We could too, what a fantastic idea."
"You and Ayden will have to take a commission Den, but we can argue about that later."
Horse grunted again then grabbed some of the designs to look at. He smiled and shook his head.
"How do these people come up with this stuff, they are just mint Evan?"
"They are good at their craft Horse, like Den, like you and Tony, like Rita and Susan, they are creative and yes they are awesome."
"Then you do them bub."
"You don't mind Den?"
"Of course not, it's either you do them or they don't appear at all. I haven't got the time and it's your shop. Don't ever forget that."
I was pleased he was taking this gift; I don't need money but I need a happy lover. It was a half hour later when a car pulled up and two guys wanted to talk to Evan about a jet ski. After starting one up and showing the guys the price, they happily drove away with a bright red one. I said to bubs,
"It's an omen, look, your range is bringing you luck already."
"Okay how about we do this, I rent your licence at say ten percent of the final price. I also put the same into Ayden's bank, the rest I bank for us for a rainy day."
"Good, I agree Bubs, when and where do we start?"
"Well I have to ring Cody and Rory to thank them, and then I suppose I ring their agent in China to get the ball rolling. But I will ask them how it's done." He then took his phone into the shop.
He was just as excited as I was and so was Ayden when he arrived back. Well he was more excited about the small bowl of ice cream and cake Spud brought down for him. The boys grabbed the pages and started looking through them and Spud was over the moon and quite excited.
"We will have to get them to design the same for you Spud. Three D
T- shirts would be awesome." I smiled.
Evan sang out,
"Put five of your best paintings aside Spud, send Rory the photos and they will get them sorted." He giggled as Spud went white.
"Are you okay my dream boat?" Ali held him but all Spud could do was nod yes.
"I think you had better lie down for a bit my 3d man," Ali tried but Spud held on.
"I have to eat my scorpion prince." He then sat down heavily.
"Why didn't we think of this before Den, that's amazing."
"Spud don't you know by now we are always the last to know?" I laughed and Ayden laughed with me so I looked at him and said,
"One, two, three, wheeee."
I was starting to teach him his numbers, but Horse looked at me strangely as he pulled Ayden onto his lap.
"Home schooling, teach him his numbers."
He looked at Ayden and laughed.
"Give me a one to ten bubs."
"One, two, dree for five, ten." And on Ayden went and when he finished he nodded at Horse who kissed his cheek and said,
"Well done me lad."
While everyone at the table clapped, I stared at Horse. It's officially true,
nobody tells me anything.
When Evan got off the phone he had a long list of things to do so he went to the cafe and printed off another one that had been emailed to him.
That one was an order for Rory and Cody's shops, they wanted to keep the range too. I believe they have one each in London, Paris, New York and of course Milan, plus his six outlets in Australia. That's a sizeable order for Bubs, he was beaming and he didn't even know his prices yet.
He rang the agent who asked Evan to email the drawings and colour samples to him, plus photos of the paintings. He should expect a parcel in the next couple of weeks which will contain the samples, so all we will have to do is okay the colours. It will be a big undertaking for Evan so I hope he doesn't miss out on his afternoon surf.
"Den, these dresses are divine, can I order one for me in size eight?"
"Already done my love, only one, or do you want four or five?"
"One for now I think, I will need something for Cyn's wedding." I looked at her and laughed, you are so going to get something special for that day. I will ring Cody tonight.
Evan was still on a high but he had to go for an afternoon surf so I rang Cody back to thank him for what he had done.
"Don't forget my shop order Den, and I want mate's rates too." He giggled down the phone.
"Umm Cody, can I ask you for one more favour?"
"Shoot my friend."
I asked him to pack up a cocktail dress, an evening dress and three day dresses for Rita, size eight. Then I explained what it was all about.
"Done, I will have some made for her and Den, make sure Aisha sees them when she's here next."
"For sure, she will probably want a room full Codes."
"I'm thinking she might too, she's already a customer of mine. I believe she's beautiful although I have never seen her, she shops at the Milan store."
