Alex in Wonderland (The Wonderland Series Book 1)

Alex in Wonderland

By Michel LaCroix

©
2006

Michael
Lewallen

For
my fellow Vieux Carré denizens,

most
especially Samara Poché

PART
ONE

"Everybody says, 'Come on!' here," thought
Alice,

as she went slowly after it. "I was never so ordered
about in my life, never!"

-Lewis Carroll,

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

1

Family
Ties

Who is that guy, Alex wondered, and
why is he alone?

He only half listened to Camilla's
latest wedding rant, far more interested in the dark-haired stranger over his
fiancée's shoulder. It was unusual to see someone dining alone at New
Orleans's venerable Commander's Palace, where Alex was
a longtime
regular,
and odder still for someone to
flirt so openly. Every time he glanced in the man's direction, he got as good as
he gave.

Eventually, Alex couldn't resist
venturing a polite nod and a bit of a smile, thrilled when the man's baby blues
flickered to Camilla and back, raised eyebrows telling Alex he was speculating
about the brunette babe swarming with DKNY and talking a mile a minute. Forget
her, Alex thought, wishing he could telepathically transmit his true desires.
Forget her and focus on me. I know you're trying to figure out if this woman is
my wife, girlfriend, relative or pal. I know the feeling. Been there. Done
that.

"Alex Sumner! Shame on
you!"

"Yeow"! Alex jerked his
gaze back to Camilla, rudely yanked from his erotic reverie when the toe of her
Manolo Blahniks whacked his shin. "What was that for?"

"For not listening to
me!" Camilla huffed. "You were a million miles away."

More like two tables, he mused.
"Sorry, honey."

"Well, you should be,"
she sniffed.

There was no question that Camilla
Spivey was a beauty, but when she was not the absolute center of attention,
which was rare if she had her say, she had the discomfiting habit of wrinkling
her nose like a llama. Just now she looked like she was ready to conquer the Andes,
and if she hadn't been seething Alex would've laughed out loud. He risked
shooting the handsome stranger a parting glance before concentrating on
Camilla. He also rubbed his shin.

"I guess I'm just tired,
honey. I didn't sleep very well last night."

"
You
didn't sleep well?! What about me? Why, I haven't had a good
night's sleep since you proposed. The wedding is just a month away, and there
are a million details to attend to, and I'm seriously worried that Puddin'
Dupree was the wrong choice for maid of honor. It seems like I'm doing all the
work because she's never available, and, well, I'm just worn out. You silly
grooms don't have to do anything, and you'd better thank your lucky stars I'm
here to do all the worrying for you."

When she stopped her diatribe, Alex
took his cue to say something gallant and smooth her ruffled feathers. "Of
course I'm worried," he insisted, taking her left hand and grimacing at
the three-carat sparkler his father's oil fortune had planted there.
"Plenty worried."

"What on earth have you got to
be worried about, Alex? Surrendering your silly old bachelorhood?"

"Of course not,
sweetheart," he replied, feigning happiness in the face of impending
disaster. "Why, I'm counting the days until it's gone." His lie
worked, again.

"You're too sweet,
darling!" Camilla beamed, dimples dancing until they made him queasy.
"It's going to be a gorgeous wedding, and afterwards, we'll be the
happiest couple in the world. You'll see."

Instead of happiness, Alex faced a
potent mixture of dread and fear. The marriage was the latest effort of his
father, Randolph, to control and direct his only child's life. Since Alex first
toddled, he was just another asset for a man who exploited his family as
fiercely as he ran Sumner Petroleum, a multimillion-dollar empire based in New
Orleans, with rigs and refineries stretching from Texas
to Venezuela.
Sumner also had vast holdings in shipping, real estate, Louisiana
sugar plantations and Mississippi
catfish farms. As long as Alex could remember, he had blindly obeyed while
Daddy selected everything from clothes and schools to clubs and his first car. Randolph
even chose Alex's college major, and after graduation bestowed a meaningless
job with the family business, all title and no responsibility. Alex
occasionally bristled but always bowed, even when his father took him into the
family library, control center for the household, and announced he was to woo
and wed Camilla, the city's most popular debutante and daughter of a powerful
business associate. Not only was Alex indifferent to Camilla, whom he barely
knew, there were other reasons why he wasn't interested in marriage, arranged
or otherwise.

