Page 1 of His Choice

Chapter One

Cliff

“What fresh hell is this?” I asked aloud as I approached the entrance to Central Diner. I hadn’t expected to see my name on a large sign in the window. The message asked White Pines citizens to support my upcoming appearance as the bachelor on the gay dating reality television program His Choice. Considering I had just notified the show’s producers earlier that morning that I hadn’t decided whether to sign on, the poster came as quite a shock.

“There he is—the man who’s putting our town on the map,” Simone, a close friend and one of the diner’s servers, announced when I walked through the door. Patrons’ heads turned my way, most smiling broadly as they nodded a greeting.

Although I always tried to be gracious and friendly with others, my grin was forced and my handwave brief. I closed the distance between me and Simone.

“What’s going on?” I asked at a volume only she would hear. “Simone, what’s with the sign? I haven’t committed to the show yet.” I leaned closer to her. “I’m not sure I want to.”

Simone appeared confused. “But your mother was here earlier and told us it was happening. She went from table to table, telling everyone that you signed the deal.”

“I haven’t,” I replied with a heavy sigh.

Simone looked even more baffled. “Huh. Your mom insisted I put that poster in the window.”

I grimaced. “I’m going to kill her.”

Simone grinned. “Be careful not to say that in front of Mitch. He might arrest you for criminal intent.” Mitch Winslow, one of my friends and the town’s chief of police, would probably sympathize and hand me the gun instead. He’d met my mother.

At that moment, Keller Alden, Mitch’s boyfriend and a former student of mine from when I taught high-school English, emerged from the kitchen. Although I was paying for his college tuition in return for him designing and maintaining websites for the clubs I owned, he still worked occasional shifts as a server at the diner. Mitch had begged Keller to quit and focus on his studies, but Keller had too much pride to be, as he shared with me in his own crass words, ‘a dude whose only value is being a great fuck.’ It was important to Keller to contribute financially. Somehow, he was juggling everything successfully.

Keller had had a difficult childhood with no mother and an abusive, alcoholic father. He had been in trouble by associating with the wrong crowd. Understandably, folks in town had been wary of him. That had changed, though, after Keller had testified in court against a corrupt cop, and people had learned of his involvement in ending the town’s persistent burglary issues. Keller’s father had quit drinking, and he attributed his successful abstinence to Keller’s assistance and a desire to make his boy proud. Keller’s work ethic and his committed relationship with the town’s admired chief of police had also altered perceptions. While Keller was still rough around the edges, most saw him as a resilient and decent, caring young man.

“Hey, Mr. Walker,” Keller greeted, oblivious to the raised hand of one of his customers as he walked my way. “Flynt must be happy you agreed to do the show, huh? Are you gonna cut him some of the pay they’ll give you like he asked for?”

I made eye contact with Simone. “Let me modify my earlier statement. There are two people I’m going to murder. I’ll start with that little bugger.” Flynt, fifteen-year-old son of my buddies Adam and Myles Tilson, was the one who had made the television show possible. Without my permission, he had submitted my name to the program’s producers for consideration when they had published a solicitation for their next bachelor. Flynt’s write-up had been intriguing enough for them to contact me.

Simone’s eyes widened. “You’re not touching one hair on that cute little rascal’s head, Cliff Walker!”

“Cute little rascal? He’s a cutthroat, self-serving manipulator who’d sell his soul for a new gaming system,” I countered, though I chuckled at my own description. The boy was a bit sneaky and cynical for his age, but he had a way of ingratiating himself. At times, he could be sweet, sensitive, thoughtful and surprisingly innocent. I had to admit that Simone’s description was far more accurate than mine.

Simone swatted my arm with the dishtowel she was carrying. “Stop slandering the boy. You know, deep down, money wasn’t his main objective. I believe him when he said he was trying to help you meet someone. I read the profile that he wrote about you, then sent to the Diverse Perspectives Channel and posted online. Cliff, Flynt spoke of you like you’re a god. And everything he pointed out was true, so I’m sure he meant every word. Since you helped fundraise for his father’s mayoral campaign, you’ve become a part of his life, and now you’re one of his role models. Even if you had said no to sharing part of your earnings, I think Flynt would do it all over again with the hope of bringing you happiness.”

Now I felt guilty for grousing about him. “I was just kidding. I love the kid, and I’m not mad at him.”

“Good, because if he thought he had done something wrong, he wouldn’t have come clean with you, like he did, before the television producers called you,” Simone reminded me. “He wasn’t mature enough yet to understand what he’d done was overstepping. He truly thought his surprise would make you pleased and excited.”

“I wish I could redo the moment he told me and react better,” I admitted. “I remember how his little smile fell when he saw my expression. He was so worried I was angry with him. I could tell that the poor kid was on the verge of tears. That was why I tried to fix the situation and told him I would consider doing the show if it was offered to me. I never thought it would be. Once it was, I felt obligated to keep an open mind.” I shook my head. “And I did. But the more I think about it, the more I don’t want to be the next gay bachelor. It could turn out badly… not just for me but for the town, too.”

“Really? Everyone I talk to likes the idea,” Keller jumped in.

I frowned. “Well, they’re not realizing I could do something stupid that embarrasses them. I shared that misgiving with my mother. That’s why I can’t believe she did this.”

Keller appeared confused. “Did what?”

Simone turned his way to catch him up. “It was Ms. Walker who told everyone here this morning that Cliff said yes to the show. I only told you he signed the contract because I thought his mom had the inside scoop. It was her idea to put that sign in the window to support Cliff…on his journey to love.” She said the last five words in a humorous, lower register. ‘On his journey to love’ was the oft-repeated catchphrase by the program’s deep-voiced host, Emilio Nunez.

Keller laughed. “That was a pretty good impersonation, Simone. Who else can you do?”

I attempted to return their attention to the issue of my mother. “Try imitating my mom crying as I drive her on her journey…to a nursing home. Preferably one far away. Maybe Hawaii, so there’s a nation of contiguous states and an ocean between us.”

Keller jerked his head back in surprise. “Nursing home? Isn’t she in her fifties? Not that you’d know it to look at her. She could pass for twenty years younger. She is fine.”

I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t appreciate my bi friend describing my mother in a way that sounded sexual. “Watch how you talk about my mother. She is not…fine!”

Simone chuckled. “Do me a favor. Don’t ever protect my honor. You suck at it.”