The Man on the Balcony

by Edward Kendrick

  “Thanks. I’m not looking though. I’m waiting for Mark.”

  “He’s over in the twentieth century women’s area, last I saw.” She looked him over with interest before asking, “Does he know you’re here?”

  “Yep. I should probably go back to the waiting room. The last thing you need is me taking up space in here, since I’m not renting.”

  She snorted. “You and half the other people. They’ll wait until Saturday to make a decision, then be irate when they find out the costume they wanted has already been rented. Oh, I’m Norma, by the way.”

  “Austin,” he said in reply.

  “Ah, you’re the neighbor across the street.”

  “That would be me,” Austin said.

  “You’re good people, from what Mark’s said.” She sighed when a customer tapped her shoulder to get her attention. “I’ll see you later, if you’re still around.”

  He nodded before going back to the waiting room. The woman at the desk looked up. “Did you find him?”

  “I did. Now, I’m going to wait out here until he’s got a second to talk.”

  “When hell freezes over,” she said with a grin before turning her attention to a man holding a gladiator costume.

  Austin spent the next few minutes checking the large and varied display of masks. There was also a pegboard on the side wall holding packaged beards and mustaches, kits for making scars, small accessories like plastic pirate swords, wigs, and glasses. A showcase which formed part of the counter area was filled with theatrical makeup. A standing rack in the middle of the room was brimming with all things green, purple, and gold, including Mardi Gras beads, boas, and hats.

  On a whim, Austin picked one of the boas, wrapping it around his neck.

  “That is so you…not,” Mark said, coming up beside him. “I’d suggest a jester’s hat.”

  Austin shook his head. “I’m not a jester. A king, maybe.” He took a plush purple crown of the rack, plopping it on his head. “Goes well with the boa, right?”

  “Well…”

  “Yeah, I thought as much.” Austin put the crown and boa back on the rack. “This is quite a place.”

  “Thanks. It took time to build up the stock, but with Sara’s—” he nodded toward the counter, “—nimble fingers and good design skills, we’ve gotten there.”

  “Well,” Sara called out, “We’re getting there.”

  Mark took Austin over to introduce them. “Much as I wish I could hang with you, duty calls,” he said when the front door opened and a trio of women came in.

  “Only three of you work here?” Austin asked Sara when Mark took the customers into the showroom.

  “Yes, other than at Halloween, although Roger, one of our regular temps will be here on Saturday.”

  “Which is when all hell breaks loose, Mark said.”

  “Pretty much. Not nearly as bad as Halloween, but we will be running our collective butts off.” She looked at him and grinned. “You’re welcome to add your warm body to the mix.”

  “Yeah, right. What I know about costumes would fit in a thimble.”

  “Figured as much.” She smiled, then beckoned for a pair of women holding costumes to come to the counter.

  Austin went back into the showroom for a while, wandering the aisles. He got to talk briefly with Mark a couple of times. Finally, he decided to leave. Cornering Mark, he told him he was heading home.

  “All right. I’ll see you Monday, if not before,” Mark said.

  “Count on it.”

  * * * *

  It was mid-afternoon before Mark and the women got a breather. Of course they immediately began quizzing him about Austin.

  “Are you two dating?” Norma asked.

  “Not even close. We went to the zoo, yesterday, but only as friends. We’re just beginning to get to know each other.”

  “Is he gay?” Sara wanted to know.

  “Yes.”

  Norma chuckled. “You finally got up the nerve to ask.”

  “Nope. He told me about his ex…partner, I guess you could call him, or lover, or both.”

  “How ‘ex’?” Norma asked. “Is he going to show up to try to win him back, the way you said Todd did last week?”

  “No. He’s dead. He died in a car accident.”

  “Oh. Damn. Poor Austin.”

  “He’s dealing with it,” Mark replied, unwilling to go into detail without Austin’s permission.

  “With your help?” Norma winked.

  “Geesh. No, not the way you probably want me to. As I said, we’re becoming friends. That’s it.”

