Chapter 6 --'Winter Kept Us Warm'

 

24 West Gaston St.     (unedited)

  “I’ve put the house on the market, mother,” Landry confirmed.  He was talking by phone to Tulsa. 
   "But it is such a lovely home,” Mary said, losing hope.  “So elegant.  And you have such good friends in Savannah.”

       “Mother, I am not selling my friends.”  Landry often lost patience when he had to explain his decisions.  “The position in Mexico is for one year.  I am taking a sabbatical from Armstrong.  After a year we shall see.”

  “Don, I know you’ll do what’s best.  You always do,” Mary replied.

           

“And you will love Mexico.  Once you visit, I’m certain you’ll feel better about it.”

           

Landry had taken a visiting professorship in English and Drama at the University of the Americas in Cholula.  It was a college for mostly U.S. students near Puebla.  Landry had only been there for an interview.  The campus lay beyond the Sierras from Mexico City.  The faculty housing looked upon the snow-covered peaks of Popocatepetl and his sleeping sister Ixtachuatl.  The two previous trips to Mexico taken when Landry lived in New Orleans had always haunted him with the country’s beauty, grandeur, and people in touch with the earth, a refreshing contrast to middle-class life in the U.S., Landry thought.

               

“I prefer the ignorance pervasive in Mexico to the mindlessness here,” he told his mother.

           

But Mary was not convinced.  She was a good Protestant and not at all pleased that her son wanted to live among the Catholics.  Mexico impressed Mary as a land of chaos and poverty.  Landry realized that only by taking her to the elegant shops of the Zona Rosa in Mexico City, the anthropological museums, the fine restaurants and exquisite hotels of Cuernavaca, Taxco, and Guanajuato, could he change her impressions.  He would take her to Oaxaca and let her stand, as he had, on the bastions of Monte Alban, where the Sierras came together in one of the most dramatic valleys on Earth.

            “It will take months to sell the house.  So, of course you want to visit in the spring.  I won’t sell for under $80,000,” Landry assured her.

            “Where will you live when the house is sold?”

            “I’ll store the furniture and rent an apartment until the summer.  You and I will fly to Mexico in July.”

            After hanging up, Landry looked around his house.  It was indeed a grand home.  The high ceilings and large rooms showed off is 18^th Century furniture beautifully.  But what a chore it was to rent the upstairs apartments and the carriage house.  His tenants complained at all hours.  Many of his neighbors had expressed anger at the production of Albion’s Voice in the basement.  This morning the stench of the paper mill added to his list of reasons to move.

            Landry picked up his coffee cup, poured out half a cup of cold coffee into a potted plant, and refilled his cup in the kitchen.  He put on a tape of music by Faure and sat in the red wing chair.  The professorship in Mexico would free him from the rut into which he had fallen.  Then it would not pain him to hear of David’s affair with Jules.  He would not have the angst of a Carlos to contend with.  Mexicans slept with you when they didn’t have a woman with them.  After which, they didn’t think about it.  There was no guilt.  Mexicans, Landry recalled from past visit, enjoyed sex.  They didn’t lie back and expect to be done, as Carlos had.  There was no sense that they’d done you some big favor.  Just the reverse.

            There was another affair Landry thought of also.  For several months he and Kilpatrick had secretly slept together.  No one ever suspected.  Kilpatrick was the very image of macho sensibility.  His wife adored him.  He had three kids.  He charmed women of all sorts, including his students.  And yet, he had broken down to Landry, cried in his arms.  He was able to reveal to Landry an insecure side of himself concealed from everyone else.  They had spent hours together lying naked, embraced in Landry’s bed.  But it was all a dark secret and Landry knew it would end.  The move to Mexico would make that transition back to friendship so much easier.

            The doorbell rang.  It was David.  He was expected.  David kissed Landry’s cheek as he entered.  As usual, Landry’s heart melted.

            “What a week!” David exclaimed, making himself at home in the study.  He noticed the coffee cup by Landry’s chair.  “Mind if I have some coffee?”

            “No, help yourself.  You may have to make another pot, though.”

            The two men went to the kitchen, where David prepared another pot of coffee.  Landry imagined them living together and shuddered.

            “I started work at Ola Wyeth,” David was saying.  “It’s a cushy job.  Most of the day I watch the ships go by from the tall windows over River Street.  At lunch, all the women who work in the offices along Factor’s Walk pile in and want the same romances, mysteries, and bestsellers.  We have waiting lists for Love Story and The Sensuous Woman.”

