Frank

By Tuesday afternoon, when John and his crew quit for the day, all thirty electrical boxes had been installed in the ceiling of my future showroom and connected to a panel of switches, where I could control them in groups of five.

John promised me that by Wednesday afternoon all forty pairs of boxes on the walls would be ready for mounting sconces. Each four pairs of boxes were connected to a switch on the wall behind my counter.

While a crew of four was doing all that, the other two fellows on his crew pulled all the old electrical wire out of the ceilings and walls and had started inserting new wire.

I'd noticed right away on Monday that if I was in the room where John was working, he tended to stop what he was doing and pay attention to me. I loved that he did this, but it was costing me money and I had to have this work finished ASAP. So, on that premise, I left to rent a truck and start hauling stuff from my old shop to my new one; first the chandeliers and ceiling fixtures for the show room along with the sconces I planned to put on the walls. These were a lot of work; since they were finished and ready to hang, they had to be individually packed with a lot of care for the glass parts.

When I parked in front of the shop to unload, John sent a couple of his guys out to help me carry it all in. I asked if they were working by the hour, or if they were salaried. When they answered that they were paid by the hour, I thanked them and told them to go back to work, that I was fully capable of carrying my chandeliers by myself. John looked a little miffed, but I smiled my thanks to him and he then seemed okay.

Once I had them all unloaded into the new shop, I was ready to start hanging them. While holding a large heavy bronze chandelier in my right hand, off to the side of the ladder, a power driver in my left, and the bolts between my teeth, I climbed up the ten foot tall ladder using my left elbow and forearm to balance myself. John noticed me struggling to hold it up to the ceiling while at the same time trying to insert a bolt through the cross bar into the electrical box. He instantly had one of his ladders next to mine and was up it, grabbing hold of the fixture, which caused me to nearly lose my balance. He grabbed my arm and steadied me, then held the fixture up so I could use both hands to attach it to the ceiling box.

I didn't say anything until I was off the ladder, then I said, "Thanks, but I've been doing this all by myself for the last eight years."

I tried to ignore his hurt look and go on about hanging another one. He watched a bit, then asked, "What happens if you lose your balance and fall?"

Feeling nonplussed, I shrugged. "I haven't... yet."

"So? And what happens if you're by yourself?"

"Hadn't thought about it," I said, feeling my ire rising. John was looking at me reprovingly. I finished hanging the fixture and descended the ladder. "I'll wait until I'm by myself to hang the rest of them," I grumbled and headed out of the room.

"Farr, wait."

I stopped, but didn't turn around.

"Let me get a couple of the men on this, and you just tell them where you want them."

I quickly calculated in my head that it would probably take me about four to six hours to hang them by myself, and I'd be exhausted when I finished. It would take only a couple of hours if I went along with John's offer. I could afford that, and it would keep John from mothering me to death, so I shrugged and agreed.

It ended up taking less than an hour. The two fellows were efficient and worked well together. I'd noticed that about John's whole crew. It was almost like they each knew what the other was thinking. I wondered if any of them were gay. In San Francisco... it was possible they all were, but none of them acted it, and I'd seen no PDA between any of them. But then, John certainly didn't look it either. If it hadn't been for our reactions to each other in our first meeting, I would never have suspected him. I knew Ward was, only because John had mentioned having made it with him when they were both employees at Statler's.

John came in to check their progress just as they had finished hanging the last one. "There, I feel better now," he said.

"So, if I need a chandelier taken down, do I have to call you?" I asked, half flirting, half facetious.

The two guys grinned at him. John frowned at them, then looked helplessly at me and asked, "Would you do that for me?"

I shook my head in resignation and sighed. "I tell you what; I'll work you a deal. If, when I sell one, I can get the purchaser to let me deliver and hang it for them, I'll call you to do it."

John grinned with delight. "You'd do that?"

I nodded.

John turned to the two young fellows that had just hung all my fixtures and asked, "Hey, Andy, do you and Joe want a side job?"

They both looked at each other and grinned, "Sure, John. You know we'll take all the work we can get."

"Great, we'll work out the details later."

They left with their ladders, and John shoved his hands in his pockets, ducked his head and looked at me. I suppose if I were as tall as him, the puppy dog look he was trying for would have worked.

