Nasty Nesty and Sandora

Nesty sat in Maria's kitchen years ago learning French conjugations. Now she returns for lessons of an altogether different order. Every afternoon Sandora disappears to run errands, and that's when Nesty climbs the stairs to Maria's bedroom for instruction in the art of pleasing another woman. Maria knows pleasure the way some know wines; the way to draw it out, the places where it lingers, the pressure that makes thighs tremble. She passes these secrets on the way older artists pass brushes to students—confident they will be used with respect, and skill.