Catering with Benefits (2) - Second Course - 18. Wonder Boy

The following morning Romel and Edward just passed each other briefly in the kitchen and bathroom as they both prepared for work.

Romel was on day shift and in his first break he phoned his cousin Juanito, hoping to prove Edward’s accusation wrong.

“Hi this is Wonder Boy, how do you like it?”

“Sorry, I thought this was Juanito’s phone.”

“Who’s calling?”

“It’s Romel, Juanito’s cousin.”

“Sorry, Romel I didn’t realise it was you, my phone does not recognise your number.”

“Why did you answer Wonder Boy?”

“Oh don’t worry, it’s just a joke I play on some of my friends. How are things going cousin?”

“Not too bad but I do have something I need to discuss with you and it’s serious.”

“Now you’re scaring me, go on”.

“Do you remember my partner Edward, you met him at Fair Day?”

“Sure, seems like a nice guy.”

“He is sometimes, but that’s not the point.”

“What do you mean?”

“He seems to think that you work as a prostitute. I don’t know where he got that idea, and if it was just me he told I would deal with him, but he told all our friends at a dinner party on Saturday night.”

“What did he say?”

“He said you work The Wall in Darlinghurst. It’s not true is it?”

“Cousin, I think we need to talk but not on the phone. Can we meet sometime?”

“You’re not denying it; that worries me.”

“Can we meet and discuss it then?”

“OK, I’m at work today, but I finish my shift at 4.00pm. I work in Darlinghurst; do you want to meet then?”

“OK, how about Baristas On Oxford, say 4.30.”

“OK, see you then.”

***

During the rest of his shift, Romel had many scenarios going through his mind. Juanito’s refusal to deny the accusation meant it must be true. But the puzzling thing is, how did Edward know? Does he frequent The Wall, and how long has this been going on? Then he remembered that Edward met Juanito at Fair Day and they did not seem to know each other then. Whatever was going on, they both had a lot of explaining to do. Romel could not wait until his shift ended and was out of the ward as soon as he handed over his keys to the next shift.

Romel arrived first and found a table in a dark corner at the back of the cafe but with a view of the door so he could watch for Juanito. They greeted each other and continued their conversation in Tagalog so others around could not understand them, given the nature of the subject.

“It was good to hear from you Romel, but I was surprised by your questions.”

“I had to ask you because Edward told all our friends and I need to know the truth.”

“Actually, it is true, but please don’t judge me. I have found it very difficult to make a living since coming here. It might sound strange, but when you take into account the cost of living here, I’m worse off than in Manila, and I can’t go back to my accounting studies because I can’t afford the fees, even if I had the time.”

“But why prostitution and how did you start?”

“Short answer, it pays well and as it turns out I’m good at it. I started a bit by accident but I’ll tell you that story some other time.”

“Now the hard question for me. How does Edward know, is he a client?”

“No, where did you get that idea?”

“Frankly, it’s the only explanation I can think of.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m surprised Edward didn’t tell you how we met, it’s all quite innocent on Edward’s part. You do know that he does interviews for a radio program?”

“Yes, of course, sometimes I help him find subjects. But what has that got to do with you two meeting?”

“I’m one of his subjects.”

“I knew he did an interview with a rent boy but had no idea who it was. Did you meet him before Fair Day?”

“Yes, it was in early February, and I was a bit worried that I would be outed that day when I served your meal. I think we both got a shock when you introduced me to your friends but Edward kept my confidence.”

“So how did you meet?”

“He came up to me at The Wall. I gave him the usual line to sell myself, but he was not interested and told me straight out that he only wanted to interview me. So don’t worry about him having a bit on the side.”

“That’s a relief about Edward, but I’m still worried about you. Isn’t it dangerous?”

“It can be but we all look out for each other and I only use a safe place to service my clients. I don’t do cars or alley ways or bareback.”

“You seem to have this all worked out.”

“Like any occupation it has its good and bad days, but well managed it is reasonably safe and gives me a good income.”

“OK, thanks for being honest with me and I won’t judge you. But I will still worry about your safety.”

“Cousin, now that we have caught up with each other, can we be friends, I don’t have many friends outside the business.”

“Of course, it won’t affect our relationship and I assume your family doesn’t know.”