"I will send you a photo, and your right, she is awesome, inside and out."
"Thank you my friend."
I hung up feeling very satisfied with myself then went back to my painting. I mused over the kid in the green shorts, he was a little out of wack. Like unsteady on the board but his big smile made me laugh, it was so cool. I spied Cynthia as she pulled up outside Tony's showroom, she waved and indicated she will be over for coffee in a minute. She dashed around to the side entrance as Abs rushed up from the beach. Same as Ali and Spud, the dirty buggers. I have no idea when they are getting married but I want Rita's wardrobe to be fully stocked for all occasions. The evening dress I wanted for Christmas eve, I think we could all dress up that night, just to show her off.
We are coming up to Ayden's third birthday and now we have to actually buy him presents he wants. We can no longer pass off some plastic toy as a major gift so I will talk to Evan about it, maybe he has some ideas. I went back to the painting and worked away for the next hour then I heard Cyn and Abs come up the stairs. Ayden walked out rubbing his eyes and I know that look, he needs ten minutes more. I picked him up and cradled him in my arms and my not so small baby dropped off again.
"Is the container yours Cyn?"
"Yes Den, just about everything I own is in it. I only have a car load to bring tomorrow and then I can settle in."
I knew she had no kitchen yet but Jack was working away at it so it should be delivered in a week or two.
"What cooking facilities have you organized?"
"I will use Rita's kitchen Den, or Tony's for the time being. Kitchens are always the last thing to be installed in a new build I believe; I hope it's nice."
"It's stunning Cyn, Tony has done you proud."
"Thank you too Den, I believe he talked you and Evan into going shares."
"We did and it's our pleasure." I lifted her hand and kissed it. She held up a paper bag and then started taking little statues out of it. Birdy was a production line gone crazy. Six individual carvings of zoo animals, and they were amazing. I asked Cyn if she was going to sell them as one or split them up. She said she will put them on as a group, she hoped to get at least twenty grand for them.
"My sister is coming on the weekend to help me set up Den, she knows her way around my web site so it frees me up to do my showroom."
"What's her name Cyn?"
"Michelle Den, she has an autistic son, he will be with her. He's no trouble, he just needs watching with the road and the beach. I will talk to the boys about keeping their eyes out for him."
"What's his name and how old is he?"
"He's fourteen and his name is Shannon." Got ya.
I stood up with bubs in my arms and lifted the cover off my painting and asked,
"Is that him Cyn?"
She was speechless, of course it was him, but she looked closer.
"Umm, uncanny resemblance Den, very uncanny."
I laughed because she wasn't going to concede I had shocked her.
Bubs woke up and started to wiggle down to the floor so I steadied him, then he took one step and fell over.
"Steady on bub, wait until you wake up properly."
"Okay dah, bubs okay." Then he attempted it again and headed slowly for the cafe.
"Nanna, nanna, nanna," he shouted.
"What?" I heard.
"Juice for Ayden pleeeease."
"Coming right up sweetie."
I helped Cyn check over her carvings and as usual they were faultless.
"When I left Tony's he was trying to show him how to carve the tables but poor Birdy wasn't interested. I think he thought Tony would put him to work." She giggled.
"He's not though is he?"
"No, he wanted Birdy to have a go just to see if he could do bigger items and maybe sell them."
"You set him straight I hope Abs."
"Certainly I did Den, he won't be doing any of Tony's work. " He grinned.
"Good." I grinned back.
With everything that's been going on I had forgotten to tell Cyn about the new stuff for the shop. I opened the big folder and shoved five drawings under her nose.
"Do you think you could sell this line of beachwear?"
"Where did these come from?"
"Cody Mitchell and Rory designs. We are going to have them made for Evan's shop Cyn." She looked through the pages and ran her fingers over the colours.
"When can I get them?"
"You will have to talk to Evan, these are his new line." I grinned. She went dead white.
"Do you mean I have to deal with that thief again?"
