My mother and I had recently moved into a new apartment in downtown LA. She had just gotten divorced from her second husband of a few short years, and was on her way to getting back on her feet again, financially and emotionally speaking. We settled in just fine as I began my second semester at a nearby university, while my mom was looking to resume her career in the modeling industry.
But at 45 years old, my mother, Donna, now found herself struggling to get hired for jobs she normally would have no trouble getting. She was still a very beautiful lady, having that California beach blonde look most men go crazy over; with her wavy blonde hair, a golden brown tan, and a perfectly fit 5’7″ body to top it all off. But no matter how gorgeous she looked, there was still the issue of this city having more models than anyone knew what to do with. And of course there’s the long lay off she’s had from working in this business.
My mother always used to complain, ‘There isn’t much modeling work for women my age,’ when looking for a new job. But sure, there were a few gigs, here and there. Mostly modeling for clothing ads, for women her age.
All of that changed when she met a man named John. She never said much about him, other than he was a very wealthy businessman, and that he was paying her a lot of money for small jobs. She was vague about the type of work she was doing for him. But the only thing that mattered to me was that our financial worries were gone and that it was the happiest I’ve seen her in a very long time.
***
It was another typical night for us, having a quiet dinner and just being relaxed. She seemed upbeat lately, and tonight was no different. There was even an air of excitement about her.
“Mark, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” my mother said as we finished dinner.
“Sure, what’s up?”
Mom sat upright and smiled, “I know this sounds a little odd, but remember that person I’ve told you about who’s been hiring me lately? Well, we’ve been chatting, and when I told him I have a 19 year old son, he expressed a lot of interest in having you participate in some of our shoots.”
It came as a total shock, naturally. Me? Of all people, me? And why? Mom looked at me with wide eyes and anticipation, that smile still lingering on her face. She clearly wanted this to happen.
“Really? I don’t know about that, mom. And even if I was interested, you know I’m not a natural in front of the camera like you are,” I replied.
She nodded, expecting my reluctance. “I understand how you may feel about this and how you don’t always enjoy being in front of the camera. But he has a lot of connections with local modeling agencies and he’s willing to put in a good word for me if we do this. Plus he’ll be paying a lot of money. $10,000 dollars for about an hours work.”
Holy shit. I nearly jumped out of my seat.
“$10,000 dollars for an hour of modeling? Jeez, that’s a lot of money he’s throwing around. What does he want me to do anyway? And why does he even want me there at all?”
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