“Oh my god, can you image what my mother would be like if she knew. I don’t need her throwing her body onto the altar and begging Christ’s forgiveness for raising such a misguided son.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s just between us, but I will have to sort things out with my partner.”

“Of course, he will probably have a good laugh when you tell him.”

“I also have to work out what I tell our friends since Edward has already told them.”

“Why did he do that when he didn’t even tell you?”

“Edward was very angry about a trick that we all played on him about six months ago. We’d forgotten about it but he found out from a new friend who did not know what he is like when displeased. We were at a dinner party when he found out about the trick so he let loose with all the accusations he could think of. Of course I didn’t think what he said about you was true, so now I have to wonder about some of the other things he said. Maybe they are true also.”

“And he seemed such a nice guy with me. He was very gentle in his approach to me and helpful during the interview, especially about being anonymous. He also supported me when I told some emotional bits during the interview. And of course he kept my confidence when we met at Fair Day.”

“That’s him most of the time, but when he feels he has been crossed, he snaps and loses control. You know he used to be a drag queen here on Oxford St. so he disguises his rage as drag queen humour, but it still hurts.”

“He sounds like two different people”

“That pretty much describes him. Now I need to get away, but I want us to keep in contact, so I will arrange for you to come over to our place for dinner and meet some of our friends.”

“I’d like that, thanks cousin”.

"Paalam Pinsan”

***

Romel went home a bit more settled in his mind about events of the last few days. While he was still bothered by Edward’s action at the dinner party, he also felt a bit warmer towards him, because he apparently kept Juanito’s confidence. Romel got home first so he started preparing a meal for them both and decided to make it a bit special so he and Edward could clear the air. Romel was also feeling guilty about having spent the night with Andy, but was not about to admit it to Edward, as he would completely misunderstand. He set the table with their best tableware, candles and even flowers he picked up on the way home. While the meal was cooking he opened a bottle of Edward’s favourite red, so it could breathe, and was ready when Edward walked in. Edward was still feeling a bit cool towards Romel as he assumed he had not yet been forgiven for the dinner party outrage.

As Edward came down the hall he recognised the familiar smell of chicken adobo, a favourite of his but also one that Romel usually only cooked on special occasions. That made him feel a bit more comfortable, so when Romel walked towards him and gave him a hug and a kiss he assumed he had been forgiven.

“What’s the special occasion” asked Edward.

“What makes you think it’s special?”

“Chicken adobo, candles, flowers and my most expensive stemware on the table.”

“We have a lot to talk about tonight, so I thought we might as well do it over a special meal.”

“Am I still in trouble?” asked Edward cautiously.

“You’re not completely in the good books yet, but we’ll talk about that.”

“Fair enough, I’ll just freshen up a bit.”

“And I’ll pour the wine while you do that.”

“I had a drink with Juanito this afternoon.” said Romel, as he handed Edward his wine.

“That’s good, I’m pleased to two got together. Family is important.”

“I learned a lot from him about his job” and held up two fingers on each hand as he said the word ‘job’.

“And what did you learn?”

“That he is a rent boy, but you already know that. I learned that you interviewed him for your program. I also learned that you had met him before Fair Day and you kept that confidential.”

“You think I should have told you?”

“Not necessarily, that was meant as a compliment.”

“Thank you, I was as shocked as he probably was when you introduced him as your cousin. I figured it was his right to tell you or not tell you, as he chose. It was not my right and I did not want to be responsible for causing a family rift. Also as a journalist, of sorts, I protect my sources.”

“Now the bad news.”

“Oh yes, I knew this was coming.”

“Firstly, I think you need to apologise to our friends for what you said at Craig’s dinner party.”

“But...” Edward was interrupted by Romel.

“I’m not finished yet. Secondly, are all the other things you said true, and if so, how did you find out about some of them?”

“I suppose I should apologise, but see it from my side as well. You were all in on that deception about Andy’s work and kept it from me for months, so how do you think I felt when Andy told me, you all had a good laugh at my expense?”

“You could have just had a laugh too and then told the group it was mean of them.”

“I suppose I do have a short fuse sometimes. How about we call a truce within the group? They tricked me and I reacted. Doesn’t that make us equal?”

“Maybe, but it’s not up to me, or even a group decision. Each of our closest friends was either insulted or embarrassed by what you said, so they’ll have to make their own decisions.”

“How about we treat them all to a dinner here and sort it out over a few too many bottles of wine?”

