The evening fell once again over the streets of Manhattan. Donny had found his way back from work and was once again greeted by an empty hotel room. He sighed deeply, and looked around. There was no message for him at the hotel desk, not even a note to explain her whereabouts. He was worried sick. Who was this friend anyway? And was it just him, or was Dr Crane acting a little weird on the phone? Either way, he wanted to know where she was. He picked up the phone and dialed the number, and waited for an answer.
"New York Police Department, how may I help you?"
"Yes, this is Donny Douglas speaking. I'd like to report a missing person..."
In a different part of town, Niles and Daphne where now walking on Bowery, looking for a place to go. Daphne stopped in front of a bar with white blinds that said "CBGB"- "omfug" in red letters. The door and walls where covered in various scribblings, stickers and graffiti.
"Ohh I've heard of this place! It's legendary and was supposed to be the place to be in the 70's and 80's... I want to take a look inside!"
"Do we have to? I don't like the way it looks...(pause) Oh god, now I remember this place... I went here years ago, when I was on my leave from Yale visiting New York... I went to the bathroom and saw all these obscene graffito's on the walls. So I went back to the bar, asked for some soap and a sponge and spent hours cleaning the toilet. I didn't stop until it was spotless and I remember being very pleased with my work. So I mentioned this to the bartender and when he saw what I had done... You know what he did? He kicked be out! After not as much as a thank you... And very harshly, too, and then sent his hardrocker buddies after me, who chased me for several blocks... The rudeness!"
"Aw, come on Dr Crane, I will protect you... I bet that guy doesn't even work here anymore." she said, laughing at his remark.
They held eachothers hands as they entered the bar, which smelled of stale beer and cigarettes. The inside of it looked a lot like you would expect from the outside: lots of black, graffiti and stickers everywhere and there was a stage for bands to perform on. They walked towards the bar and ordered drinks. Niles spent about 10 minutes dusting off 2 barstools before he allowed Daphne to sit down. The bartender glanced at him, smiling mischievously, looking him up and down. He might have traded in yesterday's Armani suit for a casual blue shirt and white trousers, but he still looked overdressed for a Rock & Roll bar, and the large blue bruise on his right cheek made the image complete.
"Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"I don't think so..." He answered with a hint of panic in his eye
"I'm pretty sure I do.. I've worked here for over 20 years now and I barely ever forget a face."
"No you don't!" Daphne interrupted. "We've never been here before in our lives. We just popped in for a pint, is all. Now bring us our beers and sod off!"
"Very well, ma'am." and he left to get their beers, and as he got back: "You know, I kinda like your attitude." He reached out his hand to Daphne. "I'm Timmy."
Daphne shaked his hand. "Daphne, pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is mine" he said, moving to Niles, who also shook his hand. "I'm Niles.." And, as he saw Timmy winking at Daphne and then looking down at her cleavage "...her husband!" It was out before he knew it.
Daphne glanced at him with a questioning look, but luckily decided that the two of them parading as husband and wife for the evening wouldn't be as bad as Timmy drooling over her.
"yes" she answered rolling her eyes awkwardly and assisting Niles in holding his head back as his nose started to bleed once again. "Me and Dr...Niles are married!"
"Oh great" Niles thought with mixed feelings. "We are on first name bases again...awkward things always happen when she says my name... Beautiful, awkward things...oh dear."
The evening at CBGB's turned out to be more fun than Niles had expected. They sat at the bar and watched the club slowly fill up with all types of colorful people. There was some band playing that Niles didn't like very much, but somehow the people where able to dance to the terrible noise that they produced and he found it sort of amusing to look at this strange display. Timmy turned out to be quite an interesting party. He used to be a roady for several large rock bands back in the 70's before settling down in New York and becoming a bartender and sound technician at CBGB's. Whatever you asked, he had seen. Every drug induced prostitute ridden celebrity scandal you mentioned, he knew the whole story first hand. Especially Daphne enjoyed listening to his crazy stories all night, since "He sort of sounds like an American version of me dad", she had mentioned.
After the band stopped playing, a DJ took over musical duties and Niles didn't like the most things he played either. Then at a certain point, a slow song came on.