I mentally stepped back and reconsidered my response. "I guess I'll have to raise the prices to cover the cost," I said, thinking out loud.

"Why don't you offer it as an extra service, Farr, one that the customer is going to be paying someone for anyway? It'll save the customer the hassle of having to hire an electrician to hang it and it will give Andy and Joe some extra pocket money, plus, it will save you from having to risk life and limb taking them down."

Damn, he was down on his knees again talking to me. It makes me feel guilty for being short when he does this. "I'll make sure Andy and Joe are available at a moment's notice. Let them take it down and hang it for the customer. Saves you the effort, and saves your customer from the hassle of having to find an electrician. It's a win-win situation." He had his arm around my waist at this point.

"And if the customer doesn't buy the extra service, you're going to come running to help poor little helpless me take it down? Come on, get real, John."

John pulled me against his side, but before he could do or say anything, I pulled away from him. "You wouldn't treat a man your size like this. I think that you need to step back and regroup. I may be small, but, dammit, I can do almost anything a normal-sized man can do."

John rocked back and sat on his butt. "God, Farr, I know that, and I'm sorry. I just have this... this... need to protect you."

"I don't need protecting. I need to be allowed to do anything you or any other man would do."

I saw John glance up and scowl at someone behind me, then I heard Ward say, "He's right, Boss, you've been acting like a mother hen ever since we started working here."

John stared at Ward for a second; obviously reviewing his actions, then looked at me, contrite. "I apologize, Farr. I didn't realize I was being so bad."

I slugged his shoulder. "Not bad, John... just over protective."

"I'll try to do bet-- differently."

I grabbed him around his neck. His arm went under my butt and he lifted me up against him. Our lips met, and we got lost in the kiss, only to be brought back to reality by Ward chuckling. "You two are too much."

Before either of us could reply, he'd disappeared into the backroom. I glanced up at the showroom window and saw a man standing outside grinning at me. I winked at him - he winked back and walked away.

John noticed me wink and turned to look, only to see the man's back. "I guess we should be a little more discrete, huh?"

"Just a little," I replied with an embarrassed grin.

Since the chandeliers were hung and wired in, I started in on the sconces. I noticed John stick his head through the door and I shook my screwdriver at him. He simply grinned and left me to my own devices.

Working alone, first connecting the wires and then mounting the sconce onto the box wasn't anywhere as difficult as hanging and wiring a chandelier, but it still took almost as much time.

When John's crew was done for the day, I still had seventeen pairs of sconces to go. John stood on one foot and then the other watching me while looking fearful that if he offered to help, I might bite him. I let him fidget a bit, then asked him if he would like to help. He jumped right in like I'd offered him a candy bar.

We made a good team with me connecting the wiring and him attaching the sconce to the wall. A little over an hour after his crew left, we were finished. John looked pleased with himself. I gotta say, I was pleased with him, too.

John

I promised myself when I recovered from that hangover last weekend that I wouldn't treat Farr any different than I would any of my other friends. I'd noticed that every time I knelt to be at his level, he would slightly blush. I realized, eventually, that even though he had thanked me for doing it the first time we met; it embarrassed him for me to continue, especially in front of other men. Then, when Ward commented on us, I knew I was going to have to be more careful in the future.

I'd at least gotten him to agree to let Andy and Joe take the chandeliers down in the future. Now, I had to figure out how to get him to let them hang future new ones. I let it go for the moment.

When we finished the job of mounting the sconces, Farr dusted his hands and stood back to admire our work. "That looks great. I can't wait for you to finish wiring this room so I can see it all lit."

"What would you say to me cooking up a pot of spaghetti with bolognaise?" I asked.

"I should be taking you out to eat," he said, then grinned mischievously, "but since you ask... it sounds delicious."

I know you won't believe me, but I like to cook, nothing fancy, just good food. That's why I had my kitchen rebuilt to my size, with the counters all six inches higher than a normal kitchen.

It was amusing that Farr looked even smaller when he stepped into my kitchen. Can't help but sympathize with the little guy. He climbed up on one of my stools next to the counter and watched me brown the ground beef for a meat sauce.

"Want to help?" I asked.

"Sure," he replied, "what do you want me to do?"

"Do you know how to mince veggies?"

