A Cold Moon

by Mike Price

  Once back at the flat, he phoned Maddy at the shop.

  “Fancy the Ivy tonight?” he asked.

  “Yes please, you know I love that place, but will you get a table at such short notice?”

  “Have I ever failed?”

  She knew he hadn’t. He always managed to get a table, much to the envy of their friends.

  “What are we celebrating?”

  “Nothing, I just want to take you out and have a special evening.”

  “Sounds good to me, see you later, bye, darling.”

  She put the phone down. I might be in for a good night tonight, she thought, that’ll be two on the trot.

  Over the next few months, running up to Christmas, Martin managed to get up to Kenilworth at least once a fortnight. Maddy could not understand why it was so important he had to be there as often as he did, but he explained to her that he was trying to establish a local presence, and anyway, Gordon Brown would have to call an election by June and then the visits would be even more frequent. Maddy did not protest too much, after all, it gave her the opportunity to see Peter, a pleasure that she looked forward to more and more.

  His agent, Tony, had also thought it a little strange the visits followed the same pattern, arrive Friday afternoon, leave Saturday morning and was hard pressed at times to find a function or dinner party for him to attend. There had been no complaint from Martin on the odd occasion that there was no one for him to meet, but he still made the trip.

  Martin’s relationship with Joe also settled into a pattern, with the lad coming to the apartment at about eleven and leaving around two o’clock. It seemed he was always short of money and Martin found, with the taxi fares included, he was regularly handing over a few hundred pounds each visit. Martin did not mind, after all, he was wealthy enough and if it made Joe happy, then he was happy.

  The week before Christmas, there was a dinner dance at Southam, which was the other small town, joined to Kenilworth in the revised constituency. Tony had obtained tickets and had stressed the importance of going, as up to then all his efforts had been concentrated on Kenilworth and he was hardly known in Southam.

  It was a drive of about twenty minutes from his apartment and Martin had told Joe not to come to the flat until eleven thirty, in case, he could not get away earlier.

  With the annual drink driving campaign in full swing, Martin resolved to stick to soft drinks all evening, a decision that found favour amongst the senior ladies, if not their husbands.

  Tony had booked a hotel room for himself and his girlfriend, so they could have a drink with no worries and had tried hard to persuade Martin to do likewise. He had been surprised when Martin categorically refused, saying he wanted to be up early on the Saturday as he had a business meeting in London he had to attend.

  The dancing was in full swing when Martin managed to sneak away and he was back in Kenilworth for a quarter past eleven, eagerly anticipating Joe’s visit.

  Joe rang his intercom just after eleven thirty and greeted Martin with his usual laconic ‘Hi’. Martin had learnt that the young man was not as demonstrative as he was and just gave him a quick squeeze.

  “Drink?” Martin asked.

  Joe nodded and he sat down in the armchair whilst Martin poured them both a large whisky.

  “I won’t be able to see you for a few weeks, I’m taking Maddy to Courcheval, skiing.”

  It was the first time he had ever mentioned Maddy. Joe did not seem bothered and just nodded to show that he had heard him.

  “I’ve bought you a Christmas present, hope you like it.”

  He passed the parcel to Joe who took it without a word and opened it. Martin had chosen the Omega Seamaster watch because it was large and he thought a smaller wristwatch would have looked silly, Joe having thick wrists and biceps. It was an expensive present and if he expected it would be received with a little more enthusiasm than Joe normally expressed, then he was disappointed.

  “Thanks,” he said in a matter of fact way, slipping the watch onto his wrist after discarding his own.

  Martin sighed, if only the boy felt the way he did, but then, he was there and they would have the next few hours together.

  Maddy was looking forward to the holiday. When they met, one of the things they had in common was a love of skiing and they would have gone away that first Christmas, had it not been for Maddy’s father having a minor stroke. Martin had regularly spent Christmas at one skiing resort or another and always went with the same group of friends, so had not altered his arrangements. This year would be their first chance to go together, although still in the same group.

  Maddy had managed to get in an extra workout with Peter, on the grounds she need to put in some extra training to strengthen her legs for the trip. If anything, the extra session turned her legs to jelly rather than strengthen them!

  Martin too was looking forward to the break, not seeing Joe would be a wrench, but he felt he had been neglecting Maddy and, although she had not complained at his trips to the Midlands, she had not been her normal rapacious self either. He wondered if there was something on her mind or if she unwell.

  On Christmas Eve, the group assembled at Heathrow for the flight to Geneva, where they would pick up their transfer to take them to the hotel in Courcheval. Maddy had met most of Martin’s friends already and was soon chatting away to the wives. They were all seasoned skiers having their own boots and skis, so the check in was packed with cases and equipment as they lined up at the business class desk. Once everyone had checked in, they made their way to the executive lounge to start the holiday in earnest. The group consisted of four of Martin’s long standing friends and their partners. They had met as young men starting their careers, and had remained friends over the years as wives and girlfriends swelled the numbers.

