Percy arrived home that evening with a puzzled mindset. Initially, he was astonished at Holroyd’s gesture. It was unicorns and rainbows, the excitement of the trip that lay ahead with his work buddies. Yet it all seemed to deflate at the mention that he was going to have to invite Sandy on the retreat also. He tried to see the positive light, enjoy the notable presence he had at CondoCapture, and soak up his achievements. Yet a part of him wished wholly that he didn’t have to entertain such an idea.

If he had any chance of furthering himself in the company, he had to be smart. He knew at some point directive rolls would be made available, so he’d have to do Holroyd’s bidding. He loved his wife dearly, yet with the strange responses he’d received since marrying her, seemingly that of their polarising physical statures being brought into conversation it had not been overly forthcoming. It had created an ever-present boiling pot of angst and pressure in him. Not to mention her vivacious presence and the electric magnet pulses she gave off to other men, which mostly he felt a sucker to deal with.

“Hey babe, how’s my little man doing?”

Sandy smiled as she ruffled Percy’s pretty little Leo’s. She was doing her nails when he arrived, a shiny turquoise that bade well with the dress she was wearing that evening. She always looked phenomenal even without putting her face on.

“I’m good. Oh where’s the pup?” he asked.

He was referring to their latest joy. A spritely little designer dog she had always wanted. Maxi was his name, a Shihpoo puppy that screamed adorably! Sandy was oh so fond of putting little doggy clothes on him, pink collars, and pretty little outfits. He was so cute. It didn’t help so much with their identity parade though, yet she seemed oblivious. Percy just wanted to make her happy so he didn’t say anything. After all, it was hardly the dog's fault, so he went along with it. Being truthful minded, he often found he was readily going along with her wants, asks, and needs. Yet she was so radiant, and kindly, always there for him if he had problems; swings and roundabouts he guessed.

“I took him to Mimi’s. She’s shampooing him as we speak! Here, look...”

She was doing a FaceTime with her girlfriend Mimi. He could see the dog getting soaped up with suds in the bath,

“Cute isn’t he babe? Hair dryer next, he he!”

Percy felt weak suddenly and an off sort of nauseousness came over him.

“Oh yeah, nice one. Can’t wait to get him back later, lots of cuddles. Listen, I’m just gonna run a bath. I’m feeling pretty tired today.”

Sandy ever so slightly tensed her eyes. It seemed a bit off from her husband but she thought nothing of it and continued to watch her little precious getting all rinsed off with the warm shower head.

“Ok, hun. We can talk later. I’ve done us something special for dinner. Maybe later when Maxi’s all sleepy we can have some fun time too.”

Little Neck was a small town. A large proportion of the towns folk either worked for the Mail sorting company down at Bushmill or for Dick Holroyd at the edge of town overlooking the river. The residents were kind and not too much happened in the wispy, leafy Midwest town.

Percy soaked in the bath. He thought of how he would have to somehow break the news of the forthcoming week away to Sandy. Caught up all the while in the privacy of his insecurities, that she knew very little of. It was daunting but he continued to relax in the bubbles thinking it through.

Later that evening as Percy was finishing off refreshing himself, Mimi made her way down to the house with Maxi pup after his grooming. She had brought a friend with her.

Sandy opened the door to them with a fervent pup ever so excited to see his mammy!

“Aww my baby. Oh, come here my little ball of beautifulness.” She kneeled to pick Maxi up in her arms and proceeded to greet her guests.

“Sandy, this is Clayton, Clayton, Sandy,” Mimi said, introducing the pair of them.

The two of them exchanged smiles before Sandy ushered them inside from the porch. Strikingly, Clayton hadn’t missed a trick in what stood before him. She was gorgeous, really sexy and sweet. He loved those hips, and what he sensed very much so was a fine behind too. Although he had not had the pleasure of setting his eyes on it yet. Wow those curves! She was a brimming bag of beauty.

“What do I owe you?” Sandy said softly rummaging in her handbag.

“Oh don’t be silly,” Mimi exclaimed. “We’re friends. I enjoyed pampering the little mite and Clayton here was keeping me company all the same. Say, where’s Percy?”

Percy! Clayton suddenly gasped to himself. He froze for a moment; he couldn’t quite understand the situation he had inadvertently come into. Here he was in front of this stunning woman whom he had just undressed with his eyes and yet all the while it appeared to be Percy’s wife! Talk about a revelation. He had not the faintest idea little Percy could have caught such a fine catch! What a little dickie magnet he was, unreal.

He felt envious all of a sudden, but that was natural standing amid such an aesthetically pleasing woman as Sandy. Sure he knew that Percy had got married not long back but he had not an iota it was a woman as dashing as Sandy, he’d certainly kept it under wraps. As she stood there he couldn’t quite tear his eyes away from her violet satin nightgown she had wrapped tightly around her waist with a cord. It seemed to further propel her already buxom breasts outwardly more so. He was quite sure she wasn’t wearing a bra either, or anything else. This was all bizarre, to say the least, and a flicker of devil ran through him momentarily.

Percy was just finishing up and cleaning his teeth when he heard the chatter coming from the lounge. He made his way downstairs in his Jim-jams unexpectedly at what he was to encounter.

“Percy baba, Mimi is here and she’s brought a friend with her.” Sandy screeched up to him from the kitchen.

Percy Baba, Clayton thought. Hmm this certainly was the affectionate real deal, wasn’t it?

“Be down in a minute!” He shouted back gazing into the mirror, checking out that Mr. Cute.

He liked Mimi - she was a Laotian girl who had emigrated with her family to the States in the 90s. She and Sandy were good together and she didn’t pick on him for their strange, incompatible physical irregularities as others had.

