Mario - A Story - 12

Mario handed Tate his cup, added some sugar to his own coffee, then suggested they go into the living room where it was more comfortable. When they were settled he asked, “How did you decide to become an investigator?”

“I’ve always been nosey,” Tate admitted with a smile. “I like knowing why people do what they do and I actually enjoy stopping the ones who need stopped. I seem to have a nose for ferreting out the bad guys. I’m also good at deciding whether someone is as bad as a client thinks or if it’s all in the client’s head.”

“This isn’t in my head,” Mario said defensively.

“I know it’s not. Remember I saw Jonah, only that one time at the restaurant but it was very obvious he was not happy with you. How the hell did you get hooked up with him in the first place?”

Mario looked down at the cup in his hands and took a drink before he replied. “I’ve always, well since I accepted I was gay, gravitated to men who were bigger and stronger than me. Men who wanted to protect me or acted like they did.” He looked over at Tate. “Not that there’ve been that many, three actually in the last five years. Two of them sort of, well they did walk away. They didn’t like coming second to Wil in my life. Jonah seemed different at first. He seemed to accept that Wil came first and dealt with it. I thought.”

“He wasn’t drinking then?”

“Not that I knew of but then we were only dating. What he did when I wasn’t around was his business as long as he wasn’t doing anyone else. That’s what set things off I think. The first time he showed up drunk, really drunk, he looked like hell too and I got smart-mouthed and asked whose bed he’d come from.”

“He went off on you I take it.”

“Oh yeah. Not physically, that came later.”

“Why the hell did you stay in the relationship?”

“If I knew that, Tate, I might not have. Need I suppose, and hope that it was just an aberration, that something was going on with him that pushed the wrong buttons and it would go away and we’d be back to normal again.”

“Didn’t, did it?” Tate said with a mixture of pity and anger.

“No.” Mario sighed deeply. “I keep wondering, if I’d broken off with him after that first time, if he would have just have walked away and none of this would be happening.”

“Hard to tell, Mario. But it is and as soon as I have this place totally secure we’ll see what we can do to make him back off and leave you alone.”

“If that’s possible.”

“We’re going to do our damnedest to make it happen.” Tate put his cup down and stood. “It’s getting late. Go get some sleep. I’ll be back tomorrow night to finish up here.”

“All right. Not sure I’ll sleep but…” Mario yawned. “Or maybe I will after all.”

“You will. But do it upstairs, not on the sofa.”

Mario looked at him in surprise. “How did you know..?”

Tate grinned. “Lucky guess but I gather I hit the nail on the head. So up you get because you need to set the alarm after I leave.” Tate hefted his bag onto his shoulder then headed to the door.

“Again, thank you,” Mario said when Tate stepped onto the stoop.

“Again, welcome. See you tomorrow night.”

Mario watched him get into his car before he shut the door and turned on the alarm. As he did he wondered what his life would have been like if he’d met someone like Tate instead of Jonah. ‘If wishes were horses…’ he thought as he headed up to bed.