by J. M. Colail
“Yeah,” Lucas answered, looking over at the older man, “Jack’s a man of many talents.”
Jack didn’t answer. He simply turned to the oven and checked on the bread. Eventually he smiled faintly at Lucy. “Almost ready, won’t be long now.”
SO HERE they were, the four of them sharing a comfortable, slightly chaotic dinner table, their stomachs full, wine flowing copiously, the two women chatting animatedly and the two men sitting in silence, staring at the wallpaper or Maria’s beautifully arranged flowers.
Lucas wanted to break the ice, but had no idea how to do it without drawing attention to the way they were behaving toward each other and therefore having to explain what happened in the kitchen. The strange thing was, even Lucas wasn’t quite sure what had happened. It would have been easier for Jack to just take his hand back and continue without letting on that anything even remotely intimate had passed between them. It was not as if he had kissed him! Still, Jack didn’t seem to be able to place his feelings either, or at least it seemed he wasn’t fully in control of the situation.
All Lucas knew was that he would have to make amends. After all, they would still have to work together after this, and if they couldn’t talk about their differences, how would their countries work well together? He had to make the first move and show the older man he could set aside his personal feelings for the greater good. He would have to do what was expected from a diplomat.
Lucas was shaken out of his reverie when Maria got up from the table. He could hear her tell her husband, “Jack, why don’t you take Lucy and Lucas into the living room, I’ll clear up here.”
Lucy jumped up too. “I’ll help, Maria.”
“Oh no, I couldn’t let you do that,” Maria told her. “You’re our guest. The rule when we have guests is: Jack cooks, I clear up.”
Lucy helped anyway, so when Jack excused himself, Lucas was left to his own devices. He picked up some of the empty plates and brought them to the kitchen where he was met by Maria.
She was smiling warmly. “Oh no, not both of you in this kitchen! Did Jack leave you alone?” She rolled her eyes. “Typical! Listen, Lucas, I bet he’s on the porch smoking a cigarette. I’m sure he won’t mind some company, if you can stand the smell of cigarettes, that is.”
Lucas nodded and smiled at her.
She handed him two tulip glasses of brandy. “Why don’t you take these out to him?”
“Surprising how warm it still is out here, after this cold week.” Lucas started as he found his host sitting on the bench outside, leaning against the brownstone wall of the house.
Jack took a long drag of his cigarette and simply answered, “Yeah,” without looking at the young man.
“I thought all Americans had given up smoking by now,” Lucas tried to tease as he handed Jack one of the glasses he was holding.
Jack shrugged, his gaze still out toward the garden. “Well, I can quit anytime, just never know for how long. Maria keeps asking me to, but I guess that’s not enough of an incentive.”
Lucas sat down on the opposite side of the simple wooden bench, careful not to come too close to the other man. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.
“Nice garden.”
“Yup, the last Ambassador had a wife with green fingers.”
“Well, Maria seems to know her way around pruning shears as well.”
“Yeah.”
There it was again. Lucas couldn’t help feeling that every time Maria’s name came into the conversation, Jack went silent. Or was it just his imagination?
“I’m sorry, Jack.”
“No, you’re not,” Jack rebutted without hesitation.
“You don’t even know what I’m apologizing for.” Lucas sat up straight and looked over at Jack, who was still reclining, staring out to the horizon where the sun was setting.
“You were apologizing for almost getting caught.”
Lucas stared at the American for a long time, searching for confirmation, wanting to know if he understood Jack right, but his stare was not returned.
“Actually… I’m not sorry,” he found himself saying, deciding to be brave for now.
“Thought not,” Jack answered and a small smile spread across his lips. He took a swig from his brandy, got up from the bench, and walked around Lucas on his way back inside.
As he passed the young man, he let his index finger brush lightly against Lucas’s jaw and then squeezed his shoulder, before disappearing again into the living room.
