Tokowhà

Sean stood glued to the spot for quite a while. Filled with disbelief, he shook his head a few times. What was that supposed to mean? He didn’t know this side of Karl at all. Disappointed, Sean kicked a small stone out of his way. He had imagined a really beautiful evening. He’d spent the whole day in pleasant anticipation, wondering how Karl would react and thinking of a restaurant that would be suitable for them. He had imagined how they, after having dinner together, would indulge in slow sex, differently from their usually very rough and fast couplings. And now? Now he was standing here and didn’t know what to do.

Undetermined, he strolled along the lines of trailers. Should he drive downtown alone and eat something? No, that wasn’t a good idea. Suddenly his face brightened again. Why hadn’t he thought of this earlier? He had gone into the direction of Viggo’s trailer almost automatically, and even from afar he could tell from the widely open door and the music that drifted out of it that his friend had to be there.

He found his best mate in front of a huge canvas that was lashed up securely on an easel that almost didn’t fit in the room. Viggo, totally engrossed in his work, was busy applying a base coat in blue-greenish tones. He hummed softly to the ethnical music beats that filled the air.

“You know very well that I dislike it when a man of Gondor sneaks up to me, throws a glance over my shoulder and...” Viggo turned around to his buddy with a wry smile, reminding Sean of a wolf on hunt, “... spies on me. Come on, admit it, you’re here by the secret order of Her Majesty to notify the royal court about my subversive paintings.“

Viggo always managed to make Sean feel at ease in the shortest of times. The Brit noticed that his mood had gotten much better in only this small moment he’d seen his friend.

“I won’t admit anything. And you’re in the wrong movie, by the way. If I was to spy on you, I’d do so only for Gondor, and I don’t think that my noble father Denethor would care for the smearings of a Dúnadan… Oh no, don’t you dare, I think your art is splendid!!“ Sean tried to take cover from Viggo’s paint-brush that was snatching at him. He didn’t succeed, and his formerly innocently white T-shirt was now decorated with a blue-green line across his chest.

“Oh wonderful, you just ruined my last unicolored shirt. What am I supposed to wear to Miranda’s party now?”

“I could sign it for you, then you’re dressed in a very individual piece of art authorized by the artist himself. You’ll be the star of the night with that. Now come on in and grab a drink. There should be some beer in the fridge.“

Viggo turned to his easel again. “In fact I wanted to ask you what to wear to a birthday party of a female colleague who’s so nice and down-to-earth but still wants to celebrate on a grand and classy scale. You as the perfect English gentleman surely know the ropes, so spit it out... oh and get me a bottle, too.”

Sean turned around, surprised. “You want a beer too?”

“Sure. Orlando isn’t around, I can drink as much as I want. Cheers.“

“What? Why can’t you drink when Orli’s around? I don’t get that.“

“Tell me, Sean, have you taken a serious look at the boy lately? If his behaviour won’t change again soon I’ll take him to a doctor. Since you’ve gone away, after the first part of the movie was done, Orlando doesn’t eat properly anymore. I don’t know if someone made a stupid remark, that the Elf is too fat or something like that. But sometimes I have the impression that he very purposefully tries to lose even more weight. He’s just skin and bones, and if he drinks alcohol in this state he’ll be knocked out in no time at all.“

“Oh no.” Sean shook his head. “I am that "someone". At that time we went out to have dinner several times, and Orli was once again chewing on this horrible vegetarian pizza for hours. I said that if he was to keep gorging himself like that, he would fatten up terribly and make a really weird Elf. It was just a joke.”

Viggo sighed.

“Sean, you really should talk to Orlando. Since you’re back, his mood swings from highest elation to deepest misery at an alarming speed. He disavows that you’re not interested in him the way he wishes for, and he puts all the blame on Karl. He thinks Karl alone is guilty for taking you away from him. Talk to him, please. The boy needs clarification. It would be good to draw a clear, final line with him. Especially if you’re planning to get involved with Karl on a more serious and deeper level.”

Karl! There it was again, this flutter of disappointment in his belly. Playing for time, Sean took two hasty gulps from the bottle, choked on them and almost spew the second gulp over the floor. He managed just in time to turn around and stumble towards the sink. Panting and coughing, he needed a while to catch his breath. Viggo had left his painting in order to helpfully thump his back.

“Okay again? And now spill the beans. You came to me because you wanted to talk about something and it has to do with Karl, that’s what I got so far.”

Sean still gasped for breath. Sometimes Viggo seemed downright unearthly to him. He hadn’t said a word about this after all, they just had had a totally laid-back conversation,... but finally he nodded, surrendering.

“Yes, it’s because of Karl. In fact, I wanted to take him out to dinner tonight. I wanted to do something else with him than, uh,... well, you know,... I wanted to talk to him in peace, get to know him a little better. I actually thought that the chemistry was great between us, and that we would have much to talk about. Good gracious, Viggo, I think I have a serious crush on that guy.”

“And he ditched you, right? Panicked and ran away.” Viggo had turned back to his blue-greenish base coat.

Sean could only nod. “And I don’t understand it… Wait a minute, how do you know that? Did he already brush you off, too?” A pang of jealousy turned Sean’s calm green eyes to blazing fires which went out again a moment later because Viggo shook his head.

“No, I’m just not blind. Before you came back here, Karl hooked up with about half of the crew. Some of the guys were seriously interested in him, but as soon as one of them tried to build up a more intense relationship to Karl, he got offensive. I witnessed that with my own eyes, twice. If you want to conquer Karl’s heart, you should have a look at PJ’s plans for the escalade of Helm’s Deep. To win Karl’s heart is surely as difficult as to assault and seize this fortress. Karl hides something very thoroughly, that’s my impression.”

“Thank you, Viggo. You know, your comparisons are always so picturesque and your words extremely enouraging! I guess it would be best to go to the props and get myself some of Saruman’s gun powder.” In spite of his sarcastic words, Sean was relieved. If there was a problem in Karl’s life, he would find it out and solve it. He was willing to fight for this man. Because he just felt too comfortable in Karl’s company to jeopardize his future happiness only because of a resolvable problem.

Sean tried to make himself comfortable on one of the small stools which were squeezed into the corners of the trailer and watched his friend painting thoughtfully for a while. For quite a few moments neither of them said a word, only every now and then they drank from their beers. Slowly, the calmness that radiated from Viggo settled down on Sean, too. With one last great gulp he emptied his bottle, put it into the box where other empty bottles were waiting for their disposal, and rose.

“I’m off now, it’s pretty late. See you soon... oh, and put on your best pair of jeans, a white shirt and a dark jacket.”

“Excuse me?“ Viggo looked at him confusedly.

“Didn’t you want to know what to wear to Miranda’s party, you ragged ranger?”

“Ah, thanks for enlightening me. That’s a good tip, I’ll put that on. Good night, and I can’t wait to see how you will assault the fortress.”

Sean only waved for one last time and then vanished into the darkness, leaving behind a very contemplative Viggo.