Jordy's work-day seemed long, despite the shortened hours now prevalent in his workplace. Anticipation sat heavily on him and he had a lot to look forward to. Today was the culmination of much scrimping and saving and a lot of hard work, not only invested in job labour, but also in his relationship with Mandy, his girlfriend. Today was the day that he bought her an engagement ring.
Which brought him to the other aspect of his anticipation. It was only possible to close the deal on that ring today because of his interaction with Del, the jeweller. The handsome black man had proposed to pay the last couple of hundred bucks in exchange for a few hours with Jordy's body. It had all happened so fast that Jordy agreed and enjoyed gay sex for the first time. Afterward, he felt guilty for his adultery and for peddling his flesh for money.
Remedying that was the other thing he was anticipating. He would set Del straight that he was not an easy sleaze for cash and would set up a plan to repay the money or earn it in a more customary manner with his skills as a groundskeeper or handyman. The sex itself would be dismissed as a pleasant indiscretion.
When the whistle sounded at three o'clock, Jordy went home and shaved, showered and changed. He made a sandwich and whiled away the time so that he would not arrive at the jewellery store until almost the time that Del was finishing work.
At quarter-to-five p.m., Jordy walked into the jewellery store in a rugged pair of jeans and a t-shirt. There were customers scattered throughout the store but none of them presently occupied Del or a young woman working the counter with him.
Jordy wondered how Del would be when they met again, either distant or too familiar, but he need not have worried. Del was warmly professional.
"Good to see you again, Jordy. Are we here to complete the transaction?"
"You know it, Del." Jordy pulled out his wallet and presented the jeweller with the same two hundred dollars Del had presented him with the night before, along with his deposit receipt.
Del barely looked at the money, confident it was all there, and accepted the receipt.
"I'll bring your merchandise at once."
Del presented the ring in its handsome case and Jordy marveled at it once again. He was going to be so proud to offer his girlfriend this ring.
"Is there anything else I can offer you today, Jordy?"
Jordy leaned in conspiratorially and whispered at Del. "I need to talk to you, but not with all these people around."
"After work?" Del asked with interest.
"That's what I was hoping."
"You know my car. Follow me home when I come out," Del said. "Or do you prefer a more... neutral location? A restaurant? A café?"
"Your house is fine."
"Then I'll see you there."
"Sounds good."
Jordy left with his merchandise, smiling at other customers on his way out.
When the time came, Del came out of the shop, locked up and waved to Jordy who was sitting in his car. Jordy waved back and Del got in his car. The two drove to Del's large house on the quiet street, parked up and they met at the driveway side door. Del unlocked the door and let them in.
The door open up on a sitting area and Del pointed to a comfortable chair for Jordy.
"Have a seat."
"Thanks."
"Beer? Or would you like a Scotch?"
"Wow... it's been a while since I had a Scotch. Yes, please."
Jordy needed to bring up what was bothering him, but he didn't want to make things weird with the jeweller. He decided to come straight to the point.
"First, I can't thank you enough for what you did for me yesterday with the ring. I also wanted you to know that I will treasure memories of the rest of what we did together too."
"Me too." Del handed him that glass of Scotch. The ice clinked inside.
"I don't regret it. Only one thing doesn't sit right with me. I feel like I took money for sex when I initially meant to agree to doing work around your house. I feel like I should either repay you the money, like a loan, or do the jobs you need done around here for you."
"Oh, is that it?"
Jordy didn't know how to answer that.
"I thought you were going to declare 'it never happened' or something."
"No. I'm glad it happened. It was one of the greatest things I've ever experienced."
"You have a pretty open mind for someone setting his sights on marrying a girl."
"Don't get me wrong. It can't happen again. I love Mandy and don't want to betray her. Yesterday was a happy exception that I will spend my life making up to her."
"Okay. So, you want to repay the money and that will make you feel better?"
"Or work it off in a more... conventional way."
"You don't have to do either. I'm not bothered."
"I am."
"I thought you might say that. If you're leaving the choice up to me, I'd rather you did some work on the house for me. It's really too big for me, family-sized. I was thinking of renting it out or selling it. I just can't quite let it go yet. It was my dad's house. Lots of memories."
"I understand that. What do you need done?"
"Well, let me see. There's a creaky stair or two going upstairs. The closet door in the main bedroom is out of its track all the time. The hot-cold faucets in the upstairs bathroom were put on the wrong way around. I want to install a ceiling fan in my bedroom; I've had the fan in my closet for a year. The basement stairway handrail is falling out of the wall. You know about the hot water shortage."
"The hot water issue likely calls for a new tank. You might talk to a plumber about that, but I should be able to help with the rest. I have tools in my car. Do you want me to start now?"
"Sure, but finish your Scotch."
Del turned on the TV. Neither of them cared to watch the news though and that seemed to dominate the channels available, so Del muted it.
"I was thinking all day about last night. It's been a long time since I was with someone. I'm glad it was you."
