Modern Matahari

It was the briefest moment, the smallest contact with another persons skin. He could still feel nuances of it now days old. Back in the States, lonely in Ohio, he thought of her often, wondering why he was so touched in her presence. Chinese, his first real contact with one, she studied fashion design, painted, survived as an artist. New feelings overcame him for a moment, another ripple in his pond, widening, and awakening him; they all seemed to emanate from Liu.

Liu knew many men but he was still interesting. When she looked in his eyes for the first time she knew she could trust him. With some luck her boyfriend would feel Blake’s hot breath on his neck. She somehow found time to lure him into her world, all hectic with creation. Her energy of youth, half his age, made Blake outpour hearts onto coasters. He settled on Satan’s face, head back, tongue lolling, made only of hearts. He drew it over and over again on coasters in the workingman’s bar where he drank his beer. She refused his final drawing, the culmination of his confusion. Away from her now, over an ocean of reflections, he wore his hair in warrior fashion. His Korean masseuse in Columbus, Lucky, had the idea. She loved his eyebrows, silver and tangled, and wrapped his topknot for the first time. He had to go to China with Liu, marry her, give her his children.

“I’m going out with some friends tomorrow night. Just a meeting, a few drinks, you would be bored. We speak in Dutch.” Saunder said it with a lilting cadence he thought Lui liked.

‘He is a liar.’ She thought and the look emptied onto his back.

“I’ll see you Saturday.”

“No, I’m seeing a friend.”

“Oh? Who?”

“That American tourist I told you about. The older man. The fat one.”

“But isnt’ it the Harvest Moon Festival?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter. He invited me and I accepted. “

Saunder looked at her leery and kept quiet. The rest of the evening was work for her, wasted for him.

Blake calculated their Celestial Stems for year, month and day. He saw favorable patterns swirled around them both. Liu had two Wu’s on her Heaven side and Blake was a Wu in his Earth month. Her heavenly Wu shared the same name with his Wu, the horse in the Terrestrial Branch. No other symbol in the yin and yang of time crossed the wild future. He analyzed data, never descending to the real meaning of his desire for her. That moment of contact drove him on. That she may already be his because of their signs brought pure joy to him. His acceptance of what he used to reject, his narrow technical acceptance cast out in favor, no, for the favors of this woman, confused him.

Now, up on Liu’s pinnacle, he slid down his past, looking for her presence, wondering why this “love” was different. All his life, up to this point, he had been a man’s man. Working in men dominated professions he had little contact with women and no real connection with one even though he had married twice. He enjoyed the physical contact of women and both wives knew this; he was fair, hard working and loved kids. One was sad to see him go and the other wasn’t. He loved them both like he loved his children. His tenderness towards his wives never got past caring for them. His attraction to Lui’s beauty blinded him with a love that is inescapable. Stuck in a fantasy he only made worse and worse with his tunnel vision, his world collapsed.

This young woman was struck now with his same caring attention, he wanted her attraction, but couldn’t ask for her love. He scrambled to be near her, scampered at her whim, now caught in her presence. She took it all in; in amusement, changing plans, accepting gifts that he brought, returning his interest but in a prim, frank, polite way he thought might be Eastern culture. He knew the Eastern culture as a polite, shame driven monotony, didn’t see what she saw in him except as an American, why she would return his invitations to meet. “I really love my boyfriend. Bad sex at first but now much better. But I think he is cheating on me.” Her look silenced Blake who wanted her but not by cheating. Sitting on her bed, her fingers caught up in a gossamer red and black filmy pair of panties she had just cut the label out of she giggled, lowered her head to see her hands working, “These are my favorite pair”, smiled. He was helping her with her school project. She was covering a pillow with labels cut from clothing; he was sewing the pillow cases shut. Her coquettish grin, suddenly overshadowed by the hooding of her eyes, went to his heart as lust. Lifting her head slowly, she saw the effect she had on him, broke the spell with a laugh.