"Excuse me," he said, "my mother is Italian."

"So does that mean you do?"

"I do." He nodded.

So I gave him a couple of carrots, a large onion and some sticks of celery, along with a cutting board, a peeler, a paring knife and a large chef's knife.

He looked at the 14 inch knife and grinned at me. "I guess you are a cook, if you own a knife like this."

In my hand, that knife looks normal sized; in his, it looked like a sword, but he wielded it like a pro. I just smiled at him as he knelt on the stool and commenced peeling and then cutting the carrots into long thin strips. I watched him slice the strips into matchsticks then bundle them and start slicing them into tiny cubes.

While he minced the veggies, I opened a large can of crushed tomatoes and a little can of puree, added them to the browned meat and brought it up to a simmer. Then I took a sauté pan, added some olive oil and put it on a burner to heat. As Farr finished with one thing, I'd add it to the pan to cook. When all three veggies were well browned, I dumped them into the tomato sauce, turned it down to a slow simmer and turned to Farr, "What would you like to do while that cooks for a while?" I asked.

"Come here and I'll show you," he said.

I stepped up to his stool; he unbuttoned my shirt and spread it open to expose my chest. Knowing my nipple was connected directly to my cock; he leaned forward and nipped it with his teeth. The sauce had lots of time to simmer before we even thought again of eating.

Farr

I knew before I started, that moving and opening a new store was going to be arduous. I hadn't been sleeping well, what with worrying about every little thing happening in the store. By Sunday evening, I was nearing exhaustion. It didn't take much effort from John to convince me to stay the night with him. He promised not to seduce me, which I found amusing. I can hardly keep my hands to myself when he's near...and clothed. It was a given that I couldn't resist if I were in bed with him... naked. Tiredness had nothing to do with it.

He laughed and accused me of trying to force him to break his word. But he didn't resist when my tongue found his super sensitive nipple.

I've got to say that I sleep and rest better in bed with John than when I sleep alone in my own. I don't know why I resist staying with him during the week. Maybe it's because he hasn't asked me yet to make it permanent. Then again, I haven't asked him to either. So, Monday evening came, and I was right back into leaving John's by ten-thirty.

I'd gotten a little over zealous in hanging and mounting fixtures so soon. They all had to come off so the walls and ceiling could be painted. I was a bit miffed at myself that I hadn't realized that, but I also felt that John might have pointed it out before I started. Then, I realized that John had to oversee his whole operation; why should I expect him to oversee me, too?

Rather than completely remove the fixtures, John suggested that we drop the ceiling caps and carefully wrap each chandelier in a plastic sheet, loosen the sconces and wrap them, too. That was so much easier than removing everything and then replacing it all. The painter complained about the inconvenience, and I apologized. When he finished with the room, I slipped him an extra fifty and he seemed more than happy to have had to paint around each fixture. It probably saved me three days of hard labor, too. Once the painting was done, they looked even better than before. And....it only took hours, rather than days, to do it all.

Thursday evening, I pulled up the narrow drive to my house and parked behind John's truck. He was sitting on the back stoop with Spike stretched out across his lap. I could hear the cat's purr as I approached. Placing my hands on John's shoulders, I supported myself as I leaned forward to tangle tongues with him. He stopped petting Spike and raised his hands to my head. The cat jumped off his lap with a disgruntled 'mirp', and wrapped himself around my legs.

"I think someone is hungry," John mumbled into my lips.

I pulled back and asked, "Is that someone you, or Spike?"

"Yeah," he answered.

I kissed him on the nose, fed the cat and then we walked down to a little Chinese takeout restaurant in the village. There were several tables inside; we waited for one to become available.

Whenever we go out to eat, John always sits next to me, never across from me. He isn't happy unless we're touching, whether it was our knees... elbows... or what. I enjoy the contact. We show hardly any PDA, but if we happen to, and anyone objects, I figure that's their problem.

As John was telling me about an incident at work, he laid his hand on my forearm and left it there. The Chinese waitress forcefully set two dishes of food on our table and before John could remove his hand, she swatted it and said, "Not touchy feery here, prease."

John pointed at a couple at another table. The man was leaning forward to kiss the woman. John looked at the Chinese woman and said, "You tell them, too?"

"No need, they man and woman."

