My "Date" With Tiger (Was: Panic Begins to Set In)
There was an invitation-only "pre-party" in just a few more hours, scheduled at the Rectory. The members of the Vestry were on the list as were the members of the search committee who helped select the new Rector. Huggy Bear had never seen the inside before so I initially invited him to come along. But, then The Rector pulled the rug out from under me by inviting - recruiting, really - Crosby and Huggy to be waiters during the affair. Still in need of someone to actually talk to closer to my own psychological age, I invited Tiger, the quiet, multi-racial, "new guy" who occasionally shows up at Intersection.
It took a while to wrangle his phone number from Huggy and to wait for an answer to my text and voice-mail messages, but, Tiger did call me early Friday morning to accept. It turns out, everyone, including The Rector, knew him but me. It was Huggy who broke the news:
Huggy: You know he's straight, right?
Me: Whhat?
Huggy: Yes, I mean, no, he's not gay.
[PAUSE]
Me: IS THIS A GREAT COUNTRY OR WHAT?
We agreed to meet at the Rectory at 5:30 and if Huggy hadn't told me in advance, the fact that he was almost an hour late should have tipped me off that Tiger was straight. We took up command of the window seat and flanked Frances, thereby seating both the oldest and youngest guest all on the same cushion, as it were. We talked a lot about Baltimore, both because it was inn the news and because we each had our connections with it. Tiger was fresh from a stint of community organizing there; my parents lived there for a short period of time; and, Frances, I believe, met her husband there during The War [facts to be checked later.]
It wasn't long after we'd begun talking that I looked toward the staircase connecting the upper floors and saw a pair of long legs clad in tight-fitting gray jeans gingerly descending the steps, followed quickly by a large porcelain dish carrying more hors d'oevres. It was Crosby doing a fairly credible job of balancing a tray. I think he's had experience.
As Crosby made his way across the main hall, making steady progress toward the window seat, Patrick and I maintained a steady level of patter with Frances, such that by the time Crosby arrived with some delicious fish(crab?) cake balls, it was all I could do to meet his gaze with a "Mmm. That looks so good." His eyes were studies in concentration. He must have been prepping and cooking for hours.
It took a while to wrangle his phone number from Huggy and to wait for an answer to my text and voice-mail messages, but, Tiger did call me early Friday morning to accept. It turns out, everyone, including The Rector, knew him but me. It was Huggy who broke the news:
Huggy: You know he's straight, right?
Me: Whhat?
Huggy: Yes, I mean, no, he's not gay.
[PAUSE]
Me: IS THIS A GREAT COUNTRY OR WHAT?
We agreed to meet at the Rectory at 5:30 and if Huggy hadn't told me in advance, the fact that he was almost an hour late should have tipped me off that Tiger was straight. We took up command of the window seat and flanked Frances, thereby seating both the oldest and youngest guest all on the same cushion, as it were. We talked a lot about Baltimore, both because it was inn the news and because we each had our connections with it. Tiger was fresh from a stint of community organizing there; my parents lived there for a short period of time; and, Frances, I believe, met her husband there during The War [facts to be checked later.]
It wasn't long after we'd begun talking that I looked toward the staircase connecting the upper floors and saw a pair of long legs clad in tight-fitting gray jeans gingerly descending the steps, followed quickly by a large porcelain dish carrying more hors d'oevres. It was Crosby doing a fairly credible job of balancing a tray. I think he's had experience.
As Crosby made his way across the main hall, making steady progress toward the window seat, Patrick and I maintained a steady level of patter with Frances, such that by the time Crosby arrived with some delicious fish(crab?) cake balls, it was all I could do to meet his gaze with a "Mmm. That looks so good." His eyes were studies in concentration. He must have been prepping and cooking for hours.