"Yes Cyn, but if you want the framed, signed ones you can deal with me."
I think she was okay with that.
"They will be popular with interior decorators Den. I hope you order heaps of them."
"I will baby, just for you, I have to find a good framer too."
"Talk to Tony, he would know someone." I couldn't help myself.
"What? I have to deal with him now!!" I screamed. She jumped in her seat then I said quietly,
"More coffee Cyn, Abs?"
He lay on the bed face down as I lotioned him up all over. My hands slid into every crevice, every muscle was kneaded and every bit of his bare skin was kissed. He was moaning again. Thank God Ayden was still at the cafe helping Rita bake cakes. Earlier Evan had suddenly appeared and when he saw Abs and Cyn he took my hand and told them we would be an hour or two.
I guess he had been thinking about me while he surfed. He closed the bedroom door and locked it then dropped his shorts so I was onto him like a bee to pollen. He wasn't hoping for a quickie; he was in for the long haul, so I gave him what he was needing. I slipped in and started humping him forcefully, putting everything I had into his body. He bit the pillow and his bum arched to meet my thrusts. His hair was everywhere so I moved it out of the way so I could watch his eyes, that rolled up as I delivered another load of juices. When I slipped out I greased my hand and started making him feel even better. He was putty in my hands so to speak, and couldn't hold off.
"Was that good Bubs?"
"Yes Den, awesome. Can you lie on top of me for a bit?"
I did what he wanted and we stared at each other for ages. My hands were sliding up and down his perfect torso and when I couldn't take anymore I lifted his legs and gave him another injection.
We showered and dressed and he couldn't help himself as he watched me tuck my balls into my underwear, he wanted to wash more of me. It's going to be a long night I think, but at least I know the attraction is still there.
"What are we going to buy Ayden for his birthday bubs?"
"I don't know Den, how about we get him a set of books?"
"I didn't think of that; Horse has been reading some to him at the table and as you know we have done it once or twice before he goes to sleep.
I think we are well overdue to read him bedtime stories; you know, like every night."
"Yes that would be cool Den, we can take it in turns to read maybe?"
"I ordered him a small surf board too Den, I'd like him to start with that first so he can get his balance."
"He's too young."
"He's three and he has to start somewhere." End of conversation me thinks.
"Good idea bubs, anything else?" I relented.
"That's it I'm afraid, you got any ideas?"
"Not really, maybe toys but he has heaps of them in the garage, some he's never played with."
I thought about it and decided to go small unless he especially asks for something. Unfortunately, we sold his little boat he got last year. He only used it the once, he much preferred the jet ski and surf boards.
I rinsed out his baby bath then took it down to the garage to store it. Maybe one day I will put a couple of holes in the bottom of it and turn it into an herb garden, that's if I ever get the time. I pulled a carton down from the top shelf and looked at the contents. I smelled his little baby suits and started to get a little nostalgic but just then Evan's arms went around my chest and he whispered in my ear,
"It's hard to believe he was that tiny Den; God I miss him as a baby."
"Me too Bubs, he was the most perfect person in my life, apart from you."
"And mine Den, look how small his singlets were." He pulled one out and also smelt it.
"And what are you two up to?" Horse poked his head in.
"Smelling baby clothes." I chuckled.
"Ah, stale milk, sick and baby powder, I remember it well." He also laughed as he had a whiff of Ayden's clothes.
"What are you going to do with them all Den?"
"Keep them of course, what did you think I was going to do?"
"I don't know, I thought that maybe you were looking at them to donate to a charity or something."
"What? Let someone else's kid wear my baby's clothes? Never!"
"Okay, so what are you going to do with them?" he inquired.
"Keep them, one day he will have a baby of his own and he might need them." I laughed.
"Okay, okay I'm sorry I mentioned it." I again looked at Horse's powerful legs and wondered once again what it would be like to fuck him. I was slowly getting a boner.
"DEN!!" Evan shouted at me.
"What?"
"Oh never mind."
