Unexpected Angel (21 page)

Tonight, Norman was teaching Wally that he didn’t like being confined to clothes.  He wanted to shed them at every chance.  Wally wasn’t that way.  He liked to dress for the occasion.  Even at home, Wally was not inclined to run about in skimpy underwear or lounge around in the nude.  Who knows?  Someone might stop by.  It was doubtful that Wally could ever make Norman understand this need for modesty.  Norman didn’t view himself as being immodest.  His body was perfect.  He did not want to hamper all that perfection with fibers, or buttons, or elastic. If the doorbell rang, Wally could simply throw something soft at Norman and motion for him to go put some clothes on.

As Norman continued removing his clothes, all of them, including his underwear, he kept giggling about the conversation at Sylvia’s.  “You mean you didn’t see the look Sylvia gave to Dotty?”

“No,” said Wally.  “I was in pain.”

Norman looked puzzled.

“Yeah,” continued Wally with a twinkle in his eyes.  “The man I love gave me a royal pain in the butt.”

Norman howled.  “You should have seen the look on your face when Sylvia popped her question.  ‘You look like you are in pain, Mr. Jackson.  Is the chair uncomfortable, or is it something else back there?’  And you said, ‘Oh, nothing serious, Ms. Hunnicutt.  Just a minor case of hemorrhoids.  I’ll pick up something at the drugstore, tomorrow, and everything will get back to normal.’”

“Well, yeah,” said Wally.  “My butt does hurt.  That was the only excuse I could think of.  Did you want me to tell her what happened?”

Norman giggled.  “I think she already knows.  After you gave your super-intelligent answer, she turned to Dotty and mouthed something that we didn’t hear.  Dotty let out a little gasp.  Sylvia nodded her head very slowly to indicate yes.  Dotty put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.  Then, to top it all off, Sylvia looked at me, with a wry smile, and winked.  I tell you, they picked up on it.  They know. They are just like us.  They’re in love.”

“Well, how could they know what we were up to.  They don’t have the same parts we do?”

Norman looked dumbfounded.  “Man alive!  Where is your brain?  They can read novels and magazines.  They might even watch those triple-X videos, but I hope not.  Love is beautiful.  Sex for any other reason is just plain nasty.  I tell you, they’ve been around the block a lot more times than we have, and they know what love is all about.  You can see it in their eyes, in the glow on their faces.  Don’t fool yourself.  They’re not living together to share the utility bills.  They’re in love.”

Wally chuckled.  He shook his head.  “I guess you are right.  What we see in them, they can see in us.”

“Exactly!” said Norman.

Wally changed the subject.  “Hey, Norman.  I don’t mean to put out anybody’s fire, but I do have a bit of discomfort back there.  As much as I would like to, I don’t think I can handle it again, tonight.”

Norman wrapped his arms around Wally and silenced him with a kiss.  “Nobody is asking you to do that again, tonight.  That’s why I want us to have separate bedrooms. We can kiss every day.  But, we need to save the really special stuff for a couple of times a week.  If we don’t do it that way, it will get old, and we might take each other for granted.  I love you, Wally.  I want every time with you to be like the first time.  I can’t get enough of you.”

“So, we’ll sleep together, tonight, but we’ll just kiss?”

Norman smiled.  “Absolutely.  Listen, it’s going to be a couple of days before we get the spare room fixed up, and I still have to move out of my other place.   I know somebody who wants to rent it.  There won’t be any problem with my landlord letting me out of the lease.  While we are waiting for all this to get settled, we can practice, like maybe every other night. I do need to help you get used to me.”

Wally grinned, “You think of everything.  I don’t know what I ever did without you.” Wally interrupted himself.  “Yes, I do know.  I slept alone and wondered where Tony was and when he would come back.”

Norman embraced Wally and whispered, “Let’s turn in for the night.  We’ve both got to go to work tomorrow.  Don’t you dare tell the gang at the office what is going on with us.”

As they stood beside the bed, Wally appeared to be a little apprehensive.  Norman asked him why.

“I don’t want to be a temptation to you.  I mean I could get into a hugging and kissing spell real quick, but nothing else.”

