Summertime. The season of sunshine, tan lines, barbecues, and laughter. The summer heat ensures all frost and sadness you’ve brought over from the frigid mid-Atlantic winter has thawed. You’re feeling adventurous and alive. In DC it also means you’re feeling the insane humidity. You know, the kind that forces you to wear a tank and shorts to work as trying to wear a suit through the city would be disastrous for all who have to work in close proximity to you for the next eight hours.
Fortunately, my friends and I had devised the perfect getaway from this sweltering heat. In June we met for “Game Night”, our mensal meeting of friends, on my birthday weekend. This month’s game night was a themed Wig Party; everyone had to bring their favorite wigs to cram on their heads as we went about our normal Game Night festivities. These included anything from card games like Uno and Spades, video games, and our friend group staple board game, Villainous. This game night my best friend Nico spared no effort in the preparation. He had set to work in the kitchen and prepared an amazing spread. He cooked us some mac-n-cheese, baked beans, green beans, deviled eggs, chicken, hotdogs, hamburgers and of course a caramel cake (my favorite cake). To drink he made his world famous ‘sangria’. This potion required us all to bring in an ingredient to add to the cauldron; It never let us down. On top of that we played Drunken Uno--- winner picks the losers shot. We have an assortment of written cards that either negate this or force another person to drink with the loser so the game stays interesting. Let’s just say our version of Uno has made several lightweights over the history of its inception bow out from the table. It was here that I would make a connection with doctor-to-be Mordin Delorozo. He was US Marine in his late twenties who was stationed in the DMV area. He and I had originally met back at a game night the year before. My best friend was hosting back when he lived in Alexandria over off of Ball St. Mordin, being best friends with Thomas, Nico’s husband, was invited over. He and another of Thomas’s friends came into the two-bedroom apartment and Mordin and I locked eyes for just a moment before looking away. That moment was long enough for Nico to hone in on it. We discussed after the party how the interest was there but Mordin didn’t pursue after hearing I was married. Fast forward to present day where I wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol, the cake, or the warm summer night but we both decided to be honest about how we felt about one another that night. In the guest bathroom of my best friend’s house while fixing his tattered wig at that. (No you nasties, we didn’t get nasty at the party. Pay attention!) Over the remainder of the summer we moved from chatting, to talking, to serious conversations. By the time the first of the leaves began to fall we had begun texting or calling just about every day. We were spending entire weekends with each other, which for our schedules is saying a lot! The world had seemed to fade away till all that was left was us, our two dogs and my new kitten Freyja (who much to my surprise loved him immediately). “So what are you going to wear this weekend to the Holiday Party?” I asked as we sat on my couch scrolling restaurants on Uber Eats. “Oh you know I have these Orttu pants that I want to wear and a nice shirt. You know I’ma jazz it up a little,” he said batting his eyes. I smiled. “I do. What’re you craving?” I asked as I couldn’t decide on food. “I don’t care. Whatever you get is fine,” he said playing PS5. I grinned and leaned over to kiss his cheek. Normally the roles were reversed. “So how are we going to introduce ourselves?” he asked, pausing his game. I frowned. “I hadn’t thought about it,” I said honestly. He shrugged. “Just something to think about,” he responded. “Hi everyone. This is Jody,” I said mockingly. He gasped. “JODY!!!” and hit me with a throw pillow. My company holiday party arrived as if it were sprinting through time to get here. Before I knew it we were zooming down I-395 to the venue down in Alexandria. Walking in the venue was small, intimate, and beautifully decorated. My company was only about 30 some odd employees so we didn’t really need much space for us all. There was a live band, amazing food, and an open bar. “Oh your company got MONEY!” Mordin said as we sat down next to a coworker of mine, Tanya. “Ha. Yes, why do you say that?” I asked looking around. “LOOK at this CANDLE! That is a REAL candle! They said ‘baby don’t worry about it. Fire hazard? We can pay for it. It’s alright!’” he exclaimed excitedly. Both Tanya and I laughed. I loved his sense of humor. The food started coming out not long after we arrived and I spotted shrimp cocktails. “Ooh, babe come on! I’ve been craving shrimp ALL week!”I said rushing up from the table. “And yet can’t ever pick what you want for dinner,” he jested as we walked up. “You better hush,” I replied. As I was loading a plate with as many shrimp cocktails as I could I say my CEO and Human Capital Admin (HR) approaching. “João! Heeey! How are you? So glad you could make it!” She said hugging and doing a Euro kiss. “Hi, Tenia! Hi Tamika! I’m fabulous thank you! Of course, I would come! This place is gorgeous!” I said motioning around the venue. “Thank you. I just wanted to give back to you guys who do so much for us,” she said smiling her big beautiful smile. “Thank you. Uhm…Tenia, Tamika please meet Mordin. My boyfriend,” I said stepping aside to give them space for their hugs. There was a split-second pause from Mordin but he concealed it quickly and went into the pleasantries. We talked for a bit more before we all returned to our seats. “Was…that alright?” I asked as we sat. He was smiling while watching the band. “No, yeah! I just wasn’t ready! It does have a nice ring to it though babe,” he said leaning in close to me. I smiled relived as I dug into my 12 shrimp cocktails. The rest of December seemed to breeze by. My first Hanukkah in the new place the day after the holiday party was great. Mordin came over, wore a yarmulke, lit candles with me, and even had a piece of geld despite not liking chocolate. Christmas was much the same. We did Christmas shopping together making all the typical stops for nerdy gay friends: Gamestop, book stores for manga, Amazon for cutesy anime things you can’t find in stores, and Crate & Barrel. The holiday itself was a magical time. Throughout the year getting all of us together, even for game nights every month, is hard. Christmas seemed to be that one time a year when we all managed to find a way to one another. NYE saw us at Park on 14th for a late brunch. It is one of DCs most well-known nightlife attractions. Back when I was still in the service out saving the world, I would visit my family down in Fredericksburg and I would always find my way to Park. Of the many old haunts (Cobalt, Fireplace, Town) it had survived COVID and was still providing Washingtonians with a 4 story dining retreat that sometimes turned dance floor from the hustle of the city outside. We had a good brunch by our standards. The restaurant passes our rating if the mimosas are strong. The food, as it generally is, can be less than sat so long as we get strong mimosas. After brunch our eight-person party became 4 (the married couple and two friends left us) we made our way to a house party with a good friend of mine Dominic. It was a beautiful apartment we had come to before for a Halloween Soiree back in October this year. The host was super sweet and amazing. The hors d’oeuvres were just what we all needed as we skimped the food at brunch because it wasn’t too appetizing. And the pre toast cocktails got us even more ready to bring in the New Year. As we counted down to 2023 out on the NoMA balcony I couldn’t help but feel this is exactly where I needed to be. Surrounding by friends and a city that always seemed to lift me up. After toasting and taking a sip of our champagne, Mordin did something wholly unexpected---he pulled me in for a kiss. We were in the living room with everyone else and he pulled me into the kitchen, which was behind a wall. There in that cramped little kitchen did we have our first almost kinda sorta public kiss of 2023. The old year was over and we all looked forward to the new, but the winter had only just begun.
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AuthorFredric J Silva was born in small Columbus, GA. Early on in life he realized he had a knack for travel and literature. As an adult he decided to not just pursue them both but blend them together to create and share experiences with the world. You can find out more at www.pretinhosp.weebly.com Archives
May 2023
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