Please find enclosed, chapter 3 of my story The Thunder Storm. This is a true story that happened some years back. I changed the names of some of the participants to protect their privacy.
The Thunder Storm
by: Ben Ezra Jacobson
Chapter 3
Maintenance crew were cleaning and salting the sidewalks. There were lights on in Ms what's her names condo as I crossed the street and walked around to my side of the complex. The house was dark and a little on the cold side. I had not turned up the thermostat before leaving this morning...and the rooms were uncomfortably cool. While the heat came up...this might be a nice evening for a fire in the fireplace...which opened to both the living room and to my bedroom. It had been nearly a year since I last built a fire and the log box had enough of last years logs probably for tonight. It would be necessary to order more wood tomorrow if I wanted a fire over the holidays. I would tend to it in the morning.
I did not feel like cooking and decided to order a pizza from Joes...not only the original pizza place in our university town...but also the best in town. They put the Italian sausage on raw and then baked it...the result was a very greasy but wonderfully flavorful pizza. I could eat all I wanted and never seem to gain weight. While the order was being prepared, I showered and put on a pair of burgundy jogging sweats and a long sleeve white pull over shirt and a pair of fleece lined moccasins. When the delivery boy knocked...I let him in and went to the shelf for the money I had set out to pay my tab.
" Hey Dr. Jacobson...you may need to warm the pizza a bit in the microwave. It is getting cold out and the damn things cool off really fast."
" I will do that, Tony. Thanks for coming out on a cold, snowy night." I handed him a twenty for the pizza and a five dollar tip.
"Thanks Dr. J. I just delivered a pizza to one of your neighbors around the other side...Jean Dubois. Got a nice tip there as well..! Thanks...bye."
I do not give a shit about Ms. Dubois...I said to myself as Toni closed the door upon leaving. She can choke on it for all I care. The pizza was wonderful...as it always is. I added another log to the fire before turning on the television for the local news. The news highlights were about the weather and how quickly it was changing to a possible storm. It was good that my students would all be on the train, plane or almost home if they were driving and I was comfortable here with food, fire and comfort. More snow was being predicted.
As the evening became night, the fire in the fire place was slowly dying and I turned on the television in the living room off and turned the one in the bedroom on. The heat was comfortable by now as I grabbed the news paper, stepped out of all of my clothing and climbed into bed. The weatherman on the news said that we could expect large wet flakes with a possible accumulation with in the city. When the hall clock struck eleven...I tossed the newspaper to the floor and hit the remote to cancel the TV. So large wet flakes would continue through the night and some accumulation would be possible, huh? Only embers lay twinkling in the hearth. On impulse, I got up and opened the drapes and raised the blinds. Indeed, large white flakes were falling and the courtyard was white. The plants and shrubs were covered in white...as was the lawn furniture and all the trees. As I started to turn away and to return to my bed...movement
across the courtyard caught my eye. Standing in the bedroom window across the court yard with the slightest of lights behind in the room was the naked figure of the man I had been waving to last summer.
The Mystery Man
He raised his hand to the square and waved just like on the two previous sightings. I smiled and waved back this time...moving my hand back and forth in a more friendly gesture. He slipped away and my mind went blank. What's this...is he toying with me. Am I dreaming this or just cracking up? He returned to the window and placed a candle in a holder and set it on the ledge. The he stepped back and placed a sheet of white heavy paper in front of him. A message! Is he sending a message. I darted to closet and grabbed a pair of binoculars from the closet shelve, fumbling to get them out of the case. I rushed to the window, placed them to my eyes, rotated the focus knob and read.
"HI MY NAME IS JEAN DUBOIS"
I almost dropped the binoculars. Putting them back to my eyes and resetting the focus...and looked again. He was gone...but the candle remained on the sill. As I watched, he returned with what looked like some kind of marker and began to write on another sheet of paper.
" CALL ME AT 555-XXX-XXXX"
I pinched myself. Then I pinched myself again. This was not a dream...it was really happening. I picked up my cell phone on the bed stand and returned to the window and dialed the number.
"Allo," said the voice in a distinct foreign accent. Theese es Jean Dubois."
" Hi Guy...this is Ben Jacobson across the court yard. I thought you were a ghost."
He laughed, "Yes... I am sure you deed. I wanted to speak weeth you but lacked sufficient courage to do so until now."
" I knew that we had a neighbor named Jean Dubois...but I thought you were a lady."
"Yes...zat ees a common mistake here in America. In my country...Jean can be a boy or a girl."
I smiled. " I am glad you are not a ghost or a figment of my imagination."
"Yes...I am real and I am glad that you are real. I am going to study at the university thees next semester...and will be leeving here for the next few years."
" I teach at the University Jean. It will be great having you with us."
"Zeen perhaps I should call you, Dr. Jacobson?
