Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2018 15:48:18 -0500 (EST) From: HENRY BROOKS Subject: His and Hers short story Please donate to Nifty.org at http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html. Your donation will allow stories such as this to be published. His and Hers The walls of Orly Airport in Paris, France, were just about to burst with the hundreds of passengers coming and going. If the scene could be viewed from fifty feet up, it would look like a very active ant hill. Oblivious to all this hustle and bustle, Charles Claudet and his wife, Marie, stood at the security gate, embracing each other. Neither of them wanted to let go. Their five year old twin boys were clutching their father's legs. They were not crying, and they remained silent. It was as if they could keep him from leaving them by holding him tightly. Charles worked for a prestigious fashion house in Paris. Four times a year he traveled to New York to introduce the four seasonal lines. Each trip averaged a month. In addition, he stayed for both New York Fashion Weeks, extending his stay by another month. When all was said and done, he spent about six months a year in New York and six in Paris. His company rented a lovely two-bedroom apartment in Midtown Manhattan for his use, and for any other company executive who found himself in New York for business or pleasure. Charles tore himself away from his wife, hugged his two sons, and headed for his flight. Hours later he stepped off the plane at JFK Airport. He walked as fast as he could in the heavy pedestrian traffic, heading to the security gates and then on to baggage claim. Once outside the security gates, he searched the faces in the congested terminal, looking for someone in the crowd. They spotted each other at the same time. He ran the rest of the way, and he fell into the other's arms. "I've missed you so much," Jonah said. "It's going to be great having my husband home again. I have big plans for us for tonight, sweetheart." ********** Charles married Marie the weekend after he graduated from university. All four parents were delighted with the match, and both sides funded a lavish wedding. Their friends and relatives celebrated with the bride and groom, and there never was a happier wedding party. When they returned from their short honeymoon, Charles started a new job at Chez Louis, a highly respected fashion house. Neither he nor Marie liked the frequent separations his position required, but he made an exceptionally good salary for a man his age, and for a recent graduate, so they abided it. Two years after they married, Marie gave birth to twin sons. It was an exceptionally hard birth. Marie didn't want to go through that pain again, so she had her tubes tied without telling Charles. Ironically, he wouldn't have cared. The twins were a handful for both of them. To make matters worse, he wasn't home half the time. As August approached in his first few months at his new job, Charles readied himself for his first of many future monthly trips to New York. This trip was to last almost two months because he was going to stay on for Fashion Week in September. That was the time when all the international fashion designers displayed their lines. A second Fashion Week occurred in February, and Charles knew that when the time came, he would stay on for that one also. One of the major upscale boutiques placed a large order with Charles. He prepared the contract, and the customer brought in a lawyer to make sure that everything was perfect. The lawyer was a twenty-seven year old Harvard Law graduate. Charles was almost struck dumb at how handsome Jonah Capella was. Jonah felt the same way about Charles. It was obvious that Jonah had a lot of Mediterranean blood in him. His straight hair and eyes were nearly black. His nose and chin were chiseled. Charles on the other hand still boasted blond hair, almost the same color as when he was a child. His eyes were hazel, and he too had a chiseled chin and nose. After the contracts were signed, Jonah invited Charles to have a drink with him at his favorite watering hole. At the time, Charles knew very few people in New York and he gladly accepted. It just so happened that Jonah was gay, and he took Charles to his favorite gay bar. He did it on purpose, because he had every intention of seducing Charles. He had no idea that Charles was married, and he had no idea if he was straight or gay. He didn't care. He just knew that he wanted to make love with him. What he didn't know was that Charles felt the same way about him, so when Charles expressed surprise that Jonah took him to a gay bar, Jonah admitted. "I'm gay, and this place is a lot of fun, but if you're uncomfortable, we can leave." "I'm not uncomfortable at all," Charles said. "At university, I had many gay sexual experiences. I enjoyed them. They were very satisfying." It didn't take Jonah, or a rocket scientist, to figure out that Charles was coming on to him. After a couple of drinks, Jonah said, "I'm a fantastic cook. How about coming home with me, and I'll make us dinner?" Charles didn't answer. He took Jonah's hand and they left the bar. As soon as they entered Jonah's upscale apartment, Charles was overwhelmed with the smell of lilacs. Jonah had air freshener plug-ins all over the apartment. The sweet aroma made Charles heady. All pretenses were dropped. They fell into each other's arms. Little by little they stripped until they stood facing each other in a very naked state. They were both erect so neither knew the size of the other's flaccid cock, but standing at full attention they were both about seven inches, and about the same size around. Jonah was cut, Charles was not, but they looked the same in this very erect position. Jonah could not restrain himself. He fell to his knees and took Charles's cock into his mouth. In spite of how good it felt, Charles stopped him. "I want to take a