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Hi! Recently, Sean was on the webcast of "Christine" playing the character 'Art'. I was motivated to write a story based on this webcast and so at 3 AM the following morning, I churned something out. A bit later, I was delighted when Lbilover posted her fiction, "Untethered". I can't tell you how chuffed I was to discover that she was inspired by the same thing that I was. I love her writing so much that even that small amount of connection made my day! She graciously agreed to beta for me and the following story, "Just Fly", is the result. Lbilover is the best beta - she made this a much, much better story than what it was. Thank you, my friend!! (And any mistakes belong to me)
Just Fly
It was sort of like Pavlov’s dog, Elijah decided as he rose from his chair. The bell had rung and he immediately started to extricate himself from his current date. He was here tonight only to make his mother happy. She was always asking him about his love life. They had had the talk and Elijah had lovingly informed her that he was gay. And she really did seem to be trying to understand. She was, however, rather old fashioned and she wanted her baby boy to be happy and to her that meant finding a nice girl and settling down to raise a family. To that end, she frequently questioned him about meeting people, had he been on any dates lately, wasn’t there anyone at work he was interested in, and on and on. Even though he squirmed internally, he had decided to check out speed dating. His mother never asked for too many details and now he could tell her that he had recently been on, Elijah did a quick count of the stations, eleven dates.
Women liked him. It was something about him that he had long ago accepted but never exploited. The hopeful look in the eyes of the woman currently seated across the table dimmed and died away when she registered Elijah’s actions. The fact that there would be no call back from him was implicit in his kind, yet no nonsense tone when he had thanked her for her time. As Elijah stood, he stretched slightly and looked around in order to take stock. There were two stations left. The man who was one station ahead of him shot him a rueful smile which Elijah automatically returned. At times during the rounds, Elijah couldn’t help overhearing the man’s earnest conversation. He appeared to be that most underrated of all commodities – a nice guy.
Elijah settled into the seat that the brown haired man had just vacated. The woman across from him was visiting over her shoulder with the woman at the next table. Elijah used those moments to study the man. Art. That was his name. His brown hair curled enticingly, with a couple curls tumbled across his forehead. He was wearing a yarmulke securely attached towards the back of his head and a slightly worn jacket snug across broad shoulders. Elijah smiled at Art again then glanced briefly at the woman seated across from him. She was beautiful, but she appeared nervous as she shifted her weight in her chair trying to find a comfortable position. The bell rang and Elijah turned his attention to his date.
She seemed to be a lovely woman. At least she gave the appearance of gentility and grace. But Elijah soon found himself listening to the conversation at the table next to him rather than focusing his attention on his date. Art was talking about marriage to his date, a woman named Christine. She had a look of almost disdain on her face but Elijah found himself agreeing with much of what Art was saying. A lot did go into not only marriage but any relationship. Timing, luck, the ability to grow with each other over time, money, parents, children, aging. A quick smile flickered over Elijah’s face at the last item on the list. Aging. He had never been in a relationship long enough for that to be a factor. The smile returned to his face even brighter as he wondered what milestone birthday Art’s ex-wife reached during their time together. Must have been a doozy. Parents? Which had been the problem? His or hers? The woman across from him, Elijah struggled to remember her name, beamed back at him clearly thinking that his smile was meant for her. Elijah refocused his considerable charm on her, Amy, yeah, that was her name, and asked her if she had a family.
Elijah tilted his head at Amy to encourage her monologue. As she started talking again, he leaned a bit to the right in order to hear more from Art.
“It’s supposed to be about two people. Two people and intimacy. That is supposed to be the glue that holds it together. That nothing can break apart.”
Elijah coughed in order to conceal a giggle that was trying to come to the surface. Yep. Definitely it was her parents that were the problem. He glanced over at Art and studied the expression on his face. Art was staring at Christine and Elijah could see him thinking, trying to decipher what it was about her. Then Elijah heard Art say, “I am a cop.”
As Amy continued with her recital, he could hear Art talking about being a cop. “I get to look life in the face every day.” Elijah felt a chill ghost down the back of his neck. Cop. He wondered if Sean was a beat cop with a uniform and handcuffs, an undercover cop who routinely let his whiskers grow into a scruff or maybe a detective who would expose crime, among other things.
“Elijah?”
Elijah returned his attention to Amy with a smile that was guaranteed to distract. “I’m sorry?”
“What do you do for a living?” Amy leaned forward and fiddled with the glass of water that was sitting on the table.
Elijah grinned. “I’m a music teacher.”
Immediately, he could feel Amy start to pull back. “Oh, a teacher.” She gave Elijah a guilty smile. “Not that I have anything against teachers or anything…” Her voice trailed off.
Elijah had been through this before and mentally shrugged his shoulders. It didn’t bother him anymore when people made assumptions about his job including the persistent belief regarding an inferior income. Which in his case happened to be true, but he didn’t teach for the money, he was a teacher because he loved music and enjoyed working with kids. He really didn’t care what she thought but then he glanced over at Art again. He was surprised when he realized how much he did care what Art might think about his profession. Art. The cop. The chill down Elijah’s neck turned into a shiver. Elijah snuck a glance at his watch and realized that this particular date was almost half over. He asked a random question and once more tuned Amy’s ramblings out and tuned Art in. “Take a moment and just fly.”
