Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:56:55 -0500
From: Justin <justin1326@gmail.com>
Subject: The Inn - Chapter 4

"Maybe I'm finally coming to my senses," he thought. "It's about time. If I
keep waiting for Luke, I'll be an old man, all alone."

The Inn - Chapter 4

Fall gave way to winter, and the days grew shorter. After the Christmas and
New Year holidays, life slowly returned to normal. This being the dead of
winter in the Midwest, the days were overcast more often than not which
only seemed to lengthen an already-long season.

March finally rolled around, and the air hinted at the better weather to
come.

A week before St. Patrick's Day, Jon and Joe went over to Paul's place
where they had a few beers and watched a basketball game on TV.

Joe said, "Hey, what are you guys doing next Saturday?"

"Nothing special," answered Paul, and Jon shook his head.

"How about we go into Chicago for the St. Patrick's Day Parade? We can take
the train; that way we can drink ourselves silly on green beer."

"Sounds like a plan," Paul said, and Jon agreed. Paul got up and went to
his computer to check the train schedule. He returned a few minutes later.

"There's a 9:30 express that'll get us there about 10:15. That's a little
early, but I'm sure we could find something to do. Or there's a "milk
train" at 10:30 that gets in a little before noon. That's cutting it a bit
close."

"What about coming back?" asked Joe

"I didn't check, but the trains run every hour or two on the weekends so we
can just see how we feel at the time. It doesn't matter what time we get
back."

Jon asked, "How we gonna get to the train station?"

Joe thought for a moment. "Well, it probably wouldn't be wise to drive
since we'll be pretty toasted when we get back. We could walk, it's only a
couple of miles, then grab a cab when we get back. We probably won't be in
shape to walk at that point."

"Works for me," Paul said. "As long as I get to see them dye the river
green. Did you guys know that the dye they use is actually, like,
fluorescent orange? It turns green when it hits the water."

"I wonder if that's a good thing or a bad thing," mused Joe.

"Dunno. Hey, let's give Luke a call and see if he wants to join us."

"Sure, why not?" said Jon sarcastically. "For all the good it'll do. If you
need to burn some cell minutes, knock yourself out."

Paul punched some numbers into his phone and waited. After a few seconds he
looked at his phone's display. "Shit! I shoulda never switched
carriers. Ever since I did, I have to go outside to make a call." Paul rose
to go out to the courtyard.

"Ten bucks says he won't go," said Jon.

"The only way I'd take that bet is if you give me 100 to 1 odds."

Paul returned, smiling, and shouted, "Praise the Lord! Luke is risen! He's
actually going to grace us with his presence!"

"Hey, that's great! Like old times," Joe enthused.

"Maybe," said Jon warily. "Will the Ball and Chain be joining us, too?"

"Oh crap! I didn't ask. Not much we can do about it now except maybe come
down with a case of ptomaine at the last minute."

"That might be preferable," said Jon.


Thursday after work the four of them met at The Inn to finalize their
plans. Jon noticed that Luke seemed quiet and just a little listless.

"You feeling okay, Luke? You look a little tired," inquired Jon.

"I'm fine. Probably just from being cooped up all winter, plus I was laid
off for four weeks, so I'm just now getting back in the work habit."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know. Why didn't you call?" asked Jon.

"No big deal, it happens most winters so I save up in advance. I've gone
through longer layoffs than that."

Paul interrupted: "Hey, Luke, I forgot to ask if Molly is coming."

"Uh, no, she's got some other plans."

"Gee, that's too bad," said Paul. Jon thought Paul's response sounded
surprisingly sincere. No one asked for details and Luke didn't elaborate.

They decided they'd all meet at Luke's around 7:30 since it was closest to
their destination. That would give them enough time for bloodys before
heading out and catching the 9:30 train. That being settled, they ordered
more drinks and gabbed, filling Luke in on any gossip he'd missed. Jon had
to force himself not to stare at Luke, and it was an effort.

Finally Joe spoke up. "Let's play some bags. It can be me and Paul against
Luke and Jon."

They all agreed and headed to the patio, Joe stopping to get the beanbags
from the bartender. Jon thought it was an excellent idea, and the fact he
was playing with Luke made him even happier. Jon made a conscious effort to
concentrate on his game, and it paid off. He and Luke were unstoppable.

In the back of his mind, Jon knew he was getting a buzz. But he was having
such a good time with the guys, especially since Luke was there, so he
ignored it. Joe brought another round and they decided to have one more
game. This time Paul and Joe won. They retrieved the beanbags and went back
inside. The evenings were still a bit chilly to sit outside.

Luke went to the bar and ordered a round. He felt obligated since he'd been
out of touch for so long. Jon was drinking vodka tonics and the rest had
Lite beers. The others thanked Luke, then they went back to discussing what
they wanted to do when they went Downtown on Saturday.

After another half-hour Paul and Joe downed their beers and announced they
were taking off. They said their good nights and walked out. Jon was really
feeling the effects of his drinks, but he wasn't sure why. He hadn't had
that many more than usual. He looked across the room and saw Sam was the
bartender. Sam had a very heavy hand, and his drinks were almost
lethal. That explained the buzz, but by now Jon didn't care. He was feeling
great.

