Chapter 10
Will
“I finished my books,” Julie says once he sits beside her bed. She’s wearing a green bandana today.
“Already?”
“Well, that boy from the library has great taste.”
Will smiles, but it’s forced. He hasn’t spoken to or seen Owen in the last three days, not since he left him alone while they were having dinner.
“When can you bring me new books from the handsome boy?”
“How do you know he’s handsome?”
“I have my sources. People around here also visit the library.”
Then they should be more accurate, he thinks. Owen isn’t handsome; he’s downright striking. And since Will had hoped to see him at Rodie’s the other day, he dressed up nicely and tried to make his hair more interesting, which backfired when Nate saw them together.
“You’re spacing out,” Julie says.
“Sorry.”
“What’s troubling you?”
He opens his mouth to say he’s fine, but he ends up saying, “I’ve gotten myself caught in a situation I’m not proud of, and I’m not sure how to get out of it.”
Julie sits straighter on the bed, watching him with concern. He hates worrying her, but he can’t think of anyone else he can share his burden with, if only small parts of it.
“What sort of situation?”
“Something that caught me off guard when it happened, and I didn’t put a stop to it in time.”
“Why didn’t you?”
He sighs, watching the setting sun outside the window.
“I’ve gotten something out of it that I needed, but now it’s gotten out of hand, and I don’t see it getting better.
” If anything, Nate’s sense of ownership is only getting worse.
Will is certain that putting a stop to whatever it is they’re doing won’t go down easily, but he’s not sure how far Nate would take his obsession.
“I can’t even imagine what situation you’re in,” Julie says, reaching out to hold his hand. “Just try to think of the day after you’ve put a stop to it.”
“After?”
“If you only focus on how hard it will be to end it, you’ll get scared. Focus on how good you’ll feel when it’s over, and let that be your motivation.”
And what will that day look like? Would he dare to get closer to Owen? To explore something deeper with a man whose company he enjoys so much?
He doesn’t know.
He stays another thirty minutes, and then it’s time for Julie to have dinner and rest. He kisses her goodbye and steps into the hallway to walk back to his truck, wishing to be home in the quiet of his solitude.
“Will, hold on.”
He stops and turns to the reception desk, where Martha is waving him over. “I almost missed you. You had a phone call a few minutes ago.”
“Here?”
“Well, your uncle said he tried your home before, so he thought to check here.”
A familiar chill slides down his spine. “What did he want?”
“He said that the dinner event next week has been moved to today.” She smiles. “Must be exciting going to an event in that big mayor’s house. I envy you.”
He fails to fake a smile, so he settles on a stiff nod. “Thank you. Have a good evening.”
He steps into the cold and windy evening. He hates it when it happens—this last-minute summons to the mayor’s house. He needs to get back home to prepare himself, and since it’s already late, he doesn’t have much time.
He’s about to cross the road to reach his truck when he notices someone putting up a poster next to the grocery shop.
It’s windy, and he’s struggling to get hold of the big piece of paper.
Will would have likely gone to help regardless of who that person was, but since he recognizes Owen, his legs begin to move on their own.
“Shit,” Owen says as he fails once more to make the poster behave.
“Need a hand?”
Owen sharply turns around, his long hair blowing like a cape behind his head. “Will! You scared me. Yes, I need a hand. I chose a horrible time to put up posters, but the book club is happening in three days.”
Will grabs one side of the poster, and together they attach it with Scotch tape to the wall, next to some other posters for sales and local bands.
But out of everything, Owen’s poster stands out the most. It’s a beautiful drawing of the library, with the words, You’re invited to the official Van Buren Library Book Club!
“Do you think anyone will come?” Owen asks, his hands in the pockets of his jacket.
“It will be a hit, especially with this poster.”
Owen smiles. “Did you see I included you?”
Will squints. “Where? Oh, I see.” He’s walking in front of the library, wearing blue jeans and a red and black flannel shirt. His hair and beard are light brown, like in real life. He doesn’t remember anyone ever taking the time to draw him. “I’m flattered, but I don’t see you here.”
“I’m inside the library, running the show.”
“Of course.”
They watch each other for a long moment before Owen clears his throat and asks, “Did you take care of Nate’s leak?”
Will draws a cold breath, not surprised by the question. It must have seemed strange to Owen having Will leave so abruptly with how nice of a time they were having. “Yes, I took care of it, and I’m sorry. It was unfriendly of me to leave.”