"I think I've heard this song somewhere, at the end of a movie I saw a few years back...it was a sad ending. But I guess I knew that from the start, it being a Shakespeare classic and all." said Daphne
"Which one?"
"Romeo and Juliet, obviously..."
"Oh I love that book. It's one of the most excellent tragedies ever written. If you liked this movie so much, we can go and rent it sometime, watch it together."
"I'm not sure you'd like that version. It's sort of.. modern."
"Ah. ... yes I suppose I am a bit of a purist, am I not? Well then, at least this song seems very nice. Would you like to dance?"
She smiled. "I'd love to, D.. Niles."
And as they moved together on the dance floor, they both wondered if this was all they could ever have. An intimate, but platonic friendship. Was their life still waiting ahead of them really as bad as it seemed? Being married to another man, Daphne couldn't help but feel like she was leading him on, and it was killing her. Niles felt like he had always been unhappy in love. After two failed marriages, he was finally in the welcoming arms of the love of his life. But still, they where not together...
Their trail of thoughts was cut short when the song came to a sudden, impassioned ending. "Who the hell did that singer want to choke anyway?" Niles thought as they walked back to their barstools.
After one more beer, Timmy mentioned that his shift would finish soon and that he was supposed to meet up with some friends at his apartment afterwards, and Niles and Daphne where welcome to join him if they wanted to. After some contemplation, they took his offer.
Timmy's house was peculiar, to say the least. All his furniture seemed to be an assembly from the collection of various second hand stores and landfills. There where ashtrays on every table but according to the cigarette buds discarded all over the floor, nobody seemed to know how to use them. There was a cement mixer in one corner with several electric guitars leaning against it. People had been writing on the walls and against one wall leaned an original silkscreen print by the Pop Art artist Andy Warhol ("Yes, I got it back in the early 70's when I was touring with the Velvet Underground and they didn't have any money to pay me because they had spent it all their money on smack... so they gave me this instead." he had explained). Niles was kind of offended by the way he was displaying the piece, but decided not to mention it.
All around the place place, there where weird punker types lying around in chairs and even on the floor. You could slice the thick air in pieces and by the smell of it, it weren't just cigarettes that these people where smoking.
Niles and Daphne sat down at a tattered brown sofa that reminded Niles of a kingsize version of his father's chair. It turned out to be quite a gathering. Some of Timmy's friends would play jams on one of the guitars and go on for hours, others would tell even more crazy stories. Wild looking women where draped around some of the guys and bottles of whisky would go around the room. At some point, a spliff was passed along to Niles.
"Excuse me? What is this, reefer? What am I supposed to do with this?"
"What do you think you do? Take a drag and pass it on, you rooky."
"I'm not going to smoke this..." saying that, Daphne took the spliff from his hand and took a drag.
"There you go..." She said, coughing. "You know, you probably haven't done this since prep school and think it's really childish but I think tonight's a good night for new experiences"
"Prep school? I didn't do anything out of the ordinary in prep school. I never really liked those stoner kids (several angry faces look at him) I mean.. no, never felt the urge to do so."
"Really? I thought everyone tried it at some point in their lives..."
"Yes, everyone except me and Frasier"
With that being said, Timmy interrupted them. "Yes, well you know Niles, you are never too old to learn. You should try it. You know what, there's a way it can be fun for the both of you... (Turning his head) Priscilla! Come here for a second, will ya?" A 30 something woman with black leather jeans that sort of reminded Niles of Roz came up to him and he gestured for her to sit on his lap. She did so, and he took the spliff back from Daphne and took a long drag. He then brought his lips to Priscilla's as if he where to kiss her, and blew out the smoke in her mouth. She inhaled deeply and exhaled the big cloud of smoke. "And that's pretty much all that is to it. Now come on, be a man and give your wife some kisses" handing the spliff back to Daphne.
"I.. well... I don't think I can..."
"Oh, Niles, why not? It could be fun.." Daphne said, encouraging him.
"Well.. I suppose... I could give it a try..." ,weirded out that he was agreeing to such a barbaric thing like this.
