Chapter Four - Ring-A-Ling

It was almost lunchtime, and I was famished from walking around Manhattan all morning. I decided that I needed to have a big boy's sandwich. Nothing could make this day better than a perfect Pinocchio sandwich from Alidoro's.

Before I could complete that thought, my phone rang. It was my buddy, David. We've been best friends since high school. That bond lasted through college and here we are, in our late twenties, still goofy as ever.

'What did your wife do this time?', I asked sarcastically as I answered the phone.

'She forgot to pack my lunch and I'm starving', he grumbled like a six-year-old.

'Why don't you join me for a sandwich?', I offered.

'Where you headed?

'Alidoro's. It's at 105 Sullivan Street between Spring and Prince Streets in SoHo.'

'Alright. See you in thirty', he said then hung up.

I took a cab and headed there myself. I couldn't quit staring at the pictures of Madison's boss. I took pictures of at least two dozen working women, but none were as fascinating as her. I zoomed in, trying to see her face, but it wasn't as clear as I'd hoped. Maybe after I developed them I could get a better look at it.

On the bright side, I finally found a theme for my exhibit: Women on Top – pun totally intended.

I've had numerous exhibits with numerous themes, but none were as exciting as this one. None were as exciting as her.

And I had no idea why!

And it's not like one of those moments when you imagine sexual scenarios with a woman a couple of times and then get bored of her and delete all those images from your head. No, she actually intrigued me in ways I didn't think possible.

Who was this woman?

I finally reached my destination and met David. He grew huskier by the second, and he looked like he hadn't slept for days.

'Wow! Who died?', I made fun of him.

'We'll talk about that later. I'm starving. What's this Geppetto sandwich that you always brag about?', he asked while we stood in the queue.

I chuckled.

'It's called the Pinocchio. It's the most delicious sandwich ever made by man. It has prosciutto, sopressata, fresh mozzarella, sweet roasted peppers and olive paste. Drooling yet?'

He swallowed his saliva. He clearly was starving. I couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.

'You've got the taste buds of an Italian Nonna', he teased.

'It's kind of a given when your mother's Italian.'

We ordered our lunch sandwiches and sat outside to eat them and enjoy the afternoon summer breeze. A queue formed and dispersed while we sat and reminisced about the good old days.

We were adults now. We clearly didn't know how to adult.

'Why are you so tired, man?', I asked him after a few laughs.

'Veronica and I are trying to conceive. We do it at least twice every night as long as she's ovulating, and it leaves me drained', he complained.

'I think you're the first man ever to complain about having too much sex', I said as I took a long sip of iced tea.

'You would if your boss dragged you to work early in the morning to finish your stupid project.'

David is an architect, and he's a pretty good one too. Every major firm in the city throw offer letters at his doorsteps like the morning paper. He was also very moody and indecisive. That's why firms withdraw their offers with a blink of an eye.

'Luckily, I am my own boss', I teased him.

He gave me the finger and I almost chocked on my iced tea.

'Did you decide what pictures you'll be using for your exhibition yet?', he asked, trying to change the focus from him to me.

I took out my camera and showed him the pictures. He had a great eye for detail, just like me. I knew he'd see what I wanted to tell through these pictures.

'Manhattan is packed with fine ladies', he mused.

I couldn't help but smile.

'Women on Top; that's the theme I'm going for', I explained.

He went through the pictures again. I could tell he was enjoying the view. A lot.

'Isn't that Claire's twin?', he asked as he paused at my favorite set of pictures.

'Yeah. I followed her around today', I explained.

'Twin fever, nice', he complimented.

'It's not like that, you jerk. Following her around gave me the idea for my exhibit', my heart started racing as I said those words.

'Who's the blonde she's talking to?', he asked, intrigue evident in his voice.

'Her boss.'

'What was that?', he asked with shock.

'What was what?', I clearly wasn't following him.

'That sigh you made when you said "her boss"', his tone was almost accusatory.

'What sigh? There was no sigh', I was being way too defensive.

He looked at me for a moment; trying to read my face.

'Are you into this chick? What about Claire?'

'You're talking crazy, man. It was just a great shot, that's all', I tried to remain as poker faced as I possibly could.

I felt like my face was on fire however, and I couldn't shake the image of her petite waist off my head.

'Nah, I don't buy it. There's something about this blonde that's getting you all worked up', he finally said after a long pause.

He was right, but I was too much of a coward to admit it.

'I don't even know her. For all I know, she could be married or engaged or in a relationship or something.'

'Because that will clearly stop you', he said, alluding to the fact that Claire and I are engaged.

Before I could come up with a witty comeback, my phone rang.

Saved by the bell!

It was Madison. We shared our hellos. She sounded way too worked up and emotional.

'Is everything alright?', I asked her, concerned.

'I need a huge favor. I know this is too much to ask for with your exhibition and wedding coming up, but I'm begging you to find a way', she rambled.

'Alright, alright. Slow down. Let me know what it is and I'll see what I can do', I tried to calm her down.

'My boss just sent our photographer on vacation and we have to reshoot an entire issue's worth of pictures, and I sort of told her you'll be willing to do it', she said.

I put down the phone and stared at it in disbelief. It felt like one of those funny camera moments where someone is going to jump up out of nowhere and laugh at me. There was no way this was real.

'Killian, are you there?', Madison's voice came through the speaker.

I picked up the phone and placed it on my ear again. I was still waiting for her to laugh at me.

'Killian?'

'I'm here', I said, sounding like I just saw a ghost.

'Would you please do it? I will owe you my life. Please, Killian', she begged some more.

A chance to meet the woman who was the inspiration behind the theme for my exhibition? It was too good to be true. I should be jumping at the opportunity but I was too stunned to respond. David had to snap his fingers at me to snap me back to reality. Or was it a dream? Did I doze off in the cab?

'Alright', I finally said after what seemed to be an interminable pause.

'Really?', she practically jumped out the phone.

'Yeah, I'll do it', I confirmed, still too shocked to absorb what was happening.

'Thank you so much, Killian. Come to the office at nine tomorrow morning. She wants to meet you first. Oh, and get your portfolio', she said.

But I could barely make out a word she said. I was too spaced out in my own world to notice anything around me.

'I'll see you later', I finally said then hung up.

'What was that about?', David asked with a frown.

I stared at him blankly. I wasn't quite sure what to say. In fact, I had no idea how to make sense of it myself.

'It was Madison. She called to change my life', I finally admitted.

Talk about perfect timing.