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stupid party.
But Mark had already decided that he wanted to go.
They walked over after dinner. Tom insisted on holding
hands, at least for the part of the journey in which they were
alone.
People aren t going to shoot us for this, you know, he
said at one point.
Yes, said Mark uncomfortably, I know. I ve just
always been so secretive about everything my whole life. He
paused and considered. And I think I m a little bit private as
well.
Tom regarded him for a few seconds.
Well, I think you need to shake off some of that. He
squeezed Mark s hand. Remember, I m in the picture too,
now.
Mark looked over at his friend, feeling a sudden urge to
jump up onto him. Instead he just smiled and straightened
his shoulders.
Okay, boss, he said.
Tom smiled. That s right, he said. I m the boss. And
they both chuckled.
There were about twenty people at the Smith cottage.
Tom and Mark got introduced as the McPherson and
Up at the Cottage | G.P. Keith | 50
Henderson boys, and the talk centered mostly around what
their families were doing and about Mark going off to college.
Mark wasn t all that comfortable until he had downed
several drinks. Even after that he had to admit to himself
that he wasn t party material. The teenage Smith girls and
one younger teen boy clustered around Tom, who obviously
enjoyed the attention. He was talking about his time in the
city, his years in football and the like.
At first Mark felt a little jealous. He hung around the
buffet table listening as one of the elderly guests was telling
him about all the generations of cottagers she remembered.
Mark kept glancing over at Tom s circle, and once their eyes
met. Tom winked at him. That little sign made Mark feel
surprisingly better. He began to relax and even paid more
attention to the stories the elderly woman was relating,
which turned out to be quite entertaining.
As his level of comfort increased, Mark found that other
guests wandered over to talk with him. While part of him felt
a little claustrophobic in the midst of all these people, he
made the effort to engage and found it less difficult than he
had anticipated. Certainly taking a quick glance from time to
time in Tom s direction helped, and he found as often as not
when he did this, Tom s gaze would turn to meet his. These
momentary connections made Mark feel part of something,
and that seemed to make all the difference.
At one point he wandered over to Tom s group. Listening
to the excited talk, Mark found himself amused by the
interest of the Smith girls in Tom and by Tom s evident
pleasure in this attention. Tom the football hero was back,
Mark decided, but that was okay. Tom glanced over at him
and started talking about how the great thing about football
was how he had kept in shape, and how in the year after
Up at the Cottage | G.P. Keith | 51
graduating he had let that slip but that coming up to the
cottage helped.
I ve been following a regimen of regular exercise, he
said seriously. There s something about the air up here that
really excites activity. There were murmurs of agreement
from Tom s listeners, but Mark had the sense that Tom s
words contained a double entendre. This suspicion was
confirmed when Tom added, Mark s been helping me keep
at it. He might not look it, but he s a real powerhouse in the
exercise department. With this Tom raised his innocent gaze
to Mark. Mark had to turn away to keep from sniggering.
Unfortunately, there were several points in the evening
that were less than pleasant. Two of the older men, in
between asking about Mark s parents and his plans for
college, interjected pointed questions about Mark s love life.
Mark reddened each time this happened. His stock reply,
that he had been focusing on his studies, didn t seem to
satisfy them. The first time this happened, Mark found Tom
suddenly standing next to him. Tom greeted one of the men
heartily, and rapidly changed the topic of conversation. The
other man moved away, but later in the evening cornered
Mark and again began to ask these questions. The man was
drunker this time and therefore ruder and more obvious in
what he was getting at. But again Tom appeared, and,
grasping the man s arm and one shoulder, actually steered
him away while making his own inquiries. Seeing the
expression of surprise and even slight fear come onto the
man s face, Mark had a renewed appreciation of just how big
Tom was. Still, he was greatly relieved.
Still later, Mark found himself sitting on the Smith s
deck, contentedly alone. Someone came and sat down next
to him.
Up at the Cottage | G.P. Keith | 52
How s it going? Tom said, reaching out and touching
Mark s arm.
Mark leaned over to him. Fine, boss, he said. But I
wouldn t be sorry to leave any time.
So they made their excuses and left.
Mark and I do our best exercise in the morning, was
Tom s parting remark. On the walk back home they held
hands, feeling at peace with the world. Mark knew part of
that was the alcohol, but that didn t bother him either.
Up at the Cottage | G.P. Keith | 53
Day 4
THE next morning Mark and Tom rose later than usual. As
they again lay on the chaise lounges with their coffees after
breakfast, Tom was the first to bring up the party.
Well, he said, did that feel sick?
What? What are you talking about?
Last night, Tom said, at the party. I thought I was a
buffer between you and the world several times. You said
before that you thought that you having a buffer was sick.
So was it?
Mark laughed and shook his head. No, he said. It felt
nice. Then he added mischievously, To be honest, it made
me want to suck your dick, right there, right then. You were
so masterful. And he laughed as Tom s expression spread
into a leer.
Well, Tom said, now s not too late, you know. He
reached over and placed Mark s hand on his crotch, which
was already showing signs of interest.
Always happy to oblige, Mark murmured, sitting up.
So am I, Tom laughed and spread his legs.
Giving Tom head on the deck did something to
rejuvenate Mark s spirits after the party, although he
couldn t have said why. Afterwards he admitted that he had
been a little frazzled by all the conversation at the party, and
especially those pointed questions about girlfriends.
Up at the Cottage | G.P. Keith | 54
The words keep going through my head, he explained.
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