AllFreeNovel
Share Us
However, when the affection was gone at home, as well as in public, I felt like I was in a battle all my own. How do you fight a war when the adversary isn’t present any longer?
I don’t give up on love. Love is everything to me. All love. It doesn’t matter the type. I dig in and I fight for love. I’m not good at a ton of things, but I feel good about my ability to love.
When the other half of your love calls it quits, you suddenly find yourself in uncharted territory. I’d never tried to love my way to a fix when the other person had checked out. My first partner, David, had died. Clint was still here, in our home, alive, but dead to my efforts.
But I still didn’t give up. At least not until he said we were over. In a note.
CHAPTER TWELVE: Cole
My pool water was turning green. The grass was four inches too tall, and the last time I flushed the downstairs toilet, it wouldn’t drain. My house was too big for me.
“Shit!” I exclaimed, backing away from the splattering water.
I’d never used a plunger in my life and couldn’t figure out how to unclog a toilet. The more I plunged, the more the pissed-in water splashed on me and my tile floors.
“Fuuucccckkkk!” I yelled, slamming the plunger hard enough into the toilet bowl to break the wooden handle, nearly stabbing myself with the sharp broken end.
Like a baby, I began to weep uncontrollably, leaning against the wall and sliding down it until I found myself sitting in my own urine and toilet water. What the fuck was I doing? I was a grown man, for God’s sake. I couldn’t help but see the plugged toilet as a metaphor for my life. I was stuck and couldn’t seem to move forward.
There was nothing in the damn toilet when I’d flushed besides my pee. Which meant there should be zero reason I was now sitting in a flooded bathroom. And then I began to laugh at my situation. Slow at first, but then laughter erupted from me as I stretched my legs out in front of me, soaking them thoroughly as well. Why the fuck not?
“Fucking toilet,” I said, kicking at it. “Fuck you, bitch.”
The more I cussed, the better I felt. The better I felt, the funnier the situation became. It wasn’t funny that I was sitting in my own pee water, but that didn’t stop me from laughing hysterically.
“Plug all you want, fucker. Flood the entire house. I don’t give a shit,” I maniacally raged, venting but still laughing.
The more ridiculous the situation became, the happier I became. This was actually fun. I looked around the small space, realizing I didn’t have a clue how to care for a house. Funny thing was, I didn’t care.
* * *
“I know they say they’re flushable, but they really ain’t,” the plumber said.
I was staring at the man the local plumbing company had sent to my rescue. While waiting for a plumber to arrive, I’d fantasized a thousand times to Sunday about how hot he might be, having watched one too many porn set-ups. Not so much as it turned out.
“I guess I didn’t know that,” I replied. “The box said they were, so I did.”
He waved me off, kindly dismissing what he assumed was just another idiot homeowner about to pay him three hundred bucks for snaking a clogged toilet. I’d been too busy fantasizing about snaking the unseen plumber prior to his arrival, so I guess we were even.
“Happens more than you think,” he added, packing his tools of the trade away. “Women mostly. You know, the pads and things, but the so-called flushable wipes are the latest culprit. They build up in your pipes over time, and then, bam, you’re screwed.”
I didn’t know, but grunted like I agreed with him a thousand percent. “I won’t flush anything like those again,” I agreed.
He scratched his balls in front of me and grinned. “Make sure to tell the little lady,” he advised. I could’ve told him there weren’t any little ladies in this house, but after he tugged at his nuts again, I decided he wouldn’t understand why.
“Here’s my card. Call me with anything you need,” he said. “Well, not anything,” he laughed, winking at me like we shared a secret. “The missus keeps me on a tight leash.”
“I’m sure she does,” I agreed, sliding past him and into the hallway. “She’ll be pleased today’s customer was a man.”
He followed me into the hall. “You’d be surprised how many men are interested in me too,” he boasted, sticking his finger through a loop in his low-riding jeans. At least I thought he’d done that. The belly overhanging the belt hid most of my view.
“Wow,” I replied, unsure what was appropriate to say after that shocker of a statement.
“Yep. The gays like me,” he began. “And ya know somethin’? I like ‘em too. Nice people, I find.”
“That’s very accepting of you…” I paused to look at his name on the card. “Hank,” I added.
“My brother is gay,” he announced, looking at me eagerly.
