“You never feel lonely? Or like your life would be better with someone else in it?”
Chucky laughed from his belly. “Not even once! I’m happier than a pig in slop. Tell you what, kid, tethers keep a man down. I’m free to fly. Never have to ask permission or give direction. I just go.”
That was the damn truth. I craved an unwritten future. New experiences and adventures. New people and places. How could I ever do that tied to a spouse, house, and kids? How could anyone?
“So what are you doing at this Cupid’s nest?” I asked.
Chucky scratched his beard. “Well, I’m working my way down the coast, and the syndicate that owns this hotel owed me an upgraded suite after the debacle they caused a few months ago. Bit too much if you ask me, but at least they got my room right this time around. I swear this whole corporation has three brain cells they swap back and forth.”
“I agree. It is a bit… much.”
“Especially after discovering what a disloyal alley cat your almost-missus turned out to be, I’m sure.”
“Uh, yeah. It doesn’t help.”
He slapped my back again. “You’ll be okay, son. Females are all the same. But some get it in their heads to be more than they need to be. My oldest sister was like that. Asked me once for some money, and I said ‘no, ma’am.’ Never spoke to her again.”
“What was the money for?”
“Her kid needed surgery or some other such medical thing. Don’t think the boy made it, but it’s her fault for leaving her husband in the first place when she didn’t have insurance.”
I choked on the sip of bourbon in my mouth. When Chucky saw my face, he laughed.
“I’m joking. He made it fine. But still never spoke to her or her brood again. Never needed or wanted to.”
I gave him an awkward smile and took another sip. Talking to him was a mistake. I had wanted a few more but figured once I finished my drink, I’d head back up to my room.
After a few moments, he said, “Thinking on it, it’s best you seek employment elsewhere. His being your boss doesn’t bode well for the business. And I can say, a man’s retirement is only as good as the company he worked for.”
“Who’d you used to work for?” Even drunk and miserable, I was open to making a sale.
“Ma Bell. I started back when she still had all her kids.”
“Have any contacts left there?” I asked, pretty sure that meant AT&T. They’d never, but it was worth a shot.
“Oh, heavens, no! I retired some months ago and handed them the infernal mobile phone they insisted I carry. Along with my phonebook stored within. Then I sold my house and just up and went. I got at least ten more good years in me, and I intend to spend them traveling around as best I can.”
“You sold your house!? Where do you live?”
“You’re looking at it, kid! Ever since electronic mail, I don’t need a postbox. The sale, plus my retirement savings, means I have enough to live big until I hit the clay. I never have to wash a set of sheets again in my life, and if that’s not freedom, I don’t know what is.”
“And you’re not scared to travel alone for the rest of your life?”
“Not one iota. Never needed anyone else, and still don’t. My folks are dead, most siblings too, at least the ones I talked to, and I always make friends in passing easy. Just as I did with you. Now we're chatting instead of sitting here drinking quietly.”
Those were some good points. I never really needed anyone, either. My family loved me but never supported what I wanted to do. My friends abandoned our pact to transfer schools, but I did it anyway. I made friends easily, and bed partners easier. I never had a relationship serious enough to impact my life choices. Except for Alec, but that was…
I’d never sell my house just to travel the world, though. What if it all went to shit? I’d need a place to come crawling back to. And a real asset I could borrow against if need be. Not to mention a place to take women—and men—back to where I felt most comfortable. Which was another good point.
“What about when you want the company of a woman? Is it still easy to pick them up at your age? Or does it get harder?”
“Excuse me?” He placed his drink down.
The bourbon had slowed my ability to read people, something Alec never struggled with. “Are women your age still down to fuck? Or do you go for younger?”
Flecks of spit landed on my face as Chucky shouted, “Did you talk to your missus like a filthy, two-cent sailor? Maybe that’s why she got it in her head she could act like a man. If you’dtreated her like a lady, she wouldn’t have thrown her goodies at your superior.”
My eyes fluttered, as if he had slapped me. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any offense.”
