Just a Trim - 6. Chapter 6: Serious Turmoil

The pitter patter of rain on the window gently woke Jim from his snooze. Was that a flash? A small rumble of thunder in the distance several seconds later indicated that there probably had been a flash of lightning. He had awakened a half hour before, but it was Saturday, so he had turned over. He had noticed Chris was already out of bed so he had taken the extra time... Sitting up a little with his head against the backboard, he put his hands behind his neck as he glanced out the window. Some tears started to well up in his eyes, as he thought about life over the last week…

Over the last several days, both Chris and he had realized an emotional distance between them, there was no getting around it. He hadn’t known how to approach it with her, and she, probably with her intuition, also held back. But this couldn’t go on indefinitely. Jim got up, showered, shaved and dressed, and went down to the kitchen. Deep in thought, he just sat at the table. Chris came in a few minutes later. She knew something was up. Jim looked at her.

“What,” she said, looking back at him.

Jim hesitated. “I don’t know where to start,” he said finally.

Chris sat down at the table. “Take your time. Just say what’s on your mind.” Her heart was racing now.

Jim put his hands together on the table, looking at them, to avoid Chris’s eyes.

“The wet dream I had about a week ago?” he said, looking up at her. “It wasn’t about you.”

“Go on,” said Chris, not really wanting him to continue.

“The day we had the washing machine leak?” he continued. “When I went back to Home Outlet, there was a stock boy there.” He hesitated. “His name was Chris…” he continued softly. That was probably enough.

Chris’s response was automatic. “I’m sure lots of guys have wet dreams about other guys at some point in their lives. This could just be some kind of fluke.”

Jim looked at Chris intently. “I had another dream a week or so before that.” Then softly, “Someone else, another guy I met recently…” A soft snicker, “A barber…”

Chris was at a loss now. Finally, “I don’t know what to say. Do you think you’re gay?” She asked this in an incredulous way. “I mean, up until last month, we had a great sex life. Do you still love me?”

“Of course I still love you,” said Jim softly. “Am I gay? I don’t know… I got together with my barber, Ken, for coffee. Turns out that he’s gay. I would never have known. Just a good-looking guy.” He chuckled a bit. “Blue eyes.”

“What?” asked Chris.

“He has blue eyes. I noticed them after a quip I made during a hair cut, along his smile.”

Jim could see Chris’s uneasiness at hearing this, and regretted having mentioned it.

Another pause. “A couple weeks ago, during your trip, I got together with the stock boy, Chris for a movie. During the movie, he made a pass at me. Just put his hand on my leg during the movie. I brushed him off, but…” Chris could see his difficulty, the tears beginning to well up in his eyes, as he looked at his hands on the table. “That day at Home Outlet, the day of the washing machine leak, I bought him a soda. That was the first time I had seen him, but apparently, he had noticed me on a previous visit. He was talking about his girlfriend while I was talking about you. That was when we talked about going to the movie. I just assumed he was straight. After the movie, when he brought up the fact that I had brushed him off, he said he was bisexual. He thought I was bisexual or gay. He said he could usually sense these things in guys.” Jim looked at Chris again now, tears running down each side of his face.

Chris herself was also beginning to well up now. “I don’t know. I don’t know what to do. I have to be alone now.” She got up, and went upstairs to their bedroom, and closed the door. Several minutes later, Jim went up, and was about to softly knock on the door, when inside the room, he heard her sobbing softly. He then went outside, where it had just stopped raining, and went for a walk, to get some fresh air.

When Jim came back in, about a half hour later, Chris was sitting at the kitchen table, her eyes still red. Jim sat down with her.

“I think you had better move out, for now,” said Chris, softly.

“Do you think that’s really necessary?” asked Jim.

“Yes,” returned Chris. “Just until we can get a handle on this. Maybe, it is just a fluke. I really hope so. But if it’s not, you’re going to have to look at it.” She looked away. “I can’t believe this.”

“I know,” said Jim, gently taking Chris’s hand in his own, across the table. She flinched.

“Boy,” said Jim, shooting a sharp glance at Chris.

“I’m sorry,” said Chris. “I don’t know. This is just really weird.”

“I know.” A pause. “Can I sleep on the sofa until I can find a place? Shouldn’t be more than a week or so.”

“Sure,” said Chris, with a small smile.