  “Uh-huh, we’ll see,” she said, seconds before a group of what looked like office workers came into the shop. She, and Mark, went over to talk with them, before taking them into the showroom.

  * * * *

  The rest of the week passed without Mark quite knowing where it went, which was the norm when things were very busy at the shop. “Work, eat, sleep, repeat,” was how he described it to Austin the following Monday.

  “Will it be as busy tomorrow?” Austin asked. “It is Mardi Gras.”

  “Probably not. It’s a weekday. The parties were all on Friday and Saturday. We might get some last-minute people in the morning who forgot they needed something for work. That should be it, other than costume returns. We give people until Friday to bring them back before we start charging for an extra rental.”

  “Then you get downtime to collapse until, what? Easter?”

  “Yep.” Mark put buns on their plates for the sloppy joes he was fixing them for lunch. “What time does the movie start?”

  Austin checked his phone. “Two-fifteen.”

  “Shall we walk? It’s only six blocks, and it’s not snowing.”

  “I’m not sure you can make it that far on foot, given your addiction to your car,” Austin said, straight-faced.

  Mark’s reply was to flip him off before spooning the sloppy joe mix onto the buns. They took their plates and coffees into the living room, settling on the sofa to eat.

  “What do we want to do next Monday,” Mark asked after finishing half his lunch.

  “Depends on what trailers we like. If they show one for a movie we absolutely have to see, we can plan on going. Otherwise, I don’t know. A museum? A long walk? Your choice.”

  “Let’s wait to decide.”

  “Okay,” Austin replied, then grinned. “The gym.”

  “I should never have mentioned it,” Mark grumbled. On the other hand, if we do, I’ll get to see a lot more of him than I have so far. He looks pretty buff, but it’s hard to tell when all he wears are sweatpants or jeans and winter shirts.

  “The gym it is, then,” Austin said.

  * * * *

  They did go to the gym the following Monday, then took a leisurely stroll through a nearby park until it began snowing, at which point they returned to Austin’s place.

  “You know what we should do?” Mark asked, after he’d put down his gym bag holding his workout clothes, and hung up his coat.

  “Move to Arizona, where it never snows?” Austin replied.

  “No, you nut. We should plan on going to the gym every Monday, before we do anything else.”

  Austin rolled his eyes. “You’re plotting to make me wake up at the crack of dawn.”

  “Would it be so horrible?”

  “Not with you keeping me company.”

  Mark’s eyes widened in shock. “Say, what?”

  It took Austin a moment to realize why Mark reacted the way he had. “At the gym. Damn. I’m not propositioning you. It’s way too…” Shut up before I put my other foot in my mouth. “We haven’t known each other that…” Flustered, uncertain why he was saying things he shouldn’t, because he didn’t mean them—At least I don’t think I do—he hurried into the kitchen. “Coffee?”

  I didn’t mean it, did I? Hell, we’re friends, nothing more. Sure, we’ve helped each other handle some bad stuff. It’s made us closer than we might have been otherwise. But goi
ng beyond friendship?

  “Coffee would be fine,” Mark said from the doorway. He was eyeing him almost warily, Austin thought. “Were you subconsciously trying to tell me something out there?”

  “No. I mean, not really. I don’t think,” Austin blustered, not looking at him.

  “Hey. It’s okay. I have no intention of pressuring you into anything you’re not ready to handle. We’re friends. Sometime in the future, if we decide we want it to be more than that, well, we’ll face it if it happens.”

  Austin nodded. “One question, which I shouldn’t ask but I will, anyway. Are you remotely interested in me as more than a friend?”

  Mark took so much time answering, Austin was certain the answer was no. Then he said, “Maybe. Honestly, after what I went through with Todd, I’m very leery of trying again.” He worried his lip between his teeth. “True, you aren’t married. I think I can say without fear of contradiction, you don’t have a wife and kids stashed somewhere, since you never go anywhere.”

  “Trust me, no wife, or husband when it comes down to it. I might have had a husband, if things had been different,” he said sadly. “But they aren’t and I’m finally learning to live with it.”

