ODDS OF LOVE : SEASON ELEVEN

Episode 85

Alfred hated elevators. With an almost passion he did. Ever since he was a young child of eight and he had accidentally been left on one by his father and uncle. The fact that it had just stopped moving the moment his small youthful hands had hit the button to reopen the door probably contributed to that fear. But being who he was meant having to use elevators because he would never make it up or down stairs or even an escalator.

Luckily the elevator at the mall was not as bad to him. It was clear glass which meant he could look out at the surrounding area even as he was lifted upwards in a smooth glide to the food court at the mall. He had a sudden craving for an egg McMuffin and some hash browns. Anything would be better than that hideous stuff his sister was making in his mother and stepfather's kitchen. His sister whose newest hobby was healthy living, vegan food , yoga , meditation and crystals. His little sister who treated him like a moron at the very best of times. He sighed as the doors slid open effortlessly and quietly so he could carefully make his way off the elevator.

It was nothing he was not used to.

His mother supported him in anything he did.

His father and uncle and male cousins ignored him and treated him worse than the guard dogs at the Giadello mansion in Connecticut where his cousin Jacob controlled the business with a stone heart and a steely mind.

His sister treated him like a mindless invalid loser and one of her children. If it was up to her he would be unemployed and living off the trust or disability while watching soaps and game shows all day to ease boredom. If it was up to her he would be still with a man who cheated on him constantly because that was what Giadello men did.

The men in the family cheated on the wives and the wives ignored it. Being who he was - the disability, his illness, his gayness - he was not considered by family other than his mother or Andrew as a man. No. His family thought he was little more than a weak woman with a deformed body and a dick. So he should just suck it up and let Scott treat him like shit.

( Dodie said casually," In spite of his occasional appetites Scott treats you like a dream. I wish Tony was so sweet. He customized his whole apartment when you moved in. He is so attentive to you. You can be so ungrateful, Alfred. Who else would want you really? And don't mention that fat man. Between his size and his age how long do you think he will last? Not long. Then you will be alone and vulnerable again. ")

His lips thinned as he remembered his sister's words as he crept along to the fast food eatery for the special little culinary treat that his sister would warn him off having. He did not care about Gerald's weight. Yes , he supported his efforts to lose weight but only because Gerald wanted to. He liked the man just as he was. He loved the headmaster's big broad mountain man like body. Gerald made him feel..... so protected and safe. Which was odd since he would fight anyone else who wanted to " keep him safe". Like Scott. Like Dodie. But Gerald?

Speaking of Gerald he squinted his eyes a little as he stared at a table slightly ahead of him. That looked like him now. What was he doing there at the mall ? Alfred hoped that he was not planning on exercising today. He really wished Gerald would hold off until the wound had finished healing.

Wait.... That was Gerald.....but he was not alone......

He was sitting at the small round table with another man......

Another man who looked younger than him. Maybe early thirties or possibly late twenties. A tall goodlooking man with a solid muscled body.

That man didn't need a walker or cane or tricycle to get around.

Who was he? , Alfred thought with a sinking heart as he suddenly was thrown back in time. Scott making excuses for missing dinner. Scott coming home smelling like cologne that was not his own. Calls to the landline Scott insisted on keeping for some strange reasoning that turned into hang ups whenever Alfred had answered it. The cocktail parties where he had been ignored by all and forced to watch as others fawned over Scott. Men that looked like that one smiling enthusiastically at a smiling Gerald.

Of course. As much as he hated it maybe his sister was right. Without Scott what other man wanted him? Yes. Gerald was interested and had kissed him and asked him on a real date on Saturday..... But Gerald was newly out of the closet. He was finding his true self. What he really wanted in a man. What if he discovered that the man he wanted was not the one with Stan ?

Suddenly he was not hungry anymore. His eyes filled with tears that he refused to shed. He just wanted to go home again. He should have stayed there. As he turned at a slightly awkward angle to get back to the elevator he accidentally hit the side of a nearby empty chair. His damn body proceeded to lurch forward uneasily. He tried to keep his good arm's grip tight on the walker's metal frame but he could still feel himself falling over in spite of his efforts to steady himself.

Damn ! Not now!

And , his mind screamed inwardly as he was heading to the floor, not with Gerald and that man suddenly looking up and right at him !

Shit !