For the next month I was living out of boxes in a bedroom at John’s home. We had to go through the police to have the owners of the house I bought evicted. If we were lucky it would take 30 days. I was hoping it would happen quickly so I can move in.

I had packed half my stuff at Steve’s house and the other half was in John’s garage.  John’s home had a 3 car garage. It was a large home with 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a pool. It was in Tamarac.  It was beautifully decorated. John mentioned his wife, Lecia, had a designer do the decorations. It was a mini mansion. It was in West Broward. I don’t recall seeing another black person in the neighborhood the time I lived there. The neighbors were very friendly and they all liked John.   It was the type of neighborhood you saw in TV movies. I was very careful driving around as I had been followed by the police three times. Each time they left once they saw me open the door and enter the house.

 John told he was stopped a few times when he first moved out there. Once they realized he lived there he believed they told the other cops. The word got around and the police stopped bothering him. He warned me about speeding in the city.

Those 30 days living with John and Lecia would become some of the most interesting days I have had since coming to America. After a week living there it soon became clear he made the decision without consulting Lecia.  She did not want me there. At first I thought it was out of resentment from her husband not including her in the decision to put me up but I would later learn something else.

It was tense at times. I even caught the tail end of an argument between them about “when is he leaving”.  I had to go through the kitchen to get out the house because of the rooms location. I was going to school earlier to meet a group that I was working with on a class project.

It was awkward but I had to walk in on them. They both were caught off guard when they saw me walk into the kitchen during the argument.

“Good morning” I said, as I quickly walked through the kitchen and headed for the door.

They had a guilty look on their faces. They hurried to change the conversation.

I felt bad for John. He went above and beyond what a normal realtor would have done. If he had not offered for me to live with his family I don’t know where I would be living. Steve had no space for me and I had no other close friend or family I could call to live with.

John and I became close friends in those 30 days.  He had a few things in common.  We liked the same type of music. Even though he was a Christian he was not strict on his music taste. We loved the pop music from the 1980’s and earlier 1990’s.  We had some similar experiences at school as he went to St. Georges which was one of the schools where “uptowners” sent their children. He was an outsider that was able to blend in because of his academics. The same class social issues at my old school, Campion, seemed to be the same issues he dealt with a St. Georges. Everyone was trying to outdo the other with what they had and what their parents bought on their last visit to “foreign”.  John was in the US Army for 4 years. I also learned that even though he met Lecia at his church she also was in the army. They both went in around the same time but were stationed in different places.  He did not explain in details how they came together as a couple but just how they knew each other since they were in Jamaica. Through this whole discussion about Lecia it seemed they were close friends.

Something was wrong with the couple I once thought was the happiest married people in the world. They seemed miserable and on edge a lot. They both worked late. Lecia complained a lot about the caring of the baby. Lecia complained a lot. I had a nickname for her in my mind “The wicked witch of the mansion”.

 The one thing they both seemed to agree on was that the house had to be in perfect condition. It was uncomfortable for me as every time I took something up it seems there eyes were on me to put it back. The house had to be in immaculate condition at all times. They had a lady who was the babysitter and the cleaning lady who came every day. She would constantly ask me if I was finished with my dishes so she could wash them. Keeping the house clean was an obsession for John and Lecia.  It drove me crazy constantly worried about what I did not clean up.

There was something wrong. In public John and Lecia looked like the most loving couple you could find anywhere. At home they seemed to be two friends or cousins. There were no intimate moments.

They both loved their son, Raymond.  But each seemed to share time with him separately while at the home. I was sure they slept in separate rooms. One of the 5 bedrooms was about the room I was in. John said it was a guest room. I was sure I heard someone in it each night.

John and Lecia never seemed together. At times it seems the babysitter was closer to Raymond than they were. She took him to Chuckycheese (kid’s fun center) and to the playground. When he was at home in the evenings she was not.

One afternoon I came home early. There was a car parked in front of the house. The babysitter was not there with Raymond.  I walked in and took a quick glance and saw Lecia kissing someone in the living area. It looked like a white man. She was having an affair. I rushed to my room as I did not want to be detected.

I was in shock. Lecia the good wife and mother was having an affair. This explained a lot, I thought to myself.

They turned and saw me. They were startled that I was there. I was also startled. It was not a man. It was a white woman with short hair in her 30’s. She was very muscular and was in workout clothes that made her look masculine.  I quickly hurried to my room.

Lecia followed me.

 “Did not know you were home. Please meet Gabby, my personal trainer,” Lecia said.

I shook hands with Gabby and smiled.

“Nice to meet you” I replied.

“Great to meet you too”, Gabby replied. Her voice was strong but still very feminine. Her grip was strong.

She asked me a few questions about school as I had a text book in my hand. She also attended FAU.

“Well, it was great meeting you I have to study for a class test tonight”, I was not lying. I did have a test that night.

It was the perfect way to get out of a conversation and encounter that I did not want to be in.  

I closed the room door and lay on the bed.

“I could not believe what I just saw”, I thought to myself.

Lecia was cheating on John with a woman. My mind could not process it. Were they really kissing or embracing tightly. Did lips touch? Was it just a peck? Were tongues exchanged? Was Lecia really a lesbian. How was I going to tell John? I was not sure what was worse, his wife having an affair with a man or a woman. I was sure this was going to devastate him. I remember we were watching something on the TV about gay people and he was upset. He mentioned the media having a gay agenda and it was un-natural. He kept saying it is against God’s word. I was a little more tolerant. I had worked around enough gay and lesbian people in past jobs that the stereotypes I had from Jamaica were gone. I was mixed feelings about the whole thing. I was now of the “to each his own” mentality.  John was of the old mentality condemning, judging and even saying “fyah bun” for all who practice this type of behavior.

