A Matter of Time

1

June first, and here was Jack, finally out of college and off for his first vacation in years, or so it seemed. He was on a plane to Maui. Of course, it would be a working vacation, and although it was an unpaid internship, it would be on a boat part of the time, and he’d probably make some money in tips. And hey, it was on Maui! He just hoped he wouldn’t be sea sick. He’d never really been on a boat, much.

Jack, originally named Jacob Divinity Alder after his grandparents, was just leaving college at age barely twenty-one, and would be attending the University of Michigan Master’s Program in the fall. For now, however, he was free and adult and away from home.

Yeah, college. Living at home with dear old Mom and Dad had sucked. And don’t forget Grandpa, who had come to live with them due to failing health. And don’t forget the girl next door, Flossie the Floozie, the one who loved him, and as far as his parents knew, he loved in return.

They would kill him if they knew. They’d martyr him, neuter him, kick him out of the house. And her? She’d kill what was left of him. Living at home had been the only way he could afford college He wanted this Master’s program as well, and who knew what lay beyond? But he had to keep a secret in order to keep himself in funds for all this. He wasn’t smart enough for a full scholarship, though he had several Regent’s awards, and he wasn’t wise enough to figure out how to both work and pay the expenses. Sure, he knew other people did it all the time, and he always marveled at the fact.

The only person who knew his secret was Sal, Salvatore Moretti. Next to Jack’s short, fiery red-gold hair and gray/green eyes, Sal’s curly black hair and dark brown eyes were almost shocking. It was like beauty and the beast, only, you know, different. They were both beautiful. Sitting over coffee at one of the many coffee houses on Main Street, or bent over each other naked in Sal’s bedroom, they make a striking, eye-satisfying picture. You almost, or maybe you did, want to join them.

Jack had spent the entire flight from Detroit-Metro to SeaTac huffily replaying how horrible his so-called friends and loved ones had been to him when they’d first met each other. You’d think since they both said they loved him, and he cared dutifully about them, that they would have liked each other, but it hadn’t worked out that way. To whit:

Sal hissed: “You fucked that slut?”

Flossie cried: “Who is this? What is he to you? I thought we were going to get married when you finished college!”

Sal, rolling his eyes: “Bitch, please. Anyone who can take it up the ass like he can and come as hard as he does has no use for someone like you. You can’t do anything for him.” Sal then examined his nails, his eyebrows raised.

Flossie: “That’s absolutely disgusting! I don’t believe you!”

Sal, getting into Flossie’s face: “Oh honey, if you could have seen how far he shot and his O-face you’d understand. By the way, who the hell does your make-up, Pennywise the Clown?”

Flossie tossed her blonde, highlighted, freshly-back-in-style pageboy. “Why you—we’re going to get married! You are so out of here, you, you, degenerate man whore!”

Sal’s patented eye roll looked like it hurt him. “Just what are you going to offer when he wants to suck a dick, your nose? And oh look, you’ve got a little bit of nose-jizz hanging off…”

Jack didn’t stay to hear any more. All the time they’d been talking, right in the middle of the Italian restaurant, he’d been backing toward the hallway that led to the bathrooms and the side door. He was dying inside, and oddly enough, horny as hell on the outside. Sal would win, because he had the truth on his side, unfortunate though it must sound being dragged out in public. Everything Sal said was true. Jack just didn’t want the whole restaurant to hear it. It was a small town and his parents would hear about it eventually. And he hadn’t really wanted to break up with Flossie; they were planning on sharing an off-campus apartment together in the fall. His father had already put a deposit on it and his mother was already picking out drapes.

Jack was afraid to go home. He didn’t even go get his car. Flossie had a key; she could drive herself home. She already thought of it as their car anyhow. How had he let this get so out of hand? How had he actually had sex with her, (had he really? He’d been so drunk that night, maybe he hadn’t) and why in hell had he thought getting her and Sal together was a great idea?

Walking along the alley, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed home. His mother picked up. “Mom,” he started hesitantly. “There’s something going down that I want to warn you about.”

Mom didn’t sound right. She sniffed audibly. Her voice was cold steel. “You,” she got out. “You need to go to a hotel. Then you need to take a bus to the airport. We moved your flight up to tomorrow. I hate what you’ve done to that poor, sweet girl, going out with another girl. Oh yes, don’t deny it, we know everything about Sally!”

No you don’t, Jack wanted to say, a minor victory in this war.