“Pose for me,” I said firmly. I folded my arms across my chest and leaned against the railing with a strong stance. It wasn’t the first time I’d made the request. We argued often over the years, but Summer always refused.
She lowered her feet from the opposite chair and scooted forward while shaking her head adamantly.
“Oh, no…uh-uh! Not me, Sonny. I haven’t forgotten the last time I agreed to pose for you. We were fifteen and that sketch you did got us both grounded for the entire summer!” she protested.
I flashed her a devilish grin.
“To this day, Mom still doesn’t believe I didn’t pose nude for you!” she proclaimed with a half-hearted laugh.
“We’re not going to dredge that history up again,” she said while still flatly shaking her head in denial.
It was only a foolish childhood prank, and it should have been harmless enough, except our mother found the sketch in my room. Summer had been completely clothed when she agreed to pose for me. I simply used my skill and a little imagination to alter the drawing.
Mom convicted us both without the benefit of a fair trial, and Dad meted out the punishment; he pronounced a non-negotiable three months of restriction. I couldn’t help but notice that Dad studied the sketch for quite a long time before he passed sentence.
Regrettably, our parents confiscated the drawing, one of the best I’d ever done, and it had never resurfaced. Presumably, our mother burned it. The punishment might have been worth it if I’d at least been allowed to keep the drawing.
“Well…” I sighed, “if that’s your final word on it, I guess Mel will have to do without the pleasure of my company Saturday night.” I tucked my chin to my chest and put on my best posture of dejection.
“Don’t you dare try to guilt-trip me into agreeing to that, little brother!” Summer huffed in response. Summer was all of seven minutes older than I was, but it gave her some satisfaction to call me her ‘little brother’ whenever she felt I was trying to take advantage of her.
“Me? Try to guilt-trip you?” I asked innocently with my hands spread wide. “Do you really think I would try to do something like that after all you’ve done for me?” I asked, spreading it on thick.
“I wouldn’t even have a place to stay if it weren’t for you, Sis. Look at this place! I’m living in the lap of luxury because of you,” I insisted. I turned my gaze to the deck beneath us.
“I’d probably be sleeping in some run-down tenement house, eating beanie-weenies from a can instead of Lobster Thermidor and Snow Crab. Maybe sipping a cheap bottle of Boone’s Farm wine…” I said letting my voice trail pitifully away. I could sense she was wavering by her silence. “I probably wouldn’t even have qualified for unemployment,” I added for good measure.
“Oh, Sonny…it’s not that bad. You’d have found another job eventually,” she said with compassion.
She crossed the deck and hugged me close to her. I lay my forehead against her shoulder as if I was about to cry. She patted my back and gave my hair a few strokes. Summer was easily manipulated. I smothered my urge to chuckle against the crook of her neck and she must have assumed I was crying because she sighed heavily before asking, “Does it mean that much to you?” I nodded against her shoulder. “Well…” she began slowly.