Two's Company - 1. Story

Two’s company…

Matthew and Ben had ceased to send each other Valentines years ago. Although still very much in love, the years of sharing their lives had somehow made the need less urgent and they came to see it as something younger people did. They seemed to have outgrown the pleasantries of puppy love.

Oh, Matthew still brought Ben a bunch of red roses and Ben still bought Matthew his favorite chocolate, but it was more a routine-like gesture than the heartfelt need to express their love as it had meant years ago.

The Valentines each of them had received last year therefore had been quite a surprise.

The chocolate Ben had brought home for Matthew for Valentine’s Day that year was the brand he knew was Matthew’s favorite. He got them every year. Why look for something else, when he knew these were the best he could get. He reflected on the irony of that thought. Having Matthew as a partner was the best thing that could possibly have happened to him. Yet their relationship did wear a bit over the years, but he supposed that was to be expected. Was there any other couple together as long as they were who still made love three or four times a day like they had when they first met? He figured it was normal, that the initial intense desire was replaced by a comfortable acceptance of the other one’s love.

After their first few dates, when it became apparent they had fallen in love, they soon discovered they were very compatible in every respect. Except one, which had never really been an obstacle. They each fitted the ‘catcher’ T-shirt better than the ‘pitcher’ one.

Especially in the first few years there were so many ways to express their love, that they didn’t consciously notice this might in the long run for both of them result in a feeling that something important was missing. Gradually they discovered that this might become a problem in the future and had discussed what it would mean for them.

They very much agreed on staying together, whatever else should happen. The feeling of belonging together had never abated.

After much thought and many, many talks they had agreed on some rules that would not jeopardize their relationship – or so they thought – and still give them some space to fulfill their personal needs.

They resolved they could sleep with other men, as long as they were always safe and discreet. Above all, they would not allow themselves to fall in love with another man. As soon as there was the slightest possibility of that, they would nip it in the bud and look for someone else.

To be absolutely clear about what they could expect from each other, they decided they would be better off not knowing too much about possible adventures of the other. Ignorance is bliss – to identity, frequency and other details – would be their motto. If that turned out to be too difficult for one of them, they would have to re-evaluate their rules.

Their set of rules had worked surprisingly well for them. They each had an occasional fling, nothing serious, and most of those were not worth mentioning anyway. Apart from the occasional explanation of absence, there was no reason to mention their private activities, and they felt they had nothing to be concerned about.

That had changed though…

Ben was a member of a small choir. He was one of three tenors, but one of them had announced he got a promotion in the company he worked for, and had to move to another town. Two tenors was too thin a sound for their choir, so a replacement was searched for and found. The new man not only had a beautiful voice, but a very well defined body as well. The weekly practice had always been a pleasure, but soon became an event Ben was really looking forward to. Because they had the same vocal parts, they had to stand close, and more than once they were able to touch more than was really necessary. There was definitely a spark between them and one day the new tenor had made the first move by asking him after practice whether he would like to have a drink in a nearby bar.

One thing led to another, and not many weeks later he had accompanied his fellow singer to his apartment after choir practice. They had become acquainted through their little talks in the bar and both knew how this evening would end. What they hadn’t discussed, but Ben found out to his delight, was that his new friend was everything he’d dreamed of in that respect.

Right from the beginning Ben had been honest about his not being single, but his fellow singer had winked at him and had joked that as a tenor he was used to not having the most important part to sing. They were satisfied with their regular encounters.

Over the months that followed, Ben couldn’t bring himself to end such a good thing. And instead of his appetite for Matthew dwindling, at home he found himself more amorous than before.

He reasoned with himself that he was not falling in love. There was no reason to nip anything in the bud. He had a great time both at home and with his newfound friend. Deep down, though, he knew this was fast becoming more than just a casual affair.

Unbeknownst to Ben, Matthew had a similar experience. He had met a guy while taking an art course on Thursday nights. They hit it off right away and had started to hang out afterwards. Soon they ended up in the guy’s apartment. Matthew felt like something he had longed for but hadn’t been able to put his finger on, was being seen to by the guy.

He was surprised to find that, although their escapades in the bedroom took a lot of energy, it seemed to invigorate his bond with Ben. And Ben seemed to be more responsive for some reason as well.

As his feelings for his art class friend gradually got stronger, Matthew kept his conscience quiet by telling himself he could end it any time, but there was no reason to now that his relationship with Ben didn’t seem to suffer. On the contrary.

