It was a chilly, blustery fall afternoon and Jon was in a hurry. The cloudless blue sky could be seen between the canyon walls of the skyscrapers lining Wall Street. He pushed against the wave of pedestrians walking toward him like a swimmer fighting against a riptide. He stepped forward, determinedly into the path of people doing the same dance of evasion coming against him from the opposite direction. Pushing along through the sea of rush hour walkers, Jon was jostled, bumped shoulder against shoulder as he made his way forward - up the street toward his goal: the jewelry store. The wide sidewalks of New York's city streets couldn't accommodate the sea of people flowing in both directions. Some people stepped into his path mumbling a gentle warning: 'excuse me, coming through!' Others bumped into him with a polite hand to the shoulder or elbow, helping to deflect an unintentional, albeit direct, body blow. He appeared to be one of the few moving north on the street, everyone else was stomping along from the opposite direction - blocking his forward progress.
His mind was elsewhere. He was concentrating on the finishing touches for a special birthday celebration for Jean. The venue, the menu - everything else was coming together, but Jon had not yet selected an appropriate gift for his partner. Jean was hard to shop for - she had exquisite taste in all things, but she had no material wants and Jon had been struggling to find that absolutely perfect gift for her. He automatically blunted the onslaught of body blows from strangers coming against him as he struggled along the sidewalk, his mind focused on the matter at hand: getting to the jeweler for the appropriate gift.
He recognized the building's faΓ§ade a short distance ahead. As he drew nearer he started to push across the path of oncoming pedestrians, purposefully from the curb side of the sidewalk diagonally. As he stepped in front of a nattily dressed man in a single breasted charcoal gray cashmere sport jacket, the man barreled into Jon without pause and physically spun him from the force of their collision. Both men uttered the same sound - 'ommph' - and each instinctively grabbed at his opposite to steady the other man from the impact. The man's head had been cast down and his eyes hidden behind a pair of darkly tinted wrap around glasses.
'Sorry! So sorry!' An apology muttered by the assailant (as Jon immediately thought of him) as the man gripped Jon by his upper arms. The grasp was firm and reassuring. It had the intimate feel of a dancer seductively pulling his partner close against his torso. Only then, in the aftermath of the moment's awkward dance step on the sidewalk, did the stranger raise his head and look at Jon who seemed momentarily dazed. He hadn't anticipated the forceful body blow and was surprised to momentarily stagger from it. The stranger quickly took off his sun glasses to continue the apology eye-to-eye:
'You okay? I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking.' As he said the words he looked closely into Jon's face - the man's eyes flickered with recognition... The two men made eye contact.
Jon had been momentarily stunned by the blow and did not respond. But he did look carefully into the stranger's face and acknowledged the other man's reaction with a sudden jerk of his head. They knew each other.
Jon was shocked. The two men stood, each continuing to hold his opposite in the grip of a steadying hand at the elbow. It had become an almost intimate embrace between the two men. The sea of humanity still pouring down the street washed around them without pause, bumping and pushing at them to get out of the way.
"Jon? Jon, is that you? Can't be! My God!"
Jon was surprised, after so many years. He recognized the voice, a little more graveled with age, but it was Don - he was sure of it. Jon wanted to examine the man's face more closely before he spoke, but knew that would be rude. So many years had passed.
The momentary silence was getting to be overlong. It was either awkward or insulting; both men were suddenly uncomfortable. Jon broke it,
"'Don, how the hell are you? My God it's been years! Let's get out of the crush and get a drink, catch up after all this time." Jon's brain was working in overdrive as memories flooding over him. They weren't unpleasant, just unexpected. In fact, he realized a slight stirring in his cock as his memory flashed back to some wonderful shared sexual experiences.
"I'd love to... but you seem...um... pre-occupied..." Don was not getting positive vibes for a reunion, 'maybe you'd rather another time.' Don had the barest hint of disappointment in the inflection of his voice.
"No, no! I am just so surprised to run into you, Don! I am headed to Tiffany." Jon thumbed with his hand gesturing in the general direction of the store, "Looking for just the perfect gift for Jean's birthday." Jon looked suddenly embarrassed at his rude behavior.
"Come help me pick out something exquisitely special for Jean, and then we'll go have that drink and catch up. It's been years! I can't believe we literally bumped into each other on the street in New York of all places. Small world isn't it?"
Don smiled at his long lost friend. "Yes, it certainly is a small world, but I'm delighted. Of course I'll help you find something appropriate for the lovely Jean."
The two men walked out of the maelstrom of pedestrians into the refined, quiet elegance of the iconic jewelry store.
The store was decorated in its cheerful robin's egg blue trademark color which provided an elegant backdrop for the dazzling diamonds and other colorful precious gems in all manner of settings: rings, bracelets and pins as well as shiny gold and silver pieces for the discriminating woman. The two men walked around the display cases admiring the baubles.
"Did you ever make an honest woman of Jean? There's a gorgeous diamond and sapphire ring - why don't you go for it." Don had a smirk on his face, not carefully hidden.
"Jean and I have been together a long time. We don't need a piece of paper, or a piece of jewelry, to assure our commitment to each other." Jon was annoyed with the unexpected turn the conversation had taken.
"Now, don't get your knickers in a bunch - I'm just kidding with you. I am surprised though, that after all these years together you've never tied the knot." Don turned away and walked around the display case to the opposite side away from Jon.
"After all, you two are well experienced in... ah... tying knots." He tossed the remark over his shoulder, just above a whisper in the hushed atmosphere of the luxurious store. Don could have meant any one of several things with the statement.