Temper Tantrum

The apartment was on the 19th floor and the floor to ceiling glass windows provided a magnificent view of the city ablaze with all its lights. For some reason, I felt comfortable here and I was actually looking forward to moving in. The house was like an anchor around my spirit. The fond memories assaulted me from every corner and from every angle, I needed to escape its strangle hold on my soul.

I wandered around the large rooms resisting the urge to look at the master bedroom. There was a cost den off the large living room with a corner fireplace and a heavy wood mantle above it. Currently it was cluttered with various canvasses, some seemingly finished, some not. I had already decided that I didn't want to return tonight to my darkened dreary house and would take Vincent up on his offer

Entering the guest bathroom, I discovered that it was stocked with every toiletry that I would need. A large football jersey and a pair of men's boxer shorts would serve as my bedtime ensemble. The oversized Swedish shower complete with a recessed heat lamp and a teak bench which could be used when the shower was used as a steam room, took my breath away. It was then that I realized that the ad had not included the monthly fee and I began to worry that this apartment may well be out of my price range. Despite my anxiety over cost I slept soundly on the king-sized bed.

When I awoke Sunday, morning filtered sunlight was streaming through the curtained windows and I immediately smelled the rich aroma of coffee wafting through the closed bedroom door. I ran a brush through my hair and used what little cosmetics I had in my purse to make myself presentable. Feeling as comfortable as I did with Vincent I left my makeshift nightclothes on even though there was a terry robe in the closet.

I was startled when I entered the eat in kitchen to see a man sitting at the table sipping from a mug of coffee. It wasn't Vincent and my first instinct was to retreat back to the guest room but seeing me he rose and approaching me extended his hand.

He was wearing a pair of boxer shorts and his tight white tee shirt accentuated his muscular chest and arms. He had curly blond hair with a matching small goatee. He appeared to be somewhat younger than Vincent, maybe thirty years old, at best. As I tentatively took his hand, he said:

"Hi, you must be Catherine. Vincent told me you might be staying over. I'm Todd. We got home pretty late so I stayed over. Vincent is in the shower, he'll be out in a few minutes. Can I pour you a cup of coffee?"

It wasn't lost of me that this was a two-bedroom unit as I nodded my acceptance.

I've know gay people most of my life, I work with some both male and female but this was the first time I had been exposed to such an intimate situation and I suddenly realized that I was not all that uncomfortable with it, so I added:

"Cream and sugar, if you have it."

Todd had been telling me that he and Vincent had gone to a play last evening and met some friends at a bar afterwards and had lost track of time, when Vincent appeared in the kitchen. He leaned down and kissed my cheek and wished me a good morning. I was still amazed at how comfortable I was scantily clad with a man I had met less than twenty four hours ago. Hell, I hadn't even put my bra on and was still wearing a pair of silky men's underwear. For an instant, I thought that it was because being gay, there was no underlying sexual tension but then I realized it wasn't that. He was a genuine, caring and unpretentious human being.

They chatted amiably as Vincent moved about the kitchen preparing mini quiches for breakfast.

After we had eaten and had a second cup of coffee, Todd stood and said:

Well, Catherine, it was a pleasure meeting you and I know you two have business to discuss and I have some errands to run so I'll leave you both to get to it. After a few minutes Todd reappeared, said his 'goodbyes' and left. Vincent suggested that we adjoin to the living room to discuss business.

As soon as we were seating I decided to address the most pressing issue on my mind, the rent.

"Vincent, I have to say that I love this place, it is ideal for me but, to be honest, since we haven't discussed rent I'm not sure that I can afford it."

He smiled that endearing smile and with a dismissive wave of his hand, said:

"Listen, Catherine, I'm more interest in quality than quantity."

When he saw the look of confusion on my face, he continued:

"I'm more concerned with the quality of the person than the money, especially since I have a somewhat unusual proposition. I do not have a mortgage and I am not looking to profit on the rental. What I would like is to have the monthly charges covered. Along with the common charges I would like to continue the spa membership, which includes use of the indoor pool, gymnasium and a reserve=bed parking spot. The designers failed to provide enough parking for all of the units and there is a small monthly fee to maintain it. The monthly rent would be $1350."

My heart sank and my hopes were dashed as I said"

"Oh my God, that's an awful lot of money for a parking spot."

He chuckled. "No dear, that is the monthly cost for everything. However, there is one caveat that you may not be willing abide and if you don't I will completely understand."

He waited for a moment and when I didn't respond, he continued:

"I will be in Paris for at least two years but several times a year I will need to be back in the states for short periods in order to conduct art related business. Those stays should never be longer than ten days, probably less. Since I cannot take my entire wardrobe and all of my personal effects I will want someone who is willing to, not only house me for those periods but be willing to provide me the use of one of the closets in the guest bedroom to store those clothes and personal items that I won't be taking with me. This by no means restricts the use of that room and I would provide ample notice prior to my returning."

"Catherine, I realize that your life is in a state of flux right now. I know from what you've confided to me that you have hopes of reconciling with your husband. I certainly am not trying to pick an emotional scab when I say that I have personally been down that road and, frankly, the odds are against it."

