Not
Jack was reasonably certain of the fact that he wasn't sleeping with Daniel.
Wasn't dating Daniel.
Wasn't doing anything potentially hazardous to his career or mental
health wih Daniel.
They just had this arrangement.
Every once in a while, when things got too rough or one of them vanished
inexplicably for a time, they would get together for beer and hockey and wake up
the next morning in bed together with hazy memories of the night before. They never
spoke of it. Never attempted to define what it was. It was convenient, the release
of a one night stand without the complications or risks. The first time may have
been an accident. The second time was not. They always made sure to drink just
enough that they could blame it on the alcohol, pretend they didn't remember.
Because Jack had an ex-wife. And Daniel was first married, and in later years a
widower. They were both married to their work in every way that mattered. This
was just functional stress relief. And if some mornings they woke up twined
together, one clutching the other with an unvoiced desperation, they never spoke of
it. Because as the saying goes: A thing cannot exist without a name.
~ Finis ~
Footnote: The last sentence is a quote from JRR Tolkien's essay on Beowulf
and philology. It was considered a revolutionary essay at the time of its
publication, and is still well used by scholars. The argument he puts forth is
that due to the way we think, a thing cannot exist to the human mind until it is
named. Even if it is merely "that thing", a name is required for comprehension and
acknowledgement from the conscious mind.
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