Things always break on Fridays. The damn furnace went out during the afternoon, and every repair place I called would not promise when they could get to me, as temperatures were only in the teens. Thoroughly warned about weekend overtime charges, I left my information with nearly ten companies across the downtown Boston area. I relayed the bad news to my wife when she called from much warmer Tennessee, where she was spending a couple weeks obtaining a new surgical certification at a teaching hospital.
About midnight I bundled up near our fireplace to sleep, and just as I drifted off my phone rang.
"This is Mike with G&N Services."
We spoke for a moment about the type of furnace I had, and he asked if I was available to let him in. "When will you be here?"
"I'm in fronna your house now," he replied in the classic New England accent.
Sure enough, an unmarked white van sat at the curb in front of the townhouse. For a moment it felt a little creepy that he was already there like a late night stalker, but maybe he lived nearby. Also I guessed this far up north these guys had to work all hours. I was grateful I would at least have heat, as the house was getting chilly.
Mike was a big guy, over six feet with a linebacker build. Once in the basement, he stripped off his worn parka down to a filthy red hoodie and jeans. The removal of his ski cap revealed that his blonde hair was short, and he had a short beard as well. He must have been in his late twenties, a little older than me. I offered coffee and delivered a mug to him as he knelt by the partially disassembled furnace, his shirt and jeans plastered with soot. His large hands were equally as soiled as he gripped the mug. It seemed like I had seen him somewhere before, but dismissed the idea, since we had moved here less than a year ago. All our local acquaintances were medical staff that worked with my wife.
We made small talk as he worked, and I thanked him for coming by so late at night. He said there were other people ahead of me on the schedule, but he just happened to be nearby. We made more small talk, both mentioned being married, and he had two toddlers at home. He apologized for his phone call awaking my wife, but I disclosed that Julie was out of town. The conversation then took a strange direction as he took an electronic meter and unwrapped some wires.
"This house has that little alley in the back, doesn't it, behind the carriage house?"
"Yeah," I answered nonchalantly, while flashbacks of the many interludes I spent back there on my knees with my lips wrapped around a dick suddenly arose. I tried to suppress those indulgent memories, and frantically sought a logical reason he would know about the hidden spot. "Did you used to live on this block?"
"Nah, I only do this residential stuff part time to help my fatha out. Actually I work next door to you." Mike gestured toward the giant white building behind our townhouse. It was the heating plant for the hospital. Suddenly I felt dizzy. He must have known my secret somehow. I was a closet
cocksucker
. I also realized now where I had seen him before, a couple times at the bus stop in a maintenance uniform, a hospital security badge similar to my wife's clipped to his coat.
No need to panic, I told myself, it may have just been a coincidence. Ninety-nine percent of the time that alley was empty. But back then, I was so obsessed I had never thought about a mechanic being on the heating plant roof, watching me give blowjobs. Maybe the furnace man had an interest in historic architecture, I rationalized.
"So was that
you
I saw..." he began to ask.
So much for the architecture theory. My first instinct was right. He knew. I blushed as a sense of dread overtook me. My pulse increased.
"...um...
partyin'
with those two old guys back there? Sure looked like you guys were havin' fun." Mike looked at me with a grin. His blue eye reflected the pale shop lights above.
"That wasn't..oh...you, um saw.. that?" I replied, halting a futile denial in midstream and stuttering the only thing I could think of to say. I was now able to drop my macho male persona. I knew deep down I wanted to confess to liking
dicks
and felt the warmth on my face and my pulse thump in my ears. Caught. My fear of him blackmailing me was luckily short-lived.