Of course, he had told his new friend early on that he was in a loving relationship already.

His friend had assured him he wasn’t a home-wrecker and seemed to take it week by week, but Matthew wasn’t quite fooled. They were heading to a point where one of them was likely to get hurt.

Neither Ben and Matthew were ready to face what was happening to each of them, or talk about it and continued their normal life.

They were used to eating out regularly, and one evening in early February, something out of the ordinary happened.

While they were enjoying their meal, a man entered the restaurant, and judging by the way he was received by the patron, was a regular. On his way to his table, he saw Ben and Matthew, stopped in his tracks, looked at them for a moment very sharply, turned and without a word left the restaurant in haste.

Ben looked at Matthew, who had become a bit flushed, and Matthew looked at Ben who didn’t seem to feel entirely comfortable either. They shrugged, smiled at each other and continued their meal without further comment on the strange event.

A few days later was Valentine’s Day. Ben had the usual box of chocolates for Matthew and Matthew had a bunch of red roses for Ben. It was a safe ritual. The roses they both enjoyed after Ben put them in a vase, and the chocolates they shared anyway.

What was a surprise to them both was that there were two identical envelopes in the mail. One addressed to Ben and one addressed to Matthew. Same handwriting on both of them. They opened their mail and each found a Valentines inside.

Each had the same text:

“Be my Valentine

tonight at eight

at Chez Dominique”

‘Chez Dominique’ being the name of the restaurant they had recently had dinner they were intrigued and decided to respond to the unusual invitations.

Ben and Matthew had no idea how to properly dress for the occasion. If the invitations were to be taken seriously, they were going to honor the amorous undertone, so they decided on casual and sexy. When they were dressed they looked at each other approvingly and kissed before leaving the house together.

They apparently arrived before their Valentine, but on giving their names to the patron they were evidently expected. He led them to a quiet part of the restaurant and told them their host would arrive shortly. He added the host had asked that they should wait with a reaction until he had time to explain himself.

Ben and Matthew smiled at each other, amused by the mystery and the serious tone.

They didn’t have to wait long, for soon they were joined by the same man who had behaved so strangely the last time they visited the place.

He was blushing, cleared his throat and began:

“I don’t have to introduce myself, for you both know me…intimately. You both know me, but neither of you knew your partner knows me. I have asked if you’d give me time to explain, and I hope you will let me do just that. After that you’ll either hate me and I’ll leave, or we will share a meal together.”

Both Matthew and Ben wanted to interrupt, but seeing the obvious discomfort of the speaker, decided not to.

“I met each of you several months ago,” the speaker resumed, “and have grown immensely fond of you. I knew from the very beginning that I would always play a secondary role in your lives, because of the warmth and love that radiated from both of you whenever your partner came up in our conversations.

“I started to fall for both of you, which was a questionable delight. For I sensed similar feelings the other way round, and in time started to feel really bad about it. If I had to make a choice between you I knew that wouldn’t be possible for me. I couldn’t just end it all and walk away either. I also knew that to keep seeing each of you would mean – as I then thought – the possible ruin of two relationships. It seemed immoral and selfish to only take my own feelings into account. I was torn to pieces.”

He looked wretched, took a water glass and gulped down half of it.

“I was totally flabbergasted when I saw the two of you together here last week.

In that instant, the penny dropped: I had been dating a couple without knowing they belonged together.

“I panicked and made myself scarce, for I couldn’t deal with the situation at that very moment. But on my way home, my panic changed to a state of elatedness. I saw sweet possibilities on the horizon. There could be a solution that could leave all three of us unharmed.”

Serge, the speaker, tried to smile, but didn’t really succeed. He was too nervous and afraid that what he wanted to say next would be met with disdain.

He took a deep breath and continued

“I hope that maybe after you have recovered from the initial shock, there could be a way, for the three of us – but mostly the two of you – to define that there is some sort of future for the three of us. In order to accomplish that it was necessary to bring it out in the open, and Valentine’s Day seemed to be the perfect occasion for it. Hence my invitation. I put my fate in your hands.”

That remarkable speech had been given a year ago now.

This Valentine’s Day there were six cards on the breakfast table. The letter carrier didn’t have to deliver them, for none of the three men who bought them had to leave the house to get them to their destination.