The Nude Drawings

As I entered my house I decided that if Clint ever asked me out I would date him.

I wanted to study some material on our states new laws concerning teacher/student sex when I booted my old desk top computer. I had a laptop but used it for work mostly and my desk top was my preferred search tool. After I finished my research I had a thought. I quickly entered Clints name in the search bar and was directed to several different search apps. I chose one and had to give a credit card to proceed and when completed I was given the lowdown on my friend Clint.

He was married for the second time. That was news. Her name was Camille and there was a picture of a very pretty, petite, and very black woman. I jotted her phone number and address. There was no mention of any separation or pending divorce. To all outward appearance they lived together. I was suddenly very suspicious of my friend Clint. Was I just going to be another notch on his bedpost? Were they really separated or was he smoothly feeding me a line just to fuck me. Was that all I was to the men of the world? Another fuck? Another conquest to brag about to his friends at the bar?

I was suddenly depressed again. I wanted someone to hold me. I thought of Sylvia and our two year love affair. Was I destined to be alone while people like her and Clint had success in their love life?

I shut my computer down and took a long hot shower. I masterbated while in my shower but I wasn't sexually satisfied when I finished. If anything the feelings were more intense. I had never gone to bars or clubs to pick up a man and I didn't want to start now so with a heavy unfulfilled feeling I went to bed with my BOB.

******

While I slept my world shifted and changed forever.

It was 4:30 AM when my phone rang. A hospital near my father's retirement community was on the line asking me if I was Terry Murphy and if my father was named Frank. When I acknowledged who I was, the person on the line said that my father had been admitted. He had had a massive stroke and was on life support at the moment. There was a woman with him now, (Helen), but she was not a relative and couldn't make any medical decisions for him. They wanted to know if my father had something called an advanced directive in place. If not, did I want to continue life support since I was his only relative of record. Honestly, at that point I was in shock as well. My father, my last living relative, was dying. Or possibly dead for all practical purposes. I had to have a moment to say goodbye at the very least so I told the woman where I was and that I would be on the first plane down to them. I asked her to keep him on life support until I got there. I jumped up and with tears running down my cheeks I quickly packed a bag with my essentials. I could buy whatever I forgot to pack. My father was dying.

******

The days ran together endlessly for over a week. He held on until I was able to tearfully say goodby to the man that had dispassionately raised me from that little girl so long ago. He might be considered to be a bad parent by some but to me he was the only parent I ever had. My mother was a distant memory. I had no siblings or cousins left alive that I knew of. I was alone once again. How I made it through those days was a miracle in itself. My father had, gratefully, made all his own arrangements. Helen was a godsend. She made sure that everything went smoothly and with the precision of a general she guided me through the grief process. Finally my father was put to rest and all I needed to do was sign a lot of papers. After the funeral Helen and I were able to relax with some tasty wine that she provided at their condo. She excused herself and said that she had something to show me. I was very mellow at that point and wondered what she could show me that I didn't already know of. I thought I knew everything about my father. Turns out that I was wrong.

Helen came out with a large manila envelope. I opened it and there inside was a sheaf of papers and a smaller envelope.

"Open the small envelope before you look at the rest. It's a letter from your father Terry."

I thought my tears had dried up before. They started again.

"Would you like more privacy? I can leave you alone if you wish."

I looked up at this slightly overweight seventy year old woman that had quickly become my friend.

"No please stay. Do you know what is in here?"

"Only some of it. He wrote the letter several years ago when he was taking care of his final wishes. He wanted the letter to be private so I gave him that." she had a tear running down her cheeks as she spoke.

I opened the envelope that held my father's last words to me it said:

My dearest daughter Terry,

How the years have changed you. I know I haven't told you often enough but you, my dear, are my proudest life accomplishment.

When your mother died I was suddenly alone and tasked to raise a young lady with no help. I was woefully unprepared and I should have found someone to help me raise you but I didn't. I couldn't. After all, I was still in love with my wife. Then suddenly you were about to enter your teens. That is the hardest time in a young girls life and trust me it's no picnic for a single father either. You surprised me though. You showed me a strength, maturity and character that I couldn't imagine in one so young. When you entered puberty I was once again at a loss as to how I would deal with a young lady's issues. I apologize for the way I handled it. You must have been hurt when you had all of the normal questions and I responded by giving you a book to read but you were so independent by then that I felt totally inadequate as a parent.

After that period ;) in your life was over you were the easiest child to raise ever. Up until you left for Cornell you required very little guidance. I wanted you to be challenged so that's why I chose Cornell but then I suddenly was afraid that I set the bar too high for you when your grades started to flounder but you surprised me once again. You just seemed to thrive with the pressure.

Again you needed no guidance as you found a way to surpass my hopes for you. When you graduated, you spent no time relaxing and quickly found your place in life. While your career choice isn't the most lucrative, it was your choice and once again you thrived in the challenge of filling young people's minds with your knowledge.

I can't take much credit for who you are but I do look at the person that you have become with pride.

In closing, I want you to know my dear Terry that you have always been one of two women in my life that I truly love with all my heart and soul. I met my soulmate in your mother and with you reading this letter, I know that I am once again with her.

