"Hello, Monique," I said with little attempt at a pleasant tone of voice.

"Hi, Quinn- how is the…… Art coming?"

How nice- small talk. I suppose I should act surprised when she asks for something. "It’s doing just fine, why do you ask?"

"So, you’re overloaded with models to put casts on, then?"

"Not really, actually. The town seems to have cleared out for the summer."

"If you’d like, I’d be willing to work with you again."

There it is. That’s what she wants. No- no way. I drew a breath to blow her off, hopefully for good, then caught myself. Okay- so she’s a cash hound. She has no redeeming qualities past her looks, but she CAN make a cast look very good, and it would appear she doesn’t find the thought of being casted totally repulsive. Besides, I’ve had some new ideas recently, and am looking forward to trying them out.

"Quinn, are you still there?"

"Yes, just thinking for a moment. I’ll have to check to see if it’s OK, but he liked what we did the first time, so I guess it’s possible."

"Great! What sort of cast will I wear this time? Or more than one again?"

"I don’t know, yet. I’m not promising we will. I just said I’d check. I’ll have to call, leave a message, and wait for him to contact me. Call me in a couple of days, OK?"

"Sounds good to me, I’ll talk to you soon."

After I hung up the phone, a wicked thought passed through my mind. Since I don’t have much respect for her, I guess I could try a few things with Monique that I’d be a bit nervous to try with someone new. Nothing immoral or illegal, but maybe get her outside while casted, or maybe more elaborate casts. Maybe keep her in the casts a bit longer than the others. I drifted off in my thoughts, deciding to make sure that I got the most for my money with Monique.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Quinn, it’s Monique. Do you have news, yet?"

"Yes, we are approved. I guess he wants to see you casted again."

"Great! So what is the exact plan?" She asked.

"Actually, he gave me a few suggestions, and I haven’t decided yet on which one I want to do. If you want, you can come over Saturday. We’ll talk it over, and decide which one, and then go ahead and do it."

"Sounds alright to me," she said with a note of apprehension, "Should I wear the same thing as last time?"

I thought for a moment about this. I wanted to do more this time. Time to surprise her a bit.

"Monique, we’re going to do things a little differently this time."

"Uh-oh," thought Monique. "I hope he doesn’t want me naked. I understand the artistic value of nude models, but I won’t do it. It just seems wrong to me."

"Different in what way?" She asked.

"Different in that we’re going to be a bit more adventurous."

"This time, you’ll be in the casts a while longer. Also, some of the photos will be taken outside."

"Outside?" she asked. "In public?"

"No, I don’t think in public would be a good idea. Maybe just in the back yard, by the pool. I have a privacy fence, so nobody will see you."

"Oh, OK" she replied. "In public could be difficult to explain the next day when I was back to normal, with no cast on."

"Yes," I answered. "I don’t want that to happen. Some people around here would find what I do to be a bit too bizarre."

"I guess so, but it’s not bad, really. I’d hate to have to wear a cast for months, but for a little while, it’s actually kind of cool."

Her last statement hit me like a ton of bricks. She said it was "kind of cool." She didn’t actually ENJOY her casts, did she? Is she really doing this just for the money? Maybe she just thinks it’s kind of cool to not have to really work to make money. Oh well, let’s hit her with the next bomb, and see how cool she thinks THAT is.

"Monique, as far as what you should wear- you’ll need a bra or bikini top with good support. Maybe a push- up, if you have one. For the bottom, a bikini or some shorts will be fine for the type of cast we’ll be doing."

"What kind of cast is that?" she asked.

Here comes the bomb- "We’re going to do a body cast."

A slight trace of worry in her voice with her response: "You mean, a cast from my head to my toes?"

"No, not a full body cast," I replied. What we’ll do is a cast known as a plaster vest. You’ll essentially only have your torso casted. Maybe we’ll do an arm or a leg, as well. You’ll still be able to move around somewhat. Since this will be more intense than before, you’ll be paid more money."

"Monique? Are you there?" I asked, breaking the silence.

Snapped from her thoughts, she searched for something to say.

"Yes, I’m still here." Quick- say something so he doesn’t figure out how this idea makes you feel! "How much more money?"

Ah, there is the Monique I know and hate. Always thinking about the dollars.

"At least a hundred dollars more, depending on whether we do more than just the body cast. Of course, if you don’t feel comfortable with wearing such a big cast, we can forget the whole thing."

"No, no." said Monique, maybe still slightly flustered in her thoughts. "It sounds intriguing to me."

"Great, then. I’ll see you Saturday morning at 11:00 am, if that’s OK with you?"

"I’ll see you then. Goodbye." She hurriedly said, and hung up.

"She said ‘intriguing," I recalled to myself. "She said it sounded intriguing. She also had said her long arm and long leg casts were ‘actually kind of cool.’ Is it possible that she actually enjoys this?" My cynical side responded by reminding me that she asked about the money, too. She’s definitely a strange one. First, she comes across as a materialistic cash-hound, but the last couple of times I have talked to her, she shows signs of mellowing out some. I just don’t know about her. I decided to straighten up the cast room and get ready, hoping to be able to get my mind off of it.