Lucas was dazed by the gesture as he let his head fall to the side, in an attempt to recapture the feeling of the older man’s hand against his face.
He replayed this evening’s events in his head over and over again and kept coming to the same conclusion. That was not the way a man behaved if he wasn’t interested.
Jack walked inside the house again, a smile on his face as he raised his hand to his nose, catching the faint residue of Lucas’s aftershave left there by the brief touch.
Despite his resolution to not get carried away, the young man had invaded his heart, and he knew it was not going to be easy to work with him from now on. Even though there was no way he could ever give in to these feelings, a part of him still enjoyed them. And why couldn’t he indulge himself? Lots of men had affairs, slept around behind their wife’s back.
From the dimly lit living room, he could see Maria in the kitchen with Lucy. Could he be unfaithful to his wife? Lucas clearly wanted more; Jack could practically see the lust in the young man’s eyes when they were pointed at him. He knew the ball was in his court. He didn’t think that Lucas would ever make a bold move toward him, because the young man knew that Jack had the power to get him fired. Good-bye dreams of diplomacy. Come to think of it, Lucas had the same power over him. If he ever let their relationship develop, they would have to be on their toes constantly, always afraid of being exposed. Having an affair behind your wife’s back was almost considered natural. You apologized, kissed, made up, and promised never to do it again. But an affair with a man would cost him his commission; he knew that and had always known that. His credibility would be shot. He would come to the bargaining table with empty hands, while his adversaries would be laughing behind his back.
Jack shook his head to get the thoughts out of his mind and took one more deep breath before entering the kitchen.
“Dessert almost ready, Maire?” he asked his wife affectionately.
Maria looked up at him with loving eyes and then looked over to Lucy. “He doesn’t trust me in the kitchen.” She put her arm around his shoulder and pulled him close. “But we’re making my specialty, aren’t we?” Then back to Lucy, “Blueberry pie with ice cream.”
“Sounds yummy!” Lucy exclaimed.
“Not to mention so easy to make, Lucas could probably do it,” Jack told her after playfully nuzzling his wife’s neck.
Jack relaxed his grip on Maria as he saw Lucas walk into the kitchen. He could tell the Brit was trying to look cheerful.
“I could make what?” the younger man asked.
Jack curled his index finger at him. “Come here.”
As Lucas moved toward him, he grabbed his apron, came around Lucas’s back and slipped it over his head, making bold gestures like a magician at a kid’s birthday party. He could see Lucas smile, a little unsure of the situation and how to react, but the women were clearly enjoying the spectacle.
Jack flew around the kitchen grabbing an assortment of things and showing each one off to Lucas and then the girls. “We need… one egg… one small and one large bowl to separate them. Can you do that, Lucas? Separate an egg?”
Lucas took the egg and the bowls from him and gave him a doubtful smile. “Well, I can try?”
The American continued. “We also need one box of fresh blueberries, very much in season right now. The sugar. Maria, dear, would you be so kind….” He pointed at the cupboard behind his wife, at which she reached up into it and handed him what he wanted.
“L
ucas, I see you’ve managed to split the egg. Young man, you have hidden talents!! You’re going to make this pie for me, while I whip up the egg white.” Jack reached into the fridge. “But first, my dear spectators, this is something I prepared earlier.” He took the cling film off a carefully rolled up circle of dough already on the baking paper.
“Lucas, take the blueberries, put them in a bowl, add three tablespoons of sugar and the zest of one lemon.” Maria was already getting Lucas the lemon and the zester. He raised one eyebrow as he turned to the young Brit. “Don’t tell me I have to show you how to use a zester?”
Lucas gave him a desperate look. “Okay, you mix the ingredients, I’ll zest the lemon. Lucy? Can you whip up the egg white, please?” With hands that were clearly more experienced than Lucas’s, Jack proceeded to use the curious implement to take off tiny strips of the outer layer of the lemon peel.