“Sounds like a good start. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I want to invite Juanito over as well, but not with the whole crowd the first time. En masse they might be too much for him, especially as it’s going to be a reconciliation party for something that he was not really part of.”

“So, what did you have in mind, just us?”

“I would like to include Andy as well, you need to apologise to him first, as he feels responsible for having told you.”

“Poor Andy, he really is such a sweetie. How about you tell Andy to be here about thirty minutes before Juanito, so I can explain to Andy what’s happened.”

Romel had purchased Leche Flan, at the Filipino grocery store on the way home. It was Edward’s favourite dessert, so Romel was conflicted as to why he bought it. He pondered the question as to whether he was trying to make up with Edward, although Edward was the perpetrator of the wrongdoing or was he just trying to get his partner ready to agree to apologise. Consequently he served the dessert with a question. “Edward, I now know about Juanito, your accusation about Justin is obvious and I think I know what you were alluding to about Tristan. But what bothers me is what you said about Raj’s cousin. Is it true and how did you find out?”

“You helped me with that one. Remember the stories about Indian students in Melbourne. It was Raj who arranged for me to talk to his cousin. When he told me about his visa problems, I decided not to do the story and the fact that students in Sydney did not seem to have the same problem was a convenient excuse to drop the story.”

“Edward, why can’t you always be so considerate of other people’s feelings?”

“I know I have been less than generous and promise to do better.”

“Well I hope you’ve learned a lesson this time.”

“Yes, but there’s something else I have to tell you while I’m in such a contrite state of mind.”

“What have you done now?”

“Oh, it’s not that bad but I want to tell you myself, in case you find out some other way and misunderstand.”

“Go on.”

“Remember I told you I was approached by another rent boy, who wanted to be interviewed?”

“Yes, what happened; you haven’t aired the interview yet.”

“It’s not going to be aired, because it is not suitable. There is child sexual abuse involved and Charles thinks that’s inappropriate for the station.”

“I can see that, but why are you apologising to me?”

“There was something else that happened during the interview. This guy, named Kim is a blowjob expert and self-confessed cum junkie.”

“Is there such a thing?”

“Apparently, but during the interview he told me he can get a guy off in less than a minute if he wants to.”

“Wow! is that possible.”

“I thought not, but he insisted he could and offered to demonstrate.”

“On who?”

“Me.”

“And?”

“Well, I let him do it, and yes he can. Fifty-one seconds, I think.”

“I see, and was all this recorded?”

“Yes, even my oohs and aahs.”

“And did you enjoy it?”

“Of course, but it was all in the name of getting a good interview. A free sample, if you like.”

“I see, and did you also get a free sample when you interviewed Juanito?”

“Of course not, that would be totally inappropriate.”

“Why would that be inappropriate but not this Kim’s blowjob?”

“We were in Green Park? He is your cousin?”

“The reasoning’s not really working, Edward. Besides you didn’t know he was my cousin then.”

“I know, just thought it was worth a try. But the blowjob was over so fast, I hardly had time to get into it. As I see it, he was just a professional giving a demo of his abilities for the interview.”

“Well, I must say I am disappointed, Edward.”

“I’m sorry, I should have thought it through better. I can see why you’re disappointed in me.”

“It’s not that, I’m disappointed that I didn’t see. He must be amazing.”

Romel was on an early shift the next day, so Edward encouraged him to get an early night and offered to do the dishes. As Edward cleaned up he went over the dinner conversation and realised that Romel had not asked about the accusation against Craig. He knew the two were very close and shared a lot about hospital business that they did not share with others, even their partners. He concluded then, that his suspicions about Craig’s grandfather’s death may be true, if not everything Romel uttered during his dreams was gibberish.

***

Romel arranged the dinner and all four were open and honest about recent events. Edward explained to Andy that it was not his fault and he should not feel responsible in any way. Andy was quite interested in Juanito’s work and asked lots of questions without being judgemental. Romel and Juanito found a new closeness in their relationship and Juanito said this was the first time he had found acceptance in Australia, outside of those who work in the sex industry. While all this was happening Edward sat back like a mother hen watching over her brood.

At the end of the night Andy offered to drive Juanito home, but Juanito asked if he could be dropped at The Wall, so he could turn a few tricks before sunrise. Andy was disappointed as he had something else in mind.