They were summed up by the dashing
hunk barely ten feet away.

Alex had only recently acknowledged
his attraction to other men. Or as his only gay friend, Jacques
"Jolie" Menard, put it, "Tenn
would have said you have a 'certain flexible quality in your sexual
nature.'" Since "Tenn"
was none other than Tennessee Williams, Alex assumed Jolie knew what he was
talking about.

Of course, telling his father that
he was gay would be the equivalent of murdering a child or confessing to a
$500-a-day cocaine habit. It was something that the homophobic, racist,
archconservative,
über
Republican
Randolph B. Sumner would not tolerate, much less accept, so playing the truth
card was simply not an option. That harsh, unchangeable reality was what gave
Alex sleepless nights and made him wonder how he could take Camilla on a Kaua'i
honeymoon when he'd much rather share a bed with her gorgeous brother Beau.

"Oh, look!" she
whispered. "There's Bitsy Covington." Camilla's frantic wave nearly
dislodged a passing waiter's tray of bread puddings. "Bitsy! Over here,
honey!"

Bitsy was one of Camilla's sister
debs and thoroughly deserved her nickname "Ditsy Bitsy." She was the
silliest girl Alex had ever met and wore a perpetually vacant look that matched
her intellect, or lack thereof. She looked vaguer than usual as she hurried
over to swap air kisses with Camilla, and Alex would have ignored her
completely if she hadn't revealed she was lunching with his mystery man.

"My cousin Chandler Wilde is
visiting from Key West," she
announced. She was oblivious to any incestuous implications when she added,
"He's go scrumptious I could eat him with a spoon."

Alex was thinking the same thing as
Bitsy motioned Chandler to their
table.

"This is Camilla Spivey and
Alexander Sumner, two of my dearest friends!" she proclaimed with a great
fluttering of hands. Alex recalled he had seen her exactly twice in the past
year. "They're engaged to be married. Isn't that just delicious?"

Chandler
smiled. Alex paled.

"Congratulations." Chandler
nodded politely to Camilla and shook hands with Alex, firm grip triggering an
all-too familiar tingle. "When's the wedding?"

"Ju…Ju—" Alex stammered,
embarrassed when the word stuck in his throat. He coughed and tried again,
knowing the twinkle in Chandler's
eyes was totally conspiratorial. "June."

"So soon?
You must be very excited."

"You have no idea,"
Camilla chirped.

"You're right. I don't."

Alex found Chandler's frankness
unexpected and unnerving, grateful when Bitsy's flutters and twitters filled
the awkward silence that followed. "You know I'd just love to stay and
catch up, but I'm late as usual and I know poor Chandler's starving. We were
supposed to—"

"She's right," Chandler
interrupted. "Breakfast was inedible and room service was worse."

"You're not staying with the
Covingtons?" Alex was fishing for the name of Chandler's hotel when Bitsy
unknowing gushed to the rescue. "Isn't that just the silliest thing? Here
we have scads of room at home and Chandler insisted on staying at Chez Royale in
that awful old French Quarter. Well, we'd better scoot." More ill-aimed
kisses and Bitsy was off with Chandler firmly in tow.

With the lingering warmth of
Chandler's hearty grip, it was more difficult than ever for Alex to concentrate
on Camilla's endless wedding prattle. She was obsessed with the subject,
babbling incessantly about guest lists, caterers, florists, bridal showers,
etcetera ad nauseum. It was all mind-numbingly familiar. In fact, Alex couldn't
remember talking about anything else since they announced their engagement at
the Comus Ball three months ago. Of course, that particular time and place had
been his father's dictate because all New Orleanians who mattered were present
at this most prestigious of carnival events. Alex did his best to nod and grunt
on cue while trying to enjoy the restaurant's signature turtle soup and steal
an occasional glance at Chandler.

