Chapter 1: In Which Our Hero Returns Home From an Indiscretion to Face His Wife
It was after 4 am when Maxwell Atkins pulled into the driveway in front of his house. All the lights were off and everything was quiet, but Max was not fooled. He was in trouble and he knew it. He turned off the ignition and sat in the car for a moment, then pulled out his cigarettes and fished one from the pack. He lit it and sat, quietly smoking, thinking over the day.
It had begun like most Tuesdays in his life: he kissed his wife goodbye at 6 in the morning, drove to work, and spent the day fixing people's IT problems. It hadn't been a difficult day, just the normal, run-of-the-mill issues. And at 5, he left, fully intending to head for home. But it hadn't worked out that way.
As he left the building, he ran into Steve and decided to head over to a local bar for a drink. A drink. Just a drink with a guy he'd gone to college with and hadn't seen in a few years. That was all. He had called Emily and she understood.
So they went for that drink. After some mundane conversation on various topics you always discuss with someone you hadn't seen for a while, Steve dropped the bomb.
"Well, Max, there's something I haven't really told you. I did some soul-searching in college, explored my boundaries a bit. I hope you understand that I just want you to know this: I'm gay."
Max nodded, then frowned. "What about Julie?" he asked. Julie had been Steve's long-term girl friend. Everyone had thought they would get married after college.
"Well, I knew a little back then, but I hadn't really faced it."
"When did you first..." Max trailed off.
"Date a guy? It was a while, but I knew long before that. While I was with Julie, I met this guy and we messed around some, but it was really after Julie."
Max nodded again and looked down at his beer. "I think I need a drink," he said.
Steve smiled hesitantly and said, "Hey, this round's on me. It's the least I can do."
"Sure," Max said. "I'm gonna run to the can."
When he got back, there were two new cold beers on the table. Max sat and drank deeply, then looked at Steve. "Look, man, this is weird for me, but I'm not gonna freak out on you or anything. I'm not gay, but I'm not an asshole either, you know?"
Steve nodded. "Yeah."
"So what's Julie up to? Do you know?"
Steve shook his head. "We sorta lost touch after I told her. She didn't take it well. You know that whole 'get married and have kids'...well, that was her dream and she always figured I was the guy. But I wasn't."
Max laughed. "Yeah, I guess not."
After that, the conversation got a lot easier, looser. But after the third beer, Steve said he had to go home. They exchanged information and then Max sat back down. He could have gone home; he probably should have gone home. But he didn't. Instead, he ordered another beer and sat, smoking a cigarette and watching a couple play pool. The girl had long black hair and kept sweeping it over her shoulder. She was wearing a jean mini-skirt and a green halter top with a red bra underneath. She was hot. Max thought she kept looking over at him, but he wasn't sure. The guy she was with was nothing special and never seemed to get any closer than a foot from her. And, as far as Max could tell, he was more interested in the pool game than the girl.
Just as he was thinking of leaving, the girl walked over and bummed a cigarette. Max knocked two out of the pack, passed one to her, then lit them both.
"Thanks," she said.
"No problem," he said.
She stood there for a moment, seemingly with no intent to return to the game.
"So, what's going on with you, tonight?" she asked.