"So you just holed up all winter with what's-'er-name?" Jon asked.

Luke noticed Jon was slurring his words just a little. "Molly. Pretty
much. I tend to stay home during the winter. I always have, for some
reason. Maybe my mother was scared by a bear or something."

Jon laughed at that, somewhat louder than it called for. He raised his
glass and finished the last of his drink.

Luke said, "We should go. We both have to go to work tomorrow."

"No, man, let's have one more. Please?" Jon protested. "I've hardly seen
you in months. Come on."

Against his better judgment Luke acquiesced and went to get two more
drinks. He sat back down at the table and Jon was staring at him. Jon took
a long sip of his drink.

"Ya know, Luke, you're my best friend. You really are. You're my best
friend in the whole world."

Luke noticed Jon's eyes were somewhat glazed. He smiled. "That's the booze
talking."

"No it's not," said Jon defensively. It came out more like "no it snot."

"You're my good friend, too. We should be going, Jon."

"Really? Am I really your best friend? Your bestest friend in the world?"
Luke realized Jon was a lot more polluted than he'd thought.

"Sure, Jon, sure. Now come on and let's go. We've both had enough to
drink."

Jon stared at Luke for a long moment. Finally he simply said, "Okay" in a
rather upbeat way.

They stood up. Jon took one step and if Luke hadn't grabbed him he'd have
done a nosedive.

"Whoa, dude, easy there. You okay?"

Jon turned to Luke, tried to focus, nodded and said, "Yup."

"Right. Not so much. Let's go."

Luke escorted Jon outside and they walked toward the street.

"Wait a minum, my car's over there." Jon made a sweeping gesture in the
general direction of the parking lot.

"Your car is staying here and you're going home with me. Come on. You
cannot drive right now."

"Can I drive later?" Jon pleaded, sounding like a little kid promising to
be good.

"We'll see."

They headed toward Luke's, their arms over each other's shoulders. After
about 100 feet Jon leaned his head against Luke's shoulder.

"Are you gonna take advantage of me, Luke? Cuz if you want to, you can."

Luke smiled. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine."

They finally made it to Luke's. Even though it was only a block, Luke
figured they'd walked at least two, taking into account Jon's weaving. Luke
steered Jon through the door and to the couch. He then went into the
bathroom and returned with a glass of water and two aspirin.

"Wass that?" Jon asked.

"Aspirin. Take it."

Jon took the aspirin without complaining and drained the glass. "Oh shit!
That was water! I thought it was vod (hick) ka." Jon laughed heartily at
his own joke. Luke just shook his head.

"You sit here and rest. Lie down if you want. I'm going to catch up on my
bills and stuff."

"Okey doke."

Luke put on some quiet jazz and sat down at his computer. He went through
his email methodically, tapping out replies to some and paying a couple of
bills with electronic transfers. He knew he could save himself the trouble
by using auto pay, but he didn't like the idea of not having complete
control over his money. It was silly, but that's the way he felt. When he
was done he looked over his shoulder at Jon, who had his head more or less
on the arm of the couch with his feet on the floor. Luke decided he should
do something or Jon would wake up with a very stiff neck.

Luke went to the bedroom and found a spare pillow and blanket. He returned
to the living room and swung Jon's legs up and onto the couch, then put his
arms under Jon and scooted him further down so his head wasn't on the
arm. He removed Jon's shoes and covered him with the blanket. Then Luke put
the pillow under his head.

As he stood up and stepped back he looked at Jon. He sighed, turned off the
lights and music, and headed for his bedroom. He planned on calling in sick
the next day and he was pretty sure Jon would also. He couldn't remember
the last time he'd done that.


The alarm went off at six and Luke slammed his hand to silence it almost
immediately. He remained still for about ten seconds, then swung out of
bed. After making his call to his supervisor and taking care of things in
the bathroom, he walked out to the living room. Jon was still in the same
position he'd left him. Luke gently shook his shoulder.

"Rise and shine, you old wino." Jon's eyes opened and he smiled. What he
wouldn't give to wake up with Luke every morning.

"And how's my star boarder this morning?"

"Better than I probably should be."

"That's because I made you take some aspirin."

"I remember. And you tried to poison me with water."

"Guilty as charged. I called in sick today. Do you want to do that, too?"

Jon thought for a minute. "Yeah, I think I can. Nothing major is
happening. We can play hookey together." He pulled out his phone and made
the call.

"How about something to eat? You up to that?"

"Just some coffee, maybe toast or a roll if you've got it. I'll help."

Luke said, "Don't bother, just relax and I'll be right back."

Jon stood and headed to the bathroom, stopped and asked, "Would you happen
to have an extra toothbrush? My mouth feels like an army has been
practicing maneuvers through it."

"Look in the top drawer on the right. There should be a couple."

