Toph's Empty Year - 3. Late September

Gary.

This morning, near the end of the month, Toph decided to look at the cute daytime boys who were entering the store as he was leaving. He was still invisible to them. When I arrived home (yes, I call it home now), Gary was preparing to leave for work.

“That’s a pretty severe suit Gary. Not at all like the usual Armani you grace us with most mornings.” I could see his raised eyebrows. He was now evaluating my sartorial knowledge.

“I need to have a disciplinary conference with an employee today.”

“Oh my, your axe suit?”

“I hope not. She’s a very senior employee and has always done an excellent job.”

“It doesn’t sound like someone requiring the black suit.”

“Something happened in her personal life, I think, and it’s affecting her work. It’s as though she can’t pay attention to details anymore, like she’s distracted.”

“I’m sure you don’t need advice from me, but if it is the way you believe, then your suit is going to have the opposite effect. You want to gain her trust, help her turn it around. Why not wear something less intimidating. Perhaps a navy blazer and khakis with a cream shirt and small patterned tie.”

Gary turned on his heels and returned to his bedroom. He emerged ten minutes later with an outfit pretty near what I had suggested.

“Thank you, Toph. I hope you’re right.”

After he left, Anders walked over and threw his arm over my shoulders. “You’re good for him Toph. When he first got here, I thought I had made a huge mistake. He was, to put it nicely, an egotistical prick. He slowly softened, but since you’ve arrived Gary has turned into a pretty decent human being. I give you a lot of the credit.”

“Me? I hardly see him or talk to him.”

“I know. It’s killing him. I realize you’re on your way to bed now, so I’ll make this short. Would you join me, Gary and Joanne for dinner tonight? I’m sure your can of soup will keep for another day.”

“Joanne?”

“My girl.”

“Why haven’t I met her before?”

“I didn’t want to bother you with extra people hanging around while you were new here. You seemed to need a bit of solitude.”

“But God, Anders, it’s your girlfriend! She’s not extra people. Of course I’ll join you. I need to meet this St. Joanne anyway.”

Smiling, I received a soft push from Anders. At least Joanne would change the dynamic for this evening. Then I went quickly to bed.

. . . . . . . .

“Hey Betty, anything exciting happen this morning?” She brought me a cup of tea.

“No, Toph. Same old same old. Except that new guy still comes for breakfast, so I guess he’s not passing through.

“We have a new guy? Hey Toph, how’s it going?” Big Joe slid in.

“According to Betty. But he’s a breakfast boy. Guess I don’t get to meet him, those are my sleep hours.”

“That’s when I’m usually flying out of my apartment, trying to not be late for work.” Big Joe laughed. “I’m really not a morning person. I rarely even eat breakfast!”

“You mentioned working in a store, Joe. I’ve been getting to know the town a bit better. Where do you work?”

Betty was approaching with our lunches as Joe said, “Cucire and Son.”

“Here you go, Joe Cucire, hot apple pie!”

My eyes shot open. “Are you the ‘Son’ part, Joe?”

Big Joe blushed as he nodded.

“What do you sell?”

“Papa’s a tailor. I’m learning the trade from him.”

“A real human tailor?” I couldn’t believe my ears. I thought they were an extinct species. “Is the shop far from here?”

“Just one street over, behind the main drag.”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll walk back with you today.” I’d see more of the town and meet a real live tailor.

After lunch, it’s exactly what we did. I wanted to meet the man who named his son Big Joe. I also wanted to get to know Big Joe a little better.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you sir. Christopher Denny.” I shook hands with a smiling gentleman who was the image of good health. He was slightly shorter than Big Joe, who was no giant himself.

“Ah you must be the new guy in town Big Joe has lunch with. He’s mentioned you, several times.”

“I only found out about your place today. I had to visit. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. Take a look around. Joe, show your friend!”

Big Joe gave me the tour. It wasn’t too large a shop in the front, or customer section. Shelves were full of bolts of fabric, all of a high quality. Joe explained, as we entered the second section of the shop, the measuring and fitting were done here. There were several unfinished jackets on dummy forms. Once the customer had chosen the fabric and style of the suit or sport coat, they were constructed to this stage of completion from his measurements. It was when the customer returned for the final fitting, in this room, the tailoring begins.

We moved to the third section of the shop, which was a rather sizable room with various sewing and steaming devices. Among them were large tables with fabric in various stages of slice and dice. Joe explained the obvious. This was where the real work happened. There were two people working in here, an older man and an older woman, both in their late fifties I would guess. Joe said he did most of his work back here. His father insisted he learn the business from the first to final stitch before he dared talk with a customer about clothes. This made me even more impressed with his father.

“How much tailoring business is there in New Glory” It doesn’t seem to be a tailored-suit kind of town.