Sandy happily prepared coffee whilst Mimi and Clayton sat on the sofa. Clayton in vantage point waited for the embarrassing exchange to happen. He played it cool with Percy at work, not giving him too much freedom of thought of what he felt towards the ‘poster boy’ of ‘CondoCapture’. If anything he was more taken back at how he had managed to marry Sandy. Or why, for that matter, she had married him!? It all seemed slightly suspect and a tad unreal. He noted to think more deeply about that later on. But now it was fun time.

“Clayton! What are you doing here?”

Percy barked in an aghast fashion, eyes wide, his heart picking up pace at the reality of his colleague being present in this awkward situation.

Sandy turned round with the coffee in hand, “Oh so you know each other then?”

“Err yea babe. We work together. Clayton here does quite the job down at Holroyd’s. He’s one of the best.”

Clayton laughed himself silly inside at the statement of praise he had just heard. Was Percy posturing to give the effect of being nice right now, or was he genuinely being heartfelt towards him? He knew Percy was a wheezy windbag deep down. He had not the guts to ever get on a ‘man to man’ level with him in work. He sensed that Percy saw him as a threat, in sales anyway. Yet it felt more to the cause because Clayton was a bigger, stronger man than him. Perhaps he was threatened by his ego or by the cliché that black men had bigger dicks. He just couldn’t quite work it out but something stirred.

“Yeah yea, so Percy have you told all of them the hot news yet?” Clayton blurted as the four of them sat down together.

“Hot news, no, what’s all this?” Sandy exclaimed with an air of intrigue in her eyes.

Percy’s mind warped as fast as a spaceship hurtling through the dimensions of space, picking up nothing it passed in motion. He felt discombobulated all in a moment and his breathing became laboured...

--

Dick Holroyd, owner of CondoCapture, was resting at home in his Condo that sat nestled above a deep ridge. It was the most affluent part of town and everybody knew he resided there. He had it all, of course: a swimming pool, bar & games lounge. It sure was a sweet spot but he had earned it, right?

He flicked through the latest edition of the Economist, not at all interested in the propaganda-inspired nonsense it entailed in its journalism. What a load of huff and idiocy this world had become, he thought. He was glad he had just made it on his own. America was still at the forefront of business enterprise and he was very much a part of the adage of ‘The American dream’.

Yet all that did seem to pale in significance when he thought about his leisure life and what his personal affairs were bringing him. He just couldn’t be the open and expressive man he wanted to be - but then again he had to, even in this progressive age, lean towards a model that steeped itself in tradition. After all, he owned a multimillion-dollar company so preservation was key.

His latest showpiece was a girl named Miriam. Sure she ticked all the boxes on the beauty front but a man such as he with otherworldly desires was always going to be left short on what she could offer him. He basked in his thoughts, delighting himself with the visual imprint of that twink, Percy. He casually envisaged donning him in a pretty pair of stockings and watching him prance about in a pair of golden heels, oh it was magic! Sumptuous to say the least. It sent him wild - he loved a Sissyboy. Yet he had never had the opportunity to enjoy such a thing, with his very public life and the business front. He wanted to though, he really did.

Had he come on too strong in the brunch meeting earlier that day? He didn’t wish to beckon anything of an uncomfortable situation that could have been brewing in the boy’s mind l. But that was why he had arranged the retreat week vacation after all. He’d made a decision that he would now be venturing with the high-flyers too, but to keep cool he would have to bring Miriam along with him.

--

The air was thick with distrust when Mimi and Clayton left. Percy tended to Maxi’s tray and took the trash out as usual. His mind whirled something heavy, the gigantism of turbines interminably rotating in his mind. It reminded him of Eraserhead, all and nothing blaring at the onset of a man crippled by existential threats. A clarity of personification devoid of a modicum of rationale. It felt hauntingly real though - and that scared him.

Sandy was already in bed as Percy took off his pyjamas. He peeled them down and stood naked, before climbing under the covers, attempting to take a hold of her, but she was non-receptive and threw her book down on the side table.

“I’m so saddened you didn’t tell me the big news Perc. To have a stranger come into our home and reveal all of Peppermint Glaciers was an embarrassment I don’t understand why you didn’t tell it to me in the open arms. I thought you would have been thrilled to get away from here with me. I just didn’t get that impression from you, not at all. You seemed edgy too, do you have a problem with me or something?”

Percy gritted his teeth, not able to muster a response. He loved his wife, he did, but he just couldn’t bear to tell her the truth of his insecurities. It would kill her right now.

“I was just going to take the right moment to tell you, that’s all. It’s no big deal.”

Angered Sandy pushed him away towards the far most reaching side of the bed, opposites in their affections right now in the heat of the moment.

“You let me babble on about Maxi when all the while you were keeping a secret from me. I never saw us like that, not until today anyhow.”

The two of them lay silently in the bed for what seemed like a lifetime.

“It’s never secrets, honest. We should look forward to the holiday now. I can’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be happy. Maybe I just had a bit of a turn today. I was tired, that’s all hun.”

She remembered back to his strange, coy behaviour earlier that night and it annoyed her. She began to fix the pieces together of his demeanour.

“You were not yourself and being honest I know it’s because of this trip. It hurts me you would be so nervous to tell your wife such a thing. It feels so strange right now. If I’m truthful, I don’t think I want to sleep in the bed with you tonight. It just feels so off between us, and I feel dirty! I was looking forward to our kissy time but now the moment has gone. It might be best if you sleep in the guest bedroom. We can take time to reflect and maybe we can sort this mess out tomorrow.”

Percy said nothing and with that left the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him. His frivolous claims worked little - she didn’t believe him, but he would have to find a way of consoling her back onto the right track when the dust had settled.