  “Then, as I said, we’ll give it time and see what develops, if anything. Now, about the coffee.”

  Austin chuckled. “First, I have to make it.”

  Chapter 10

  Winter finally left the city, leaving behind it a warm but rainy spring—and a deeper bond between Mark and Austin. They had begun going to the gym on Sundays, too. Afterward, they’d stop to eat at one of the local breakfast spots before returning to their respective apartments to do their weekly chores.

  “Eating right after working out sort of defeats the purpose of going to the gym,” Austin said at one point.

  “I don’t think either of us has to worry about putting on weight,” Mark retorted. The truth, in his opinion. Austin was in damned good shape—something he’d noticed the first time they’d gone to the gym and he’d seen him in his workout clothes. Me, on the other hand…He was getting better, though. Far from a weightlifter build, but he had the beginnings of a six pack, now.

  Mondays continued to be their day together. With the warmer weather, they spent more time outside, walking, running, packing a lunch to go hiking in the hills a few miles outside of the city.

  “We’re becoming exercise freaks,” Austin declared, one Monday morning in early April.

  “And that’s a problem, why?” Mark retorted from where he sat on Austin’s balcony, his feet propped up on the railing as he drank coffee.

  “No reason, I suppose. Still…” Austin handed him a flyer from a local greenhouse.

  Setting his cup down, Mark looked at the cover. “Neither of us has a yard,” he pointed out.

  “Turn to page four.”

  Mark did. “A container garden?”

  “Yep. Vegetables, like tomatoes, snap beans, carrots, maybe squash. We’d have fresh salads all summer, if we start now.”

  While he wasn’t certain how to take Austin’s saying ‘we’, he had to admit he liked it. Although he wouldn’t tell him, he had begun thinking of Austin as more than a friend. The problem was, he didn’t know if Austin felt the same way about him.

  Yes, we said we’d give things time and see what happened, but so far he hasn’t acted as if he sees me as anything other than the buddy he hangs out with.

  “You don’t like the idea?” Austin asked.

  “I do. I think it would be great.”

  “Then get off your ass and let’s go shopping,” Austin said, pulling Mark to his feet.

  Startled, Mark looked at him, their gazes locking. Austin seemed equally as surprised by what he’d done. Then, slowly, he began to smile.

  “I’d kiss you,” Austin said. “If I thought you were amenable to the idea.”

  Mark smiled back. “Let’s say, I wouldn’t resist, if you tried.”

  So Austin did. It was gentle, a melding of lips for a brief moment before he stepped back. “I didn’t…I never thought I’d…” he said.

  Mark was certain he knew what was going through Austin’s mind. He touched Austin’s cheek. “You never thought you’d reach the point where you could kiss another man—after Jon died?”

  Austin nodded. “I was afraid it would be a betrayal of all we’d meant to each other, if that makes any kind of sense.”

  “Of course it does. I told you, a while back, you will never stop loving him. He’ll always have a place in your heart. You wouldn’t be the man I know you are if you were able to wipe away his memory, your memories of your time together. I understand and I can handle it, as long as I don’t feel as if you’re comparing me to him, and I come up short.”

  Austin cupped Mark’s face with his hands. “I would never do that. You’re two very different men. Different, and remarkable in your own ways. I loved him. I think, in time, I might love you just as much. I haven’t said or done anything to let you know because I’m still coming to grips with the fact I’m attracted to you on that level.”

  Mark nodded. “I haven’t exactly been open about my feelings for you, either. Partly because I wasn’t sure how I felt, other than the fact I like you as more than a friend.” He moved away, to put a bit of distance between them so he could think clearly. “Am I on the rebound, after what happened with Todd? I don’t think so. I hope not. After all, I haven’t exactly thrown myself at you.”

  Austin chortled. “Far from it. It’s been months since we met and this is the first time I’ve gotten even a glimmer you might see me as more than, well, as you put it, as more than a friend.”

  “Why do people, why do we let the past screw up our lives?”