"No..I want you to call me Ben. You are my neighbor first...and a university student second."
"Zank you, Been. I see zat you like to sleep naked like me?"
" Yes, I do...I want to be as unrestricted as possible."
"Me too, I like zee feel of nudity. In my country...none of zee men sleep with clothing on."
" America is a little more conservative...except for a few of us...who are non conformists."
"Yes...You look good across zee courtyard. Eef, I may say...zee only thing that ees better zan being naked...ees being naked with some one next to you." Jean had a great smile on his face and I could see it.
"Jean," I said..."I wish you were over here with me right now."
"Eef zat is an invitation...eet can be arranged, very easily," he responded.
I was smiling now..."Eet...I mean...it is. How soon can you get here?"
With that...his light suddenly and emphatically...went out.
All manner of emotion passed through my mind. What am I doing? I have not had any male to male contact since I was a teen ager...and during my marriage...complete fidelity. Now I am as giddy as a teenager again. What am I doing? He is a young guy in his twenties and I am a widower in my early forties. Have I completely lost my mind?
The door bell rang...and I raced in sweats and bathrobe to answer it. There in similar attire stood my new neighbor Jean Dubois.
"Enter –voo," I said...trying to be ignorantly polite.
He laughed. Eet is "Entre-vous...mon amis, but Zank you for trying to make me feel welcome."
I laughed and motioned for him to come in...and closed the door. He stepped into the entry way and removed his shoes and shook the snow from his sweat pants onto the floor mat. He smiled a great smile...and did not seem put off with my age or appearance. I smiled back.
I motioned to the sofa...and Jean sat down. As he leaned back against the back of the sofa in a bit of a slouch...his bath robe fell open showing a well defined chest covered in black, straight hair. His body smelled so good...a musky masculine smell. He grinned a wide grin and his eyes twinkled.
"You are uncomfortable with me...yes?" stated Jean.
"Not at all", I replied. "Do I look like I am uncomfortable with you?"
"I can not tell," answered Jean, " You seem surprised zat I would find someone older zan myself, interesting."
"And you do?" I queried.
"But of course. Een my country...zee age of people who find congeniality een one another ees not important. We are not so shallow to leemit our freendships and affections. From across zee courtyard, you had that j'na se qua...meestree."
" I have to tell you...that your appearances have been rather mysterious to me as well."
"Do you remeeber...zee storm when you saw me in zee window?" asked Jean.
"That is just it Jean...you were suddenly there and suddenly gone."
"Eet seemed presumptuous of me to stand in zee window with lightning flashing all around me. Eet was cold next to zee glass and I deed not know eef you were receptive to a naked man waving at you."
I just smiled. He did not know how the encounter shook me up.
"Jean...I did not sleep much after seeing you in the glass. I was afraid it was a dream, yet wanted it to be real."
"Zeen you are receptive to naked men calling on you in zee middle of the night?" he asked with a big Cheshire grin on his face.
"My friend, this is a first for me." I responded. " I have not done anything like this since I was a teenager."
His smile suddenly faded, "Zen you are not gay?" he asked.
" I do not know what I am," I said cautiously, "I have been alone for over a year and have had no sexual interaction in all that time except with my own hand."
"I do not understand, mon amis...you have been dating women, yes?" Jean asked.
"No." I replied. "Since my wife died...I have been celibate."
"I do not know zees word...celibate", he said with confusion on his face.
"Of course not," I replied, " no sex with anyone."
" Aaaahhhh" he responded, "celibatear."
I suddenly felt very foolish as I sat down and attempted to explain my situation these last few years and to reassure him that I was indeed interested in developing a friendship with him. He may not have understood my level of English, but I understood the expression on his face and the interest in his eyes.
I could only offer him a Coke and some left over cold pizza...but we sat on the sofa, ate a little pizza and chatted...he in broken English and me in a poor excuse for French which I had not spoken since early college days. Some how, our enthusiasm was mutually conveyed as we smiled and engaged in our conversations.
I got up and turned the lighting as low as it would go and sat back down...placing my hand on his shoulder. He smiled and reached into my open robe and placed his hand on my chest. His hand was warm and felt good there. As I reached over and opened his robe wider...I ran my hand through the straight black chest hair on his shoulder. It felt a bit coarse, but squeaky clean. He smiled and leaned forward...looking deep into my eyes. I thought for a minute that he was going to kiss me...but he did not. He stood up and removed the robe.
"You like...yes," he whispered.
"Yes," I stammered.
He then pulled his sweat pants down around his ankles and stepped out of them.
"You still like, yes," he again whispered.
That which I thought was a substantial endowment, now in plain view, was a gross understatement. What was hanging in front of me now...was anything but modest. He was grinning the widest smile. I stood up and followed suit, stepping out of my clothing. Both of us were now face to face...totally unclad...with our best detail...rising fast.