“What do you mean? Why can’t I plan my own life? We had no appointment.” ‘He is afraid. Ha! He knows I have power. Just like Blake he cringes to my flashing eyes. What a coward.’ Lui shook her head, her lips pouted and her eyes hooded. ‘He’d better jump.’

“Look, I just thought we could be together this weekend but if you’ve made plans, Ok. “ The Dutchman’s lean features, small but in proportion, made condensation gestures, blond hair bowed before beauty.

“Don’t worry, I still love you.” Triumphantly she grabbed Saunder around the waist and pulled him onto the bed.

“Marriage is a lie!” She erupted on the seat beside him on the A12 coming back from Den Hague. Blake had upset her. After thirty-two years of living with a woman he still didn’t know. They had been talking about why his two marriages hadn’t been forever. In the late afternoon, with sea blown clouds going slower than the car, a beam of bright light pored through the car window changing her face from a look of anger. She smiled as if she had a new idea about him, had lost the old one of her boyfriend at once.

‘I’ll get this old man to make Saunder surrender. Then I can do what I want. Yes! That’s it! He’ll teach me Dutch. Do what ever I say. The cheating little liar will serve my purpose while I’m still here.’

He thought she wanted true love, felt closer, poised for a kiss. He knew he wanted one but would never try first, not while Liu loved another, not without her consent.

Liu shared her Harvest Moon with Blake one night on the west side of Amsterdam. A time to be with family and friends, she called Qing Dao from a phone booth, spoke to her family, chose to leave her boyfriend for Blake. He thought about that choice of hers as he learned Eastern culture quickly, poring into areas they shared, he felt like Jade Rabbit. Fabled Jade Rabbit is kind of heart to others, one of three fables in the Chinese Harvest Celebration in the eighth moon. Sacrificing to feed three immortals disguised as peasants, they were so touched, raised the rabbit from stew pot to great beauty, forever to live in Moon Palace.

“Do you think you could help me move my pillows?” Her red shirt matched his red shirt in a one sided way. Lui parted her hair for him for the first time. So serious and so sweet.

“Of course! When?” Blake looked for any moment she would grant him.

“Tomorrow would be fine. I want to take them over to my boyfriend’s place to finish them.” XXXXXXXXXXXXXX10/21/03

Their meal was the longest, the moon cake long gone, they stepped out to see bright glory slide through the sky, clouds skittering around her. He was willing to do anything for her but couldn’t guess what she wanted. She held his arm, walking the city, looking for the Moon, refusing to hold his hand. Blake showed a kindness to Liu that puzzled him. A woman this lovely would be only to look at, in his old ways he would never approach. Her acceptance of his attention beyond manners led their friendship to this place. Blake felt a twinge of naiveté at this feeling that drove him to her side. He waited for questions that never seemed to come. Her Zodiac sign, rabbit, made her look at him from many sides but not to question, not yet.

At the end of the evening they felt the break of attraction as they parted. Blake was unaccustomed to the greeting and farewell of friends in Holland. Kiss in Paris, right cheek, left cheek, he knew, but here there was one more peck making three. Liu introduced this to him on their first meeting, only an hour and they were friends, she kissed his cheeks. She had felt the bristle of his beard and backed away before to the air when she saw him that way in their other meetings. He wanted to feel her kiss on his cheek and today he had faced the blade in his mirror. She walked him to the door slowly. Sweet sadness at parting drifted out with them to the point of embrace. Snapped from their world together by the last tram at station fifty meters away, they saw it at once, turned to their goodbye. Swiftly drawing across her face, just right, Blake felt her lips touch his, just softly. Jolted by the contact he skipped his third kiss and ran. Twice he stopped in a jerk, watching cars, the tram grew impatient. It started to move and Blake threw himself in front of it like Jade Rabbit, ready to sacrifice himself for her happiness. In love for the first time, joined with others in the car watching, the waning moon cast a silver shadow over her waving hand goodbye.