Daphne inhaled deeply and slowly brought her lips to his. When their lips touched, he felt a shiver going down his spine and he took in the sensation of their lips touching once again. He parted his lips, inhaling the smoke and Daphne pulled back. He was once again hypnotized by her closeness. As he exhaled, he burst into a rage of coughs and heard all the people in the room laugh at him. He recovered himself and felt weird, giggly and lightheaded. This wasn't too bad, he thought. And, wanting to prove himself, he asked Daphne to do it again. This went sufficiently better and feeling encouraged by this, he tried it a third time. This time, he wouldn't let Daphne part from his lips and he pulled her into a long, passionate kiss. As she lowered herself on top of him, he could hear people cheering.
When their lips parted once more, he was feeling a surge of euphoria going through his body, and felt like laughing. It was a small giggle at first, with Daphne giggling back at him. He then really started to get the giggles. He couldn't stop laughing and tears where flowing down his cheeks. It went on for minutes, and as he finally stopped, he looked Daphne deep in the eye...
"Oh Daphne, you're a Goddess, Daphne.." he said, his glazed eyes gazing at her.
And with that, he passed out on the sofa.
Niles and Daphne where lying on the tattered sofa, falling in and out of a slumber. They where cuddled close together in each others arms. At 8 am, Niles slowly wakened and kissed Daphne lightly on the lips, waking her up. He smiled at her warmly as she slowly opened her deep brown eyes and he brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Goodmorning my sunshine" he said, smiling and looking into her eyes.
"Good morning...Niles" she said, smiling back at him. "this is nice..I like waking up next to you like this, I wish we could do it more often" She said, rubbing her foot over his calf and tangling their legs together. He gave her a sad smile. "So do I... But we can't can we?"
"I don't think so... not under these circumstances, anyway." She replied, sadly.
Niles thought for a few moments, and figured maybe this was as good a time as any to have THE talk. He would just ask. He would start slowly, trying not to ruin their moment together.
"Daphne... what would you do if the circumstances where... different? Would you still see me as a friend, or would I be something more?"
"I think you already know the answer to that question." She hesitantly replied
" I Think so... but I think that we should talk about it. What is happening between us, Daphne? Why aren't you going back to Donny... What do you want? Do you find me... attractive?"
"I'm not sure I know the answer to these questions yet...And even if I did, would the answer not complicate our situation even more?"
"Yes.. I'm sure it would. But, I can't deny what I'm feeling towards you and how we have been acting around each other. In case you didn't notice, we are acting like...like lovers."
"Yes, I know. Well, I suppose... I'm enjoying every second of it. I don't know what we should do, what I should do with Donny...but I suppose that yes, I am attracted to you. Very much so."
They stared at eachother in awe. "so... what are we supposed to do about that?" He eventually answered. "because, well, giving the situation, you are kind of giving me a hard time suppressing how I feel and staying a gentleman"
"You are?" She said, amused.
"Yes, and you should know that. I'm a thread to your marriage. Look at us, cuddling on the sofa... friends shouldn't be this close. I am a man, you know..even though it's not always noticeable, I still am... and you are a very attractive woman, and it's wrong of me to be feeling what I'm feeling"
"oh god, I know... I just wish...I just wish we could act upon it, OK?" She said, hugging him tighter. He was pretty sure she could feel certain parts of his body reacting to her closeness. She glanced at him and he blushed.
"I'm sorry I... this is what I mean, it's so difficult"
"It is to me too...I want to be with you, you know? I want you to make love to me..."
He looked at her, shocked. "What?"
"Well, that's what we are talking about right?"
"Well..yes."
"and I don't know...I don't want to leave you but...talking about it.. it makes me want you even more."
"oh yes... well, we'll have to shut up again then," he smiled, making a gesture of locking his mouth and throwing away the key.
"right..."
They returned to their silence, lying in each others arms and holding eachother tight. After a while, Daphne softly stroked his back, a gesture that he returned. He buried his head in her hair, taking in her scent once more. She deepened the caress and they started tangling their legs together closely, their feet softly rubbing against eachother. He started stroking her hip and she moved her hands down and gave his butt a small pinch, bringing him even closer to her. Their breathing became heavy and as they faced eachother, they where both blushing and he brushed his lips against hers and they shared a soft kiss. They where both definitely beyond reason. He moved his lips across her cheek and started sucking her earlobe. "How about we go someplace private?" he whispered.