shower with you, and then I want to make love in bed." In the shower they soaped themselves up really good, and fondled and finger fucked each other, but refrained from cumming. It was quite different in bed. They fell into a sixty-nine position, and each brought the other off twice. After the second time, they lay exhausted side by side, fondling each other, kissing and assuring each other how great it was. Jonah got out of bed and threw a robe at Charles. "Get up," he commanded. "I'll make dinner and after we eat, let's fuck all night." Charles could only smile and kiss Jonah yet again. Charles stayed with Jonah for the rest of his trip and every visit after that. Shortly after the twins were born, Jonah asked Charles to marry him. Charles could not have been thinking straight. When he was in New York, his life in Paris did not exist, and when he was in Paris, New York did not exist. Without a rational thought in his head, and thinking only with his penis, he accepted Jonah's proposal. Before Charles went back to Paris, they were married by a judge at the courthouse. Charles lived his double life for several years more, and then Marie threw a bombshell at him. The twins were now teen-agers, but she arranged for her parents to stay with them, and she planned to go to New York with her husband for two weeks. Charles panicked. "I'll be working all day. What will you do?" "Are you kidding?" she asked. "We're going to New York. I'll have lots to do, and at night we'll be together. We'll eat at fine restaurants and see every show on Broadway." Charles could not dissuade her, so he texted Jonah and told him that he had to remain in Paris an extra two weeks on business. He worried about running into someone he knew at the theater or in a restaurant. He was very agitated, and became short tempered with Marie, his sons, and his co-workers. A few days later he got a text message from Jonah. "I miss U too much. I've arranged to take a month off, and I'll be returning to Paris with U on your next return trip." Now he more than panicked. He actually considered suicide, but his more rational self told him to take a deep breath, and come up with a plan. He knew that he couldn't go on like this. He had to make a choice, and one family will be devastated. He thought long and hard about what to do. Finally he sent Jonah an E Mail. A text message couldn't tell all he wanted to say: "Hi Babe: I'll be coming to New York on schedule after all, but a business associate is accompanying me, and will be there for the first two weeks of my visit. We'll be staying at the company apartment. Nobody back home knows about my sexual orientation, and I want to keep it that way. I couldn't bear to be in America and not be with you. I'll tell my associate that you are my best friend in New York, and that I have invited you to dinner with us so that you two can meet. No matter what, I love you. Au revoir, mon cher. CC When the three of them were together, Charles planned on telling the whole truth. He prayed that Marie would tell him to get lost, and that Jonah would forgive him. He realized that he would rather be with Jonah than with Marie. Charles and Marie arrived in New York early on a Friday morning. Once settled in the apartment, he called a ticket broker and obtained tickets to several hit Broadway shows. It cost him a king's ransom. The first night they were free was Wednesday. He made reservations for three for dinner at a restaurant where he and Jonah had never been. He didn't want a waiter to recognize them and say the wrong thing. The first moment he was alone he called Jonah and told him where and when to meet. "It will be hard for me not to hug you," Jonah said. "I know. I feel the same way." "You really should come out of the closet, Charles. It's very liberating, and you'd be much better off, and certainly much happier." ********** Jonah got to the restaurant first. His nerves were making him fidgety and sweaty. He was afraid he would grab Charles and kiss him. He had a thought. He would kiss Charles on both cheeks, French style. That way he could sort of get his kiss without raising questions. He went to the bar, and placed himself in a position where he could see the front entrance. He ordered a drink, took a few sips, and a few minutes later Charles came in. A beautiful woman was holding on to his arm. Jonah was shocked. He expected Charles's business associate to be a man, not a stunning French beauty. Jonah waved them over, and he greeted Charles with his double cheek kiss as he had intended. Charles said simply, "Jonah, this is Marie. Marie, this is Jonah. I'll introduce you two properly when we are seated at our table." Minutes later they were seated, and the waiter took their wine order. Jonah couldn't hold back any longer. He looked at Marie and said, "I expected Charles's business associate to be a man. What a pleasant surprise to see she's a beautiful woman." "What do you mean `business associate'? I'm his wife, mother of his two sons." Jonah was stunned and very tongue tied. He was finally able to blurt out, "You can't be his wife, I'm his husband." It was Marie's turn to be mute. The silence at the table was truly uncomfortable. At last, Charles mumbled, "You two have stolen my thunder. I wanted to be the one to tell you." "Tell us what?' Marie sobbed. "That you're a bigamist, a fraud, and a cheat?" Jonah finished Marie's question. Marie jumped up. She was sobbing. "You'd better not come to the apartment tonight. Go home with your husband. I'm going back to France as soon as I can book a flight. I never want to see you again. We'll deal with each other through my lawyer." "He can't come home with me. I won't tolerate it," Jonah said. His declaration was strong and adamant. He held out his hand for Marie, and led her to the bar. "Come," he said, "I'll buy you a drink stronger than wine." Charles sat at the table like a slab of concrete, unable to move