Jack turned to check if the oven was hot, then clapped his hands and looked at Lucas, who was enjoying this even though he didn’t look completely at ease.
“Okay, chef, let’s assemble this pie. Baking tray, pie crust. Use a fork to punch little holes in the center.”
Lucas followed the instructions after which Jack turned to Lucy. “Bottom is a layer of whipped up egg white. Then add the berries.”
He waited until Lucas emptied his bowl. “Now comes the hard part.”
He winked at Lucas, standing close to him, like they had been standing before in the kitchen, only now he put his arm around the Brit’s shoulder while he pointed at the full baking tray. “We have to close the crust around the berries. Make a nice pouch.” Jack looked up at the two women and their amused faces as Lucas proceeded to fold the sides of the dough over the berries, sealing them in. He felt how tense Lucas was and figuring the women’s eyes were trained on what Lucas was doing, lowered his hand, gently stroking down Lucas’s back. Jack could see the young man look at him hopefully and smiled. He then pointed at the pie again. “Make sure there are no holes, otherwise the juices will flow out and that would be a pity.”
Lucas playfully patted the dough here and there to make sure.
“Now le moment supreme. To give it a nice color we brush some of the yolk over the top and then put it in the oven. In about twenty-five minutes, we’ll have the best blueberry pie Lucas has ever made.”
Chapter Six
WORK WAS incredibly busy that week and by Friday afternoon, Jack was happy that he could finally go over his correspondence in the peace and relative quiet of his own office. In fact, it was the first time this week he was in his office long enough to actually sit behind his desk. There was an opening of an art exhibition he would have to attend tonight, but for now he was content to just sit there going through the many letters and documents that required his attention.
His secretary quietly entered his office carrying a tray of coffee and cake with a folder under her arm.
“There you go, Mr. Christensen. Nice of you to drop by the office.” She smiled at him cheekily. Since she was the one keeping his appointment book, she knew exactly what he had been up to all week, and she knew he had spent most of it in the back of his chauffeur driven car being taken from one meeting to another.
She handed him the folder after she had put down his coffee tray. “This is the draft of the legislation on same sex marriages they are trying to get approved in the Chamber and Senate and an overview of debates preceding it, complete with any polls I could dig up on how the Belgians feel about it. Frankly, I don’t know what all the fuss is about, but I don’t suppose my opinion is important here.”
Jack was amused. She was a deadly efficient secretary and sometimes he felt she could read his mind. This case was no different. He had asked his legal team to get him the draft, but it was Mrs. Claessens who had added the debates and polls, knowing he would be interested in more than just the new law. Her professional demeanor meant she could not give her opinion, but since she was Belgian and therefore a citizen of only the second country in the world to consider allowing same sex marriage to become legal, he was interested in knowing what she thought about a subject he knew was a very sensitive issue in his own country.
“Come on, Mrs. Claessens, I’m sure in the confines of this office you can tell me what you think? I promise I won’t hold it against you.” He smiled at her and took a sip from his coffee.
She stared at him suspiciously. “You may not agree with me, but I think this is a very sensible law. I don’t know what took them so long.”
Jack dropped the papers down on his desk and took another sip, still looking quite amused, so she continued. “I’m sure you as an American don’t see it that way, but I mean… these people live together, share everything, house, kids, car, you name it. But if the wrong one dies, the one left behind may end up on the street or see his child taken away simply because his bond with his partner isn’t recognized by law. It’s barbaric. And you can tell that to your President.”
Jack laughed as he saw her tug at the front of her jacket to stress her point.
“I totally agree with you,” he answered.
“You do?” She seemed to blossom all of a sudden.
“Yes, I do. Don’t tell my president that, because of course it’s not US policy, but here in the confines of my office I can tell you that I agree. It would just take a little explaining to our own citizens living here that if they are of the same sex and want to get married, their marriage would not be valid in the States.”
Mrs. Claessens sighed. “And I suppose that won’t change anytime soon?”
