The Midnight Man by Kevin Klehr

Author:Kevin Klehr [Klehr, Kevin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LGBTQIA+, Contemporary, fantasy, family-drama, romance, gay, established couple, dreams, cheating, mother/son relationship
Publisher: NineStar Press, LLC
Published: 2021-08-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Circus

Francesco sat on a rickety wooden chair, his back pressed hard against the support. All he could think of was how aware he was of his spine, until he saw them. Two very composed butlers walking down the aisles, holding silver serving trays. One balanced three ritzy champagne flutes on his platter while clasping a bottle of sparkling wine in his other hand. The second butler had a pair of scarlet gloves and opera glasses on his tray. Between them were several rows of those uncomfortable chairs seating a multitude of very average looking families.

The waiters shuffled down the steps on both sides of the raked seating until they were nearly at the bottom. When they stopped, both bent over and reached toward a woman in a red dress. She’s definitely not average, Francesco thought.

Next to her sat two men, one with distinct peppered hair as curly as ramen noodles. The other wore a jacket and bowtie.

An elephant roared. Francesco became aware of the animal tamer who stood in the ring surrounded by the crowd. The elephant roared again but somehow the woman in red and her companions were not interested in the show. She was using her glasses to spy on someone in the audience.

Francesco turned and grinned when he saw who caught her attention. It was Stanley seated some distance away. At least, it looked like Stanley. Why is he so young?

This was a version of his partner he’d only seen in photos. The twentysomething in a waistcoat and T-shirt, and hair sculpted with so much gel it resembled the rough end of a pineapple. To Francesco this 1980s fashion victim was adorable. He thought how nice it would have been to know Stanley then. To be caught up in love in seemingly endless youth.

A young man next to Stan was talking to him as if they knew each other well. He played with Stanley’s hair before wrapping his arms around Stanley’s shoulders. This guy was not an eighties throwback. He was the boy next door. The type Francesco masturbated to many times while admiring his teen sister’s pop magazines. If only she understood why her choice of reading material kept disappearing.

Stanley gazed at the enigmatic man in a way Francesco remembered well. The look of love that used to be bestowed on him many years before.

The men kissed. Lips locked like lovers who were in for the long haul.

Francesco gradually looked away; the blurred image of the audience and the elephant standing on its hind legs whizzed past with no significance. A sadness he couldn’t comprehend pushed down on him. Stanley was not his back then. Perhaps in years to come he never would be. This cute young man would steal him long before the day Francesco and Dinky were destined to meet.

Francesco felt it in the pit of his stomach. Something anguished. Something vocal. As the elephant roared again, he, too, hollered for understanding. But no one listened. No one cared. His dream faded to black as his cry lingered in the darkness.

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