"Uh?" My shorts were sticking out like a flagpole, can't get any more subtle than that Den, I said to myself with a giggle.
Evan placed the box back on the top shelf then put Ayden's baby bath on top of that. Horse must have decided he needed to see Tony and left and Evan was bent up against the camper with his legs apart, he was groaning as it shook violently from side to side. With that done I walked with him up to the shop then went to see what my boy was up to.
I loaded him up with plenty of kisses so he wiped his cheeks then leant in for some more. To him it's a game, but to me it's pure bliss.
"When are the boys coming home Rita?" I asked.
"Soon I think Den, they were heading for the airport this morning when Alex rang, so I assume tonight maybe." She had that far away smile on her face.
"Let's hope it doesn't go mad here again."
"I don't think it will Den, most of the crowd have left, but who knows about the media, I suppose they will be back."
"When will you be getting the new stock honey?"
"Evan is on to it, we have to okay the samples first then maybe a month or two before they arrive. I think he's getting a small container load."
"That much? God, where is he going to store it?"
"Probably out the back yard, there's still plenty of room for it."
"Well don't forget my dress." She grinned.
"I won't." They should be here within three weeks I assume, by the way Cody was talking."
I went back to my seat and looked over the painting, it was finished so I signed it and would put it away to give to Cynthia's sister when she arrives. Birdy came and sat with me, he had his pen knife and a piece of wood in hand, and while I drew onto my sketch book he carved. He was smiling and I noticed out of the corner of my eye, his chair had moved in closer to me. I put my arm around his small shoulders and gave him a fatherly kiss on the head. His smile got wider, if that was ever possible.
After I finished my sketch I showed him and he punched the air and opened his hand. I had drawn a baby boy, you can all guess who it was. He had carved one and I wasn't shocked, just a little amazed. He passed it over to me and said,
"Thank you."
I signed the drawing and passed it to him.
"Thank you too." Then I hugged him.
He skipped off to the games parlour but on his way he picked up a little boy who was eager to play the surfing game. I put my stuff away and followed them.
Ayden was already on the game while Birdy was seated at the car racing machine. My boy was getting good at this, he wiggled and laughed as he wiped out again. I put another token in and he lasted much longer this time. Then he wanted to play pinball so I got him the chair he stands on, and he laughed his way through a much longer game. When he'd had enough and the top scores came on, I noticed Tiny was at the top of the list. I wondered if that kid he argued with was the next one down?
We had all just sat down when the people mover drove in the driveway. Ayden shot out the front to be picked up by Blue and kissed by the others, and again his hand swiped the kisses away. They all were a sight for sore eyes and Blue's trophy took pride of place on the table. Ayden was trying to play with it so I moved it closer to me but then he wanted to move over to my lap. Evan again moved the trophy and Ayden crawled on his lap so we were all laughing, until Blue plonked it in front of Ayden who laughed and started to play with it.
"It's okay Den, he can't break it," Blue said as he stuffed more chicken into his mouth.
"God I missed your cooking Rita." He smiled at her.
"Well there's more on the stove when your ready," she offered.
You couldn't even try to wipe the smile off Alex and Blue's faces. They were really hyped up and related a lot of stories of their trip. Alex talked about his trips around the island and Blue thanked me for the second wave tip. I told him Evan won twenty-five grand on his win and he said he had too. Then Tiny piped up and said,
"So did I Den."
"Me too," Nuts offered.
Horse looked at me and pointed to himself and grinned.
"So you told everyone Bubs?
"No, I only told Alex." He laughed.
"I only told mum," Alex said. We all looked at Rita, she was being very quiet.
"Out with it Rita," I ordered.
"Thirty grand." She burst out laughing, then went on,
"I could get used to this betting thing Evan, got any more tips?"
I was the only one that didn't put a bet on, I thought I had enough money as it was. Next time I'm not telling anyone. I looked at bubby, he was grinning up at me.
"No ice cream for you then, what about your, `don't tell anyone'?" He let out a screaming giggle. I tickled him because I loved that sound.