Just after that brief contact between them he wanted to answer her question with, “My heart tells me to move to Amsterdam and be with Liu. My eyes show me she loves another man.” His Moon Palace didn’t last too long. His thoughts moved on, snuffling the Chinese calendar that made him a boar. Lost in her charms, ‘she must be my Muse’, he thought, uprooting his life to chase her, abandoning all hope, lulled by her beauty.

‘I’ve got him now.’ Lui kneeled before him, her arms outstretched, “Blake….I need”, leaped up with one movement placing her hands on his cheeks, straddled his lap on the sofa and looked into his eyes. Evening shadows from the Dutch sky tickling the full moon changed the light in the penthouse apartment. She couldn’t read his eyes. Lightly pressing her lips to his, she remained motionless.

‘Lay quiet.’ He passively shrank down, his leather pants pulled his penis up onto his belly, snugged his balls in comfort. He was lucky like that and didn’t think for a moment that it was anything but lucky that this woman was throwing herself on him, seducing him. Nine months in Amsterdam, A’dam as he liked to call it. He was still looking for his Eve. He didn’t respond, kept quiet like he learned to do in the coffehouses. His sudden success as a painter brought its own itinary and Lui never showed until now. He wanted something from her this time. ‘Wait out this one, big boy.’ His hot breath smelled of jenever, oued gin, but just a taste. His viagra for later was starting to kick in but somehow he couldn’t kick her out.

Lui’s black silk oriental dress was up to her waist, she straddled one leg now, eased down splitting her buttocks on his femur, rubbing her Mons Venus up at him, releasing her fragrance. She started to nibble his lips, stabbing his slack mouth with her pointy tongue, breathing back at him, panting her own smells, all wonderful, hooding her eyes. ‘He’s in ecstasy already. Ha!’ Long moments let Scheherazade pulse through a movement, “The Tale of the Kalender Prince” and he felt like one now. Lui was still the most beautiful woman he had ever known. He gave up long ago wanting to own her. His mania to get away from Ohio had faded. His reason for coming was not her any longer. She was in fashion. Hadn’t he given her the advice, ‘Hang with the crowd where you want to be. Fashion? Pick a favorite and go to them. Then you will see if you can design what they admire.’

A slow slide, she sat next to him now, adopted his wide kneed slotch pressing her decollege for some pearls. Her pink gossamer panties next to her golden skin, pulled aside, her bar bell showing. “Don’t you want me?” Her innocense made all the more lovely with her palms out stretched.

“What about Saunder?” She reached over and unzipped his dick, rock hard, running just under her hand, she released it, holding it upright. “He’s gone. I want you.” Said non-chalantly as she dipped over, laying her breasts on his thigh after releasing them from her bodice, devouring his cock. He still didn’t want to succumb to her. He let his orgasm happen immediately, his sweet come hitting the roof of her hot mouth. She sucked him until he shrank from her pouting lips. “Now you do me.” Her self assured tone was throaty, she cupped her breasts and sank back on the blue velet Roche Bobois original, his design, up against the cushioned end.

“I want you to do something for me first.” He looked at her face, wanted to see her surprise, didn’t wait very long, it flashed and went away. Hooding her eyes she said, “Please. Now?” , slidding a French tip along her labia. ‘Shit. It went too fast. He’s not interested anymore. I really DID blow it this time. I must save face.’

“All right. What?”

“I want you to pose for me. A portrait, that’s all. I’d like to schedule sittings for ten weeks, two hours minimun at your schedule of availability. OK?” He was standing back near the vestibule, adjusting his clothing, looking diffent since he lost all that weight. ‘Why not? If it takes that long, I can wait, he’ll see, I’ll win yet.’ “OK Let me look in my book. She hurriedly arranged her clothing sending plumes of ripe pussy mixed with her favorite fragrance of the moment, ‘Claire de Lune’ over to him , moving to her bag next to him.