You are so Complicated, Quiet Man

I went out with Dane on a Thursday night.

On Saturday morning, Quiet Man rang.

I was lounging actually just finishing the post about Dane when my cell sounded. I looked and noticed that Quiet Man was calling me from the office number rather than his cell phone as he usually does. I also did not forget that I did not hear from him in about two weeks. His curiosity or jealously must have peaked.

About three weeks ago, I got a call from Quiet Man on a Sunday. I was just coming out of the mall in the next state. I had just picked up some things at Sephora including Agent Provocateur, actually.

He wanted me to do some work for a friend and Ricky had mentioned it to me about two weeks prior. At the end of what he wanted to talk to me about, when he asked where I was, I told him.

"Oh, Muse, so how is Dick?" he asked me slyly.

Now Quiet Man knows that Dick lives in the city where the TJMaxx is located, as does Harry. Why was he asking me about Dick? He was jealous. I could not believe it, that he showed some indications of keeping track of men in my life.

"No, Quiet Man, I am not with Dick," I shot back.

"Ok, Muse," he replied.

Smug, stupid man.

This was after the New Year.

Prior to the New Year, the last I heard from Quiet Man was Christmas Eve. He was supposed to meet me at Fred’s. We were going to hang out with Fred until he closed his store to keep him company. I went to see Fred by myself to wish him Merry Christmas and to drop off some homemade cookies for his children. I did not hear from Quiet Man until after I left Fred’s. He had left me a message on my home phone about having gone to Fred’s earlier in the afternoon. I returned his call and we chatted. He was to come to his office sometime on Christmas day and we were going to meet to greet each other Merry Christmas.

It turned out he did not call on Christmas as he had on Thanksgiving. But I did not give it much thought. I found out later from him that he was sickly on Christmas and stayed home. But he made the point to tell me without my asking.

So, back to the first of the year.

I had spent New Year's with Dick. Quiet Man was supposed to spend it with his wife. We were both invited to the same New Year's Eve party by the same person. I told he and Fred I was not going. I went last year and it was not that great and those two did not go at all. On Christmas Eve, I was sitting in Fred's store and the person who was having the New Year's party came in and asked Fred if Quiet Man was going to his party. Fred said yes he was and then motioned to me with his hidden hand that Quiet Man was not going to go. After the man left, Fred said they just tell the guy yes, but no one was going to go, yet Fred still was sending in a donation for the fundraiser, the reason for the party.

So, I never thought about it again, except when the person who was throwing the party's mother called me umpteen times on New Year's Eve day to see if I was going to go. I was with Dick, who spent the night, and took me for a seafood lunch along the water in the next state. She called while we were eating.

When we went to walk on the beach, I returned her call and told her I was not going because I was in the next state. She insisted that I could still go since it started at 9 pm and it was only 3 pm now. She would not take no for an answer and insisted I bring Dick, to lure me to attend.

If I went, I did not want to go with Dick, but I could not tell him that. I had been avoiding the party also because of Dick. He wanted to do something for New Year's but did not know what. I wanted to stay home. Dick was up for that, but wanted us to go to a house party of a mutual friend.

We headed back home and I had to go to the supermarket if we were going to celebrate ourselves at home. I also dreaded, sort of, Dick's amorous nature, because he really does tire me out and when he is in the mood, he is not subtle at all about what he wants and when he wants it. I also felt sick from eating so much fried seafood, Dick's absolute favorite. This was what he wanted to do for New Year's Eve day and by gosh we did it!
While at the supermarket, Dick decides we should go to the house party and he calls our friend, who is happy we are coming. This friend, Teddy, also has a thing for me, despite being married. Teddy is a good friend and will drop anything to come and help me. He also professed his love for me a few years ago much to my surprise. I was so grossed out, I ignored his behavior and we never spoke about it at all. Dick is aware that Teddy is, as he puts it, "in love" with me. It never bothered Dick, because we would laugh about it a lot.

So, we make our way to Teddy's house where it was so snowy. Dick loves driving "recklessly" in bad weather despite knowing I am white knuckled on the OH SHIT bar of the car.

I was bored out of my mind at Teddy's house. Dick did not get ready to leave until about 4:30 am. After being pulled over by a cop at 5 am on the way home, I was able to fall blissfully asleep in my own bed without Dick at 6:00 am.