When I started to speak, he interrupted me and in a soothing voice, continued:

"I was in a long term, committed relationship, with someone I cared deeply for. I had no intention of violating the trust we had but while he was away on business I got drunk one night and did just that, violated his trust. The gay community here is rather small and close knit and when word got back to him and he confronted me, I admitted my indiscretion. No number of apologies or assurances were able to heal the wound and our relationship ended."

"I am telling you this not to discourage you. If you are able to accomplish that goal I will be more than happy for you. However, you are a beautiful woman, not only in appearance, but in your soul. We humans are sexual beings and I just hope that you don't martyr yourself with chastity. Eventually you will want to resume living your life and if you find someone special during that quest, all the better. I guess what I'm trying to say is that when, not if, that happens you do not have to worry about the commitment time of the lease. I am sure that you would provide me with enough notice and maybe even act as my agent to find someone as trustworthy as you as a replacement."

"It's funny, I said, I have only known you for a day. I don't even know your last name but I feel like I've known you forever. Of course, I would have no problem with you coming back as often as you want for as long as you want. My only concern is feeling guilty at such a small amount of monthly compensation for such luxury."

"Please don't trouble yourself with that. Aside from my fathers forced generosity, which is a mere pittance to him, I inherited a tidy sum from my grandfather and am part owner of a gallery that provides a healthy income."

After getting the legal business out of the way, Vincent suggested we celebrate at the same bistro that we had visited the day before. During lunch Vincent asked me if I would 'do the honor' of accompanying him to a gallery opening that was featuring his work, a week from Saturday.

I guess he read my mind when he added:

"I am openly gay but my personal proclivities are my own business. If anyone were to ask me I certainly wouldn't deny it but not everyone in the art world knows for sure so attending with a beautiful woman on my arm would certainly add a little mystique to my persona. Besides you will get to see some more of my work and the champagne and caviar are excellent."

******************************

Sal had been gone for over eight weeks and he had refused all contact with me except through his attorney. At this point, all I wanted was a chance to apologize and realizing that reconciliation was probably not in the cards, to, at least, possibly keep a line of communication open.

Sal was very close to my mom. He was the son she never had and she was the mother that he had disavowed. I knew that they kept in touch and even though Sal had been vague to her about the reason for our divorce, I was shocked when I had asked her to intervene and arrange a meeting between Sal and I.

In no uncertain terms, she had replied:

"Cathy, I have no intention of interfering with his wishes. He never told me the real reason for the breakup but I knew it had to be a lot more than irreconcilable differences. You of course never confessed so I was shocked and disappointed when Maureen had her 'come to Jesus' moment and spilled the beans. Nothing shocks me any more with Maureen but I thought you were smarter than that"

It was a Thursday, three months from the day of the filing that I received the final divorce decree. The house was in contract and the closing scheduled but I just couldn't stay there and wallow in the memories so when Vincent told me that he had moved up his trip to France by several weeks I took the opportunity to start moving into the condo.

During all this time Josh had been the consummate gentleman. He sensed the turmoil that I was going through and he was always kind and solicitous. He was being groomed to take over the whole division and he was grooming me to head the department. That being so we often worked closely together. He was always flattering without being flirtatious and nothing was ever said about the night of the awards dinner.

The following day, after receiving the decree, I was still in a funk. Near the end of the day Josh had come into my office and trying to cheer me up, said in his best brogue:

"Sure, now Lass ya looking like ya just buried yur dog. Some of the blokes here and a few of the lassies are goin to McGoverns after work for a bite and a couple of pints, whadysay ya join us?"

Either I was shaking my head unconsciously or he anticipated my decline the offer because he sat in the chair next to my desk and dropping the accent, said seriously:

Come on Cat your too beautiful and too young to live a cloistered life. I know you're still hurting and, God forgive me, I know I had a hand in this tragedy but - - - - -"

I interrupted him before he could continue and touching his hand said:

"None of this was your fault Josh, none of it. If it hadn't been you I would have found someone else to use as revenge."

"Well that doesn't do much for my self-esteem" he said sardonically. Seriously Cat, you have to get yourself to move on and isolating yourself from the rest of the world is only going to delay the inevitable. Come with me to McGovern's."

I smiled at the man who I had been so intimate with that night three months ago but who had since treated me like an older, protective, brother ever since and sighed: "Okay".

As he was leaving my office he turned in the doorway and winked at me saying:

"Remember, though, I don't chase married women - - - so you're fair game now."

So much for my 'older brother', I thought.

By the time most of our other coworkers had left McGovern's and I was finishing my fourth --, or was it fifth, white wine I had decided to follow Vincent's advice and 'not martyr myself with chastity. Three months was a long time for me to have gone without sex and my six speed, seven inch purple pussy pleaser did not compare to feeling a man's cock harden at your touch; have my breasts fondled and my nipples sucked or feeling a cock twitch in my mouth at the ecstasy my lips provided. My mind made up I asked Brian if he would like to see my new luxury apartment. He had a mischievous grin and a twinkle in his eyes when he asked: "will I get to see your etchings."

"No etchings, but I have some excellent paintings", I said as I grabbed his hand.