A single man




Photo: Akif Hakan Celebi

 

Single, mature men are lost in the delicate web of modern relationships.

I met Reece over a year ago at a mask ball. For a stock market trader he proved to be an imaginative and sensitive lover. We were in touch. Nothing else.

And again, Reece’s text arrives when I am in France.

Reece: Hi M, Reece here. Are you around later? No idea how things will pan out as have to meet some friends at some posh gathering but I may be able to sneak off later.

The weather in Chamonix is sunny and warm. I notice Alpine flowers in the grass and think about what I really want from life, from men and from myself.  And finally I feel ready to tell him what I think about his casual way of asking me ‘out’.

Beautiful but Grumpy: No, I’m not around. Have you maybe mistaken me for a whore?

Reece: Haha, that’s a good response! I was thinking more along the lines of something to eat, but, erm, there you go

……

The next morning…

Reece: And how is the hooker feeling this morning? Used and abused?

BbG: Definitely used – in Chamonix, climbed Mt Blanc (with a fractured leg), flying back tonight. And how was the posh gathering?

Reece: Posh gathering was predictably poor…fractured leg up mt blanc sounds painful

BbG: But it’s an achievement! Well, next time take a whore to entertain you.

Reece: Maybe I should! I’ll check your rates next time and see if I can afford it

I pick up my crutches from the bench and furiously start walking until I feel exhausted.
I collapse on the hotel bed.
The leg is aching.
But not as much as my heart.