How was I going to break this to John? Is it any of my business to break it to him?

I missed Sue. I could have “bounced” this whole situation off her. I had to stop the rationalization. I had to tell him. The question was how?

I could not do it while I was still living there. The eviction was going to come through any day now. I would wait until then.

It was difficult to concentrate on my test.

That night when I came home something changed.

Lecia was home and so was John. They were actually sitting together in the living room. They were the “loving” couple like the one I saw in public.

“Hey there”, she called out “hope the TV is not too loud for your studying”

“No.” I replied.

“Okay, John and I will go upstairs if it is” she was hugging and cuddling him.

“Good night” I replied.

The “wicked witch of the mansion” was playing her charms. She knew I was going to tell John and she was trying to act all “lovey dovey” to make sure he did not believe me. I have seen this happen so many times. Women use what they “have” to convince a man of anything.

I was now having second thoughts about telling John. I was not sure he would believe me.

For the next few days they were the happy couple I saw in public. They flirted with each other. They hugged and kissed. It was amazing the transformation. She was going to make sure he did not believe anything I would tell him.

The worst part was she was nicer to me. It was a great act.

Or was it an act? I started to rationalize again. Maybe me catching her with Gabby has set her “straight”. She probably would not cheat on him again. There was no reason to tell him I told myself.

+++++++++

The eviction came through and it took me less than a day to move in. Steve and John helped.

They left the place in a mess. There were walls that seemed like someone put a fist in it. The whole place would have to be painted. I would have to clean or take out the carpet. In spite of that I was happy to be in my own place.

I had one box of stuff left in John’s garage. I told him I would pick it up from him the next evening.  He said he would be there as he and Lecia were spending more time together at home. I told him I would leave his home key then.

+++++++++

I arrived at the gate to John’s house. The guard let me in “unannounced”. He was used to me the 3.5 weeks I lived there. I still had a key.

I pulled up in the drive way and Gabby’s car was there. Lecia never stopped having the affair. John’s car was also there.

I opened the door and went in. John was in the living room watching the television.

We greeted each other. I wanted to ask him where was Lecia but it would be awkward.

I went to the room to get the box. I was listening intently to hear if anything was going on upstairs as the guest room above me has the exercise equipment. It was quiet.

I got the box and was walking out.

“Thank for all you did John. I really appreciate it”

“No problem” he replied.

“Please tell Lecia, bye for me and thank her also”

“I will. Lecia, is upstairs in the guest room working out with Gabby, her personal trainer”

I thought to myself “Working out. Yeah right!!!”

+++++++++

I was finished debating. I was going to tell John. I called him and told him I was going to stop by his office. After seeing Lecia still continue with this affair I had to do something. It gave me the courage I needed.

I walked into John’s office and closed the door.

“I have something to tell you?”

“You look very serious, is there something wrong with the house”, John asked.

“No” I replied “nothing wrong with the house”

I was getting nervous.

“Then what is it?” he asked.

“I don’t know how to say it” I replied.

“Just tell it like it is. What is it?” he was staring intently at me.

Maybe I was making a mistake. Maybe I should not tell him. It is going to crumble his world.

“What is it?” he asked again.

The words flowed out my mouth.

“I caught Lecia kissing another woman “, I looked down as I did not want to see his reaction.

There was a tense silence.

I looked up. He did not seem to be affected by my announcement. He looked calm. In fact he looked the calmest I had ever seen him.

“I know”, he replied.

That explains his reaction. He knew and was keeping it in, I thought.

“You know” I asked.

“Yes, I know about it”, he replied. He was still calm showing no emotions.

“Are you okay? How are you dealing with it?” I asked  thinking he needed to talk to someone.

His response shocked me.

“I am okay with it”, he replied.

I was speechless. Was he into some kinky stuff? I thought to myself. Then he dropped a “nuclear bomb”.

“I have something to tell you”

There was silence. John looked me in the eyes and made a statement I would never forget.

“I am gay”

I almost fell out my chair. I had to be in a dream. I just could not understand what was going on.

“Lecia is lesbian and I am gay. We both knew this growing up”

I was now numb. I was glued to the chair even though I wanted to leave.

John went on to explain. He and Lecia knew they were both attracted to the opposite sex while they were growing up. That is  what kept them very close as friends and to the church. They vowed to look out for each other and used to pretend they were boyfriend and girlfriend when they were in Jamaica. When they moved to the USA they both went off to the army to get money for college. He was close to being exposed as a gay man and she was as being a lesbian. They would have gotten kicked out of the Army and lose all their benefits. They decided to get married to cover-up their lifestyle.  They both always wanted a child and had one together. It is a marriage of convenience for both of them because they would be thrown out of the church and their families would disown them.  He had to strongly come out against homosexuality to show he was against it. He mentioned how someone found a letter he wrote to another boy in his bag at high school. It changed his life as he was alienated by many of his classmates and have a derogatory nickname. He hated it and vowed he would never go through that again. This is why he made a promise to live life this way even if it is a lie. No one is to ever know he is gay. He seemed to have had everything bottled up inside and just wanted to release it.

 “Are you okay?” John asked after he explained everything.

It was more information than I could process.  I probably had a blank look on my face.

“Just trying to process this” I replied.

Everything became clearer to me. There were signs everywhere and I did not see it.  John had a lot of male clients who would seem to fit the normal “gay man” stereotype. He never looked at attractive women whenever we saw them.

“It’s okay if you leave here and never talk to me again”, I have lost a few friends. “I will totally understand”

“I need some time to think”, I left his office and walked like a zombie back to my car.

I put my hand on my face to feel if I was awake or dreaming.  I was awake. I wished I was dreaming!!!