Before And After the Divorce - 8. Nights Out and Relationships

Tuesday

It's my first night out after deciding with Lacy we'd each take one. I joined a bowling league. They were partway through the summer season, but I got lucky, one team had someone who had to drop out for health reasons. I would have been a floating substitute otherwise, but this way I would be on the same team the rest of the summer. It's a four-man league, they let me lead off tonight because I had to establish my average. In the past I was the closer. I wasn't sure I'd bowl my earlier average of 175, but whatever I did, I was planning on having fun. So far, the guys on my team all seemed pretty cool. They were all married, to women, so I wasn't going to say anything about being gay. Three games and as many beers later, I finished the night with a 498, a 164 average. Next week, it'll be only two beers.

Wednesday

Lacy came home from work with some big news. She said she wasn't cooking, and we should go out to celebrate.

"Celebrate what, mommy?"

"I'll tell you both at the restaurant. I'll drive, so the restaurant is a surprise when we get there."

Dominic was your typical seven-year-old.

"Chuck-E-Cheese?"

"No, Dominic. It's going to be a nice restaurant."

"Chuck-E's is nice."

I had to laugh. Obviously that 18-year age difference included different ideas of 'nice.'

"It is. But this one will be fancy."

"Can we afford it? You've only been back to work a couple days."

"Stop trying to ruin the surprise. Men!"

Dominic and I look at each other and shrug. Then we all head out to Lacy's car. When we get to the restaurant, I got what Lacy meant by fancy. She pulled into Valentino's parking lot. I looked at her quizzically, but she just smiled. Valentino's was the nicest and most expensive restaurant in the county. Dominic was happy because he could order spaghetti, one of his favorites.

We went in and got seated immediately. Apparently, she had this planned because she'd made a reservation. Dominic ordered his favorite drink, Dr. Pepper. Lacy ordered a bottle of champagne for her and I. I'm wondering exactly what is going on. I didn't have to wait long to find out. The drinks come, the waiter pours our champagne, and Lacy finally tells us the news. Holy Fuck!

"Ackerson's was just bought out."

"By whom? And what does that mean for your job?"

Lacy was the manager of all four of the administrative assistants, plus she was the assistant for the company president at Ackerson's, a small privately owned company that made a few accounting software programs. They had around 25 employees if memory served.

"My job stays the same. Nobody is losing their job. We're now a fully owned subsidiary of Microsoft."

"Microsoft. I'm guessing there's some kind of bonus since we're here."

"There is. Take a few swallows of champagne first. I don't want you to choke while you're drinking."

I follow orders. Dominic also takes a drink of his soda.

"I don't know how much the VPs and President got, but the managers all got one million dollars. Regular employees got $600 K."

"You're kidding?"

"You're a millionaire mommy?"

"Not kidding, and yes, I guess I am, Dominic. It's a little over $1 million after taxes."

"Holy shit. When do you get it?"

"Like I said, the managers GOT one million."

She pulled out a pay stub. It was actually a few thousand and change over one million. It was already deposited into her checking account. I poured myself another glass of champagne and guzzled it down.

"You're supposed to drink it slow, appreciate the flavor."

"To heck with that. I need a buzz."

When the waiter came to take our food orders, I added on a boilermaker. Even though it wasn't my money, and I probably wouldn't see much of it directly, after the scare with the tumor Lacy deserved something good. Little did I know how what she planned on doing with it would affect me. But that's still a few weeks away. We all enjoyed our dinners, and then we stopped for ice cream on the way home. Dominic was in heaven, spaghetti and ice cream made his night. Veal Scallopini, bourbon and beer made mine. I guess the champagne helped a little too.

Things went on as expected for the next couple weeks. Things changed for me the third week of our bowling league. One of the guys on the team we bowled against that night struck up a conversation with me after we finished. I'd brought my average up to 174 by the way.

Tuesday

"Dylan, right?"

"Yes. Herb?"

"Correct. You bowl really well. I think you singlehandedly kicked our asses tonight. I almost expected a 600 series from you."

"Well, I got lucky, the ball was breaking great."

"You finished with what, 590?"

"575."

"Can I buy you a drink?"

"Um, sure."

We went into the bar, and each ordered a beer.