  As they sat waiting in the lounge, Martin recalled their very first holiday together. They had met initially through work. John was in merchant banking, Andrew a stockbroker, Paul an accountant for one of the big five and Keith worked for Lloyds of London. They often met for drinks in the city and, on a whim, had all decided to go to Bangkok for a week of ‘drinking and debauchery’, as Keith had put it. The holiday had been a great success and to cement their friendship, after a particularly heavy drinking session on their last night, they all agreed to have a tattoo on their left wrist. After a long discussion on what form the drawing should take, John suggested, as they were like the three Musketeers, it should be a sword. Paul, as ever a stickler for accuracy, pointed out that the Musketeers were only three, the clue being in the title! It was Andrew who came up with the idea of a dagger, adding that it would be smaller and could be hidden by their watches. It was with a little trepidation that they went into the booth, Martin having drawn the short straw, being the first in.

  Now sitting in the lounge, he recalled the pain, even though he had been partly anesthetised by all the alcohol he had consumed. Andrew had not been correct; their watches never did completely cover the design! As the years passed and they all became more successful in their careers, to a man, they all regretted what was after all a juvenile prank, but like many others who had made the same mistake, they had to live with the consequences. Martin had considered laser treatment to remove his tattoo, but Maddy had said she rather liked it and had talked him out of it.

  By the time the call came to board, the group were, to say the least, in a very happy state.

  It was late when the transfer cars finally pulled up outside their hotel and they just managed to get a meal before the kitchen closed for the night. A few bottles of wine with the meal finally tipped the scales and everyone decided to get an early night, so they would be up early for the morning’s skiing.

  To Martin’s surprise, Maddy had dropped off to sleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. He had expected her to attack him once in their room, but even she had succumbed to the long tiring journey. He went to sleep thinking of Joe.

  He woke on Christmas Day to find the curtains drawn a
nd the sun streaming through the window. He felt across the bed for Maddy, but she was not there. He sat up and looked around the room trying to get his bearings, as he did so, Maddy came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her head but otherwise naked.

  “Morning, darling. Merry Christmas.” She rummaged in her suitcase and withdrew a parcel, wrapped in holly and mistletoe decorated paper, and handed it to him.

  He took the present and unwrapped it; an Olympus 500 camera.

  “Thank you, darling, it’s great. I can throw that old camera of mine away now, it’s ancient anyway.”

  “I’m glad you like it. It’s digital so you will be able to print your own pictures through the computer. There’s also a stand that goes with it, which is back home and a remote so you can do a self-portrait. The beauty is that by printing your own pictures, we can take a few naughty ones!”

  Martin could see the twinkle in her eye and knew she had not bought the camera solely for his pleasure.

  He swung his legs over the side of the bed, got up, walked across the room to his own suitcase and pulled out a small package which he handed to Maddy. It was not wrapped in Christmas paper but something far more appealing, Asperys’ own monogrammed paper. She gave a whoop of delight as her eyes fell on the package. Quickly ripping the paper away, she opened the box, revealing a beautiful bracelet of emeralds set in a gold band; each stone about a quarter of an inch square and each one surrounded by diamonds.

  “It’s absolutely wonderful, darling, how clever of you to buy emeralds, they are the one stone I don’t have.”

  “Well, now you can say you have the full set, diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds. I suppose we are going to have to move on to the lesser known stones next.”

  He laughed and held out his hand to her. She moved closer towards him and kissed him.

  “Thank you, darling, it’s absolutely beautiful.”

  The embrace was not lustful, but caring and Martin felt a warm glow as they stood, for what seemed like ages, holding each other.

  When they finally released each other, she put the bracelet back in its box.

  “This is too precious to risk wearing on the slopes. I’ll save it until tonight when I can show it off and later I can thank you properly!”

  For once, Martin was actually looking forward to Maddy’s ‘gymnastics’!

  The holiday had started on a good note and continued in that vein, with some excellent skiing conditions and one riotous night after another. By the end of the week, Martin was exhausted and was looking forward to going back to England for a rest. The week had flown by and, as they waited in the lounge for their departure flight, it seemed like only hours since they had arrived. It was Andrew who suggested that next year they should make it two weeks not one, a suggestion that was unanimously endorsed by the group.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Joe sat in his room, fingering the watch Martin had given him as a Christmas present. He was thinking about Martin, not because he felt anything for him, he was just a punter, but wondering how he could up the ante. He had fallen lucky when he met Martin; normally, the men he met were regular gays who were just on the lookout for a one-night stand, often only wanting a blowjob. The most he got was twenty quid for oral and fifty for full sex, sometimes they argued about that, and he would end up with half the amount.

  Martin was different, he was obviously loaded, you only had to look at the car he drove and the pad in Kenilworth to see that, he also had a place in London, though he had never talked about it. Most importantly of all, it was clear it had been his first homosexual experience when they had met and Martin had fallen in love with him.

  The poor sap, Joe thought, he actually thinks I’m in love with him and I’m gay as well. Joe had been happy to let Martin’s delusion continue; after all, he was picking up around two to three hundred pounds a fortnight for very little effort. It was much easier than working the bar and much more lucrative.

