A carved wooden angel (eight feet tall) is ascending into an afternoon sky. The angel is dangling outside an open doorway high above the street. A group of workmen grab for the angel, but have difficulty bringing it in. Suddenly Jude steps up to the men.
"Where you guys from, the New York City Ballet?" He asks them in his signature sassy tone.
With a gutsy maneuver, Jude leans out over the sidewalk and tries to grab hold of the ropes. He can't reach them. Suddenly a pair of hands grabs him around the waist. He screams in horror.
"Saved your life, babe. Now you owe me your life." Connor laughs as he pulls him back into the loft. Jude does not think it is funny.
"You fucking bastard! Don't do that to me you little shit! You scared me half to death!" He says trying to gain his composure back.
"Hey, anything is better than seeing this gorgeous body splattered all over the street. Here, look out."
Connor jumps up, grabs hold of the door's top molding, and swings out over the sidewalk. Jude gasps. Connor's feet push at the angel and send it swinging away and then back toward the loft. Quickly he jumps back, grabs hold of it, and brings it in. The workmen applaud. Jude eyes him with admiration.
"Connor? Jude? Anybody home?"
Jude looks to Connor.
"Noah? Did you invite him?"
"I couldn't keep him away. I swear Jude, he's like a boomerang. He never disappears. We send him far away and he still manages to come back."
Noah enters, shakes Jude's hand, and pats Connor on the back.
"Hi, Jude. Hi, Connor. So, how's it goin' my friends?"
Before they can answer, a workman turns to Jude.
"Where do you want this, sir?"
"Um…."
"In the bedroom." Connor responds.
As the men take the angel to the bedroom, Noah can see the newly decorated loft for the first time. It is painted now in lovely pastels. The floor, a huge gymnasium-like expanse, is lacquered with polyurethane. Furniture and boxes are piling up along the walls. Dominating the space, with a kind of surreal presence, are a large number of Jude and Connor's sculptures and ceramics. There is also a vintage jukebox. Noah is highly impressed.
"Wow!" Noah says in awe. "The place looks great! Really great!"
"You like it, huh?"
"Like" is hardly the word. I never imagined it would be this beautiful. This is so fucking incredible!"
A mover lugs in a heavy old chair. Jude sees it.
"Connor, you kept that chair? You actually kept that ugly chair?"
"What do you mean ugly? It's comfortable."
"For T.V. I love that chair." Noah says.
"But it's ugly. It's really ugly. Besides, it doesn't go with anything."
"It goes with me." Connor says.
"You're right." Jude says with a smile on his face. "It's okay, I'll paint it."
"Wait, you'll what?" Noah asks as Jude walks away from them.
Connor pinches Jude's ass as he passes by him. Jude smiles.
Connor, Jude, and Noah are sprawled out on the floor, eating from cartons of Thai food. Frank, a gray cat, eats beside them. Unpacked boxes are scattered everywhere.
"It was the middle of December. I was sitting in my old office, the one Charlie's in. Suddenly, I heard this grown ass man screaming. I thought someone'd been shot or something. It was freaking terrifying!" Connor says.
"They took away my MasterCard. It was Christmas, for goodness sake." Jude tells them.
"He was four thousand dollars over her limit."
"Excuse me! It wasn't four thousand. And I'd already sent in the payment! You're the ones that lost it."
"He's still angry." Connor smirks while Noah laughs.
"No I'm not." Jude denies.
The cat begins nibbling Connor's food.
"Get outta here, Frank! Get your own damn food, you fat ass cat!" The cat scampers away.
"You should have seen him. All pink and flushed. His skin was gorgeous, like a rose. And he's screaming, demanding to see the president. So Wilton brought him to me."
"You? You weren't even a VP yet." Noah says in disbelief.
"He didn't know that." Connor shrugs. Noah smiles.
"Can you believe it? And the next thing I know, he's telling me his life story. I couldn't believe it. Everything. About his previous engagement, how he'd just arrived in New York, how he didn't know any men in the area. And all with this Montana accent."
"What's a Montana accent? Just like you, I'm from San Diego, you nut."
"The one you always slip into it when you get nervous. "Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir. Can I fondle your ass cheeks, Sir?"
"I wasn't nervous." Connor says.
"Admit it. Admit it, Connor. Admit that to me. You liked me. You were interested."
"I thought you were cute." Connor said in a matter of fact tone.
"Cute?" Jude says while he is looking at Noah. "Do you believe this? I should have been Picasso's mistress. I should have been living in Barcelona or Paris. But no, I'm moving in with a New York banker who thinks I'm cute. The abuse I endure!" Jude says playfully.
He looks at Connor and grins. Noah is staring at Jude, obviously turned on by him. He is embarrassed when he catches his gaze and quickly looks away.