“Well,” said Norman, “let’s get into a hugging and kissing spell.  I promise you it will not go any farther.”

The two got under the sheets.  Norman turned out the light on the nightstand.  He snuggled up to Wally from the back.

Wally felt Norman’s goatee on his face as his lover give him a little peck on the check and made a funny slurping noise.  Then he licked Wally’s ear.  He sighed, “I love you buddy.  I reckon I always will.  I just can’t get enough of you.”

Norman put his hand across Wally’s chest.  Wally held onto it.  Norman could feel the wetness of a few tears trickling down Wally’s face.  “I hope those are tears of happiness, my sweet friend.”

Wally shook his head yes.  He was not able to talk, lest he let loose a flood of tears.  His chin quivered.  Thoughts of Tony came across his mind.  He held tighter to Norman’s hand.  Time would level things out. The hurt would heal. Norman loved him.  That was enough.

Chapter 36

Closing the apartment door behind him, Wally gave a casual twist on the knob to make sure the door was locked.  Turning to Norman, he said, “We need to see my landlady, this evening, about getting a key for you.  This is a whole new world for me, having you live here.  I reckon we best go easy on the folks at work, and let them find out little by little.”

“And, why is that?” quizzed Norman.  “I know, last night, I said we shouldn’t tell them. But, they are going to find out sooner or later.  Nothing escapes Mileah’s attention.  Besides, I don’t like skirting the issue, being afraid who is going to find out what, and when.  That leaves too many ends hanging loose.  I hate to be indelicate, but the only end I want swinging in my face is yours.”

Wally howled with laughter. His shoulders shook.

Norman went on,  “I say, we just tell them that I moved in.  We don’t have to give details.  Let them think what they will.” Norman chuckled.  “It’s not like there’s a newspaper with giant headlines,
Stud Moves in with Gay.
  Besides, I’m not a stud anymore.”

“Well, I think you are,” quipped Wally.  “As far as I am concerned you are
Señor Mucho Hombre
and you’ve got a
caramba
to prove it.”

Norman giggled.  “I guess we should drive in to work in the same car.  That should start the conversation right there.  I can almost imagine what Mileah might say.”

Wally smiled.  “You want them to know, don’t you?”

Norman grabbed Wally’s arm and spun him around.  He gave Wally a quick kiss, mouth to mouth. “I sure do.  Oh, yes!  I want them to know.  I am tired of people trying to arrange dates and marriages for me.  They need to know that I’m no longer available.  For one thing, I don’t ever want to be alone again with Mileah and her vibrator.  I didn’t appreciate where she tried to stick it.  I’m the stud, here.  Nobody, pokes me!”

Wally laughed.  “So you’ve got to do the sticking.  Is that the way it is?”

“Yes, except maybe with you.  Then, it could be that I might swap for the sake of variety, once in a great while.  And, I
do
emphasize
great
.  But that is nobody else’s business.”

Wally and Norman rode to work in Norman’s car. Nobody seemed to notice that the gay guy from Poplar Hill and the stud from Brockton were riding together, except Mileah.  But, she was in a hurry.  Seeing them get out of the same car, laughing like two teenagers, didn’t seem to register immediately.

Mileah was preoccupied with her new sweater, wondering if the neckline might plunge too far for the workplace.  I should have known better that to have some drinks with those two young lawyers and then go shopping for clothes.  Oh well, if they ever give me an interview, this sweater could land me the job.   As she walked into the building and down the hall, her hips were swinging to the rhythm of an unheard samba.  She surmised that the lines of her sweater might get more than a few hungry glances from Norman, maybe even another date.  If nothing else, Jarvis Muncey would have sweet daydreams, once he saw her.  He might even be nice to everybody.  One thing I know for sure, she thought.  He would keep me in his office all day before he would send me home to change tops. Reaching the office door, she unlocked it and went in.  It’s going to be an unusual day.  I can feel it.

As Mileah placed her purse on her desk, Dorinda greeted her. “I love that sweater.  It does wonders for your . . .You know, if makes you look
really
womanly.  Being a preacher, I don’t think I could wear anything like that.  Though it might cause some of those old tightwads to put more in the offering.”  She giggled.  “Did you see what I saw in the parking lot?”