"I hope I'm not out of line here. I don't think I am, but if I am, I apologize in advance."

"Um, OK."

I had no idea where he was going.

"You're a very handsome man. I was wondering if you were seeing anybody. I didn't notice a wedding ring."

"Um, thanks. No, I'm divorced, but currently unattached."

I must have looked confused, but he went on.

"OK, you didn't freak out. Might you want to have some fun with me sometime?"

"By fun, you mean, sexual?"

"Yes. Like I said, I think I'm seeing things clearly. You are gay, right?"

"Well, yeah, but it's not like I tell everybody."

"I get it. I'm not looking to out you, just thought we could get together sometime."

"Well, you're pretty good looking yourself, but we just met like three hours ago."

I think I understated good looking. He's about 6' 2", maybe 180 pounds. Black hair, hazel eyes. He looks like he might have played some sports in school, in addition to being the leading hunk in school plays. Best I could tell through his bowling shirt, he seemed pretty well put together. Just looking at him, you'd never guess he was gay. Well, I later found out not exactly gay, but still, not someone you'd expect to see being intimate with another man.

"Yeah. I don't mean we jump into bed right away, but if we could hang out for a while a couple times a week, get to know each other better..."

"Well, to be honest, I don't really have a lot of friends, my life has been a little crazy lately, but things are just settling down for me."

"So, is that a yes, or no?"

"I guess it's a maybe. Let's see how we get along tonight. A couple nights a week might be tricky, but I suppose I could negotiate another night out with the ex."

"If you're divorced, why would you need to clear it with her, or him?"

"Her. It's complicated. We're roommates and agreed to give each other a night out and the other will stay home with our son."

"Sounds like a strange setup."

"It definitely is unusual, we kind of fell into the situation after she had a long hospital stay. I moved in with our son, she got better and came home..."

"So, you have a decent relationship now."

"We're basically friends. Doing what we can to make things easier for our son. He had a tough time of it when she was sick."

I start thinking to myself, I must be desperate for attention, sharing all this with a guy I just met. I decide to scale it back a bit.

"Well, that's me. What's your story?"

"Well, I've never been married, but I knew I was different since I was a young teen. I'd say I'm bisexual. I've had relationships with both men and women. It depends on the person, really."

"I think they call that pansexual."

"True. It's more the person than their gender. Unfortunately, none of those relationships lasted long enough to turn serious. But I'm pushing 30 and I really want to find something more permanent. I just get this vibe off you that we'd be compatible."

"Well, you're obviously easy to talk to. I don't think I've shared that much about my personal life with anybody for quite some time. I had a guy I hung out with a lot up until a few years age. Like you, he was looking for something special, I was just someone he hooked up with a couple times, but we did do other things together too."

"Would another relationship be something you'd welcome?"

"Yes. At this point, it would be."

We spent another hour or so getting to know each other better. He was only three years older than me, 26 and 29 is a lot different than 19 and 23 like it was with Zach. We traded phone numbers, and I told him I'd check with the ex about going out more often. I did put that off a couple days because Lacy was going out with some co-workers tomorrow night.

Thursday

After dinner, we let Dominic have the living room TV and went into the bedroom to have a talk.

"So, I met someone at bowling the other night."

"By met someone, you mean someone you're interested in?"

"Yes. He seems pretty cool. He figured out I was gay without me even saying anything. We spent some time together after bowling on Tuesday. That's why I got home late."

"Well, I was already asleep, so I didn't really know what time you got in. I'm not going to keep track of that like I did when we were married."

"I get it. Anyway, I was wondering if maybe we can give each other an additional night out every week. So that I can see him more often."

"That would be good, because I met someone last night I'd like to get to know better. He's been with the company for a few months, so I never really knew him well before."

"Is that going to be OK, you seeing someone else from work? No rules against that?"

"As long as one doesn't report directly to the other, it's OK. So, yeah, an extra night out would be great. I was actually going to ask you the same thing tonight."

We finished our discussion, spent some time with Dominic before he went to bed, watched a little TV ourselves, and went to bed after the 10:00 news.

Friday

I gave Herb a call Friday to see if he was open to getting together either that night or Saturday night. He already had plans for Saturday, so we agreed to meet that night. He was happy to hear from me.

