Welcome to chapter 5. This character will be quite different from the rest since none of them are alike. This character has been mentioned but not in great detail... until now.
Lives Intertwined (Chapter 5) By The WhiteWolf
Adam was startled for a moment. He had been daydreaming for the fourth time that day.
"Excuse me," he spoke to the waitress.
The waitress apologized overlapping his words, "I'm sorry."
"My fault entirely," he returned. The waitress apologized with a nonverbal response and then moved out to the kitchen.
Adam is an executive who works for an ad agency. His job is quite dull, but his salary is more than adequate. Lately, his life has become much more tedious and nothing has lifted his spirits. Nothing, except perhaps that young stud who works in the mailroom. But Adam can't be sure of this kid: was he simply flirting with him, or teasing. In either sense it was too risky to pursue at this juncture.
He quickly glanced out among the faces in the cafe. From his skimming the room with his eyes he surmised that they were either too old or too young. Adam, himself, is only in his early 30's, but is very discerning about whom he decides to go out with. Of course, he's not just looking for a one-night stand. He longed for a real relationship, something which had eluded him for quite a while.
Stepping outside he realized it was already dark. He had been in the cafe longer than he had originally thought. Adam smiled at the thought. He doesn't go out much and recently he had decided to immerse himself in the present culture trends. This may have been the underlying fear of getting old. After a week of this, he knew that it was inevitable and now has to come to terms with it.
Adam walked down the street and glanced across the street and saw a park. He shook his head imagining that that would be where he'd spend the rest of his later years - feeding the pigeons. The smell of freshly baked cookies awoke him. They seemed to be emanating from the bakery a few meters from where he was standing. It was much too enticing to pass up.
Entering the store the scent became stronger and Adam knew he was going to walk out of the store with at least one cookie. No one was behind the counter at the time so he decided to check out the selections. The cookies were very large and, as a result, quite expensive.
After seconds passed he heard a smooth voice, "Can I help you?" Adam looked up and was taken aback. Adam stood there silent while trying to formulate his words while staring at the man. The employee seemed to be in his mid twenties, dark hair, and quite attractive. His nametag read Robert. What caught Adam's attention was the overly obvious pink scarf tied around his neck. Adam's staring did not go unnoticed, but Robert said nothing.
"Uh let's see," Adam finally got a grasp on what to say as he looked down at the selection again, "I'll take one sugar cookie and one peanut butter." Adam reached into his pocket and pulled out a hundred dollar bill. He suddenly remembered what he used it for earlier. The tip. He put it back in his pocket as he pulled out his wallet. Adam added up the total in his head and put down exact change.
"Sure thing," Robert said replying to Adam's order. He opened the sliding door to pick up the cookies. Adam went back to staring at him. After all he couldn't see him staring if he was busy with the cookies. "It's not very polite to stare."
Adam glanced down coming the obvious realization the glass case in not one-way and his staring was more than visible. Before Adam could react, Robert stood up and spoke again, "You are correct in assuming that his scarf is not part of the standard uniform." Robert put the cookies down on the counter. "If you want the truth, I'm trying to get fired but I know this company can't afford to lose me." As Adam picked up the cookies Robert picked up the money. "Besides it's good advertising." Adam froze for a moment and quickly walked out.
A sigh escaped his lungs as he had walked far enough away from the shop. The word "advertising" had struck a nerve with Adam. Not because he works for an agency, but it reminded him of his father. Robert was advertising his sexuality just as Adam had done earlier in his life.
"God dammit, Adam," a loud voice resonated through the house directed at a young man, "What have I told you about that." Adam's father was upset about the gay pride shirt. "Stop advertising! We have neighbors you realize!"
Adam shut the door to his room. And turned on the radio to drown out sounds. Adam's father wasn't just angered about how his neighbors would react (in fact, he would sometimes intentionally piss them off), but also he feared the Adam would be attacked by some person who obviously hated gays. He lay down on the bed and reached for the phone. Knowing the phone number by heart he called Michael, his boyfriend for 4 months strong. After a few rings there was an answer.
"Hello."
Adam's troubled day was soothed by the voice on the other end, "Ah, god, it feels good to hear your voice."
"Tough day?"
"Unbelievably. Can I come over there?"
There was a short laugh, "By all means, please do. My roommates gone."
"Enticing. I'll be there as fast as possible."
"Well, now, you think just because he's gone you're so suave and can seduce me in seconds."
"You doubt that I could?"
"I'm waiting for you to try, dear," Michael teased Adam.
"Like I said, I'll be there in seconds. Love ya."
"I love you too."
The conversation had ended and Adam crawled out of the window to his room and left a cassette tape to leave a space when he attempted to crawl back in later.
As Adam reminisced he thought about how bad his childhood was, and how much easier it was and became after he moved in with Michael. He knew how his father resented that fact his own son was gay. And there was nothing that his father could do to change that. He probably would have disowned him had he known about Michael and him.
"What did he expect," Adam spoke to himself. "Was I to remain a virgin till I was 25?" Adam laughed it off and decided to stop thinking about his past adolescence. "Live in the present", he tried to remind himself. As he tried to maintain his thoughts about the present he remembered that he need to do some shopping. It was mere luck that the supermarket was just across the street.
After grabbing a cart he walked down the produce section and glanced at a cloud mushroom. It always caught his attention, but he couldn't bring himself to buy it. Besides, how would he cook it?
Without warning an orange rolled in front of him and stopped near Adam's shoe. He picked it up.
"Sorry, I can be so clumsy at times," a man spoke to Adam. Adam looked up and smiled.
As he handed the orange to the man, "No problem." Adam pushed the cart further down the isle as the other man indicated his thanks.
TBC