            “You’re the supervisor?”

            “Yes.  There is a woman I work with who’s been there for years and knows everything.  She’s a bit resentful of my being placed over her, I think.  But she never finished her B.A.”

            “Did you get a raise?”

            “No.  It was just a way to get me out of Carnegie.  Without an M.L.S I can’t earn a professional salary.  Anyway, I plan to attend graduate school.  I told you I applied to Tulane, didn’t I?”

            “Yes.  And if you are accepted, how will you afford the tuition?”

            “One thing at a time,” David replied.  “First I have to get accepted.  But if I do, I’ll ask for scholarship money, or loans.  I’ll get to New Orleans, somehow.”

            Landry admired David’s determination.  He also wondered if David would want to borrow money from him.  There was a cocksuredness about David that annoyed Landry.  He’s so full of himself, Landry thought.  “Well, I have news also.  I’m putting the house on the market, tomorrow.”

            “You’ve decided to take the job in Mexico.”  David was elated.  “I shall be able to fly down from New Orleans next Christmas and visit you.”

            “Hold on,” Landry laughed.  “There’s a great deal to be worked out, yet.  Next Christmas I may have to come back here, not to mention visiting my mother in Tulsa.”  He saw David’s disappointment.  “You could come in the spring, though.  There will be plenty of opportunities.  Don’t worry.”  Landry felt happy that David wanted to be with him in Mexico, despite his picturing Mexico as a break from everyone in Savannah.

            “So how are things with you and Jules?”  It was Landry’s advice concerning Jules that David wanted.  But it was not easy for David to discuss Jules.  “Sometimes it’s wonderful,”  David said.  “Sometimes it’s hell.”

            Landry waited for David to elaborate.

            “When we first slept together, it was enjoyable and exciting.  Jules slept over at my place several times and I stayed at his.  I got to know his roommate and her boyfriend.”

            David paused, taking a sip of coffee.  “Jules is anything but monogamous.  He was spending the night with other people within a week.  He’s helping set up a new bar -- Dr. Feelgood’s on Drayton Street. He’s friends with two of the owners.  I think he’s even slept with the two of them."

            “And you want monogamy.  You’re jealous.”

            “Is that bad?” David asked.

            “Depends,” Landry said.  He played the sage.  “It depends on whether you want an open relationship, whether you want to be with Jules, and whether you can give up the idea of possession.”

            “So you think we should all sleep with anyone we want, at any time?”

            “No, I don’t,” Landry replied, annoyed.  “I think we all have to assess what we want with what those we love want.  Love involves getting beyond your private, selfish interests.”

            David sat back in his chair.  What Landry was saying echoed his own ideas.  Unfortunately, his feelings were not in sync.

            “As an ideal, I agree.  I’ve never liked possessive, clinging people.  And there’s no reason why we can’t love more than one person.  But Jules wants more than that.  He wants anonymous sex -- to have sex with someone he doesn’t even know and then to forget him.”

            “Sex and love are not mutually inclusive,” Landry suggested.  “You can have one, or both, without the other.  Many people have love partners different from their sex partners.”

            “That’s not for me,” David said with finality.  “I can understand loving more than one person.  But if I’m not in love, I don’t want to have sex with strangers.”

            “Don’t be so self-righteous,” Landry said, trying not to be angry.  “If Jules cares for you and if you care for him, then be grateful for that.  Don’t be so demanding and controlling.”

            “I should just enjoy what comes.  Is that it?  Take the ‘Auntie Mame’ philosophy that ‘Life’s a banquet’.”  David stared at Landry.

            Landry smiled.  Better feast than famine, he thought.  “It could be worse,” he said.

---------

            Eddie pushed open the door of the Crystal Beer Pub.  He was almost 15 minutes late.  Charlotte watched him enter from her booth.  “Sorry I’m so late.”  Eddie gave no excuse.

            “I always expect you to be late.  So, you are right on time,” Charlotte joked.  She was already eating a bowl of gumbo.

            Eddie took off his corduroy coat.  It was a dull November day, and the interior of the Crystal was overly warm.  Eddie looked at the menu.  “Did you order more than soup?”

            “A hamburger,” Charlotte answered.  “And fries if you want to share.”

            Eddie ordered a cheeseburger.

            “How was Atlanta?” he asked.

            “I think I may move there,” Charlotte said.  “The club loved my singing and offered me a regular gig.  I could also audition at the Academy Theatre.  The director has seen one of my performances here.”

            “That’s great,” Eddie said.  “When would you go?”

