Irreconcilable Distance
Josh - Day Two
The alarm woke me. I started a methodical search of his closet, his drawers, anything and everything he used, considered his, enjoyed. Found myself in the bathroom, crying with a handful of Terry's dirty clothes pressed to my face. His smell. Soon I'd loose even that. It was in the latest Dick Francis novel. Folded in half and half again, was a neat bookmark. Unfolded, it was an ad. An ad for a Bed and Breakfast outside St. Louis. Their phone number was circled. The ad said they catered to gay singles and couples. They offered a commitment ceremony special weekend. Except for that one thing, I didn't find another clue. Just reminders. Reminders of the man that had my heart. Reminders of someone I though I knew. Reminders of a life that was gone. Not forgotten.
Taking time to recall old conversations, stories about his life before we met, I sat at our desk and made a list. The boyfriends I'd remembered. His hometown, the high school mascot, his brother's name, the university where he graduated, his fraternity. Doing this did make me wonder why there had only been his words to support all this history. I'd never seen a yearbook, mail about reunions, anything. Terry had told me that he and his brother were estranged. According to Terry, his brother never spoke to him after he came out to his folks. They were both killed in an automobile wreck. I noted that. Should be able to verify if that was true. If they had lived where he'd said he grew up.
I called work. Took my two weeks vacation. No hassle. I was the boss. I didn't tell Harold or Jon or any of our friends. I'm not sure why. I just closed down the apartment, packed for a two week trip. Took the shuttle to the airport. Fell asleep and when the attendant woke me, we were in St. Louis. I rented a car and got decent directions to the B&B's location. I didn't know what, if anything, I'd find there. But it was a place to start. I had to find out whatever I could. I'd brought a couple of decent pictures of Terry, and Terry and me. The couple that ran Yesterday's Inn were sweet but a tad too fey for me. They had a room. I took it for the night. Settled in, I waited for the call to dinner. Terry wasn't a guest at that dinner.
Over the after dinner coffee, I enlisted the help of William and Samuel. I spun a good yarn about having been in St. Louis a month ago. Seems I ran into this darling man, didn't get his name. He did give me his picture and had given me a fantastic evening. I wrinkled my nose and smiled at my hosts. He'd recommend their establishment, so, I just assumed he knew them. Or, maybe they knew him?
"Oh, my, you youngsters. Let me take a look." Samuel reached out. They held the picture between them. With hardly a glance they both nodded.
"That's Gerald. Oh, what is that boy's last name?" said William.
"Gerald Olster, no Osslinger. Check the registry, William. No need to be guessing."
They knew Terry as Gerald. He'd stayed with them a few times over the past two years. As far as I could figure, the visits matched with monthly one day, two day, middle of the week St Louis business trips Terry had taken. So, maybe they were, maybe they weren't. He hadn't been around this month. Last stay, according to their records, had been a two day stay two weeks ago. The home address used by Gerald, last name Ostlinger, was in the city. My hosts recalled that he told them he visited Yesterday's Inn to get away from the day to day rat race. They didn't remember him ever quantifying exactly what his 'rat race' was. There was no credit card trail to follow, even if I could figure how to do it. Terry/Gerald has always paid upon arrival, in cash. Well, I had an address to start with tomorrow.
CONTINUE
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