As Jon was brushing his teeth a thought occurred to him. He glanced around
the bathroom and the shower. Then he peeked in a few drawers. Nothing
feminine at all. If Molly was living here before, she sure isn't now.

Jon returned to the living room, folded the blanket and placed it on a
chair with the pillow. Luke came out with two steaming cups of coffee and
went back to the kitchen, then returned with two huge cinnamon rolls.

"Mm, that's what I smell," Jon smiled.

"I forgot I had them; they were in the freezer. They're from Ann Sather's.

"These are the best!" opined Jon as he bit into a warm cinnamon roll. "When
were you in the city?"

"Last week. I try to make it once or twice a month, especially in the
summer. I still have friends there so we go to dinner, or one of the
museums or whatever. I love Chicago. This is about as far away from
Downtown as I think I'd want to live."

"Where did you live when you were there?"

"North side. On Newport, between Halsted and Clark," Luke answered between
bites of his roll.

Jon found this information more than just a little interesting. Ann
Sather's Restaurant is very well known and loved in the gay
community. Also, the location where Luke said he had lived is right in the
middle of Boystown, Chicago's largest predominantly gay neighborhood. If
Luke wasn't gay himself, it sure didn't seem he had a problem with
gays. Jon didn't know what to think, but decided he'd mull it over for a
while.

Luke refilled their coffees and sat on the couch next to Jon.

Jon spoke up. "So what are we two truants going to do today?"

"Hey, can we get a canoe, maybe have lunch on the lake?"

"The boathouse isn't open yet. Not until Memorial Day."

"Oh."

"We could go to the mall. I don't really need anything but we could
window-shop."

"Okay, but the stores won't be open for a couple of hours," Luke pointed
out. "Let's just kick back and do nothing for a while."

They both leaned back, put their feet on the coffee table and vegged for a
while. Finally Jon broke the silence.

"I take it Molly doesn't live here any more."

"No, she never did but it sure seemed like it sometimes."

"Did you like her?" Jon asked.

"Not particularly. We met at a party and she latched on to me. I went along
with it for a while because she was kind of fragile, and I didn't want to
hurt her feelings. But as time went on I could feel the noose tightening;
she was getting way too serious. So, I told her things weren't working out
and that was that. There were a few tears, but she took it better than I
thought she would."

The room became quiet again, each of them lost in his own thoughts.

"Luke, why'd you move out of the city to here?"

"Oh, a bunch of reasons. Actually, I grew up not far from here. When I was
twenty-five I'd saved enough to get my own place. I wanted to get out of
the sticks and experience the big, bad City. It was great, and I loved
it. Party half the night and all of Saturday and Sunday. Too much booze,
too much pot, not to mention heavier stuff on occasion. I loved every
minute of it. But eventually it starts to catch up with you. I knew I
couldn't stop with the temptation all around me, so I moved back here--to
this area, I mean. I figured if I didn't, I'd wind up drinking cheap wine
out of a paper bag in an alley. And I'm only half kidding about
that. So--here I am."

They were quiet for a minute, then Jon asked, "Do you miss it?"

"Sure I miss it. That's why I visit as often as I do. But I won't move
back. If I did I'd be right back into it. And I don't miss the hangovers
and foggy consciousness 24 hours a day. It didn't mix well with work."

There was a long period of silence. Jon wanted to tell Luke how he felt
about him, but he was afraid. He still didn't know for certain whether or
not Luke was gay. Living in a gay neighborhood might be one thing, but
having a gay man in his home could be altogether different. He felt maybe
he should leave well enough alone. But...

Finally Jon said, "Luke, remember last night?"

Luke looked at him with a crooked smile. "The question should be, do YOU
remember last night?"

Jon sighed. "Yes, I do. I remember everything we did, and I remember
everything I said." Jon took a deep breath and swallowed. "That includes
what I said to you when we were walking." He took another deep breath and
quietly added, "And I meant it."

Jon waited to hear Luke's reaction. Nothing. "Oh, God, what have I done?"
he thought. "He hates me. I crossed the line and I've lost my best
friend. Why didn't I keep my fucking mouth shut? He's gonna kick me
out. Well if he does, he's going to know exactly why. I might as well
finish burying myself."

"Luke?"

Luke turned to face Jon. Jesus, Jon thought, he was beautiful. Luke didn't
speak, only raised an eyebrow.

"Luke, I'm gay." Jon was shaking.

"I know. I've known for a while now."

"You have? How?"

"Well, not because you look or act gay, you don't. But you can't live where
I've lived without developing a keen sense of gaydar. I think it's a
survival mechanism or something."

Jon felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his
shoulders. "I thought maybe you were going to punch me, or throw me out, or
both."

"Give me a little credit, Jon. You know I'm not that type of person."

"I know," answered Jon, and a tear rolled down his cheek. He quickly
brushed it away.

Luke said, "Come here, you doofus." He wrapped his arms around Jon and Jon
put his arms around Luke's neck. That's when the floodgates opened and Jon
shed tears of joy and relief.

# # # # #

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critical, are what keeps me going. Email me at:

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