“But you didn’t want to go,” Owen says quietly, the wind making it harder to hear his words. “I could be wrong, but I felt like you wanted to stay.”
Will looks away, his skin growing warm. He hates being in this situation and having the dark truth pushed to the surface.
“Hey, I don’t mean to step out of line.” Owen puts his hand on Will’s shoulder. “I’m too curious for my own good. Tell me if you feel like sharing, but you still owe me dinner regardless.”
Will nods, appreciating the lack of pushing. “I do owe you dinner, but not tonight. I have something to take care of, and I don’t know how long it will take.” He glances at the poster. “I’ll ask my sister if she wants to join. She read that book.”
“Great. I even got a budget for some snacks. Between you and me, I think that Francie is getting a bit excited about this—but she’ll never admit it.”
“She likes you, which isn’t a surprise.”
“Are you trying to make me blush, Will Thomas?”
He swallows. “Maybe I am.”
Owen blinks in surprise. “Well, mission accomplished. Is it okay if I try to get hold of some of the movies I told you about? The non-straight ones.”
“I’d like that.” It means that Owen will come over to his house, where they will sit together on the couch. Alone. Once more, such thoughts are both exciting and nerve-racking, and Will is frustrated that he can’t just feel positive about something without dreading possible ramifications.
“I won’t keep you,” Owen says. “It was good running into you.”
“Likewise. See you soon.”
Will makes his way back to his truck, momentarily too busy thinking of Owen to worry about the filth that is waiting for him in the mayor’s house.
*
“You’re not going to get this damn recession over by going soft,” Hal Darnell says while drinking his wine. “We had to raise prices in all our stores, and it’s not about to get better soon.”
“It’s going to make people take on more debt,” Doctor Levi says as he glances at his Rolex watch. “Hard times for common people.”
“Not just for them,” the mayor says.
Hal snorts. “Speaking of yourself, Ray?”
“Of all of the people in this town. Only a few here dare to mess with the stock market, but there are still families in this community who are struggling.”
Hal rolls his eyes. “I’ve seen struggling communities with closed shops and crime—this town isn’t one of them. They should be damn grateful for having you as mayor. Hey, boy. More wine.”
Will, who has been standing silently by the wall, walks forward to pick up the bottle of expensive wine, pouring some into Hal’s tall glass.
“Prostitution,” Doctor Levi declares, “is an indication of a community’s success.”
The mayor, sitting in his favorite leather armchair, snorts. “You should be smarter than that, doc.”
“No, no. Hear me out.” He holds Will’s hand and pulls him down to sit between his knees, facing the other men.
They are in the living room, and a nice warmth is coming from the fireplace.
The mayor only has two guests this evening, which is a relief since it can sometimes get as high as six.
Will is still in his underwear, but it’s only temporary.
Doctor Levi clears his throat, his fingers sliding through Will’s hair.
“For prostitutes to prosper, they need to operate in proximity to money. That is why L.A. has so many prostitutes. Poor towns where people struggle? They’d rather hump a tree than pay for sex. ”
Hal nods. “True.”
“Once you start seeing prostitutes in Van Buren, you know your economy is on the right track. You can start by renting out our dearest William. See how much you can charge for an hour.” Doctor Levi’s palm slides down Will’s chest. His hands are always cold.
“I don’t want him passing around between some strangers,” Hal says. “Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer a tight pussy that’s clean of diseases. Don’t most queers still have AIDS?”
Will takes a breath to compose himself. He never met anyone with AIDS, but he’s seen the news and read the articles while they were covering the new “Gay Cancer.” He was terrified, and that made him even more convinced he was never going to come out.
“AIDS has been declining since the late 80s,” Doctor Levi says, “but it’s still nasty business. Our William is clean from diseases—I ran his blood tests myself.”
The door opens. Veronica, the housekeeper, says, “Dinner’s ready.” Will knows almost nothing about her, just that she’s extremely loyal to his uncle and she wasn’t born in this country.
“Good.” The mayor looks at Will. “Get to it.”
Will slips out from between Doctor Levi’s legs and follows Veronica to the dining room. The room is colder, raising goosebumps across his arms.
Veronica extends her hand, and Will pulls down his underwear and hands them to her. “Lie down,” she says, as if he doesn’t know how this should go.