“Most of the customers are businessmen from the city. A lot of athletes from the pro teams too. They like the personal attention, and of course the perfect fit Papa always seems to provide.”

If I ever find myself in a more financially stable position, I’ll buy a jacket or two from Joe. I’m sure by that time, Big Joe will have become the head guy at Cucire.

Afterward, I opted for a walk over to the Historical Society. It was in a nice old house which was one of those monsters from the late eighteen-hundreds when families were huge. It made a good site, with so many rooms for exhibits. All the interior wood was highly polished. They must employ a small crew to keep all these rooms in such a good state. Maybe I could get a job here working midnights. It would certainly cut down on my commute time. The floors did creak a little, showing their age. It somehow made the old place more authentic.

New Glory used to be a mining community, it seems. Reading the detailed notes on an exhibit of the early mines whose existence caused the founding of New Glory, I heard the click of heels approaching. I had a feeling it was Abigail Martin herself headed my way.

It became obvious when she addressed me by name.

“How did you know who I was?”

“It’s a small town, Toph. It was helpful Anders described you pretty accurately and warned me you might be visiting.” Abigail had an infectious chuckle. I liked her already.

“Warned you?” I attempted my hurt, snooty impersonation of my former friend Tyler Wyland.

“As if he didn’t warn you about me. I know my son too well.” Again the chuckle, and again it drew me in. Later, Abigail was helpfully explaining an exhibit when she looked up, hearing the door chime. “Excuse me, Toph, we have another visitor.”

And did we ever. He was handsome. No, he was very handsome. Every part of my body became acutely aware of him. Every part.

“You must be Niles. Welcome to New Glory and the New Glory Historical Society. Betty from Happy’s told me we had a new gentleman in town.”

Too bad.

With a name like Niles, he didn’t belong in Toph’s life. In fact, with a name like Niles, he might even know who Toph was. Toph couldn’t have that. Toph took the opportunity to slip out. He’d return another day when Niles was somewhere else.

Sometimes you must simply operate on instinct, like not trusting anyone who pronounces all three syllables of evening.

I wandered into the artist shop to visit with Naomi.

This time I began to seriously study her paintings. They were beguilingly lovely. Abstract realism. Her deft touch with shadow and light was the outstanding detail which raised her work well above the ordinary. Naomi graced me with her companionship as I inquired about a few niceties of technique. I would kill to be able to--with so few strokes--express such warmth.

One, in particular, affected me strongly. It was a portrait of a young boy, perhaps ten years old. He stood before a tall window, bathing him in light. While if I knew him, I could clearly recognize the boy, something about the painting seemed completely abstract. I saw Naomi smile.

“Toph, would you be interested in learning a little about this?”

“Anything. This is a very emotional painting! I can feel it!”

Naomi broke into a broader smile and patted my shoulder, as though I had passed some kind of test. She crossed the room to return with a few photographs. She showed me one. It was a photo of a painting on an easel. There was something familiar--it was the light. This was a totally abstract painting, an interesting array of four basic pastel colors. The light and the colors vaguely reminded me of the portrait of the boy.

She then showed me a second photo. Another painting on an easel. The same light and colors, but more depth, containing the mere inklings of a form. She followed with the other photos. One after another, the boy slowly emerged from the abstraction until I was gazing at a photograph of the final painting.

“You created this portrait from a totally abstract design?” I was floored.

Then, as if what I witnessed on those photographs wasn’t enough, Naomi produced one more photo. It was of the boy himself. It was not him looking out the window, but simply sitting on a chair.

Now I’m going to attempt an explanation of this miraculous thing which I beheld.

Naomi’s painting of the boy was more lifelike than the photograph. I felt the little boy’s personality in Naomi’s painting, while the photo was two-dimensional and impersonal.

I was standing in awe, looking between the boy’s photo and Naomi’s painting, when I heard his voice.

“There you are. I lost track of you in the Historical Society.”

I turned to see Niles walking toward me with his hand outstretched. “I’m Niles. I heard there was another new person in town, but I couldn’t quite make out the name Betty told me.”

God he was beautiful, even if his name was Niles. He was standing there with his arm outstretched while I remained lost for a moment. Recovering, Toph returned the photos to Naomi and carefully shook his hand, while trying to decide what to call himself.

“Pleased to meet you, Niles, I’m Chris.”

Toph realized Naomi would be temporarily confused by his name change, but I’d explain it to her later. Niles' hand was now on Toph’s shoulder.

“Do you paint, Chris?”

“I used to. I’m restarting my hobby by sketching right now.”

“Oh, someday I’d like to see your work. Now, If you’re finished here, let’s take a walk to the little park down the street, we can get to know one another.” He steered Toph right out onto the sidewalk. Toph was captivated by him somehow, under his spell.