Your ever loving father,

Frank Murphy

There was a second page.

Now that mushy stuff is over I want you to carefully look over these documents that I have included in this packet. They are documents that transfer ownership of my wealth to you. There are several brokerage accounts and two offshore accounts. I have set up a meeting with an attorney for you to go over everything so all you need to do is call her and set up a time. Don't worry about introductions, she knows you will be calling her soon.

I also have taken care of Helen so you don't have to worry about her financially. She already had her own money but I felt that I had to leave her with a small gratuity.

There was no signature to the second page but I was sure that my father had written it.

I put his letter back in the envelope and took the sheaf of documents out. Quite frankly I had never been a money person so I couldn't decipher what they meant so after a cursory look I put everything back in the manila envelope.

Helen took that moment to hand me a tissue for my eyes and said, "Please be careful with these papers. Frank has been able to leave this earth as a wealthy man. A very wealthy man. You hold the key to his gift to you. He wanted you to be as independent as possible so he never let you know of his worth and even I as his accountant didn't know everything. I suspect that when you meet with his attorney all shall be revealed as they say. Now we both need to talk to his lawyer so why don't I call right now and we can deal with this last bit of business."

Helen dialed a number and introduced both of us. The person on the line asked a few simple questions then made appointments for Helen and myself. Helen would meet with her the next day so she needed to make arrangements to fly to New York soon. I on the other hand needed to finish my class to be recertified so my appointment was for the Monday following the last day of class, a week away. Helen and I shared a long and tearful goodbye and then I left her condo. The woman had literally taken over my heart since my father's death and I knew I had a friend and confidant for as long as she was with us.

There was nothing else keeping me in Florida so I packed my bags and called for a flight that night. Fortunately there was a flight scheduled but only first class tickets were available so I gulped at the added cost and gave the airlines my information over the phone. At the time I didn't realise that I could have afforded to charter a flight for myself but old habits are hard to break.

A week later on a Friday I received my recertification and was good to go for the following school year. My appointment for the attorney wasn't until the following Monday so since my life was humming along I thought a weekend of shopping might be in order. I had made reservations at the Manhattan Hilton and had my bags packed at home. I was walking to my jeep when Clint intercepted me. I had avoided him for two weeks. I told him that I was still grieving over my father's death and wouldn't be good company. Now with class over there was no way to avoid the inevitable. He hailed me as I was unlocking my car door.

"Terry are you just going to leave without at least saying goodby? I had hoped that we were better friends than that." he seemed a bit off.

"Clint, your right. I had hopes that we were better friends also. But we're not. I had you checked out. You aren't separated from your very pretty wife. In fact you are still living with her. So why don't we just leave it at that. Go home and make love to her. Forget that you know me. If you call me or harass me I will call the police and then I will call Camille. Is that clear?"

His face went white as death as he sputtered and choked on his words. I think I had blindsided him with my admonishment.

"What, um where did, who did..."

"Good by Clint," I said as I opened my door and got in my jeep. He hadn't moved when I left the school parking lot. 'Asshole,' I said to myself as I motored to my home.

*******

Girls, do you know the damage that can be done to your credit card in a place like New York City? For this small town country girl there was just too much temptation to not submit to it. I kind of went crazy for a while maxing out my only credit card and doing some serious damage to my debit. I was feeling some very real remorse over my spending when I entered the attorney's office bright and early on Monday and announced myself to probably the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen on two legs. That's an old joke between Sylvia and myself. You see...never mind.

Anyway this goddess ushered me into a small meeting room. There was only one huge window on one wall and as I was admiring the New York skyline my/our attorney walked in. She introduced herself as Annette Bigsbee, she was maybe on the shady side of 50, nice legs in a mid length tight skirt. Four inch spiked cfm heels on her feet. Her ample breasts poked delectably covered only by a white semi transparent blouse. Her bra was very lacy and expensive I suspected.

She was a senior partner in this law firm. We sat at a beautiful solid wood table and got right to business. She told me that my father had come to their firm shortly after my mother's death, over twenty years before. His finances had gotten cumbersome and with several heavy losses because of the markets, he felt that their law firm would be a better choice to handle his affairs. While not an investment firm they took on the challenge, cleaned his portfolio up and arranged for his cash deposits to be deposited for better interest. I could follow her only so far.

As I said before. I'm not a money person. I can balance my checking account and calculate simple interest rates but for a math major I was incoherent as to the intricacies of making, holding, and hiding large sums of money. Annette was deep into her presentation when I interrupted her.

"Annette honey, don't be offended but you are talking way over my head. I'm a high school advanced math teacher. I know numbers but all this talk is confusing me. Your firm has done an admiral job of making and protecting my father's money. Give me my bottom line and some advice as to any changes I should make."

Annette just smiled and said, "You don't need to change a thing. Your long term investments should grow at a two percent rate per annum. The total in your long term portfolio is fifteen million. Your short term accounts total fifteen million also and at present are growing at an annual rate of ten percent. That could change from time to time and currently it's more but projections are that it should average at ten for the year. We didn't play poker with your father's money, Terry. Now that you are in control, we won't play poker with yours either. Oh by the way the short term account includes two million in cash that is at your disposal immediately. Do you have any vacation plans?" She said this as she handed me a black plastic card.

