I could a tale unfold - 25

Then came the wonderful day when I met the boy I would fall in love with.

Kirk turned to look at Otis, seeing the wide smile on his face, and the sadness in his eyes. “He was older than you?” Otis held up two fingers, about an inch apart, to indicate ‘a little’. 

They continued reading Charles's memoirs.

             It was just happenstance. I needed to remove myself from my father’s overbearing presence for a while and decided to take a long walk. The day was cool and rainy but I did not care. The air was fresh, not stuffy, and the people were actually smiling as they hurried along, umbrellas unfurled. I turned a corner, dipping my umbrella down in front of me as the breeze strengthened, blowing rain into my face. Thus I was not watching where I was going at that moment. A cry of alarm froze me in my tracks. I lifted the umbrella to see the most amazingly angelic face staring at me.

“Me,” Otis mimed, pointing to himself.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Ross replied with a chuckle as he went back to reading.

There was, as the young people of today are wont to say, an instant connection. I apologized and introduced myself. He seemed upset when I did, his face folding into a deep frown. I understood why when he told me his name, a name that was hated by my father, by my family. How, I wondered, could anyone hate such a beautiful boy?

We both looked around then as if afraid someone was watching us together and would immediately dash to tell our families. Therefore, with no hesitation whatsoever, I invited him to join me at a tiny restaurant only a few yards from where we stood. We spent the rest of the afternoon talking about anything and everything that came into our heads as we drank tea and ate lemon cake with fresh fruit. I did not even suspect at that time that he was of the same persuasion as me. I was just enjoying the company of a very charming young man.

We agreed to sneak away and meet two days later in a park well away from the possibility of prying eyes. This soon became a regular habit of ours. In time, amazingly, we both realized that our friendship was blossoming into something more. He had revealed to me that he too preferred the intimate company of a male, although he had never put his feelings into action.

~~~~~

I smile as I remember last evening. It was two nights after his birthday and the first time in a week that we had been able to see each other. It started, as had now become the norm, with a few passionate kisses as soon as the door closed behind us. I had, by now, moved away from my family home, telling my parents that it was time for me to act as an adult and make my own way even though I still worked at my father’s theater.

Otis was always quite circumspect as he made his way from his home to my rooms in the heart of the city. If anyone had caught us I dread to think of the consequences. But no one did.

I had a romantic supper laid out for him to celebrate his day. Also, I had managed to procure a copy of one of his favorite comedies by the playwright Oscar Wilde. He was ecstatic about both, showering me with kisses and hugs. Suddenly we looked at each other and knew that we wanted more than this. So that evening I introduced him to the art of love-making between two men. He was a most receptive pupil and soon enough we were in the throes of an affair that we both hoped would last forever.