Briggs was relieved the wedding had gone off without a hitch. Cecil was his youngest son, and he had wisely waited until he was twenty-five and had a good steady income before marrying. And he had chosen well. Briggs was happy to have Gina for a daughter-in-law. But pulling off a big affair like this was always a challenge. He had married off his oldest son ten years ago, and then his daughter four years ago, and those weddings had gone smoothly, but you just never knew when something would fuck up. So it was good for the big event to be over with, and the new couple off on their honeymoon.
The wedding had been on the beach in Laguna, and so he was ensconced in his room in this four star hotel for one more night, then back to the daily grind. He’d planned ahead for this moment, and had brought some papers from work that he had intended to go over, but now found he couldn’t concentrate. His mind kept going back to that crazy incident with Gianni.
******
Gianni Luca was the father of the bride. His grandparents had emigrated from Italy almost a century ago, but he was still strongly Italian. It would probably take another century for all traces of the old country to disappear from the family. And even the centuries-old family name would be no more if his daughter didn’t christen one of her kids with the name Luca. He had only one child, and he’d just given her hand to a kid named Cecil Briggs. But he was contented it was a good pairing, and the marriage would work. If only his wife had lived to see their jewel start her new life.
Forty-two seemed too young to be a widower – actually thirty-two. His wife had died ten years ago and he still missed her terribly. There had been a hole in his life ever since he had lost her, but he had been a good single father for the second half of his daughter’s young life. Now he was losing her and would soon be alone. He tried not to dwell on that, but when he shook that thought from his mind it was replaced with the thing that had happened with Briggs. How had that happened, or maybe more importantly, why? And why did he keep thinking about it when it made him uncomfortable? Or was he uncomfortable with the feelings it stimulated – and why was he stimulated?
He tossed in bed, rolling over onto his back and watching the faint reflections cast on the ceiling from the swimming pool several stories below. He needed to talk about what had happened. He needed to bring it out in the open and resolve it. The remembrance of how Briggs looked filled his mind. He focused on his eyes. They had a soft sympathetic aspect about them. He remembered his mustache and beard which gave him a wise look.
It was funny how the whiskers on his chin were white, whereas the rest of his beard was the same light brown as his hair. Supposedly his hair was flecked with gray too, but they didn’t show much in contrast to his hair color. And he also wore his hair cut very short, which helped hide any gray that was there. He had a face which made you feel confidence in his character. He was sure Briggs was a man he could confide in – a man who you could rely on for discretion. He had to resolve this, or there would be no sleep tonight.
******
Briggs threw the sheaf of papers to one side for the third time. He decided to go over the afternoon’s events in his mind – to review them and try to make sense of what had happened. After the ceremony the wedding party had gone into the Crystal Room below for the reception. The mid-afternoon wedding had meant there wasn’t a sit-down dinner, but the hotel had provided a sumptuous array of finger-food, and there had been an open bar. That may have been part of the problem. He had celebrated a tad too much, and had actually danced to the music, which was definitely not from his generation.
He had begun to work up a sweat and had taken a break by going out onto the hotel terrace, but the stiff breeze coming off the Pacific had proven too chilly on his damp skin. Not ready to go back in, he had gone around a corner to seek some protection from the wind. He was startled to find Luca there, leaning with his elbows on the balustrade, staring out to sea. Briggs walked up beside him and took the same pose.
Gianni glanced at him and said, “You couldn’t take the noise either, huh?”
Briggs smiled. “That and the heat all those bodies are producing. And I think I’ve drunk too much.”
“Join the club,” Gianni said.
They stood quietly for a few minutes. Gianni straightened up and said, “What do we do now, two empty nesters? Are you going to have trouble handling it? I know I am.”
He knew Briggs wife had also passed. He wasn’t sure, but thought it was fifteen or twenty years ago – sometime when Cecil was just a little kid. And he’d reared his three kids all on his own.
Briggs shrugged and looked up at Gianni. “I don’t have a clue. They’ve been my support. Now I’m going to be all alone.”
He stood up and turned in Gianni’s direction. Gianni was several inches taller than Briggs. He had a long face which to Briggs always looked a little sad. Now it was morose. Even though Briggs knew he should be considering his own situation, he felt for this big lonely man. He put his hand on Gianni’s shoulder. Luca placed his hand on top of Briggs. The look in his eyes showed his gratitude. They stood looking into each other’s eyes, and into their souls. Then Luca bent forward and pressed his lips against Briggs. Griggs slid his hand off Gianni’s shoulder and around his back, pulling their bodies together.
The kiss and embrace lasted only a matter of seconds – less than a quarter of a minute. They broke apart and each didn’t know where to look. They were both filled with the same confusion.
Briggs cleared his throat, but Luca spoke first. “I’d better get back inside and see if anybody needs anything.”
“Yeah, right,” Briggs said, patting Luca on the arm, and then quickly withdrawing his hand.
******
Now here he was in bed, trying to make sense of the whole thing, and coming up with nothing. And on top of that, he had somehow liked the whole thing – or at least understood something about it – but he wasn’t sure what. He was accustomed to having an ordered mind, not a confused one. He picked up the sheaf of papers once again and rifled through them. Was he ever going to read all this stuff and know what he had read when he finished?
There was a tap on the door. He suddenly realized he had forgotten to lock it. Even in a quality hotel there could be bad things lurking. He began to get off the bed when the person spoke.
“Briggs, it’s Gianni.”
Briggs sighed in relief. “It’s open Luca, come on in.”
Gianni opened the door and stepped in, closing the door behind him. Briggs noticed he was wearing only pajama bottoms. He himself wore just his boxers for sleeping.
“Lock it, Luca.”
Luca turned and slid the bolt.
“Couldn’t sleep either, huh?”
Gianni walked over to the bed and sat down, crooking one leg under him. “Nah, I’ve been tossing all over the place.”
He was looking down at the bed. Briggs again noticed the gloomy expression that had touched him earlier. And again he felt empathy. He sat waiting for Luca to speak, but he only continued to look down, not meeting Briggs look.
Briggs was proud of his body. It took a lot of work, but at fifty-six he had managed to fight off Father Time. He was well built with a flat stomach – the hardest thing to keep in check. Now he took in Gianni’s build. He was bigger than Briggs in all respects, and his muscles were well formed. Briggs wondered if he worked out regularly, or was one of those lucky bastards that got their great bodies through genes. Whereas the hair on Briggs's body had mostly turned gray before his beard, Luca’s chest hair, though not as pronounced as Briggs’s, was jet black, as was the hair on his head.