"This card is for you. It accesses your cash account. You have the two million available for use but please don't go crazy. We have, at your father's insistence, been monitoring your expenditures for several years and I don't anticipate that you will suddenly change your spending habits. Don't worry though. We will keep you updated if you abuse the account. Anything else I can help you with?"

I was stunned. Never in my wildest imagination did I see this coming. My father had never talked to me about any of this. I was absolutely blindsided. I did have one question though.

"My father mentioned in the letter he left me that his lady friend had been cared for by his estate. I know you probably can't quote numbers but will she be ok in the future?"

Annette smiled again and said, "Helen will be fine. Your father was very generous. I only wish my late husband had been so generous. The bulk of his estate went to some worthless charity he fancied. Oh well that's the life of a working girl I suppose."

We both laughed and I had an idea that both Helen and Annette would be ok.

"I wasn't joking about the vacation Terry. I know the loss of your last family member must be daunting. Where in the world would you most like to visit? The Caribbean? Europe? The Orient?"

"I can't say Annette. This is all a bit much for me to take in right now. I think, for now anyway, I will go home and absorb what has just happened to me. Maybe in a few weeks I can think more clearly and make some decisions about what I want for the rest of my life. One thing I do know is that I doubt that I will continue teaching. Maybe at some point in the future I might get back into the classroom but with what you have just dumped into my lap I don't think I could concentrate with a room full of teens."

I suddenly had a thought. "There is something that you might help me with though." I related the story of the nude drawings and my concerns because of the anonymous way that they came into my possession. She only raised one eyebrow when I described the drawings. I asked Annette what I should do.

"You have no idea who the artist could be?"

"I have no clue. It could be a student, some other teacher, or even a total stranger but I doubt it was a stranger. The person in the drawings was certainly me and I don't let anyone into my classroom that shouldn't be there."

"Would it be possible for me to see these drawings? I would have a better understanding if I could see them in person."

"Give me your address here at the firm and I will Fed Ex them to you but promise me that they don't leave your hands. I don't want a scandal to follow me and if an under age student was responsible, there could be legal repercussions also."

"Trust me Terry I will be discrete. No one will ever see them without your permission. Once they leave your hands I will take full responsibility for the legalities."

We left it at that and Annette told me that a limo was waiting to take me back to my hotel or wherever I might want to go.

"Don't worry about tipping the driver either. He is on staff. He is also married to that bombshell that we have for a receptionist," she finished with a laugh.

"She does look like sex on two legs," I giggled.

******

Home looked as I had left it. Warm and cosy. Too cosy for me now though. I was a millionaire. I could go or do whatever I wanted. I could live where I wanted within reason. I wasn't limited by money anymore. I had been making a list of improvements on my trip back home. I thought a general upgraded kitchen would be nice. I liked to cook but with only myself to cook for there was never any need to get fancy. Central air also. My window a/c units were ugly and would have to go. Paint and landscaping outside? Sure why not. I could see several months of remodeling and thought a contractor might be in the cards. Maybe someone to take over the entire project.

I was in the middle of my muse when it hit me. Sylvia.

I hadn't talked to Sylvia in years. I suddenly wanted to hear her voice once again. Don't ask me why I felt it like I did, but I suddenly had to find her. I needed to hear her voice. I wanted to cuddle with her in bed once again. I needed her not just for the awesome sex that we had once enjoyed, but more for the closeness of having a person to share my life with.

There was a problem though. She had married some law clerk and was living somewhere in central Virginia when I lost contact with her. Her husband didn't like her having any friends that he didn't approve of and I wasn't on his approved list so we had to break our relationship off. That was seven years ago. I dialed the last known number I had but I was rewarded by a 'number out of service' message. Then I thought of the app that I had recently used to get the goods on Clint. I booted my Apple up and typed Sylvia's maiden name and waited for the app to do its job. I quickly had her information. Surprisingly she was listed as still married but living on the coast now near Virginia Beach. Her new phone number was listed and I jotted it down along with her address.

I felt like a young teen calling a girl for a first date as I dialed her number. It went right to voicemail and my mind suddenly went blank as I thought of something to say. Finally I blurted out my message. "Syl it's me, Terry. Call me baby." I didn't hear from Sylvia for two weeks. In fact I was packing for my vacation when I received her call. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The following day from my call to Sylvia I contacted my supervisor at the school and arranged for my sabbatical. I had enough seniority to take a year off from teaching while I decided what I was going to do with the rest of my life. I honestly loved teaching but I suddenly felt like life was passing me by while I was preparing my students for a life I would never know.

After I took care of my work life I wanted to find a contractor for the home improvements that I wanted. I searched online for someone that was honest as well as competent. I had my list of wants ready as I briefly chatted with several local businesses but I came away from these calls unimpressed with any of them. I didn't know anyone that could point me in the right direction so I just decided to visit the local home center. Maybe someone there could point me in the right direction.