Animate Me / Chapter Three / Buttering Her Up

“Ah, my little darling, it is love at first sight, is it not, no?” ~Pepe le Pewⁱⁱ

It’s past ten p.m. when I erase the stray lines from my finished drawing and hold it up for closer inspection. This is the best cover yet, I think proudly as I date the bottom. Even though I’ve been self-publishing my own comic book on the side for over a year, each new issue of The Adventures of B-Girl in Wildsville feels like my first.

There are times I have almost given up on the project. The time and money I’ve spent are ridiculous. I keep doing it because these are my characters created with my vision, and I don’t have to compromise a thing for anyone. My co-workers and friends at Sketch Republic know about it, and many buy and read them. They may not say it, but I think they admire that I have the focus and energy to do this after working so hard at the studio.

My inspiration for this issue’s cover was the movie Doctor Strangelove, so B-Girl is straddling a large rocket about to shoot into space. Yeah, it’s very ride ‘em cowgirl, but she looks really hot which is how I like to see her…and incidentally won’t hurt sales either. My friend Billie, who works at my favorite comic book store, says that girls like sexy heroines too. She keeps track and says my books sell almost equally to girls as guys. I love that.

Before turning off the lights in my home studio, I open my online calendar to capture today’s most noteworthy events. I write one entry: Took B coffee and discussed chivalry school. On Saturday there was only one entry too: Talked to Brooke at Jimmy’s Geek World. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…Brooke was the only thing that mattered. The best part of all is that she’s even more wonderful than I had imagined during all this time I’ve admired her from afar. She’s kind and approachable, creative and fun, a cartoon expert…hell, she’s my dream girl…and to top it off, she’s beautiful and sexy too.

I’m getting worked up just thinking about her. Within less than a week she has become the brightest star in my universe. It already feels like I’m orbiting around her.

Brushing my teeth, Brooke’s favorite pearly whites, I prepare to slide into bed, my iPod fully loaded with my latest self-improvement download from the master, Dr. Wayne Dyer. I adjust my ear buds as I turn on the recording from my motivational guru. Wayne’s encouraging words always help me focus on the bigger picture. What do I dream of? What do I really want?

I’ve got an extremely vivid imagination. So as I lie in bed, I’m completely living in the scenes I’m creating in my head, and Brooke quickly becomes the star of tonight’s show.

Thoughts are things my friends. Never underestimate the power of your mind. The first step in achieving your life’s goals is to visualize yourself already doing the things you dream of.

Okay then, I’m visualizing doing the things I dream of with Brooke and a lot of those things aren’t rated PG. What’s key is that in every scenario she gazes at me with adoration, as if she cares about me the way I care about her.

As Wayne chants away in my ears, I have to wonder if I’m weird for wanting her to not just want to be with me physically, but to love me too? As unlikely as this idea is, I’m not going to stop wanting it all…every part of Brooke, her heart most of all.

When I roll over to turn on my alarm, I decide that I’m going to continue to listen to Wayne and apply his positive thinking techniques while picturing Brooke in my arms. I fall asleep imagining that I’m spooning her instead of the king-size pillow my arms are wrapped around.

• • •

I’m about ten Bucky drawings into my day when Dani slips into my cube. “Have you seen this?” she says. “They’ve asked me to color it. Kevin is planning to make it a storybook. He’s already done a dozen drawings.”

“On the company’s time, I bet.” I sigh and I reach out for the drawing.

“No doubt,” she agrees.

It’s a straightforward view of the couch in Andy’s apartment. I know because I recognize the Darth Vader poster hanging crooked on the wall. In the drawing Andy and I are sitting with our two life-size vinyl girlfriends. He is lovingly brushing the hair of his babe, and I’ve got my hand firmly planted on the large breast of my plastic vixen. Judging from the ‘O’ shape of her open mouth, she’s rather pleased. My eyes are bugging out behind my glasses, and my cheeks are red.

I make a face, but frankly I was expecting to see a drawing of this the moment Kevin suggested it. It’s just too juicy of an image not to do a caricature.

“Please tell me this is the only one that includes me,” I urge Danielle, or Dani as she prefers to be called.

“Yeah, your solo appearance,” she confirms. “As for Andy…well, let’s just say that he will never live down letting it slip that he had to send Brandy back to the factory for some ‘tightening’. I mean, for fucks sake, I almost lost my lunch.”

I shake my head solemnly, “Yeah, not one of his brighter moments.”

“Hey, for real — do you have one of these at home too?”

Thankfully Dani has always felt like one of the guys to me, otherwise I would have passed out in embarrassment. “No! No matter how desperate I ever get I cannot imagine doing it with a doll.”

“Okay, I overheard one of the assistants mention that when she dropped something off in your cube she saw Google open with the words vinyl dolls in the search box.”

“That’s because I collect the little Japanese vinyl cartoon dolls…they’re collectible, like the ones you can get at Comic Con.”

“Oh, I love those!”

“Hey, what the hell was this assistant doing reading my computer screen anyway?”

“Probably scoping you out. The assistants have a pool going about whether you’re gay or not since you haven’t hit on a single one of them.”

“Are you trying to kill my afternoon or what? They remind me of the mean girls that bullied me in high school. You know, I was in a good mood until you brought all the rainbows and sunshine into my cube.”

“Sorry, I just like to know what people say about me, and thought you may feel the same. Just disregard and delete, and we’ll move on.” She turns to leave.

“Hey Dani,” I call out when she’s a few steps away.

She turns back and looks at me.

“Can I get a good copy of that after you’ve colored it? I’m going to frame it up for my Mom for Christmas.”

She knows I’m teasing her but she smiles anyhow, “Sure thing, Nathan!” And she all but skips down the aisle.

As unflattering as that drawing is, it’s still a keeper.

At four-fifteen I’m half-way into Brooke’s office when Brooke’s assistant, Morgan’s, shrill voice pierces my calmness.

“She’s not here, Evans.”

Evans? What have I done to her?

I try to push down my embarrassment. “Okay thanks, Morgan, do you know when she’ll get back?” I ask politely, looking down.

“Not for the rest of the day. She, Arnauld, and the other execs had a meeting with the management team that came in from New York.”

My expression falls as I stand with the drink and wonder what to do next. I need to see her and get my Brooke fix, and it hadn’t occurred to me that she wouldn’t be here.

“I’m onto you, you know,” Morgan brags in her irritating voice.

“On to me?”

“These afternoon coffee visits, you’re buttering her up for a pitch. Do you think she’s stupid? I’m sure she knows what you’re up to and it won’t work.”

“But I’m not doing that.” My stomach starts churning realizing that if Morgan thinks that, there’s a chance that Brooke does too.