Elijah leaned back in his chair and focused on Art. “There is this sense in you of freedom, of possibility.” Elijah smiled and considered the possibilities that Art presented until the bell once again tinkled ending the date.
Elijah watched Art as they shuffled to the next and last date of the evening. He found his attention abruptly wrenched away, though, when he overheard Christine mutter to herself, “You can do better than this guy. Way better.”
At his sudden drop into the chair, Christine looked up at him and seemed startled by the glare that Elijah was directing towards her. The bell tinkled and she said, “Hi, I’m Christine.”
Elijah continued to glare at her. “Elijah.” He folded his arms across his chest and sneered, “You might think you can do better than Art, but I rather doubt it. Actually, I think he is the one that deserves better.”
Christine gaped silently at Elijah’s vehemence.
Almost immediately Elijah regretted his outburst. Generally he wasn’t a judgmental person and he was rather surprised at his gut reaction to Christine. Shaking his head at himself, he decided to try and play nice and said in a more conciliatory tone, “So what do you do for a living?” while offering a weak smile.
Christine gave him a dubious look and reluctantly replied, “I’m an actress and you?”
Elijah’s eyebrows climbed towards his hairline as he considered her words. Didn’t she tell Art that she was studying to be a teacher? He decided that two could play this game, whatever it was and increased the wattage of his artificial smile. “I’m a professional football player.”
Elijah chuckled at her resultant goldfish impression and settled down to enjoy the show for the rest of the date as Christine futilely attempted to crawl out of the hole she had dug for herself.
When the event ended, Elijah grabbed his messenger bag and pushed his way through the crowd towards Art, who was standing alone in an alcove. Elijah stuck out his hand and Art firmly grasped it in a return shake. “Hi, I’m Elijah. I’m gonna have a drink and try to get the taste of tonight out of my mouth. Want to join me?” Elijah indicated the bar behind them.
Art’s smile lit up his hazel eyes. “That sounds good.”
Elijah followed Art to the bar. They would have a drink or two tonight and if Elijah was lucky, dinner this weekend. He remembered Art’s comments about the Culver Counter in Culver City and hoped to explore its charms with him.
This just felt right to Elijah. Art appeared to be straight, but Elijah had noticed his hesitation when Christine had flippantly replied, “You too” to his comment, “Men should be knocking down your door.” Whether he was gay or straight, Elijah wanted to get to know Art better.
Elijah slid onto the bar stool next to Art and decided not to worry about the future. Instead, he was going to let go and just fly while enjoying the freedom of possibility.
Just Fly
It was sort of like Pavlov’s dog, Elijah decided as he rose from his chair. The bell had rung and he immediately started to extricate himself from his current date. He was here tonight only to make his mother happy. She was always asking him about his love life. They had had the talk and Elijah had lovingly informed her that he was gay. And she really did seem to be trying to understand. She was, however, rather old fashioned and she wanted her baby boy to be happy and to her that meant finding a nice girl and settling down to raise a family. To that end, she frequently questioned him about meeting people, had he been on any dates lately, wasn’t there anyone at work he was interested in, and on and on. Even though he squirmed internally, he had decided to check out speed dating. His mother never asked for too many details and now he could tell her that he had recently been on, Elijah did a quick count of the stations, eleven dates.
Women liked him. It was something about him that he had long ago accepted but never exploited. The hopeful look in the eyes of the woman currently seated across the table dimmed and died away when she registered Elijah’s actions. The fact that there would be no call back from him was implicit in his kind, yet no nonsense tone when he had thanked her for her time. As Elijah stood, he stretched slightly and looked around in order to take stock. There were two stations left. The man who was one station ahead of him shot him a rueful smile which Elijah automatically returned. At times during the rounds, Elijah couldn’t help overhearing the man’s earnest conversation. He appeared to be that most underrated of all commodities – a nice guy.
Elijah settled into the seat that the brown haired man had just vacated. The woman across from him was visiting over her shoulder with the woman at the next table. Elijah used those moments to study the man. Art. That was his name. His brown hair curled enticingly, with a couple curls tumbled across his forehead. He was wearing a yarmulke securely attached towards the back of his head and a slightly worn jacket snug across broad shoulders. Elijah smiled at Art again then glanced briefly at the woman seated across from him. She was beautiful, but she appeared nervous as she shifted her weight in her chair trying to find a comfortable position. The bell rang and Elijah turned his attention to his date.
