The Joy of Service

After a wonderful tea party at my friend Chris's house, everyone present decided to have a pleasant outing to the local corner store. Chris was mentioning how he would need to change his dress shoes to walking shoes.

I looked at him and smiled. Now, Chris and I have a unique understanding about each other that doesn't require the spoken word. He knows about my tendencies and he got this little smirk on his face.

In the sternest voice he could muster he ordered me to go to his room and "Attempt to select the correct pair of shoes," that he wanted to wear. He said there were two possibility and he wanted to see if I would choose the correct ones. I calmed myself internally and mentally focused on the task at hand. Like a small excited child I bounced up and ran up the stairs.

I knelt near his closet and after much debating, chose the pair of shoes that matched what he was wearing as apposed to the pair that he would most likely choose. When I came down with them I could tell I had chosen incorrectly by the expression on his face. With another smirk however he said, "Put them on for me."

He sat down in a tall backed ornate chair and crossed one leg at the knee. His slacks fell nicely. His silk Windsor knotted tie shifted to the side slightly as he propped his chin between his thumb, index and middle finger, his elbow resting on the arm of the chair. Kneeling in front of him and looking up at his casual expression and demeanor, I have to admit (I got a little wet). An odd thing to have happen with my gay friend whom I've known since childhood. I focused on his feet and attempted to be as unnoticeable as possible. He continued having a conversation with our other friend who was watching everything.

When I completed the task he stood and grabbed his pea coat. Nothing was said about what had happened. I followed behind him and contemplated the whole thing. The amusing part was our friend started being excessively accommodating by opening doors and holding burdensome items; something quite unusual for him.

We all had an amused grin for quite some time after.