"Now that's what I call a piece..." Corey comments to Joy as he arrives next to her, tipping his head to fully appreciate the extra large bulge on the painting out in the stairwell that she's looking at.
"...Of art!!!" He clarifies when she looks at him, her eyebrows raised almost to her hairline.
"I've always admired creative people," she muses thoughtfully once she's turned back to the painting.
"You're pretty creative yourself there!" Corey tells her, looking at the purple head to toe ensemble she's got on today.
She snorts, "Not me! But Calum, he's got a gift."
"I didn't know he could draw," Corey takes a sip of wine and steps back to truly appreciate how big a bulge the painter has created and how it seems to leap off the painting at you.
"He can't!" she chuckles to herself, "I bought him tracing paper when he was a kid, so he could copy his comic books. His Spiderman turned out looking like Little Orphan Annie."
It's Corey's turn to snort, "Well what's his talent?"
"Oh, it's nothing to be famous for. Not like paintings hanging in an art gallery, or playing at the Opera House. But when it comes to taking care of people, knowing what you need better even than you do, he's a fucking Picasso."
Corey looks at her as she stands there being incredibly proud of her only child, and gives her a very gentle, very loving soft kiss on the side of her cheek, feeling overly emotional. If only he had a mother who loved him as much as Joy loves Calum.
~~~
Liz comes up the stairs to stand in the exact same spot where Corey and Joy had been only minutes before and mentally braces herself when she gets an eyeful of bulging crotches clothed in bright spandex hanging on the wall. Then she pushes her shoulders back, fixes a smile on her face and walks in to the first art show her son's work has been featured in.
~~~
"Beautiful light and shadow," Roger comments to Sam as they both starting looking at a series of black and white photos, the first one of which is two guys kissing.
"Very haunting."
"The photographer has a great eye," Roger says, looking at the next photo, one taken from behind of a naked man, holding an umbrella.
"Strong composition," agrees Sam, staring at the guys perfectly taut arse.
~~~
"You can't stay! You have to leave!" Luke says, trying to turn Liz around to take her out of the room.
She wriggles out of his grasp to turn and walk back in, "Luke! I've kept my end of the bargain! Now, I would like to see my son's work. I won't embarrass you I promise!"
"Luke, this is your mother?" asks Geordie as she and Maddie approach with Gus, the likeness between mother and son unmistakable; the same blonde hair, pert noses and eye colour being only a few of the similarities.
Liz smiles, polite as always, extending her hand, "Hi, I'm Liz."
"Maddie."
"Geordie. You know your son's remarkably talented! You should be very proud," Geordie says looking between the two of them.
"Well thank you. I am. And what a beautiful baby!" Liz cries, looking at Gus perched on Geordie's hip.
"His name's Gus."
"Actually, Luke's the one who named him," Maddie informs her.
"Really?! That was his teddy bear's name!"
"Mum!!!" groans Luke, not knowing where to look. He'd forgotten the old bear that he'd lost at the age of three was called Gus too.
"Erm, are you the mother?" Liz asks Geordie quickly, realising that she's just broken her promise not to embarrass him.
"Yes, but we're raising him together."
Liz looks startled, looking at both of them and then suddenly realising what they mean, "Well that's wonderful!" she cries, far louder than she means to, "I've never met lesbian mothers before! I mean I've read about you, them..." She stammers, knowing that Luke's quietly dying standing next to her, "...in the papers, all the time."
Geordie, seeing her embarrassment smoothly changes the conversation, asking, "Have you seen the art?"
"Not yet, where's your stuff honey?" Liz asks, grateful for the escape clause and heads towards the direction Luke points her in.
He looks at both of them, shaking his head, no words necessary as he sends them a silent apology.
Maddie shakes her head a little as looks straight at Luke, no apologies necessary. "She came. That's huge," she tells him.
~~~
"Tremendous energy," Roger says, looking at the next photo; a shot of a naked guy taken from below and up, showing all the subject's tackle in their glory.
"It really comes right out at you," Sam's mouth drops open at the sight of the guy's cock and balls seeming to leap out of the photo. The angle is impressive and so is the subject matter.
"Roger? I think I'm ready," he adds rather breathlessly.
"I promised to play the piano."
Sam's voice goes hard rather like his dick is, "You're just volunteering," he points out.
"You're right, fuck 'em."
~~~
Liz walks around Luke's section of the show, her keen eye looking at all the detail he includes on his drawings. She recognises Geordie feeding Gus on one straight away and wonders when he drew that and how exactly he knows them.
Joy sees Liz walking around slowly and she watches quietly from across the room, wondering what she's going to make of the drawing that's got everyone abuzz today and waits to see her reaction, hoping that it's not going to go as she fears.
Liz walks slowly along, taking everything in, occasionally looking over to the far side of the room to see where Luke is. He pointed his art work out but left her to wander around on her own. She sees Geordie obviously introducing him to someone, before turning her head to look at his art again. Until she comes face to face with a most confronting drawing, and certainly one she wasn't ready for.
"Who's that guy you drew?" Michael asks into Luke's ear, his whispered words making Luke shudder as he wraps an arm over Luke's right shoulder, grabbing him on his left pec to turn him away from Geordie.
Liz sees them both together and recognises the guy straight away with a jolt. Luke's drawings are far too realistic for it to be anyone else. The guy over there, the one who's holding her son in far too an intimate way for an art show, is the same guy who's very naked and very on show for all to see in her son's drawing.
Somehow she gets the impression, even at this distance, that he doesn't give a flying fuck that his body's on show for all to see, in fact she very much gets the impression that he loves the attention.
Her mind goes into overdrive straight away when she sees Michael trail a hand down Luke's arm, he's so confident, so cocky just standing there. Even the way he stands is controlling, it's overtly sexual, and he knows it. His hand slips around the back of Luke's butt, pulling him in for a kiss; does this guy dominate Luke? Does he make him do things that no seventeen year old should be doing? She wants to know what depravations he's teaching her son. Is he the one who Luke's been with when he's stayed out all those nights?
He's a man for goodness sake!
When she'd thought of Luke being with someone, it was with someone of his own age, not a fully grown man who's obviously a lot older than he is and obviously a lot more experienced. Gritting her teeth and setting her mouth in a flat line, she turns to leave, suddenly hot with anger and not wanting to stay in here a minute longer.
Joy watches her stalk out and looks over to see Michael being handed Gus, with Luke looking on at his side. He doesn't even realise that his mother's worked it all out, let alone that she's left. As usual he only has eyes for Michael.
YOU ARE READING
Queer as Muke
Fanfiction"The thing you need to know is, it's all about sex. It's true. In fact they say men think about sex every twenty-eight seconds. Of course that's straight men. With gay men it's every nine." Twenty nine year old advertising executive Michael Cliffor...
