A Silence to Remember (manxman)

Chapter 15

Josh

He liked my shirt. It was such a simple compliment, but one that meant the world to me. I always said it was the little things that counted. Mario would have made me change into something 'more acceptable.'

Dominick steered the conversation away from the last eight years. However, he bragged about the Christmas Eve party when he came out to his parents and everyone else there. I wished I'd been there to see it.

Mario was handsome, despite all his ugliness inside, but Dominick had a beauty that was undeniable; his dark hair and captivating blue eyes were mesmerizing and spoke a million words. I bet dozens of men tried to get him outside to fuck. I was flattered he chose me.

Usually I'd never get up so early on a Saturday morning, but I couldn't wait to see Dominick again. I hoped to spend most of the day with him before having dinner with my mother and her third husband, Larry. My brothers and I saw her about three times a year. Sadly, she was staying at the Cape for the week. I wondered if Jimmy would show up tonight. He had a habit of standing her up. Jeff and I never stood her up, even after everything she did to us as kids. I never had the balls to stand my own mother up, and Jeff would never leave me alone with her because she never tried to learn ASL. She also had a habit of mumbling and/or speaking so fast I rarely understood her. I'd mostly just sit there, smiling and nodding. When I was twenty, I smiled and nodded my way into going to a high school prom with Larry's niece. Just like my mother didn't believe I was truly deaf, she also didn't believe I was gay. Larry's niece took one look at me and knew. Larry also failed to tell her I was deaf. At least she was a good sport about it, impressed that I could dance even though I was deaf.

I spotted Dominick sitting on the bench near the Pilgrim Monument, wearing sunglasses and basking in the summer sun. I was right on time, too. As I approached him, he removed his sunglasses. He was one of the few Italians I'd met with blue eyes. His were big and beautiful. Only someone like Dominick could look that hot in a white t-shirt, tan khaki shorts, and Tevas.

"Good morning," I said and kissed his cheek. We were in Provincetown and public displays of affection between men were acceptable. Dominick didn't seem to mind. If he was still seventeen, he would have acted differently.

Since he bought dinner last night, I bought breakfast at one of my favorite bakeries in the whole world. With our pastries and coffees, we returned to the bench. "I think you should speak in ASL all the time," he said. "It's the best way to learn, right?"

"Right," I said while signing. "But you're re-learning, so it should be easy."

Dominick picked a topic to discuss while using ASL. The first topic focused on Dominick's favorite cereal, Lucky Charms, and how it would be so much better with just marshmallows. The Lucky Charms topic shifted to the 2001 presidential election and how much he hated George W. He used a variety of universal obscene hand gestures. He got a little too fiery, so I stood up, suggesting we go somewhere else. I didn't want to ruin the day.

"Good idea," he said. "We can go to my house."

"I always wanted to see your house."

I followed him in my car. Chatham was one of the ritzier towns on the Cape. If someone owned a summer home in Chatham, it meant they were loaded. I always knew Dominick's family had money. The house wasn't as big as some of the houses in the area, but it was still bigger than my dad's house, my childhood home. Once we got there, Dominick gave me a quick tour. We ended up in the back of the house on the four season porch. The beach was right across the street, but the Espositos had an in-ground pool that probably only got used a few times in the summer.

I walked across the porch, getting a closer look at the pool. Although a fence surrounded the pool, I got a good view of the neighbors who also had a pool. "I never understood why people have a pool when the beach is across the street," I said. "I guess if money's no object, you can do whatever you want."