            “Not for a few months.  Probably in the summer.  Susan isn’t going to be happy about it, I’m afraid.”

            “You know, I haven’t seen her in weeks.”

            “You are seeing the person you met at the Halloween Party.  Sharon?”

            “Yes.  We’ve been going out together pretty often.”  Eddie felt a twinge of guilt.

            “Are you falling in love?”  Charlotte smiled, half-mocking Eddie.

            “We’ll see,” Eddie said.  “Have you seen much of David?”

            “No.  Haven’t you?”

            “I saw him briefly this week.  I went to see his new work space -- the Ola Wyeth Library.  He’s really got it made.  Have you been there?”

            “No.  But it’s on the river, isn’t it?”

            “With giant windows looking out over the waterfront.  Except for lunch, he says, the place is empty, all day.  He sits and reads, takes breaks, has a late lunch at 2.  His assistant does all the paperwork for him and a student shelves the books.”

            “A lot better than my job at the bookstore.  I never get a moment’s rest there.  I won’t miss it at all when I move.”  Charlotte reflected on her months at Waldenbooks.  “I will miss Betty, though.  She is a scream.”

            “Will you miss Susan?”

            “Yes and no.”  Charlotte resisted thinking about Susan.  “Susan will be better off not living with me.”

            “Because she’s a lesbian, you mean?”

            “Because I can’t return her love for me.”

            “It’s like my relationship with David.  I always feel like he wants something more.”

            “Are you sure you don't want more yourself?” Charlotte asked.

            “I’m sure.  I’ve had sex with him, you know.  It did nothing for me.”

            “You weren’t turned on by it?”

            “I got off, if that’s what you mean.  But I fantasized I was with...” Eddie paused, embarrassed.  “Let’s just say I imagined a woman, not David.”

            Charlotte frowned.  “I could never do that with Susan.”

            “Why not?  Aren’t you even curious?”

            “Yes.  I am curious.  But I would choose someone else, not Susan.  She loves me too much and I would hurt her if I had sex with her out of curiosity only.”

            “Ah...”  Eddie was aware of Charlotte’s point.

            “Finally I just want to be with a self-assured man.  I love the strength and independence of men.  I want a man to hold me and protect me, not smother me the way Susan can, not lean on me and depend on me for every decision.”

            “You want someone to lead,” Eddie offered.

            “Not that.  I want someone who loves my independence.  Only I want him to be there when I need him.  There has to be a balance.  That’s what I hope to find in Atlanta,” Charlotte said.

            “I wonder if I shall ever leave Savannah?” Eddie mused.

            “What do you think of Jules, David’s new friend?”  Charlotte wondered if Eddie was jealous, if he wasn’t more attached to David than he wanted to admit.

            “I think he’s a bit of a flake.”

            “How’s that?” Charlotte asked, more convinced of Eddie’s jealousy.

            “He’s always preaching about love and going on about Buddhism.  I doubt he knows anything about Buddhism.”  Eddie spit out the word with contempt.

            “Yes, I’ve heard him talk about metaphysics and didn’t feel that he had any idea what he was talking about.  Only I think he’s charming.  I like the way he tries to bring a spiritual awareness back into love and sex.”

            “Come on.”  Eddie wondered if Charlotte was serious.  “He’s about as spiritual as Andy Warhol.”

            “That’s an interesting comparison,” Charlotte laughed.  “Jules is the glamor queen.”

------------------------------------------

            “Youuuu .... are the crown of creeeation,” David sang along with Jefferson Airplane in the interior of Dr. Feelgood’s.  He had come with Jules, who had an invitation to the opening.  For two hours the bar had served free drinks and champagne.  At 11 p.m. the bar would open to the public, though many had already slipped in without invitations.  A line was forming at the door -- something Savannah had never seen before.

            “I can’t believe both gays and straights are mingling and dancing together,” David said to Jules.

            “There are no ‘straights’ and ‘gays’,” Jules declared.  “Our true selves are spirits that have both sexes.”

            “And Feelgood’s is the temple of spiritual liberation,” David mocked.

            “Come on, let’s dance,” Jules coaxed.  “Don’t be so negative all the time.”

            “I wasn’t.  I was marveling at how open and tolerant everyone seems here.”

            The music was a mix of dance and rock, from Chuck Berry to the Supremes, from The Who to Elton John.  A D.J. controlled the state-of-the-art music booth, another first.

