27.
“The door was open this time,” said Gale in a smiling light sarcasm, “but I thought, you know, just for the hell of it I’d invite the guys in too.”
Sissy, Crumb and Gale were in the Jacuzzi; Sean, David and myself sat around them on the sides after taking off our shoes, our feet rested in the water.
“I think I like it the other way better,” Sean said. “This whole scene, with everyone here, lacks a certain Gale Trask spontaneity.”
“But the beer,” Gale said, lifting his can. He didn’t have one of his talls, but one of Sean’s. All of us, except Crumb and David, had a beer in hand.
“So what are you guys up to today?” Gale smiled.
“I don’t know.” Sean looked at David, then at Gale. “Hanging out I guess. Doing the holiday thing.”
“Do you like Gale’s sombrero?”
That was Crumb. That was a Crumb sort of comment. Crumb would do that. He’d point out something in a happy go friendly way: that kind of innocent comedy made him Crumb.
Gale wore a cowboy hat, not a sombrero. It was bigger than most cowboy hats, but it was still a cowboy hat.
“It’s pretty nice,” Sean replied half assed.
“It’s a white man’s sombrero,” Gale said, all smiles to Crumb. Gale loved Crumb to pieces.
“Didn’t you say though, once, that you’re half Indian?”
“I am,” Gale answered with a smile. “Cherokee on my mother’s side.”
Dusk yawned…
But it turned out that not that bad. Sean got buzzed off a few beers and it got real fun and loose. Every once in a while one of the “jucuzzers” would sit up on the rim, because of the heat. Once Sissy get out, swooshed over to the diving board, stood with the sun on him for a moment, then swan dived into the pool.
“Such grace,” Gale quipped, imitating a homosexual.
“Do that gay imitation you did the other day,” Sean said.
“Fuck you,” said Gale the way a guy who has had a lot of girls, so many he’s somehow tired of them but not completely, after hearing a homosexual comment, says.
Sean and David laughed. Sean turned, looked over at Sissy.
“He really puts the ‘swan’ in a swan dive,” Sean added.
Sissy swam like a perfect fish to the shallow end and walked up the steps. I noticed his hair was thinning at the top. Maybe it always had been but the water really showed the loss.
After Sissy eased back into the Jacuzzi Gale winked at him.
“You swam beautifully,” he said, with the same gay voice. Sissy shrugged this remark with a phony distasteful grin. Gale looked up at Sean.
“Me and Greg were talking about something before you got here, and I know you’ll take my side, Sean.”
“Oh no,” Sissy muttered.
“Have you ever taken a piss in the shower?”
Sean nodded. “Of course. All the time.”
Gale laughed at Sissy. “See?”
“That’s Sean though,” said Sissy.
“Thanks buddy,” Sean said.
“How about you David?” Gale asked.
“Never.”
Sissy laughed triumphantly.
“Than you must’ve been wacking off in there or something,” Sean said. “You were in my shower for twenty five minutes.”
“I lost track of time.”
Sean shook his head. “If one of your neighbor’s overheard us…”
“Greg was making it out to be a crime to piss in the shower,” Gale returned. “There’s even a Jane’s Addiction song about it.”
“That legitimizes it,” David replied caustically.
“Sorry Gale. I’ve never done it,” said Sissy.
“Man. You guys lack something,” said Sean.
“What’s that?” asked Sissy.
“Penises.”
Gale laughed.
“I’ve done worse than that,” said Sean. One time… I think I was fifteen. I’d jack off into the bathtub.” Sissy cringed as if he’d never heard such a thing “And I’d shoot it in the tub. There wasn’t any water in the tub, and usually, after I was done, I’d turn the shower on, wash it down. But one time I didn’t. I left my cum on the bathtub floor. And the next morning my mom asked me if I had eaten in the bathtub.” We all laughed. Gale especially. Gale roared.
Sean shook his head. “So I went up to the bathtub, and looked in… and there was a trail of ants in there, eating my sperm.”
There was a bunch of “Ahhhhhs” “Ewwwws” instead of laughter this time.
I looked over at Sean. He had somewhat of a surprised expression. He was staring over by the side yard where we’d entered. I turned to look; I saw Marc Sandoval. He walked arrogantly with his chest stuck out, like he’d just lifted an automobile successfully off a beauty queen. But he wasn’t smiling. He didn’t seem angry, either, he was holding something back.
“What up guys,” he said, in a loud voice.
Silence blanketed us. How can I explain it? The mood changed quickly as death rears itself in an idle foxhole. Our laughter was not stuffed in our back pockets. A hollow blade teetered in the sky. The sun was covered up.
After the silence, “hellos” came from all of us.
What Marc did next was strange. When he spoke his tone was mixed with nervousness and a confidence. I don’t know which was more real inside him, but his voice was split in half.
“Hey Greg. What’s up? How’s your girlfriend,” he asked Sissy.
“Good. She’s doing all right.”
“Hey there Tim” (Crumb) “- haven’t seen you in a while. How’s work?”
I didn’t know where Crumb worked, but I guess Marc did.
“Not bad,” said Crumb. “But I could use a raise.”
Then Gale.
“How’re you doing, Trask. Been out on the waves lately?”
Even Gale spoke sounding rehearsed. “Not too much. I’ve been busy working.”
“And David. My man Jameson!!! How are you? We got to start running sometime.”
“Sure thing. Whenever. Just set it up.”
All this coming from Marc seemed somewhat forced.
“So what’re you up to?” Gale asked him.
“Oh. Not much. I actually haven’t done too much lately. I think today me and Samantha” (he never said Samantha instead of Sammi before) “are going to the movies.”
“That’s cool,” said Gale.
“I don’t know. I just stopped by to say hi. It’s been a while. I better get going.”
Then he glanced at Sean, real quick. “Call me sometime.” That’s all he said.
“Later man,” said Sissy.
A bouquet of goodbyes arose, from us to him, except for Dusk. When Marc left we all felt it. It was like something had been stolen from us.
His car was louder than ever leaving. We heard it far into the distance.
Gale looked up at Sean.
“That was kind of strange, buddy. He said hi to everybody except you. He had something nice to say to everyone.”
Sean Dusk sighed. He looked pretty disgusted.
“Well he did say to call him,” Dusk said plainly.
“I never seen a guy act like that to another guy before,” Gale said.
Sean, along with disgust, seemed kind of pissed, too. In fact he had a stew of expression, embarrassment included.
“It ain’t me,” Dusk replied. “What can I do?”
And the rest of the afternoon wasn’t quite the same as before Marc’s visit. In fact it was a real drag, even though Gale, Sissy and Crumb pretended it wasn’t.
That afternoon, and into the evening as well, Sean kept pretty quiet, seeming, inside, somewhat imploded.
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