At bedtime he wanted to hug us both twice then he wanted his toy pony, then he indicated he wasn't tired. I went out and got one of his books that Horse bought him at Christmas and handed it to Evan.
"Here Bubs, read to him."
"Den I can't read it, I don't know how."
"Just read it doofus, the sound of your voice will lull him to sleep."
I went to shower and prepare my nuts for a good showdown tonight, but
no Evan, no sounds either. I got out of bed and went to find him, he was fast asleep with Ayden. I left him there but by the morning he was by my side stroking my ball bag.
"You had better give them a good morning kiss baby, I think they missed you last night." I grinned then flopped my head down on the pillow in anticipation. One thing about my Evan, he never disappoints.
The media were everywhere again the next morning; they must have arrived on the foreshore overnight. To his credit Blue did do a lot of interviews with them. He said the sport didn't get enough media attention and it was his job to put it out there as much as he could. The party started mid morning and didn't let up until around three. Rita was busy making hamburgers and it didn't take Alex long to get into the daily rhythm again. Birdy and I sat back and enjoyed the show, Jay had joined us and was looking at him lovingly. I watched as he hugged him and whispered in his ear, his smile was beautiful. As the weeks had passed his memory of the awful jail had diminished a lot. Everybody was onto it, making Birdy feel safe again, especially Jay, he was like a mother hen.
Ayden danced around in a small circle then he was picked up by Evan who jigged with him for awhile before he was passed to Horse, who sat down and fed him. Birdy suddenly got up and started dancing, it was a folk dance and he was pretty bloody good at it too. Then Tush and Bubble got into it with him but Abs wasn't interested, so I leant over and said,
"You had better start dancing Abs, you need to dance with your bride at your wedding, it's traditional." He grabbed me by my t-shirt and pulled me across the table then got in my face.
"Leave it alone Den." I laughed my head off as he let go and I flopped back down onto my seat. Birdy came over and gave Abs the two fisted mean look, I laughed harder.
I noticed Blue, Horse and Evan sneak out the back door followed by Tiny, Nuts and Donk, they were going for a late afternoon surf. When the music died down I could hear their yelling so I took bubs by the hand and walked him down to the surf.
Horse tried to give him a board ride but he wasn't having any of that either today, he wanted his pa. Evan smiled at Horse then patted his butt, and I wanted to pat it too.
Back under the tree I pulled out my sketchbook and started another drawing. I had remembered Ayden's trawler captain image so began working on that.
"We have to make time to get this new line into shape Den, and we have to include Spud's."
"For sure, I can help him pick out five of his works, then he can send the photos to Rory."
"Okay we have to do a contract; I will do that later today. It just gives me permission to use your images."
"But they're yours Bub."
"Yes and no, let's just do it legally baby, that way we won't have any problems with the tax man." Oh I forgot about him.
He kissed me then jumped up to go have a surf and as he walked away I nearly came in my shorts; he is just so hot.
Ayden wanted an icy pole so I packed up and we walked up to the shack. He showered while I supervised, then I dressed him nicely and we both headed for the porch. Rita was fanning herself and having a coffee and did some sign language thing to Spud who soon arrived with sandwiches, a coffee and an ice cream for the baby.
"Spud do you really want in with the surf label?"
"I don't know Den. I think it's Evan's thing so I really think I might just go on the way I am. Creating T-shirts really doesn't interest me that much. But by all means get Evan to do some, he's more than welcome to use any of my paintings. Den I don't have the time to do it, and at the moment I feel like everything's coming at me at full speed. I want to pull up a bit and relax and enjoy my life. This just puts more pressure on me, I want to be settled with just my painting and Ali."
I saw something in his eyes, a sort of wise older person's look. I understood what he was saying, he's got so much going on at the moment. We will visit this conversation later, maybe next year, but I don't want him to miss out. Spud should never miss out, he's my other boy.
"Are you sure baby, it's more money in the investment account." I smiled.