or speak. The waiter came over, and Charles asked for a check for the wine. He paid and ran out of the restaurant. He felt as if his life was destroyed. At the bar, Jonah and Marie were bonding in common agony. "What would you like to drink?" Jonah asked. "I'd like to talk to you about all this." "Thank you, Jonah; I'll have a dry martini." They found a table for two at the bar, and Jonah ordered a dry martini for Marie and a Manhattan for himself. Marie spoke first. "Are you as shocked as I am?" she asked. "Shocked is putting it mildly. I'm all that, and extremely distraught. My life was centered on him." "Too bad for you," Marie said. "What do you mean?" "I'm shocked, of course, but I'm not unhappy. Charles is gone half the year. I've been having an affair with a wonderful man. He has been begging me to divorce Charles and marry him. I have been resistant, but now I'm free to be happy. Claude will be a full time husband. My kids adore him." Jonah laughed. "Me too," he giggled. "I've got a boyfriend to fill the gap when Charles is away. He's a fantastic lover, and now I can be with him full time." Marie laughed also. Let's drink to our new and better lives," she said. She raised her glass, and clicked Jonah's. They both sipped their drinks. "Would you like to have dinner with me?" he asked. "Why thank you, Jonah. It'll be a pleasure." ********** When Jonah returned to his home several hours later, he was surprised to see Charles sitting on the sofa. His eyes were red and swollen. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd go to a hotel or The Y or someplace." Jonah's tone was harsh and unforgiving. "Please," Charles begged, "don't kick me out. I swear it's you I want; it's you I love. I've been thinking of ways to break up with Marie. I thought that tonight would be a disaster, but it turned out to be my way out of my marriage to her." "I don't know if I can ever forgive you." Charles broke out in great, racking sobs. Jonah put his arms around him and held him tight. He whispered in his ears, "Sh, sh, everything will be all right." Charles was surprised at the change in Jonah. He looked into Jonah's eyes. He was smiling. "What?" Charles asked. "Sit down. I'll explain." They both sat on the sofa and Jonah took Charles's hand in his. "First of all," Jonah began, "I really expected you to be with a business associate. Foolish me. I believe all your lies." A pained expression swept across Charles's face. "I swear this is the only thing I've ever lied to you about." "But it was a big one, a real whopper. Anyway, when I saw you with Marie, I knew immediately that it was your wife." "You knew I had a wife???" "Of course I did. If you recall, one of your customers is a client of mine. I had lunch with him one day shortly after we met. I couldn't contain my enthusiasm about you, so I started to ask my client all about you. He told me to simmer down, that you were straight, married, and a father." "That's incredible," Charles said. "You've known all along." "I didn't care at first. You made a wonderful fuck buddy, and that's all I cared about. Stupidly, I fell in love with you, and I chose to ignore what I had learned." "Then why were you so shocked tonight?" "Once I got over the initial trauma of actually being in Marie's presence, I put on an act. I wanted her to believe that I was as angry at you as she was, and that I was going to dump you also. I confessed to having a boyfriend to fill the gap when you were in France. If she thought I was going to stick by you, I feared she might make life more miserable for you than it is. She confided in me that she would go easy on you in the divorce. She has her next husband lined up. When I told her I might have you arrested for bigamy, she actually told me not to be so harsh." Charles sat on the sofa with his mouth wide open. Jonah closed it with a kiss. "If you really want me to take you back," Jonah said, "there are conditions." "What are they?" "You have to come out of the closet, not only here, but in France as well." "Deal." "And you have to be truthful and forthright. No more lies." "Done." "When I go to Paris with you after this business trip, I want you to be open about our relationship. I expect you to take me all over the city. I've never been to Paris. I always wanted to go there. "Where will we stay when we get there?" "Let's book a hotel on line, and when we arrive let's look for a nice two bedroom apartment." "Why two bedrooms?" "In case your sons want to visit you." This time Charles shut Jonah up with a kiss. "I've waited a long time for this," Jonah said. He jumped up and started to undress. He dropped his clothes on the living room floor, and Charles followed suit. They couldn't wait to get to the bedroom, preferring to use the bear-skin rug in front of the faux fireplace. They threw themselves down in a sixty-nine position, and began to give each other more pleasure than usual. Charles never felt guilty when he made love to either of his spouses, but tonight, he sucked Jonah with such love and sensuality, that when he came in Charles's mouth Jonah flew out into the stratosphere. When they disengaged from the game they were playing, they sat up, held each other tightly, and professed how much they loved each other. Just as he was falling asleep, Charles sang softly in Jonah's ear: Dites-moi ... Pourquoi ... La vie est belle ... Dites moi ... Pourqui ... La vie est gai ... Est-ce que ... Parce que ... Vous m'aimez? (Tell me ... Why... Life is beautiful ... Tell me ... Why... Life is gay ... Is it ... Because ... You love me?)* *Dites-moi is taken from the musical South Pacific with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and music by Richard Rodgers. Author's note: Before some of you send me mail telling me that this story is plagiarized, let me make a confession. It is an updated, gay version of a 1953 film called The Captain's Paradise, which starred Alec Guiness.