She seemed to be a lovely woman. At least she gave the appearance of gentility and grace. But Elijah soon found himself listening to the conversation at the table next to him rather than focusing his attention on his date. Art was talking about marriage to his date, a woman named Christine. She had a look of almost disdain on her face but Elijah found himself agreeing with much of what Art was saying. A lot did go into not only marriage but any relationship. Timing, luck, the ability to grow with each other over time, money, parents, children, aging. A quick smile flickered over Elijah’s face at the last item on the list. Aging. He had never been in a relationship long enough for that to be a factor. The smile returned to his face even brighter as he wondered what milestone birthday Art’s ex-wife reached during their time together. Must have been a doozy. Parents? Which had been the problem? His or hers? The woman across from him, Elijah struggled to remember her name, beamed back at him clearly thinking that his smile was meant for her. Elijah refocused his considerable charm on her, Amy, yeah, that was her name, and asked her if she had a family.
Elijah tilted his head at Amy to encourage her monologue. As she started talking again, he leaned a bit to the right in order to hear more from Art.
“It’s supposed to be about two people. Two people and intimacy. That is supposed to be the glue that holds it together. That nothing can break apart.”
Elijah coughed in order to conceal a giggle that was trying to come to the surface. Yep. Definitely it was her parents that were the problem. He glanced over at Art and studied the expression on his face. Art was staring at Christine and Elijah could see him thinking, trying to decipher what it was about her. Then Elijah heard Art say, “I am a cop.”
As Amy continued with her recital, he could hear Art talking about being a cop. “I get to look life in the face every day.” Elijah felt a chill ghost down the back of his neck. Cop. He wondered if Sean was a beat cop with a uniform and handcuffs, an undercover cop who routinely let his whiskers grow into a scruff or maybe a detective who would expose crime, among other things.
“Elijah?”
Elijah returned his attention to Amy with a smile that was guaranteed to distract. “I’m sorry?”
“What do you do for a living?” Amy leaned forward and fiddled with the glass of water that was sitting on the table.
Elijah grinned. “I’m a music teacher.”
Immediately, he could feel Amy start to pull back. “Oh, a teacher.” She gave Elijah a guilty smile. “Not that I have anything against teachers or anything…” Her voice trailed off.
Elijah had been through this before and mentally shrugged his shoulders. It didn’t bother him anymore when people made assumptions about his job including the persistent belief regarding an inferior income. Which in his case happened to be true, but he didn’t teach for the money, he was a teacher because he loved music and enjoyed working with kids. He really didn’t care what she thought but then he glanced over at Art again. He was surprised when he realized how much he did care what Art might think about his profession. Art. The cop. The chill down Elijah’s neck turned into a shiver. Elijah snuck a glance at his watch and realized that this particular date was almost half over. He asked a random question and once more tuned Amy’s ramblings out and tuned Art in. “Take a moment and just fly.”
Elijah leaned back in his chair and focused on Art. “There is this sense in you of freedom, of possibility.” Elijah smiled and considered the possibilities that Art presented until the bell once again tinkled ending the date.
Elijah watched Art as they shuffled to the next and last date of the evening. He found his attention abruptly wrenched away, though, when he overheard Christine mutter to herself, “You can do better than this guy. Way better.”
At his sudden drop into the chair, Christine looked up at him and seemed startled by the glare that Elijah was directing towards her. The bell tinkled and she said, “Hi, I’m Christine.”
Elijah continued to glare at her. “Elijah.” He folded his arms across his chest and sneered, “You might think you can do better than Art, but I rather doubt it. Actually, I think he is the one that deserves better.”
Christine gaped silently at Elijah’s vehemence.
Almost immediately Elijah regretted his outburst. Generally he wasn’t a judgmental person and he was rather surprised at his gut reaction to Christine. Shaking his head at himself, he decided to try and play nice and said in a more conciliatory tone, “So what do you do for a living?” while offering a weak smile.
Christine gave him a dubious look and reluctantly replied, “I’m an actress and you?”
Elijah’s eyebrows climbed towards his hairline as he considered her words. Didn’t she tell Art that she was studying to be a teacher? He decided that two could play this game, whatever it was and increased the wattage of his artificial smile. “I’m a professional football player.”
Elijah chuckled at her resultant goldfish impression and settled down to enjoy the show for the rest of the date as Christine futilely attempted to crawl out of the hole she had dug for herself.
When the event ended, Elijah grabbed his messenger bag and pushed his way through the crowd towards Art, who was standing alone in an alcove. Elijah stuck out his hand and Art firmly grasped it in a return shake. “Hi, I’m Elijah. I’m gonna have a drink and try to get the taste of tonight out of my mouth. Want to join me?” Elijah indicated the bar behind them.
Art’s smile lit up his hazel eyes. “That sounds good.”
Elijah followed Art to the bar. They would have a drink or two tonight and if Elijah was lucky, dinner this weekend. He remembered Art’s comments about the Culver Counter in Culver City and hoped to explore its charms with him.
This just felt right to Elijah. Art appeared to be straight, but Elijah had noticed his hesitation when Christine had flippantly replied, “You too” to his comment, “Men should be knocking down your door.” Whether he was gay or straight, Elijah wanted to get to know Art better.
Elijah slid onto the bar stool next to Art and decided not to worry about the future. Instead, he was going to let go and just fly while enjoying the freedom of possibility.
