Male 30+. 216 words. Tassi: "Lecherous Proposal." From La Maestra.

By Paul Pasulka

My, you are talented. The Virgin Mary - what an ironic subject for such an experienced woman. And you certainly are - a woman. I could - teach you so much. Oh, you are offended. You, a female painter with no marketable skills, cannot afford to take offense. I know your father is not well-fixed. I know this because he is my cow. I feed him, only not much. And I milk him as I please. You, however, have the assets to see that he - and you - are well-fed. On the other hand, whatever would he - and you - do if I don’t get fed, and I stop feeding him. It’s true, the commissions I get him are barely enough to keep a chicken alive. They barely keep him in wine ever since he ran afoul of the Pope. Oh. Of course. This sordid family secret was kept from you. I will begin your education with a history lesson: Your father was imprisoned with the great Caravaggio. It’s only through my intercession that you  eat - paint - exist. And if I cease my intercession? What becomes of destitute fallen women? Now if I were well-disposed to your - art, and you to mine, the most important commissions would rain down upon your oh-so-lovely fertile fields, and you would live like a queen.