Five of the seven tables in the place were occupied by gay couples. John stood up and said in a loud voice. "Gentlemen, are you aware that this is a homophobic facility? It is okay for a straight public display of affection, but we aren't allowed to even touch each other's arm. What say we all leave this place and find someplace where we're accepted?"

There was a large commotion as everyone, including the straight couple that had been kissing, got up and started to walk out. The owner of the restaurant, hearing the commotion, came running out of the kitchen with a wooden spatula in his hand. Seeing everyone leaving, he cried out, "Why all you leaving?" The waitress said something to him in Chinese and he started beating her with the spatula, yelling, "You a stupid daughter - no good waitress. Good waitress keep mouth closed - make good tips."

She ran weeping into the kitchen and he ran to stop us before we all exited. "Apologies for daughter's behavior. Please, come back. She now gone. You all welcome here. Food half price to you tonight. Please, come back."

Everyone looked at John to take the cue from him. He shrugged and headed back to the table - everyone followed his lead.

When everyone was resettled, I said to John, "I didn't know you were a social activist."

He growled, "I'm not. But there's no reason to put up with shit like that in this town."

Our meal was served, and when we were ready to leave, John extracted ten dollars from his wallet and tucked it under the condiment tray. I noticed that everyone was kind of following his lead. He thanked the little Chinaman, and we wandered back up the hill to my house. I invited him in, but he begged off saying he had to get an early start. I wondered if he felt as desolate when I left his place, as I did, watching him drive away.

By the end of the day Thursday, I had set up my store front with the cabinets that held all the 'hard to find' light bulbs and things like little cabaret light shades, a chest of small drawers full of lamp parts that people invariably came in asking for, and a counter with a computer, cashbox and calculator. The rest of the floor was mostly empty except for a collection of small lamp tables of various heights grouped together to display table lamps. The sign man had painted a new sign above the big window. I was all set for opening shop.

Martha Raymond wouldn't be moving in with me until her lease expired at the end of September. That was less than three months away, but at my request, she'd brought over a selection of six exquisite crystal chandeliers. That added the missing glitter among my more staid fixtures.

Three o'clock Friday, all the wiring was finished. John made a big production of having me stand in the store front to watch as he flipped on all the ceiling and wall fixtures. He grinned like a Cheshire. Suddenly, all the lights went out. John went running to the back, with me right behind him, to see what had happened. When John rushed into the back room, Ward was standing in front of the breaker box. He said, "Sorry about that, Boss. There was a screw loose on the cover."

"And you had to turn the electricity off to tighten it?"

"Well, I didn't want to take the chance of getting shocked."

The whole crew, lined up on the other side of the room, burst out laughing at John's wordless, sputtered response. Ward grinned. "Gotcha, John."

"I'm gonna gotcha you, you damned moron." John attempted to look mean and mad for a moment, then burst out laughing. "You guys got me good, but you better watch your butts. Payback can be....."

"Yeah, a real bitch," one of the guys interrupted.

John looked at him with a leer and said, "I was going to say, 'so... fun'."

"Now, I'm really scared," another one popped off.

"Hey, you all did a great job here, and in record time. I'm proud of you all. Ward will let you know Monday morning where our next job is. Have a good weekend."

Ward was the last one out. He turned at the door and said, "You two be good to each other." He winked and disappeared.

With my hands stuffed in my hind pockets, I watched John look around like he was a little lost. "So... what now?" he asked.

"Why don't we finish up the business end of this deal, maybe clean ourselves up, and go out for a good dinner?"

John looked at me seemingly lost in thought, then he said. "I love you, Little Man."

When he didn't move, I finally asked, "Shall I get a step stool, or will you come down to my level?"

He dropped to his knees and I rushed into his out held arms. "I love you, you big bear, I really do love you."

Later, I asked John where he wanted to go for dinner and he chose Ruth's Chris Steakhouse on Van Ness. It's difficult to get a small meal there. The portions are old fashionably big, and the food is overly rich. I swear they put butter in, and on, everything, including the steaks. I ended up ordering a grilled steak salad with a lite vinaigrette dressing. It was still too much for me to finish, but with John's assistance, my plate was empty when the waiter took it away. I didn't call him any names... although, Piggy came to mind.