  “Human nature, I suppose,” Austin replied, putting his arms around Mark’s waist. “When a person’s been hurt, one way or another, they’re afraid it will happen again if they get too close to someone new.” Again, he gave Mark a gentle kiss. “I can’t promise I won’t hurt you if we take this where I think we’re headed. I can say I’ll do my damnedest not to. Am I in love with you? As I said, I haven’t reached that point yet. I do know I care deeply for you.”

  “I care for you, as well. And I trust you, which is a big step for me.” Mark refused to say ‘after Todd’. He knew it as implicit in what he’d said. He didn’t want to bring the reminder of him into what had quite suddenly become a relationship based on more than friendship.

  “I won’t betray your trust,” Austin vowed.

  “I believe you.” Mark took a deep breath then kissed him. It wasn’t passionate. It wasn’t the kind of kiss which would end with them in Austin’s bed. It was more of a promise it would happen sometime in the future, when they’d gotten used to the idea they truly belonged to each other.

  Austin returned it as given. Then, he pulled away, brushing his fingers over Mark’s lips. “I’ve got the feeling there are going to be a lot more kisses in our future—and more than kisses when the time is right. Now, however, we’re going garden shopping.”

  Mark laughed. “Always the practical man. So, as you said, let’s get our asses in gear and do it. Shopping, that is.”

  “We’ll need containers. Ones for the floor and maybe a couple hanging from the railing, too. And we have to decide what vegetables we want.”

  “Flowers, too. Can’t forget them,” Mark replied as they headed to the door. “And tools, and…”

  * * * *

  “I have a confession to make,” Austin said as he picked another tomato. It was a Monday evening in mid-July and the balcony garden was thriving beyond even his wildest expectations.

  “You’re tired of picking vegetables?” Mark asked with a laugh as he put more snap beans into the bowl by his side.

  “That, too,” Austin replied. “There’s more, though.” He crossed to Mark, kneeling beside him. “I know this might not be the right place to do this. However, well, here goes.” He took Mark’s hands in his. “I’ve come to the conclusion I’m in love with y
ou.”

  Mark smiled, leaning in to kiss him. “It’s about time. I’ve been totally in love with you for, hmm, at least the last two weeks. Maybe more.”

  “And you didn’t say anything?”

  “I had the feeling you felt the same way, but I didn’t want to push your boundaries. I figured when you were ready to, you’d tell me.” He kissed Austin again then grinned. “It took you long enough.”

  “Slow is my middle name,” Austin replied.

  “More like weighing the consequences,” Mark retorted. “I’m okay with that. I did the same thing before admitting to myself the only consequence would be having a man in my life who meant the world to me.”

  “And one you could trust,” Austin said softly.

  “I told you I did, way back when. Okay, a couple of months ago. I think it was the day we decided to start the garden.”

  “I could go all metaphorical and say my love for you grew the way the garden has, in abundance.”

  Mark chuckled. “The editor in you coming out?”

  Hugging him, Austin replied, “Probably. It’s true, though.”

  “I know. So…” Mark eased out of Austin’s embrace, rubbing his knees after standing up. “I think we should take the fruits of our labor—” he picked up the bowl of beans, “—inside, put them in the fridge for now, and cement our admissions of love in the best way possible.”

  “Works for me,” Austin said, smiling wickedly as he got to his feet as well. “Then, if we have the energy, we’ll make a salad for supper, afterward.”

  “Just a salad?” Mark muttered as they went inside. “I think I’ll need lots of red meat, too, because I’ve got the feeling the first time will be far from the last, tonight, and from now on.”

  Austin replied with a gleeful laugh, “I suspect you’re right.”

  * * * *

  “You look like the cat who found the cream,” Norma said when Mark let her into the shop Tuesday morning.

  “I do?” Mark asked, going for innocence.

  “Uh-huh. So tell all. Did you and Austin finally do the deed?”

  “Hmm. You mean make something other than salad with the produce from the garden? Speaking of which, I brought you and Sara bags of zucchinis. There’s only so many we can eat without turning into one.”