“Why, no.  What are you talking about?”  Mileah interrupted herself.  “You mean Wally and Norman, laughing and carrying on?  I was so busy looking at my cleavage, I wasn’t noticing all that much.”

“They rode in the same car.  I was already on my way into the building before they ever got parked, but I saw them in the car together.” Dorinda was smiling like she was on the verge of the juiciest tale imaginable.

“Ohhhh!”  exclaimed Mileah.  “Why did they ride together?  They don’t even live near each other.”

“We’ll find out, soon enough, I tell you.   Shhh! Sit down at your desk.  Here they come.”

The two women seated themselves at their desks, instantly assuming the role of industrious workers concerned with nothing but agency business.  That may have been the look on the outside, but their brains were churning up all kinds of conjectures, both reasonable and questionable, as to why Wally and Norman were riding together.

“Good morning, ladies,” said Norman in his most masculine voice.  “It certainly is nice to be back at work.  I had a really busy weekend.” He sat at his desk.  On his face was a smile that wouldn’t go away, no matter how hard he tried to look serious.

Mileah’s curiosity got the best of her.  “Well, since the two of you rode together this morning, should I assume that Norman stayed with you the rest of the weekend?”

Dorinda interrupted.  “Mileah!  Shame!  That is none of our business, even though we
really
would like to know.” She giggled.

Norman cleared his throat.  “Ladies.  I must admit that I spent the weekend with Wally.  I will be going home with him, again, this evening.  He is having a rough time coping with his friend’s death.  He doesn’t need to be alone.”

Speaking before he thought, Wally blurted out, “Yes, I have broken down and cried several times.  If Norman hadn’t held me in those strong arms of his, I might have lost control.  Norman has been such a comfort.  He really cares.”

Mileah thought.  Oh, my God.  Then, she forced a smile and asked with an almost bitter tone, “And you, Norman, did you
love
holding Wally in your arms?  I remember when you held
me
in your arms.  But, after a while you acted like you were uncomfortable, like you wanted to get away from me.  Something is rolling through my mind that maybe shouldn’t roll there.  Perhaps it’s none of my business, but it seems there is something else going on here.  Do you all
know what I mean?”

Dorinda blushed and fiddled with her hair.

Wally went on the defensive.  “No, it’s nothing like that.  I didn’t ask Norman to stay.  He offered to help me.  I couldn’t do without him right now.”

Mileah peered over the top of her reading glasses.  “Yeah, uh huh.”

Norman stood up and walked to the center of the room.  He looked straight at Mileah.  “You might as well know, babe.  I’ve discovered some stuff about myself since that date you and me had.” Norman cleared his throat.  He took a deep breath.  “I’m moving in with Wally.  I want to spend the rest of my life with him.”

Dorinda gasped.  “Are you saying that you are in love with Wally?  Oh, Lord, help us, if it’s true.”

“Yes, I’m in love with Wally, and Wally is in love with me.”

Mileah’s face was almost white.  “Well, you can say it all you want, but I’m gonna need some hard evidence.  You’re just saying this so I won’t ask you on another date.”  Mileah started to cry.  Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Norman spoke gently, “Mileah.  Believe me.  If I were trying to find me a classy lady, I would certainly consider you.  You are beautiful.  You are intelligent.  You are. . . .”

“Sexy?” smiled Mileah as she dried some tears and blew her nose.

“Yes, sexy.” Norman chuckled.  By that time, Wally had stepped up beside him.

Mileah looked at them both.  “I still don’t believe you.” She smiled.  “I need evidence.”

Dorinda chided, “Hush, you’re gonna cause a scene.”

Norman smiled.  He winked at Wally.  “Is that what you all want, a scene?  I’ll give you a scene and prove a point as well.”

“No!” exclaimed Dorinda.

It was too late.  Norman turned to Wally.  He wrapped his arms around his lover.  His lips met Wally’s.  His tongue passed on through.  His cheeks sunk in on each side as he probed deeply into Wally’s mouth.  His hands caressed Wally’s shoulders and lower back.  He pinched Wally’s butt.  Wally went limp in Norman’s arms, like someone conquered.