:: sweettalk ::

:: Sunday, August 10, 2003 ::

desire

God, I offer myself to Thee to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self that I may better do Thy Will. Take away my difficulties that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of Life. May I do Thy Will always.

Oh, that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would always be with me, and that You would keep me from evil.

Thank You for keeping me sober today. Amen.

The desire of the moth for the star,
Of the night for the morrow,
The devotion to something afar
From the sphere of our sorrow.
-- Percy Bysshe Shelley, One Word is too often profaned

So, finally a moment to reflect on my trip last week to New Orleans to meet my dear sweet Cajun prince. I left work early on Friday to catch my Southwest flight at 4:35 PM. I was pulled aside and subjected to post-9/11 search and wanding but still arrived at the gate in plenty of time to check in. I sat between two overly large black men on the flight, but no matter. It was not until the descent that I found myself smiling but also fearful and saying to myself, "What the fuck are you doing? You're about to spend two full days in a hotel room with a man you've not met!"

Once we arrived, I headed for the baggage claim where I was due to meet Allen. I was surprised not to see him there at first, and then I saw a tall, blonde handsome man in jeans and a green and yellow T-shirt striding toward me. We just stood there looking at one another; however, I kept scanning him for a hint of recognition of the man with whom I'd fallen in love over the telephone. At first, he looked a little more slender and a little older around the eyes than I had imagined, but it was definitely him. He handed me a Tabasco sucker, and we gave each other a big hug.

We proceeded to his car where I found a purple rose, a "Happy Anniversary" balloon, candy, and Diet Dr. Pepper all waiting for me. I was overwhelmed. He started driving down I-10 toward New Orleans, and we engaged in our regular chit-chat. Once I heard him laugh his little boy giggly laugh, I instantly and finally recognized that I was with the man I knew and had grown to love in the preceding three weeks.

We arrived at the Melrose Mansion, and he helped me in with my bag before going to park the car. Our room, the Burgundy, was so beautiful! Inside, on the bed, I found more candy and two more roses, red and orange wrapped with beautiful paper and chiffon ribbon. I cleaned up a bit and change shirts before we headed down to the French Quarter for dinner. We waited in line at the Gumbo Shop, and while we were doing so, he pressed his body up against mine from behind. I loved leaning against his big chest. We finally got a banquette table and ate our wonderful dinner of grilled tuna, shrimp creole, jambalaya, and red beans and rice.

Afterwards, we walked around the Quarter in the mist and stopped by Cafe du Monde for some coffee and beignets. Mmmm! It was while we were sitting there that he says he first felt I was finally relaxed and comfortable with him when I laughed at something he said. I feel so at ease with him. It's incredible! We walked back up St. Peter Street to hear the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. During the entire set, he let me lean my back against him once again with his hand in my back pocket. The music was great, but with no air conditioning in the building, the humidity and heat began to take its toll on me.

We walked around the Quarter a little more and then headed back to the hotel so he could take his meds. Once there, we decided to stay in. We laid on the bed and talked and cuddled and then began to kiss. He is the master kisser as he claimed! I didn't realize it, but he said that we stayed up until almost three o'clock that night. I guess time does really fly when you're having fun.

The next morning, I awoke early and went out by the pool for coffee and a cigarette and a little quiet time. I ended up talking a while with a young man from College Station doing the same thing while his wife was still sleeping. I went back to the room to wake Allen. We showered, dressed, and went to the dining room for a wonderful breakfast of rolls, quiche, fruit, and cereal.

Afterwards, we strolled through the French Market and Jackson Square to catch the St. Charles streetcar on the other side of the Quarter. We rode it through downtown, Uptown, to a stop near the Academy of the Sacred Heart in the Garden District. We just walked and talked and looked at the beautiful homes. We arrived at Magazine Street and continued past all the cute little antique shops. The humidity really began to take its toll on me by this time, so we stopped at CC's Coffee Shop for some water and an iced vanilla latte and then headed back to the streetcar bound for the French Quarter. We walked around and stopped in a quiet bar called Good Friends for a Coke and talked to the hilarious bartender.

When we were leaving, I thought I recognized the area we were in as close to the place where I had my last drink eight years ago with the tarot card reader and drag queen and then awoke against a stoop the next morning. I told Allen which corner the bar was on, and he thought he might know which one I was talking about. We walked a few blogs and came to Double Play. We went inside, and I recognized it immediately. Nothing scary about it at all, and I felt such a sense of closure being there with no fear of drinking. What a miracle!

While we were swimming, some dark clouds began to roll over and it began lightning, so we went inside to roll around some more and take a nice nap curled up with each other. Later we dressed for the evening and went down the street to Port of Call for some great cheeseburgers and baked potatoes. Yummm! Afterwards, we went further down Esplanade to the Lambda Center to go to the AA meeting my sponsor had told me about. It was a great meeting on having fun in sobriety but was mostly filled with straight people visiting from out of town.

After the meeting, we strolled through the Quarter back to Cafe du Monde for some more coffee and beignets and then on to Good Friends where we just sat and held hands and talked for a while. At about ten o'clock, we headed down to Oz to dance but the crowd hadn't really arrived yet. While we were waiting for the place to start hopping, we walked up to a quiet balcony overlooking Bourbon Street where we held each other and kissed. Very romantic. After a little while, we went back downstairs to dance, and Allen is one sexy dancer. My energy started to pick up when they really started playing some good music. After we had our fill of dancing, we headed back to the hotel around 11:30, pretty early for gay boys. We had another wonderful night together.

I let him sleep late the next morning and went to the pool again for coffee, a cigarette, and a morning swim. I also had a chance to chat with the hotel manager, a wonderful girl named Sasha. Around noon, I went back to the room to dress and pack and woke Allen so he could do the same. After we checked out, we headed down to one of his favorite restaurants for Sunday breakfast, La Peniche. Allen ordered a pepper steak omelette, and I introduced him to peanut butter and syrup on banana pancakes. Mmmmm!

After eating, we visited some open houses in the Quarter that I had seen in the paper. I just wanted to see inside some of the beautiful old buildings. Very interesting. We stopped for coffee and dessert at CC's and then headed out to the airport so I could catch my flight. We arrived early so we just sat and talked in the car in the parking garage for a while. He helped me in with my bag and after a moment's hesitation, he hugged and kissed me goodbye in the middle of the airport! I felt all woozy walking toward the gate, and I'm sure I had a big grin on my face.

What a wonder, magical, enchanting, romantic weekend with the man I love!

:: Kyle 10:46 AM 0 comments
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