The City

The day of the UN gala arrived.  Leon was woken by the whining of Mr. Sulu, the cat Tyler was watching for Adam.  The cat was staring at Leon’s face and poking him with his clawless paws.  Confused at first, Leon remembered he’d spent the night on an air mattress in Brooklyn so he could be in the city and start the day running.  Which he did, vaulting from bed and into the shower. 

Tyler woke at his usual slow pace and started making coffee.  Mr. Sulu ran back under the bed.  Tyler offered Leon breakfast when he emerged from the bathroom.  “No time!” he shouted, pouring coffee into a thermos. “I’m meeting with the emergency back up caterer in 30 minutes.  Hopefully they’ll have samples.”  He sprinted out the door.

He bumped into Jacob on the sidewalk, literally.  Without dropping the coffee, Leon landed flat on his back and immediately jumped up, grabbed his bag, held out a hand to the dazed Jacob, handed him the envelope he knocked out of his hands, apologized, dusted his shoulders, and ran to the train.  Tyler watched it all from the window.  “He’s in a hurry,” he said to Jacob.  Jacob looked up, “Was he one of yours?”   “He stayed last night,” Tyler responded before realizing how that sounded. “I mean, he’s just a friend.”    “I’m sure he is,” Jacob said, saucily.  He looked around at the pavement to check for any lost items. ”I have an appointment in 30 minutes, you can tell me about it tonight at Frederico’s unveiling,” he said.  Realizing how that sounded, he added “I mean, the unveiling of Frederico’s mural.  At the UN.”

On the third floor, Martin was checking himself in the mirror.  He had a job interview today, for an office assistant position with a realty firm in Harlem.  He felt he was overqualified, but the unemployment was getting boring.  Checking his suit and teeth, he dropped a copy of his resume in his shoulder bag and headed out.  He knocked on Frederico’s door, but didn’t get an answer.  “Poor guy,” he muttered. “Must be exhausted from all the work he’s been doing.”  He checked his watch and headed out.

As he was heading into the shower, Tyler’s phone rang.  It was Franz checking to be sure Leon made it out on time.  “You just missed him,” Tyler said. “He was up first thing this morning, then nearly wiped out my new neighbor on his way to the train.”   “He’s been working too much on this project.  Luckily, tonight’s the night and I get him back to myself tomorrow,” Franz said.   “You mean until the next project starts,” Tyler joked, to awkward non-laughter from Franz.    “Anyway,” Franz said, “I’m surprising him all weekend with a room at the Hotel Walstoria.  We’ll be able to go directly from the gala to a luxury suite.”   “Excellent,” Tyler opined. “Who’s going to take care of Nairobi?”   “The new dog walker/cleaning guy I hired has volunteered to stay here all weekend,” Franz said.    After hanging up the phone, Franz took Nairobi for a long walk.

Later that morning, Jacob met with his banker.  He and his ex were supposed to divide their combined investments, but the ex was a no-show.   “He called shortly before we closed yesterday,” their financial advisor said. “He asked that everything be put in your name.  I’ve drawn up the papers, all you need to do is sign here, here, here, and initial here and here,” she said.    “He’s not coming?” Jacob was stunned, and confused by the sudden generosity.  Guilt was apparently a motivating factor in his favor.    “He said he didn’t want you to try to talk him out of it so he’d be in later to sign.  It’s a very generous offer Jacob, and I think you should agree to it.”    “And what exactly is everything?  It’s just a joint savings account, right?”  He flipped through the papers.     “Are you serious?” the banker asked. “You co-owned quite a few serious investments with him.”  She began describing each piece as Jacob’s ears burned and jaw dropped.

In an apartment in Astoria, where Ivan was subletting from Adam, a neighbor watched as another strange man left the apartment.  She tried not to be nosey, but it seemed that this summer tenant had a penchant for overnight guests.  And rarely the same one twice.

Working on the railroad, Greg avoided a phone call from his bartender/recent date.  ‘No way am I taking this call,’ he said to himself.  ‘When did casual become serious?’

And on the Union Square train platform, Frederico spotted Martin and ducked behind a pillar but was too slow. “Hey!” Martin called out.   “Oh, hi!” Frederico said.    “Where are you coming from?   And weren’t you wearing that yesterday?” Martin asked. ”If I didn’t know any better, I’d say somebody got lucky last night,” he teased.    “Oh, yeah, that’s me,” Frederico said nervoulsy, “traipsing about town all night.  Ha ha.”    “Did you work another all nighter?” Martin asked, sounding sad.     “Yep,” Frederico responed. “Perfectionist that I am.  Never happy until the paint’s dry.”    “Well, go home and get some rest.  Tonight’s the big night” Martin said, patted his ex on the shoulder and trotted off to catch his train uptown. 