Things went on like that for another couple weeks. Herb and I got together either Friday or Saturday nights in addition to bowling on Tuesday. We hadn't done anything more than kissed and jerked each other off, but the relationship was definitely progressing. Then Lacy told me she invited her new boyfriend over for dinner on Saturday night.

"So, do you want me to take Dominic to a movie or something?"

"No. You can be here. I'd kind of like to get your opinion of him. He's nice, but sometimes he seems, well, a little feminine."

"So you want to use my gaydar?"

"Hehe. Um, yeah, I guess so."

"It's not very well tuned, but sure, I'll give you my two cents."

"Good. Nothing personal, but I don't want to get into another relationship with a gay man. I haven't shared much about myself with him yet. I guess I'm a little scared to."

"I get it. Does he at least know you live with your ex?"

"Well, he knows I have a roommate, but no details beyond that."

"Playing it close to the vest, huh?"

"Yes. I really don't want to get burned again. No offense."

"None taken. I guess I did do a number on you. Maybe just first-degree burns, though."

Saturday

Lacy has dinner in the oven and is getting herself ready for her date when the doorbell rings.

"Can you get that? I'll be out in a minute. He's a little early."

"Sure."

I go to answer the door and am shocked at what I see.

"What are you doing here?"

It's Herb.

"I have a dinner date with my girlfriend. What are you doing here?"

"I live here."

We talk as I walk him into the living room. Fortunately, Dominic is in his bedroom reading.

"You mean Lacy's your ex-wife?"

"Yeah. This is going to be awkward, but probably interesting too. She's still getting ready, so we only have a minute or two to figure out what to do."

"Act like we don't know each other?"

"I guess. Dominic will be with us, so making a scene would not be a good idea. She actually wanted to get my opinion of you. So I guess I can tell her the bad news after you leave."

"That would be great. I would like to eat. I have to figure out which one of you I want to continue seeing."

"Well, it wouldn't be fair to her, spending hours on dinner and then you leave without really coming in. As far as deciding? I'll make it easy for you. It won't be me."

"But..."

Lacy comes out of the bedroom.

"You could have at least asked him if he wanted a drink, Dylan."

"I was just getting to that. He was telling me how you met at work."

Good cover, since Lacy had already mentioned that to me. A few minutes later, dinner was ready so I went to get Dominic. We kept the dinner conversation light, like we expected to anyway, with Dominic joining us. Somehow, Herb and I pulled off not letting Lacy figure out that we already knew each other. I had Dominic help me clean up so Lacy could have some time alone with Herb. It was probably going to be the last time she sees him outside of work. After everything is cleaned up, I put Dominic to bed. When I come back into the living room, Herb is getting ready to leave. Thanking us for a nice dinner, etc., etc. Herb leaves and the fun begins. That was sarcasm in case you didn't know. Lacy and I are alone in the living room.

"So, what did you think of him? Do you think he might be gay?"

"Um. This is going to be hard for you to hear, but there's no good way to do it."

"He is, isn't he?"

"Yes. But not from anything I saw or heard tonight."

"I'm not following."

"Herb is the guy from bowling that I've been seeing."

"WHAT? You're kidding, right? Making some kind of joke?"

"I wish I was. We've both started dating the same guy."

"And you let him stay and fool me all night?"

"I didn't think it would be fair to you to slave over dinner half the day and then throw it at him if we told you."

"Well, thanks for that."

That was sarcasm too.

"Well, I guess I should be happy you told me, instead of letting his charade persist."

"There was no way I wasn't going to tell you."

"So, are you going to see him again?"

"No. He made a comment about deciding which one of us he's going to keep seeing. I told him it wasn't going to be me."

"Damn. Another gay man. I can sure pick them."

"Well, he actually considers himself pansexual. He's attracted to the person, regardless of gender."

"Gay, bi, pan, whetever the fuck he is, he can keep doing it without me."

"I'm sorry Lacy. You seemed so happy. I really wish this wasn't the case."

"I guess it's better I found out now, before I got too attached. Thanks for being honest with me. You could have kept your mouth shut and laughed at me about it later."

"I couldn't do that."

"No. I guess you couldn't."

She put a little too much emphasis on 'you.' I had to wonder if that meant anything.