When Quiet Man called me on January 3rd he wanted to know where I was on New Year's Eve. He went to the party! He was looking for me. He told me that his wife did not want to go and he decided he was going because he believed I was going to be there.

He told me that the mother of the guy who threw the party even was asking him where I was. Great, I thought. I must be the most gossiped about person in our social circle if the mother, Trudy, was asking Quiet Man about me, when I had already told her I was with Dick. Maybe she thought I lied to her and was with Quiet Man on the QT.

"Quiet Man, I spent New Year's Eve with Dick," I began and made my New Year's seem so fantastic I almost made myself go to confession for telling such big tales.

He did not comment after I told him that. He just went on to tell me how there were not any attractive women at the party. He told me a funny story about a woman who was trying to pick him up and was so DIRECT. She was asking him if he would dance with her and he told her NO, very flatly and meanly. She did not give up and then tried to put a party hat on his head and he took it off and threw it to the ground. This still did not detract her. She continued to come up to him and whine about if he would take her out on the dance floor. He refused.

As I was listening to him, I said, “Why did you just not say, leave me alone, honey, I am married?!”

Quiet Man ignored this because the point of his story was two fold in my opinion: He was trying to let me know he missed me at the party and then found out that I was with Dick, so then he tried to get me jealous about the woman that was hitting on him. Of course, if I was there, this would not be happening to him because he basically almost ignores anyone around us.

I was second guessing my rational decision that it was a good thing I was not with Quiet Man on New Year’s. For one, he is married. Two he did not ask me about going to the party nor made plans that we would both show up. If I was there, and got drunk, I think our guards would have been let down, or the very least, Quiet Man would have suggested we leave together, if only to go and talk by ourselves and from how steamy the last time we did that, I was not sure if I had the will power to say no.

Sometimes when I see this man, my mouth fills with such lust that I can taste him. My heart races and I begin to feel the swell of attraction that overwhelms my body. I feel the rush of blood through my veins that makes my face flush and makes it difficult to breathe normally. It is a struggle to think clearly. It is almost impossible to not touch him in any manner, to keep to myself. I imagine the sensation of being in his arms, where, if he does not hold me, I would collapse, from sheer attraction.

One thing I fail utterly at is to not look at him. He must see what he does to me, how can he not? If I avoid eye contact with him, it is easier, because I can see his wife and what a tonic to reality that becomes.

So, I answered my cell phone.

“Ah low, Muse?!” said the deep tonal voice.

“Who is this?” I asked.

“Ah, it is I, Quiet Man, Muse,” he replied, sounding confused.

“Oh, Quiet Man,” I said calmly, “hi; I did not know it was you because I did not recognize the number.” He was calling from his office phone and I knew it was the office phone.

“I dialed your cell phone, not your office,” he told me.

“No, this number, 123 555 1212 was what showed up on my cell. I did not recognize it Quiet Man.”

“It did not say it was my office?”

I laughed at his thought that my cellular company would have the name of his business flash on my phone.

“So how have you been, Quiet Man?” I asked him. I knew why he was calling.

“Muse, how are you?” he snickered, “I hear you were with Dane last night, no?”

So I rehashed the story. Quiet Man then told me his version and the truth lies somewhere in the middle between his version and Dane’s. Quiet Man was so very interested in what happened that he spent an hour on the phone with me discussing the events of two nights prior. And discussing his analysis of how Dane operates in general.

He told me he was busy at the office when Dane called him and he told Dane that he was not sure if he could make it for a drink.

“Muse, I am so sorry,” he told me, “I would have liked to have gone with you for a drink and have fun with you.”

“Really?” I begrudgingly pondered.

“So what else Dane do Muse?”

“Well, he pointed out to me one of the girls there,” I began.

“Who?” he asked innocently.

“Oh, the one who wants a more serious relationship with you, that is who,” I said directly.

“Me?” he said.

I was unable to catch on the phone if he was lying or not. I really did not care much because I was disgusted and changed the subject.

We continued chatting until he had to answer his cell phone.

“Muse, I need to take this call,” he told me.

“Fine. Bye Quiet Man, take your call,” I replied.

“OK, Muse.”

As he sometimes does, he remains silent on the line without hanging up.

When I heard him begin to speak, after such an inordinate pause, I hung up on him.

I find his behavior so odd that it defies any sort of ascertainable logic. If it is not that, then I am severely lacking in recognition skill, and I do not believe that is the case. No, I do not.