  He looked at the watch and wondered how much he could get for it if he sold it, buying a cheap replica, so that Martin would never know. He decided after the Christmas holidays, he would talk to Jimmy about selling the watch, Jimmy bought and sold just about everything.

  The best thing about Martin was he did not realise he was actually paying for sex! He believed he was just being generous. Joe laughed to himself that this obviously successful businessman actually accepted the cost of a taxi to Coventry was £100. What did he care if money was not that important to the man, it was another reason why he must find ways to increase the money flow without Martin getting suspicious.

  Joe pondered the problem for some time, but could not think of anything that sounded reasonable, other than asking for money for more clothes, but then Martin would ask to see him wearing them. He could always say they were expensive designer labels, but get them as knock offs from Jimmy.

  A thought suddenly came into his mind, it was his birthday on April1st and although a couple of months off, he could start preparing the groundwork to talk Martin into buying him a motor bike. It would make sense if he told Martin how much money he would save on taxi fares, though on second thoughts that may not be such a good idea as the taxi scam was worth £80 a trip. He was sure he could persuade Martin; after all, it was a special birthday.

  He decided; he would sting Martin for £10,500 for the motor bike then sell it back to the dealer. He should clear at least £5000; that plus what he had saved over the last few months and what he could squeeze out of Martin in the next couple of months, should give him about £7500. It would be enough to get out of the sex scene and start afresh, though quite what he would do, he was not sure about. He had made a few tentative enquiries of Jimmy about maybe being his partner in the business, but they were quickly rebuffed, Jimmy did not do partnerships. Whatever, he would definitely make the break. He thought about Martin, he would be devastated, but so what, with his money, he would soon find another sucker. He laughed at his own joke, feeling no sympathy for the older man.

  Joe felt exhilarated at the thought of putting this part of his life behind him. His mind went back, tracing the events that had brought him to his present situation.

  He lived in a flat in a high-rise block near the centre of Coventry, which he shared with his mother. His father had left when he was only six. Joe had been asleep in his bed when he was woken by shouting, he remembered crying, wondering what was going on, and then his father coming into the room and kissing him, saying goodbye. He never saw his father again.

  Next day, his mother had told him that his daddy had to go away on a job and would be gone a long time. He remembered how the weeks had become months and still his father had not returned, then his mother finally telling him his father had left them. He hated his father and vowed if he ever saw him, he would kill him.

  It was not until his eleventh birthday and he was due to move up to the comprehensive senior school, that he discovered the truth. He had gone to his cousin’s birthday party; she was also eleven and was the daughter of his father’s sister. They had been discussing their move to new schools after the summer holidays. He overheard his aunt say what a pity that Joe’s father could not be around to see his son making the transition.

  Joe was full of rage and said ‘that bastard if I ever see him, I’ll kill him’. His aunt was stunned and had remonstrated with him, telling him he did not know what he was saying. It had taken some moments to calm him down, but eventually, she took him on one side, away from the other children and explained exactly what had happened.

  His father had left because when he had come home earlier than usual from the pub, he had found his best friend in bed with Joe’s mother. She had told him she didn’t love him anymore and to go. Joe’s father had been in a state of shock and had just moved out, living with his sister for a while before getting a job which took him to Canada. He had told his sister that when he had made good, he would come back and collect Joe so that they could start a new life together.

  Joe had
been confused; the story was the total opposite to the one his mother had told him. After the party, he had confronted his mother with his new-found knowledge and she admitted it was true. From that moment, his feelings towards his mother changed and he hated her as much as his father. Although he now knew that his father was the innocent party, he still could not forgive him for abandoning him.

  Over the next few years, he receded into his own world, one without adults, who in his eyes only caused heartache. At school, he went through the motions, just doing enough to not cause any reactions from the teachers. He was bright but chose not to push himself, rather to be anonymous. One day, he promised he would show everybody; he would be someone.

  His mother basically lived on social welfare, except on the few occasions when he had an ‘uncle’ staying; there was more money in the household budget, though none of it came Joe’s way. As soon as he was fourteen, he got himself a job as a paperboy, which at least gave him a few pounds in his pocket, but still not enough to pay for his newly acquired smoking habit. It was the need to finance his growing dependency on cigarettes and the odd illicit drinking session with his friends, that opened up a new income stream.

  If Joe was big for his age, then Danny was even bigger. At fourteen, they both looked more like sixteen or even seventeen. They had no trouble buying cigarettes, and could make a profit buying them and on selling to their contemporaries who could not get served themselves. However, this only garnered a few pounds, not enough for Joe. Danny always seemed to have more spare cash than Joe, but had been reluctant at first to tell him how he got it.

  Joe had pestered him to let him in on the scam whatever it was, finally Danny told him. At first, Joe did not believe him and had laughed, saying he was making it up, but Danny was serious. He knew of men who would pay him to either masturbate them, or let them masturbate him, paying a tenner for the privilege! It was easy money; on a good week, he could make fifty quid.