They walked a few blocks to the park, with Niles doing all the talking. He directed them to a bench. As Toph sat, Niles joined him. He sat so close, I could feel his body heat. Finally, I snapped out of it. I broke the spell.

“Who are you Niles? What do you want?”

“Nico hired me, Toph. He’s worried sick. He said your family didn’t know what happened to you; that you disappeared right after Labor Day. He was astonished and upset they weren’t even looking for you. He realizes you might have your reasons, but needed to know you were OK. Is there something you want me to tell him, Toph?”

I stared at Niles. I could not believe what I had just heard. Nico cared about Toph? He hired an investigator to find him?

“Um ...Niles, I didn’t intend to upset anyone. I honestly thought Nico had moved on, you know, going to college and all. I’m here because I need to be and I love my life here. I hated my life in Floria. Tell Nico I appreciate his concern, that he’s always been a great friend. Please don’t tell him where I live. But if you must, pass along my request he tell no one in Floria, or I’ll simply have to move somewhere else, maybe far away. Can you do that for me, Niles?”

Niles eyes softened as he appraised me, our shoulders touching.

He leaned over and gently kissed me. “I’d do anything for you, Toph.”

He got up and walked out of the park. I was bewildered. It was a beautiful kiss, as warming as the late September sun which fell upon my confused body. Toph thought long and hard, but had absolutely no memory of ever before having met him. Niles certainly knew Toph though!

. . . . . . . .

Dinner with Joanne.

Perhaps I need to enhance that statement. Dinner by and with Joanne. My apartment mates possessed a clear talent for being able to have food delivered to our door. My tomato soup preparation seemed to have been the only major cookery which occurred in our kitchen. I now realized it was because they were hiding Joanne. I had the distinct impression she used to visit much more often. No doubt she prepared their dinner each time she visited. Now I was surprised Anders and Gary didn’t resent me more!

In any event, Joanne enlisted me to help her prepare the meal, forbidding entry by either of the other two. I know my way around a kitchen. Elizabeth, the evil maid, was always too busy for me. I learned to prepare my own breakfasts and lunches. I even cooked the occasional dinner, when Mother and Father were out of town or invited elsewhere. Those events happened quite often, now that I reflect. Yes, I had a lot of experience in the kitchen.

Joanne was easy to work with. She was also very chatty, as we prepared food. In fact, she was surprisingly interested in learning so much about me. It’s when I realized they were using her to gain insight into me. Don’t worry, I wasn’t angry. Once I realized what she was up to, it became a game which Toph increasingly enjoyed. Toph was honing his skills of vagueness and misdirection. It was fun.

About ten minutes before we sat down to eat, Joanne and Anders disappeared. I didn’t think it was for sex. She was reporting her findings. Gary sent me a worried look when I chuckled. He probably thought I was going mad.

After the debriefing, we had a lovely dinner. The conversation was interesting and non-invasive. I guess Joanne was their designated hitter, as Clarence was for my former family. However, there existed a significant amount of communication, with their eyes, amongst those three. They were certainly all in this together. Toph felt amused, but honored.

However, Anders was not to be thwarted. “Toph, Joanne mentioned you don’t have a girlfriend. Did you maybe break it off when she went to school?”

“What would lead you to believe I even had anyone to break off from?”

“Well, look at you! You’re handsome, erudite, have exquisite manners and also struck us as rather dashing when you arrived in a tux. You mentioned coming from a divorce. I had a vision of you breaking up with her in a fancy restaurant, with dim lighting and Champagne.”

I sat motionless. My mind was spinning, processing everything he had said, phrase by phrase. And then I began to laugh. After a shocking moment, they all began to laugh along with me. Finally, I recovered enough to speak.

“Anders, that was lovely. What a touching breakup scene you described. Um ...you probably forgot I’m only nineteen?” But my mind flew to Toph’s breakup scenes with Austin. Do three scenes make a chapter? How much more stunning they would have been, described to my dinner friends. All this hit me in a flash.

“In reality, there never was a girl. You see, I’m quite gay.”

Amazing!

I never anticipated coming out to my apartment mates today. But it was surprisingly easy. There was something real and true about New Glory. I sensed it rubbing off on me already.

Aside from Anders and Gary passing a glance between them, the three seemed quite relaxed. Joanne broke the silence.

“Toph, why didn’t you tell me while I was going through all that agony in the kitchen?” She threw me a devilish grin.

“I was getting too much enjoyment watching you try to accomplish what these two cowards were themselves afraid to do. I should be honest with you all. This is the first time I felt safe enough to come out to others. You had the distinct privilege of being witness.”

It was then they three arose, as if on cue, and surrounded Toph, hugging him.

For perhaps the first time in his life, he was moved.

Woosh! Toph ceased being invisible.

I became visible.