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Aaron stood next to Carlotta and Miguel and beamed like a proud father after his child had won a spelling bee as Ciao described the artwork and the renovation of the barn, discussed when the impending art sale was to occur, as well as answered questions tossed her way by the partygoers.
“She is powerful, don’t you think?” His question sounded almost boastful.
Carlotta, who usually restrained her comments about anybody, leaned over and replied, “Powerful and quite stunning.”
Miguel nodded his head in agreement. Rarely did he ever hear Carlotta admire another woman. He didn’t have any problem with it; it was just out of the ordinary.
Ciao began to direct the group. “Upstairs, so you can feast your eyes on the wondrous presentations that await you. This is a treat for all your senses.”
Aaron made eye contact with Ciao and quickly summoned her to them. He hugged Ciao as she came close and introduced her to Carlotta and Miguel. “This is Miguel. He is the writer whom you spoke with on the phone…from the east coast.”
Aaron went on to explain that the couple should be allowed to see everything so that Miguel could write a “good article so that we can illicit more excitement about what we are trying to do.”
Ciao interrupted him as she moved quickly to Carlotta. “My God, what a lovely, dark lady…are you with Miguel?”
Aaron was so intent on getting Miguel and Ciao together, he forgot about introducing Carlotta. But Miguel took the queue. “This is Carlotta. Carlotta, Ciao.”
Carlotta extended her hand. Ciao ignored her hand and moved toward her, opened her arms, and moved to hug her as if she were some long-lost relative. “In Brazil there is none of that handshaking thing. We hug and kiss.” With that, Ciao smiled at Carlotta like an invitation and hugged her close. Surprisingly, Carlotta didn’t resist. Looking at them hug, the contrast of the two women skin to skin was like looking at a pearl laid against black velvet.
“I will take it from here.” Ciao began to lead them upstairs.
“You are now in good hands. So, go, enjoy yourselves. Ciao is at your disposal.” And with that Aaron turned to walk away as Ciao, Carlotta, and Miguel began to make their way to the second floor.
The iron staircase was a gunmetal color mixed with an ornamental grating. It sharply contrasted with the warm, polychromatic designs that appeared on the walls as they ascended to the huge openness of the main exhibit area on the second floor. The entire floor was a massive space of oriental rugs that glowed like gardens of exotic flowers. The walls were a soothing orange/brown, and sheaths of multi-colored cloth strategically hung down from various places on them, flowing as if the ocean outside was beckoning them.
Chandeliers, like so many crystal clouds, hung from the ceiling. It was a mix of traditional and modern that defied any comfortable classification. These artists had transformed their reality into a world of imagination and invited all the guests into it. Sculptures of all different sizes and designs, from simple busts of what appeared to be recognizable public figures and celebrities, to abstract designs that defied definition, filled the space, tantalizing and mesmerizing the senses. It was obvious that their art was as irrational as improvisational jazz. It was mad with its own strange loveliness.
“This is something!” Carlotta exclaimed. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.” She was as amazed as Miguel.
Although he’d seen videos of their previous presentations, this exhibit stirred the senses to full life. However, the real-life experience was nearly overwhelming. The combination of colors and textures was absorbing like a love affair, as well as enchanting like a meadow full of freshly opened tulips.
Ciao was equally as enchanting. As she guided them through the corridors of the exhibit, she would stop to introduce herself to the guests and answer any questions they had with her neon-like smile and an almost airbrushed softness that complemented the aura surrounding the entire room. Yet even when she had to avert her attention from Miguel, she always seemed to ke
ep Carlotta close enough to touch. And as the evening wore on, Carlotta appeared to enjoy it.
“She’s fun. I like her,” was Carlotta’s simple explanation to Miguel.
“I like her also. She makes you want to go to Brazil. I wonder if all Brazilians are like that,” Miguel mused.
“I heard that!” Ciao exclaimed as she turned from yet another group. “We are all fun loving, yet very intense. We enjoy life as if each day is our last.” As she stared directly at Carlotta, she said, “That is why we are so hot, so passionate, because the next moment is not promised. That is why we must enjoy all that life has to offer now.” She winked at Miguel.
That wink snapped Miguel out of the trance he had been lured into by the exotic aura Ciao emitted. The three of them walked around the exhibition area as Ciao proudly showed off the various creations. This mixture of sight and sound was rare and entertaining. The fact that he was given the opportunity to write about and help promote one of the most unique artistic events of this early decade gave Miguel a wonderful feeling, like the first moments of falling in love. He was full of questions, and unbridled curiosity ran through his head like horses racing at the Kentucky Derby.
At the same moment Carlotta was also captured by both the aural and sensual menagerie of the moment. She was swept up like the first fallen leaf of autumn. She too was caught up in the magic of being around Ciao. She remained strangely quiet as she observed Miguel questioning Ciao about the exhibit’s wondrous treasures. While she watched intently, like a cat watches a swinging ball waiting for the proper moment to grab it, she started thinking about how when Ciao hugged her, she felt a warmness, a closeness like two roots joined together as they expanded into a single flower. Then it was the feeling she had when Ciao made her statement about Brazilians being passionate and living for the moment. For some reason that statement, coupled with the way Ciao looked at her, excited Carlotta and caused her heart to pulsate thru her chest, like some ancient African talking drum sending a message to another tribe about approaching danger. And now, at this moment, a different excitement was deep inside her, like a desert river flowing under the hot, unforgiving sands.
Ciao’s presence actually caused Carlotta to wonder what it would be like to be even closer to Ciao, closer as in naked. The thought of Ciao’s honey-colored skin pressing hotly against the sea-bottomed darkness of Carlotta’s own skin, as their lips and hands shamelessly introduced themselves to one another, began to warm her body, like large amounts of brandy coursing through the veins.
Yet, at the same time, Carlotta was confused by these feelings. She had never experienced any type of intimate connection with another woman. Even though she and Miguel occasionally discussed what it might be like to bring another woman into their erotic forays, it remained a fantasy. Carlotta did admit, however, that when she either read books or viewed movies that involved women engaging in intimacy, she became aroused. But she couldn’t conceive of any situation where she might become involved in anything like that, even if Miguel wanted her to.
“You know I would do anything you want me to do sexually. But I just can’t see what I would be doing with another woman. I don’t want to do anything to another woman. So I guess I would have to let her do stuff to me. But then I don’t know if I could handle her doing things to you. I just don’t know.”
So that’s where they left it. As far as Miguel was concerned, her response was perfectly acceptable. On occasion, he had fantasized about a ménage à trois, but like Carlotta, this was simply a fantasy. Miguel had participated in a few small orgies during his sexual campaigns, but only on one occasion did he find it satisfying.
“The problem is that the women have to be really into each other as well as you. They can’t have any hang-ups about their bodies or touching each other or any of that.”
Miguel theorized that a specific chemistry, an erotic balance, had to exist between each of the parties or the effort would be wasted.
“See, you can’t have the women avoiding each other, like they can’t be afraid to touch or feel each other’s bodies.” He would claim, “Sometimes the man had to be just an accessory, almost as if he can’t be the main course through the entire sexual meal. It should be natural for the women to kiss, and feel on each other. They don’t have to be lesbians or anything like that. They just should be comfortable with their sexuality, whatever the hell that means.” To him, the women had to be free.
