Page 59 of The Holy Grail
After hesitating for several seconds, Malcom asked, “So, if that hadn’t been an issue, youwouldhave gone out with him?”
“Yes.”
“Because you were sexually attracted to him.”
“Yes.”
He cleared his throat. “It wouldn’t have bothered you that he’d been with other men?”
“No.”
“You wouldn’t be picturing it, and be …”
“What? Repulsed? No, not at all.”
It seemed to Jules Malcom had a lot more questions he wanted to ask, but instead he glanced down at the pink shirt which had started all this, looking conflicted.
“I think you should try it on,” she said, with gentle encouragement. “Give it a chance.”
Slowly, he got to his feet and put the shirt on, and when it was buttoned, she nodded. “I think it looks great. Damn, I really do know how to shop.”
“You seriously don’t think it looks … effeminate … in any way?”
“Well, I picked it out, so I didn’t think it would to begin with. And I honestly don’t think it does, now that I’m seeing you in it, but your opinion is the one that matters. So, if it makes you uncomfortable because of the bad memory associated with it, you don’t have to get it, although I wish you would, because fuck your dad.”
Just then, there was another knock on the dressing-room door, and the male employee from earlier called out, “Hi, in there. This is just a friendly reminder that the store will be closing in ten minutes.”
Chapter 16
The walk-in closet
As soon as Malcom opened his front door, Dawn Corleone was there to greet him with a series of loud meows, as if berating him for being out late.
“Hey, girl,” he greeted the cat, before stepping aside to let Jules into the entryway. He closed the door behind her quickly, to keep the cat from darting out, since he’d been working on converting her into an indoor pet.
“I’ll give you some ear scratches in a second,” Jules promised Dawn Corleone, as she rubbed against one of Jules’ legs. Then, to Malcom, she asked, “Where do you want these?” as she gave the Macy’s bags in her hands a little shake.
“Upstairs,” he answered, leading the way with his own bags up to his bedroom on the second floor, Dawn Corleone trailing after them.
It was the first time being in his bedroom, and Jules wasn’t too surprised to see it was a little on the spartan side, with a king-sized bed, two night stands, and a dresser. His bedding was a comforter with a simple, gray duvet cover that upon closer inspection, was decorated with scattered patterns of cat fur.
“I see Dawn Corleone has been sleeping on your bed,” Jules noted. “That’s a sign she does like you, in case you were still unsure.”
“Yes, she sleeps on the bed. And it’s kind of a pain in the ass having to take the duvet cover off and wash it all the time.”
“Why don’t you put a flat sheet on top of the bed, and that way you won’t get cat hair on your duvet?” she suggested. “Then you can easily wash the sheet and you won’t have to deal with the duvet cover.”
“Oh, my God, you’re a genius,” he said. “I never even thought of that.”
“I know you didn’t,” she teased back. “Thank God I was here.”
She followed him into what turned out to be a very grand walk-in closet that would have been the envy of any woman alive. It was about the size of a small bedroom, with cherry, built-in dressers, multiple rods for hanging clothes on, and a large, square ottoman in the middle of the room, which was upholstered in a champagne colored velvet, with detailed tufting.
The closet was maybe filled to a quarter capacity with his clothes, the rest of the space starkly empty.
He set his bags on the ottoman and she did the same.
“This is quite a closet,” she mused.
