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An artisan macaron maker and a world class chocolatier.
Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the opening night of Afterglow, a raw, two-act, off-Broadway play exploring the emotional, intellectual, and physical connections between three men and the broader implications within their relationships. Connections between the three characters begin to form and morph throughout the rest of the play, and all three men must come to terms with their individual definitions of love, loyalty, and trust as futures are questioned, relationships are shaken and commitments are challenged. He informed me, “Afterglow refers to that euphoric feeling we get immediately after a great experience; in this case, great sex that serves as the inciting incident for the rest of the play. While some may view this play as a cautionary tale against open relationships, the cautionary tale here, at least, the one the Asher intended, is about “communication and what happens when it breaks down; what happens when people stop being honest with each other, especially those they are closest to.
From the onset, CK was not happy that one of my ex’s and one of my best friends who also happens to be gay made the guest list. When I was making the guest list for my birthday gathering, it only felt natural that Smiles and one of my best (and one of very few gay) friends, Boston be a part of it. I wasn’t going to let CK ruin what was turning out to be the best birthday I’d ever had. It was in this simple request that I learned CK’s true nature.
The irony of me starting with the definition is that I don’t believe trust can ever be defined or codified. I didn’t trust that he was only with me, and I somewhat forced him to make a choice. Because of my lack of trust in CK, I was looking at his phone every once in a while. This relationship fully illustrated to me how trust is paramount in every relationship.
Later, I would learn in a sharp twist of irony, CK’s apartment never lost power, Internet, TV, etc., and his neighborhood didn’t flood. And don’t think CK didn’t throw it in my face that he wanted to stay at his place on the 52nd floor. It was literally just around the corner from where I was living, but that didn’t matter as we were moving boxes via hand truck past piles of sewage and gasoline soaked trash. And, if things don’t work out, you don’t BOTH have to move.