Chapter 13
thirteen
Wet Secrets And Hard Truths
Jim
This day did not go the way I was expecting.
Sitting on the trolley while it went across the river to the other side, being powered by the arm that’s attached to the electric cables that were hanging above the car, I felt like I was having this out of body experience.
Like the power from the cables was invading me through the car, giving me this floaty sensation.
Being around Charlie makes me want to do uncontrollable things, like constantly wanting to touch him.
Protect him.
Even from his own father.
I understand Mike loves his son. But he loves him to the point that he is overbearingly protective, constantly watching out for him and observing every detail. I don’t think he misses much.
With everything that happened today, plus Charlie’s panicked behavior on Friday – something is going on here. I am one-hundred percent sure Charlie likes men, like I like men. And if that was fact, was Mike acting the way he was because he knows?
David and I were sitting on a bench seat on one side of the trolley with Mike and Charlie directly across from us.
No one had said a word since we got on. David was upset about Mary, even though I tried to reason with him, saying it might be nothing, but I think he liked her more than he was truly letting on.
And let’s be honest, he’s Italian, so he tends to over-feel and overreact.
While Mike had his head down, looking at his feet since we sat, Charlie was looking out the windows, taking in his surroundings.
Especially looking up the mountain, which looks like it died.
Not one living plant along the mountain side and cliffs.
Except for the one-off house or building for those that could afford to live or own a business on the edge, literally, and the same church that sits on the backside of the mine’s property.
It seemed like it was built there on purpose, to stand out within the heavenly Pittsburgh clouds, full of visual glory.
Only the inclines moving up and down were on the hillside, and the long wooden staircase that really terrifies me, which zig-zags at one point.
They called that section the death switch-back.
And if you look closely, you can see ropes, pulleys and wooden boards for miners to traverse along the outside of the mine when we needed to, as well as the Adit opening with a Tipple structure attached for us to drop the coal from the mine to a train car or steamship below.
Once we get to the other side of the Monongahela River, a river that oddly flows North, we start to turn along the bottom of the mountain and alongside Carson Street.
With the city now behind me, Charlie looked in my direction and he’s staring but I didn’t know if his shifty yet captivating eyes were staring at me or the skyline behind me.
Then he blushed and I knew my answer.
Charlie had me under a spell, and the pull of it just keeps getting stronger. And I get this feeling that it’s reciprocated. Since Thursday in the office, my gut had been in knots
Outside of going to The Underground, a bar on Liberty Avenue that David had noticed the men outside of earlier today, so I could secretly find release every now and then, I had never been so enraptured by another person since I was a teenager in school, crushing on a classmate named Billy.
Especially someone as young as Charlie. I think that’s what was throwing me the most.
The trolley pulled into the station and we got off.
David and I started to head to the Incline Station a short walk away, when I sensed we had lost our company.
When I turned around, Mike and Charlie were walking the other direction, Charlie looking over his shoulder.
“Hey David, hold up a moment,” and I jog after them, with my paper bag in hand.
“Mike, Charlie,” getting their attention, motioning back in the direction I had come from.
“We are taking the stairs,” Mike says flatly, catching my drift. “We appreciated the invitation to lunch and you paying for it.” His face was unreadable, his tone flat. His eyes had no expression, like they were dry as sand with no shine to them.
I quickly glanced at Charlie, then back to Mike hoping I wasn’t about to put my foot in it.
“You’re welcome,” shifting my eyes back to Charlie again, “But if I may, I would prefer you not take the stairs. The incline ride to the top is faster and much safer.” Trying to relay with my sincere tone and eyes how serious I was about this opinion.
I truly hated those stairs to the point I wouldn’t want an enemy to even use them.
Well, maybe except Richard.
When I didn’t think I was getting anywhere with Mike, I nodded to Charlie, hoping by dragging him into my point that it wasn’t safe, Mike would reconsider.
Charlie shifted from side to side nervously, looking at his father with willingness in his expression so Mike exhaled back at me, “How much is it to ride to the top?”
