The City

Tyler learned from Todd that his ex had checked into a drug rehabilitation center, while Jacob rehabilitated his apartment.  On a road-trip to Memphis, Franz, Leon and Spaz had some car trouble.  In Astoria, Ivan was called out by a neighbor.  While Frederico moved on with love, Martin was distraught.

On the road to Memphis, Franz, Leon and Spaz checked into a hotel outside Pittsburgh.  The mechanic told them he hoped to have their car ready by the morning.   Frustrated by the delay, Franz hopped in the hotel’s Jacuzzi.  He pouted thinking about the wasted time.  Lost in thought and staring at the bubbles, he jumped when Leon slid in next to him.   “Stop stressing,” his partner said. “We’re having a great time.  Flat tires and overheated radiators are just part of the fun of a road trip.”     Franz wasn’t so easily assuaged. “I wanted this trip to be relaxing for you.  Your new job is stressful and has taken up a lot of time.  When we get back you’ll be right in the thick of it again.”    Leon smiled and moved closer.  Franz could feel the heat from Leon’s bare, wet arm against his.    “Careful,” Franz said.  His worries were melting away.  “Don’t get any ideas.  We have Spaz back in the room.”

In Tyler’s apartment, Martin lamented his love life.  Tyler mixed a cocktail shaker and poured them each a drink.    “How can he be seeing someone so soon after we broke up?” Martin asked.    Not listening Tyler pondered his ex’s reappearance. “I’m glad he’s in rehab, but do you think I can trust Todd? He could be lying, right?”      Without hearing, Martin continued on his own train of thoughts. “He’s upstairs playing Motown music now.  That means he’s getting ready to go out.  I assume to meet this guy.”      Tyler fished cherries from a jar and placed one in each glass. “And forgetting that for a minute, cuz it might just be a lie, right? I can’t get a hold of Leon to tell him that they’ve hired a drunken liar as a dog-walker.  Todd’s probably emptied out their liquor cabinet already.”      “I told you I found an empty condom box in his trash, right?”     “Even if Ronald gets his shit together, I wouldn’t take him back.  He might be pretty, but he was one angry drunk.”     “And he didn’t come home the other night.  I’m sure of it.”    Both were snapped out of their dilemmas by the sound of a door slamming shut and a pair of heavy boots running down the stairs.     Martin’s eyes bugged out of his head and he whispered, “He’s leaving!  We have to follow him.”     “Are you crazy?” Tyler whispered back.      “I have to see this guy.  I have to know who it is that’s had him in a good mood the last few weeks.”   Martin watched at the door to see Frederico leave as Tyler put on his shoes.

Across the hall Jacob was plastering a hole in the wall.  When he was finished he filled a glass with water and drank it in three long gulps.  Then he picked up the plastic bag filled with white powder he had found inside the wall just an hour earlier.  “Well, well, well.” He said to himself. “What am I going to do with you?”

Up in Astoria, Ivan stepped out of the shower.  He was thinking about the neighbor’s accusation earlier in the day that he was a tramp.  He dried off, put on his pajamas, brushed his teeth, and used the toilet.  A searing burning sensation rushed through his nether regions.   “Fuck!” he said. “Not again!”

Martin and Tyler silently followed Frederico to the subway.  Without being noticed, they slipped into a car behind his.  When he exited the train at Union Square, they followed suit.  Amazed that they didn’t lose him in the crowd and equally shocked that he didn’t see them following, Tyler became giddy.   On the contrary, Martin remained sick to his stomach.   They followed from across the street, always keeping an eye on the orange sweater Frederico sported.  While Frederico stepped into a bodega to buy flowers, they ducked behind a parked ice cream truck.  Visibly in a good mood, Frederico smiled at strangers and dropped change in the cup of a blind man singing gospel.   When he stopped at a sidewalk café and talked to the restaurant’s hostess Martin considered running away.  “Never mind this is a bad idea!” he said to Tyler.    “Oh my …” Tyler started, then his jaw dropped.    Afraid to turn around and see what Tyler saw Martin covered his eyes.  “Just tell me what he looks like.  I can’t look.”    “You do not want to see this,” Tyler said.

Back in Pennsylvania, Leon and Franz tip-toed into their hotel room, still wet from the Jacuzzi.  Spaz was asleep in her bed, a blue glow from the television covered the room.  The boys giggled as they finished drying off and prepared to crawl into bed.  Leon searched the bedside table for the television remote.  “Do you see the remote anywhere?” he asked Franz.   “NO TALKING!” Spaz shouted. Then she rolled over and started snoring.

What does the City have in store next for our heroes? Stay tuned.

Based on events and people that may be familiar to some, names and associations have been altered to protect the guilty.