            By midnight the bar was at capacity.  Almost everyone David and Jules knew, under thirty, was there.  Jules was dancing with someone he knew from high school days.  David was fairly drunk on champagne followed by wine.  Susan appeared.  “Having fun?” she asked.

            “Too much fun,” David replied.  “How about you?  Is Charlotte here?”

            “Are you kidding?  You know she hates this kind of scene.”  Susan sounded bitter.

            “Isn’t this what all the bars are like in Atlanta?” David asked.

            “Exactly.  Ironic, isn’t it?”

            “She just wants to escape Savannah and the likes of you and me.”  Alcohol gave David a simplicity of vision.  “Have you seen Eddie?”

            “I doubt that he and Sharon would find much excitement in a gay dance bar,” Susan said.

            David smiled, in spite of himself.  “They get excitement not being gay.  But they need us gay people for contrast.”

            Susan thought of herself as a “gay person.”  Yes, she knew she was.  But the label was so hateful.  “I think I need another beer.”  Susan pushed her way through the crowd towards the bar.

            Jules returned.  “I want you to meet the owners,” he said to David.

            Kolby Kraft and Tim Greene had known Jules for years.  When Jules was sixteen he had his first taste of gay sex sleeping between them.  Now in their thirties, they were ambitious and more hedonistic than ever.

            “Jules has sung your praises,” Tim said, giving David a friendly hug.

            “We hope you’ll come to our house party next week,” Kolby invited.

            Kolby was accompanied by Jim Williams, tall and distinguished in a black silk tuxedo.  He chewed on an unlit cigar.  Jules introduced him to David also.

            “You’re the one who bought that wonderful old mansion on Monterey Square,” David said.

            “It’s my ongoing restoration project,” Williams replied.

            “My mother lives just across the square from you on Gordon Street.  Her name is Betty Bagby.”

            “Yes, I think I met her one afternoon.”  Williams smiled as if recalling something lewd.  “If you’ll excuse me, I believe I need another drink.”

            “What a striking character,” David said to Kolby.  “Have you known him long?”

            “Not at all,” Kolby replied.  “But he is very supportive of our little enterprise here.  He’s even made a small investment in us.”   Kolby did not elaborate.  Instead, he and Tim went on to meet other patrons of the bar.

            “There’s a third major owner and manager, also,” Jules said to David.  “His name is Reeve Heidt.  I’ll point him to you.  He’s very strange.”

            David sat on a stool at the crowded bar as Jules disappeared into the dark sea of people.  Colored lights whirled over the distant dance floor.  The room, filled with smoke in spite of whirling ceiling fans, was beginning to tilt and whirl itself.  The noise from the crowd and the sound system was beginning to create a ringing in David’s inner ear.

            “Aren’t you Dr. Landry’s friend?” An attractive student, still a teenager, spoke to David.  He seemed to materialize out of nothing.  David tried to remember the face, the piercing blue eyes, the blond bangs.

            “Yes.  Do I know you?” David asked.

            “We met at Armstrong.  I’m in the Yeats seminar.  My name’s Brian.”

            “O.K.  I remember you now.  I haven’t been to that class in weeks.  How’s it going?”

            “Great.  I love the way Dr. Landry recites -- so much feeling...”

            “I know.  That’s why I was sitting in.  I’m sorry I haven’t had the energy to drive out there, lately.  I just changed positions at work.”  David explained his job at Ola Wyeth.  “You’ll have to come visit me there,” David suggested.

            “I will,” said Brian.  He continued to stand next to David, though there was nothing else to say.  He was sipping a bottle of beer.

            “Do you live downtown?” David asked, at last.  He knew he was quite drunk and Brian looked beautiful and shy.

            “No.  I live in Windsor Forest.”

            “That’s a long way to drive.  Have you had much to drink?”

            “Too much.  I lost count.  You don’t think the police will stop me for driving drunk, do you?”  Brian seemed such a child, but he had to be at least eighteen.  It took two I.D.s, one with a photo, to get into the club.

            “Why don’t you come back to my place?”  David could hardly believe he was making this invitation.  “I’ll make you some coffee and you can sober up before driving home.”

            “Do you live near here?”  Brian seemed eager.

            “About ten blocks or so,” David understated.  “If you can drive that far, you can just follow me there.”

            As they left, David looked around for Jules.  He knew he should say goodnight but really didn’t want to.  He was doing the very thing he condemned Jules for doing.  But Brian, dressed in snug jeans and a t-shirt that showed off his slender, shapely torso, was too irresistible.  This was one hors-d’oevre Auntie Mame didn’t intend to pass up.

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