"Yes Den, I'm sure." He looked up the porch where Ali had just cleared a table and gone into the kitchen.
"Den, mum, there's a lot of things going on with me and Ali at the moment, he's gone and put ten million dollars into my account a few weeks ago. He said it was insurance money in case I was on my own or something bad happens."
"He what?" Rita shrilled.
"Shush mum, I didn't want to tell anyone, I'm so embarrassed about it. Please don't repeat what I'm telling you, only Ali and his accountants know, he didn't involve Evan."
I looked at him and thought what a lovely young man he's turned out to be.
"It's all right mum, I won't spend it, it's just there because of my street days. It's insurance money, just in case money."
'Okay son, just leave it there and forget about it. I doubt whether you will ever need it anyway." Rita was trying to be sensible.
He hugged his adopted mum and said,
"It's your money too mum. If you ever need anything just let me know."
She laughed at his sincere face.
"I will son, that's a lovely thought."
"Okay, so I'll tell Evan you're not in then." I wanted confirmation.
"Yes Den, but he can use any of my unsold works if he wants. But I really think he should just go with yours, they will sell like hot cakes."
We sat and talked for the next ten minutes and Birdy stopped by on his way to Tony's. I think he just wanted a big hug from us, which he got, then he waved as he ran down the yard.
"Well I already told you father; the guys are doing great. All the operations and dentist visits are accomplished. All we have to do now is find jobs and lodgings in the city, that's of course if they want to settle there." Ali was on the phone to his dad the king.
"Yes, he's doing very well, his carvings are going to be as popular as Rita's hamburgers."
"She's okay dad, no dad, no. I won't say that to her, stop being so silly."
He chuckled down the phone.
Rita took the phone and put it to her ear.
"Hey your kingship, get your fine butt back here so I can kick it."
They laughed and talked for a minute or two then it was Aisha's turn.
"No honey, no talk of a wedding, but hey, let me put Den on, he would know." She giggled then passed the phone to me.
We bantered back and forth for the next twenty minutes then the phone was passed back to Ali. He talked in Arabic then said his goodbyes.
"What do you want to do now my puffy lipped harem lad?"
"Groan," was Spud's answer.
I guess that was Ali's way of telling Spud a head job would go down well, right at this very moment. Spud walked back to the café while Ali sat staring at him.
He then blew out his breath and said,
"Duty calls Rita, we are taking our break." She made a deep gruff sound. He then laughed and raced to the cafe doors. I heard Spud scream and a lot of door banging. Ayden missed the call because he got tired after his ice cream and had a lie down. He came out and actually crawled over to Rita's lap, so she stroked his head and he had five minutes more sleep. It's been a while since he crawled, he was so cute.
"I guess we have to do something about the gates, now he's worked out how to open them," I said to Rita.
"Leave them Den, he knows right from wrong. I don't think there will be any problems, he would probably only shoot off to the games parlour anyway."
When Ayden woke up again he suddenly remembered something so scrambled down to the floor, then shot off to his bedroom. After a few minutes he came back wearing that fairy dress we had bought him when we got the mattress.
He looked gorgeous in it and he had to swish and pose all the way into Rita's to show everybody. The poor dress didn't know what hit it and was now looking a little ragged, so I went and got one of his new ones. He jumped into the green one, discarding the old purple. Over the next three months I would replace it four times as they quickly disintegrated.
Evan wasn't all that fussed about his need to touch his feminine side.
"He's just being a kid Den, there's no harm in wearing a costume and it does look like it's just come out of one of your paintings."
"What if the kids give him some stick?"
"I'm sure our son is more than capable of giving them a mouthful in return Den." He laughed and wasn't only laughing at his joke but Ayden who had twisted that skirt and was now wearing it off the shoulder, and it looked quite elegant. I took photos for another great painting.
I noticed Evan smiling and asked him why, and he said he had a fairy dress in his costume box when he was small. I was jealous because I wanted one too so I will think about buying a couple for us in the future. No, I will buy a heap and get the guys to join in, then do another painting.