Initially based on actual events and real people, the story has progressed to such a point as to render everyone and everything unrecognizable.  Nonetheless, names and associations may have been altered to protect the guilty or to make things seem more interesting.

Home from taking Helmut to the airport, Frederico knocked on Jacob’s door.  Jacob answered the door wearing a pair of overalls, rubber gloves, and a face mask.  He was in the process of knocking out the shower walls with a sledge hammer.  Explaining that he was running out to the UN to work on the fresco, Frederico stated that he couldn’t help but notice the tension between Jacob and Helmut.  “What’s the story?” he asked.  Jacob responded that there was no short answer and if Frederico was really in a hurry there wasn’t time to explain.  Frustrated that his curiosity wasn’t sated, Frederico changed into his work clothes and ran off.

As the UN event drew nearer, Leon’s long hours at the office became even longer.  Feeling pulled in a million directions by the committee members and half-wit minions, he forced himself to take a 10 minute coffee break with Tyler one afternoon.  “When was the last time you slept?” Tyler asked him.  Before he had  a chance to answer, Leon’s phone rang.  It was Franz asking if he’d be home for dinner.  He also pressed for Leon to give him some input on summer vacation plans.  “I’m too busy to even think about that,” Leon snapped.  “Let’s get this event behind me and then maybe we can discuss a trip.”  Tyler sat wide eyed and sipped his latte.  He’d never seen Leon and Franz argue.  Leon slammed his cup down and said “I am so stressed by this damn job!”   ”It’s your first project, it’ll get better,” Tyler tried to be soothing.   “The company has gone through 3 project managers since the start of the year.  I’m #4!”   ’Wow,’ Tyler mouthed. 

Halfway through the week, Greg and his bartender went to see a movie.  Greg squirmed uncomfortably through the film, a chyck-flick starring Drew Barrymore, Ashley Judd, Hilary Duff, and Ashton Kutcher.  He wasn’t sure how, but the purely physical relationship with the bartender had turned into date night. 

Adam, on his way to Memphis, dropped his cat - Mr. Sulu - off in Brooklyn for Tyler to watch over the summer.  Mr. Sulu promptly hid under the bed and wouldn’t come out.  Earlier in the week Adam had agreed to sublet his apartment to Ivan, whose roommates had kindly asked him to leave on the grounds that he was entertaining way too often.  Ivan was looking forward to having his own apartment for the summer.  He rearranged the bedroom furniture and changed the pictures on the walls.

During another day of unemployment, Martin went up to the roof to sunbathe.  Jacob was up there taking a break from his work on the apartment.  The two introduced themselves.  “What’s the deal with Tyler?” Jacob asked. ”He seems to embarrass easily.”     “Don’t let the blushing white boy act fool you,” Martin said. “He knows how to play the game, he’s just out of practice.”    “Oh?” Jacob asked.    “Bad break up last winter,” Martin explained. “Three year relationship.  He needs to get over it and come out of his shell.”    “Hmm, good to know,” Jacob said. ”And you and Frederico?”     Martin rubbed sunscreen on his shoulders and looked off towards the Manhattan skyline. “That ship has sailed,” he said.

At the end of the week, Frederico came home from the project site for a long shower and a raw meal of celery, carrots, apples, nuts, berries, and greens in lemon juice.  He invited Jacob up to his apartment and told him “I’ve got a couple hours of free time.  What’s the story with Helmut?”  He poured two glasses of chilled wine.    “Well,” Jacob started, then took a long drink. “It’s probably not as dramatic as you might think, but the main reason I moved in downstairs is because I’ve been struggling to pay the rent in Soho since my boyfriend moved out last year.”    Frederico said nothing, indicating with a head nod and warm eyes that Jacob should continue.     “You said Helmut has been here for 3 months?”     “Yes,” Frederico said, “he came on a tourist visa, decided he wanted to stay, found a job, and is on his way back to Germany to work out the visa.”    “Well,” Jacob said, taking another long drink and offering his empty goblet  for a refill. ”He was also here a year ago and made a move on my boyfriend.  More than a move actually, they had some ridiculous two week long affair while I was in California for my mother’s funeral.”    Frederico’s head tilted and his mouth opened.  Helmut had told him he’d never been to the City before. ”He told me he’d never been to the City before,” he said. “No wonder you didn’t warm up to him last week.”    Jacob smirked, “Chalk it up as another lie.  He comes every summer.”  and he lifted his glass, this time to offer a toast. “To new friendships and old nemeses.”  Their glasses clinked.

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

Based on actual situations, names and associations may have been altered to protect the guilty or to make things seem more interesting.