The Windows - 2. Chapter 2

“What the fuck’s the matter with you?” Coop asked, as they entered their apartment.

“You’re the matter,” Pete said with venom. “I’ve never asked for anything from you in my whole life, and when I ask for this one thing, you nix it.”

“I didn’t nix it. I just said we should talk about it … together.”

Pete didn’t try to smile or be tactful. He just said, “When I saw that bungalow, I fell in love with it. I want it Coop. I want it badly.” He looked at Coop, and Coop shuddered. He could swear that Pete had a slight sneer on his face. It frightened him.

“Okay,” he said. “I didn’t realize how much you wanted that place. We’ll buy it, but we’ll buy it together. We do everything together.”

“Thanks,” Pete said tersely, and headed for the bedroom.

“Where are you going now?” Coop asked. Pete’s attitude was getting him angry.

“If you must know, I’m going to call the realtor, and I need privacy.”

“Privacy? From whom? Certainly not from me.”

“Yes, from you,” Pete said. He went into the bedroom and slammed shut the door.

Coop wasn’t sure if he was more confused or more distressed, and decided that he was both. Pete had never acted this way. Buying that cottage was an obsession with him. He was sure that when they went to bed, and started to make love, Pete’s old self would return.

Pete was in the bedroom for almost an hour. When he came out, he still wasn’t smiling.

“Well?” Coop asked.

“I bought it.”

“How much?”

“What’s the difference? I got it for a steal.”

“So, how much is a steal?” Coop wasn’t going to let Pete off the hook.

“I’m going to assume an $18,000 mortgage, and give the seller $10,000 at closing.”

Coop was appalled. Pete said ‘I’ again, instead of ‘we.’

$28,000 seems like a good deal for that property, but aren’t we going to have it inspected before we sign on the dotted line?” Coop asked.

“No. The deal is ‘as is.’ If something needs to be repaired, I’ll take care of it.”

“We’ll take care of it,” Coop corrected him. Pete ignored him.

“We’re meeting the realtor at the cottage tomorrow morning at 10 AM,” Pete said. “If you don’t feel like going with me, I’ll go alone.”

Coop was tired of correcting Pete, so he simply said, “No. I’d like to go with you, and see what the inside looks like.”

Pete continued to sulk, and he seemed disinclined to speak with Coop. Finally, Coop went up to Pete and put his arms around Pete’s waist. He started to kiss his husband, but Pete turned away. Coop could not believe that he was still angry at him.

“Would you like to celebrate with me, like we always celebrate big events?” he whispered in Pete’s ear.

“No,” he said. “With your attitude, I wouldn’t enjoy it.”

Coop was too upset to say anything else. He went into the bathroom, closed the door, and wept. When he came out, he got the courage to say, “Pete, I have feelings too. I’m too bummed out by your attitude to make dinner at home. Let’s go to a restaurant.”

“Sure,” Pete said. He sounded as surly as ever. “But, allow me to correct you. It’s your attitude that sucks.”

They went to bed that night without making love, and without even kissing and fondling. Coop cried all night. Pete slept well. He seemed oblivious to everything that had happened to them this day.

*****

Coop woke up to a very familiar feeling. Pete was giving him a blow job. For a moment, he completely forgot about yesterday’s events. In fact, he felt as if he had had a bad dream. He tousled Pete’s hair and urged his cock farther into Pete’s mouth.

He was about to say something, but he was afraid if he did, Pete might get angry again for no reason, so he said nothing. He sighed and moaned just to let Pete know what great pleasure he was giving him.

He came gushing in grateful spurts. Pete seemed to be back to normal. In fact, when it was over, he crept up to Coop, and kissed him, sharing Coop’s cum. Coop started to lean over Pete to give him the same pleasure, but Pete stopped him.

“Later,” he said. “We have to drive upstate and meet the realtor to sign all the papers.”

Although Pete didn’t sound surly anymore, he seemed just as obsessed as yesterday. Coop didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, and was grateful that Pete was being nice to him this morning.

It took them about two hours to reach their destination. Pete drove and he went over the speed limit most of the way. When they arrived, they saw a beat-up old Chevy in the road.

“Must be the realtor’s,” Pete observed. “They have an unwritten rule never to park in driveways. They don’t want prospective buyers to block their cars, and ask them to move it. He’s leaving the driveway available for us.”

Before they could knock on the door, the agent opened it and greeted them. Chester Smith stood about six feet tall, but he was quite a bit overweight. He needed a haircut and a shave. He greeted them pleasantly enough, and they introduced each other.

“Let me show you around,” he said. Coop could see that Pete was annoyed. He would rather get to signing all the documents, but they went on a little tour. The cottage consisted of an eat in kitchen, a living room, two small bedrooms and a bathroom. There was a front porch and a back porch. Neither porch had anything resembling a scenic view. The cottage was furnished. There was nothing special about the furnishings, but it did reflect the rural nature of the property. The place was rather clean, except for the windows. They needed cleaning badly.

The three men sat down at the kitchen table, and Chester took out a bunch of papers and two pens from a folder.

“Where do we sign?” Pete asked, impatiently.

Coop put his hands on the papers. “Let me remind you,” he said to Pete, “I’m a lawyer. I’d like to at least review the settlement statement and the other documents.”

“There you go again,” Pete spat out. “You’re taking a simple sale, and you’re going to lawyer it to death. I’m sure you’ll find something to kill the deal.”

Coop realized that Pete had reverted to yesterday’s attitude. He also realized that he had to pretend to be as excited as Pete was. He feared that it was too late, and if he pretended to be happy, Pete wouldn’t believe him.

Without reviewing the documents, Coop pushed them over to Chester. “Show us where to sign,” he said.

They signed several documents in several places, and in duplicate. Coop handed Chester a check for $10,000 from their joint account. Since it was Sunday, he was willing to trust the buyers, and take an uncertified check. As anxious as Pete was to buy the place, that’s how anxious Chester was to unload it. This was the only offer he had gotten since the property went on the market over three years ago.

He left the original documents and the keys on the table. He stood up and offered the buyers his hand. He couldn’t wait to get out of there. As he left, he said. “I’ll have the deed mailed directly to your New York address.” He left in a very big hurry. He was afraid the buyers might have a last-minute change of heart. They could always stop payment on the check.

Pete looked around. Without a smile, he said, “Well, the place is all mine now.”

Coop wanted to say, “all ours,” but he was afraid that Pete would have another fit. He decided to let Pete act as if the place was all his.

“We should get a window cleaner,” Coop said. “It would be nice to let some sunshine in.”

“No window cleaner,” Pete shouted in anger. “This place is mine, and I’ll do all my own cleaning. I’ll come back next weekend with plenty of food and cleaning material. I’d stay over and skip school tomorrow, but I’m giving two final exams.”

“I couldn’t stay either,” Coop said. “I’ve got depositions to take tomorrow morning, but I wouldn’t mind initiating the bedroom.”

“I’m not in the mood. We’ll initiate it next weekend.” Coop kept his mouth shut.

They locked up the cottage and headed for the car. “Let me drive,” Coop said. “You’re too excited.”

Coop sat behind the driver’s seat and started the trip home. Neither spoke at first, but the farther away from the cottage they drove, the more Pete started to relax. He began to chatter away, and even laid his hand on Coop’s knee.

Coop had an epiphany. It scared him to death. As stupid as it sounded, he feared that the cottage had cast some evil spell on his husband.