Jack gave her a pained smile.
“Mmmh, I didn’t think so. Can I take these papers back now?” She was indicating the stack he had already sifted through.
“Sure, thanks,” Jack answered as she walked over to the door.
Just at the last moment, she turned around. “Mr. Christensen, I almost forgot. Mr. Carlton has been trying to get in touch with you. I’ve had about three phone calls, but he would never leave a message and he didn’t want me to patch him through to your cell phone. Of course I wouldn’t give him your number… and he’s been to the office twice. I have his cell phone number, shall I call him for you and patch him through?”
Jack’s heart leapt as he heard Lucas’s name. They had not talked yet about what happened between them on Saturday. In fact they hadn’t seen each other for almost a week now.
He probably thinks I’m trying to avoid him.
“Mr. Christensen? It may be important. He didn’t say it was urgent, but, I mean, five times…?”
This woke Jack from his thoughts. He looked up at her as she was standing at the door with a compassionate look on her face. It seemed the young Brit had gotten to her as well.
“Why don’t you just give me his cell phone number and I’ll call him myself.”
Just moments later she returned with a small Post-it note containing Lucas’s number.
Once he was alone in his office again, he held the note and looked at the number. Should he call? If Lucas had tried to reach him on official business, he would have left a message. So this was personal.
It was not like he hadn’t thought about Lucas this past week; he had just been too busy during the day. Nights were another matter, though. He had woken up more than once in the middle of the night realizing he had dreamt about running his hands down the gorgeous Brit’s back again, but the dreams didn’t end there. He woke up with a persistent hard-on, demanding some form of release. The third time it had happened, he had gotten up and walked downstairs, not wanting to wake up Maria . In front of the TV, watching the twentieth rerun of some eighties TV series, he had settled himself on the couch and closed his eyes. The images of Lucas were easy to conjure up as he let his hand slip into his baggy pajama bottoms. He just had to think of the young man’s radiant smile, of the tight black shirt he always wore, outlining his nicely shaped form, of the feeling of Lucas’s hand on his….
It was easy to imagine kissing Lucas’s shapely lips a
nd pressing their bodies together. Jack stroked his rock hard cock and could almost feel Lucas’s hands all over his body, stroking his belly, his mouth on his hips, thighs, licking his nipples. He could almost see Lucas’s mouth take in his straining member until, until….
Jack fisted himself hard and came with Lucas’s name on his lips. In the aftermath, shivers still rippling through his body, he went limp on the couch. He realized he had said the young man’s name aloud in the otherwise silent house and strained to hear if he had maybe awakened Maria, but everything remained quiet.
Behind his desk at the office, Jack knew there was no denying his feelings for the young man. He would have to talk to Lucas. All he could hope for was that he had misread the signs and that Lucas simply looked up to him. Maybe that was it, maybe Lucas just saw Jack as an example, something to aspire to. Only time would tell.
BEHIND HER desk outside the Ambassador’s office, Gertje Claessens sorted through the stack of papers she had brought in from her boss’s office and wondered about the conversation she had just had with him. Had she done the right thing giving him Lucas’s phone number? Of course, it was none of her business why Lucas seemed so desperate to contact Mr. Christensen. She liked the young Brit. He was a charming young man, very polite too, without being too shy, and she could see a warm glow appear in his eyes whenever she took him into her boss’s office.
She liked her boss, too. He was warm and generous with her, never ordering her around. In the few months since he had taken up his post, he had always treated her with respect and had more than once not only asked for her opinion, but had also taken it into account. It was something she was still getting used to.
How he could end up with Mrs. Perfect Ambassador’s Wife, she would never understand. The woman might be nice to have on his arm, but having overheard Maria tell her husband that she couldn’t understand why he had been given “one of those motherly types” as a personal assistant, Gertje had classified her immediately. Of course she would always be polite to Maria, but no more than was strictly necessary.