Oh, now I understand. “It’s a nickel per person for each ride. If you are worried about that because the mine hasn’t paid you yet, I can cover–”
But Mike cut me off, “No.” Shaking his head. “Thank you, but you bought lunch. I didn’t realize the ride was that inexpensive. And even though it’s none of your damn business,” his tone turned even more gruff, “your assumption is correct. The mine hasn’t put funds in our company account yet.”
I nodded and started walking back to David who was still waiting, feeling much better about Charlie not traversing the death stairs, even though the vibe from our group at the moment was uncomfortable.
But I would rather suffer through that than think about and hope Charlie made it to the top safely.
Getting to the station and paying the fare, we all got in the deep red incline car with at least ten other people.
Standing room only. The massive accordion door, so they can also use the incline to transport goods and materials to the top, closed with a slam and we started to rattle up the thirty-degree grade mountain side.
The car was enclosed on all sides with small windows at the front and back, and one slightly bigger window on each side.
We were standing more in the middle, so Charlie was trying to peek over people to see out the windows looking out to the city, and its skyline that came into view the higher we climbed.
At the top we jolted to a stop without warning, and everyone swayed but Charlie completely tilted onto me.
His constant clumsiness was cute. I lightly grabbed him by the arms from behind and steadied him back up straight again.
He whispered a “Thanks,” with a shy smile and pink cheeks.
The doors opened and Mike cleared his throat to get us moving since I was in my own little distracted world with Charlie so close and his cute face tinted.
We all walked off and through the station with the crowd, people going their separate ways. We all quietly started zig-zagging our way through the streets of Mount Washington to get to the Village together, which was about a mile away.
While distracted in my own head, thinking about everything that had happened in the last four days, and the attraction I had for Charlie, I didn’t notice that he had slowed down to separate himself from his father to walk next to me, until he quietly asked, “Would you take me to the Library sometime this week if they are open late enough?”
I looked up at his shy expression with a tinge of embarrassment, which I couldn’t handle.
I don’t want him to feel any negative emotions around me.
I want him to be comfortable, smiling and laughing.
When he does, he radiates brighter than a white-hot coal.
Answering quickly I say, “Of course. But depending on how fast you read, we could probably hold off until at least this coming weekend.”
I opened the paper bag that was holding the copy of ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ I bought myself, but that wasn’t all I left the store with.
I pulled out a copy of a book that I held close to my heart.
I hoped when he read it, he would finally know that he was truly safe with me.
And maybe it will put some pieces together about me, instead of me having to say them.
I handed him the blue hardback book with the silhouette of a man riding a chariot through the sky, being pulled by Pegasi’s. Weariness started to take over my thoughts.
His eyes enlarged in shock, “You bought me a book?” Sounding confused, which quickly morphed into the biggest smile. “‘The Charioteer’, by Mary Renault,” he read the title before opening the cover to read the description silently with excitement beaming from his face.
Then he dropped the book in shock, coming to a full stop himself, staring at me with his mouth hanging open, giving me thoughts I should not have been having about those lips, again.
But the commotion caught Mike and David’s attention too.
“What’s going on?” Mike had turned fully around, his one eyebrow peaked, arms crossed over his chest. David had a look of confusion, lightly scrunching his face like he was overthinking about a child’s four-piece puzzle and none of them would fit together.
“It’s, ah, nothing, Dad,” Charlie bent to pick up the book, turning it over in his hand, inspecting it. He then held it up for Mike to see, “Jim bought me a book. I just dropped it in surprise, that’s all.”
Mike squinted his eyes at me, mouth down turning more than it already was, giving off a sharpness into the air, so that if I was closer to him, it would cut me. “Well,” in a growly short dictation, “Wasn’t that kind of him.”
Before he turned around to continue our walk, he shot one last look that I took as a warning.
I heard Charlie audibly swallow and sniffle next to me. I looked at him and he had a tear rolling down his face and he was looking down at the book in his hands. “Charlie,” touching his shoulder gently. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”