"Mmm-hmmm."

The more Alex looked, the more he
liked, and although the insistent nudge against his thigh wasn't his cell
phone, it gave him an idea. He looked at his lap and pretended to check caller
ID. "It's Daddy," he lied. "I'd better take it."

Camilla resented the interruption,
but whenever Alex's father was involved she was savvy enough to take a
backseat. She nodded agreement as he slipped away and found a quiet corner in
the hall where he could call Chez Royale. His message to voice mail for
Chandler's room was right to the point.

"This is Alex and I know
you're not there because we're still at Commander's. This is presumptuous as
hell, but I'd love to get together this afternoon. If you're free, call me on
my cell." Alex rattled off his number and clicked the cell shut, hoping he
hadn't sounded too needy. He was embarrassed and a little flushed when he
returned to the dining room. Camilla remained oblivious, resuming her wedding
monologue as though he never left. By the time he dropped her at her parents'
home, his head ached from her nonstop talking, and he was so edgy he jumped
when his cell phone rang. "Hello."

"Alex?"

His heart leapt.
"Chandler?"

"Yeah. How're you doing?"

"Better now, I think."

"Me too. I just got your
message and I'd love for you to come over."

"How about right now?"

"Perfect. I'm in the little
cottage at the rear of the courtyard."

"Cool."

"Shall I order up something to
drink?"

"Just something soft."

"Did you say soft?"
Chandler chuckled. "You've got the wrong man, buddy."

2

A
Walk on the Wilde Side

Because Alex was in such a rush,
the traffic along

"Come here." Chandler
grunted as he wrapped Alex in a powerful grip and crushed their chests
together. "Mmmm. I like a man who sweats."

"Me too," Alex confessed.
"How about we work up a sweat together?"

"You're reading my mind,
buddy."

With mouths and hands as compasses,
the two busily explored each other and were thrilled with each discovery.
Chandler was a man who liked to take control and propelled them quickly to a
fever pitch that left Alex breathless and a little exhausted. Afterwards, they
showered together, each lost in his own thoughts. Alex knew he should be
getting home but indulged himself when Chandler pulled him back into bed and
held him close enough to share heartbeats. These days, with his wedding to
Camilla looming ever closer, the opportunity for privacy and being himself was
almost nonexistent, and his comfort was reflected in a sigh of deep commitment.

Chandler smiled. "Yeah. Me
too." He stroked Alex's cheeks, still cherubic with excitement.
"You're really something, you know that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you just about
wore me out."

"I was thinking the same thing
about you."

"May I ask something
personal?" Alex nodded. "Has it been a long time for you or you
always so insatiable?" When he got no response, Chandler said,
"Sorry, man. Ignore me if I'm getting too personal."

"No, no. It's okay." Alex
took a deep breath. "You're right. It has been a long time, and…well, I
haven't had all that much experience. With guys I mean."

Chandler looked surprised.
"You could've fooled me." His remark wasn't meant unkindly, and Alex
knew it.

"I imagine you're wondering
about Camilla."

"She crossed my mind."

Alex turned suddenly grim.
"I'm sure marrying a woman seems bizarre, especially since I'm lying in
bed naked with another man, but I've never been able to stand up to my
father."

"So I take it that, a, he
wants you to marry this particular girl and, b, he doesn't know you like
boys."

"Right on both counts. He's
also the kind of man who doesn't take no for an answer."

"Even when so many people's
lives are involved?" Alex nodded, wondering why he had made such a private
admission to a perfect stranger. Obviously those blue eyes that so energized
his libido could also search his soul. "What does your mother think?"

"She was kowtowing to Daddy
before I was born," Alex confessed gravely. "She never questions him
either. No one does. Truth is she's so involved in all her club activities and
antique rose gardens that I doubt if she's given the wedding much thought. It's
just one more of Daddy's damned 'deals.'"

"Maybe you should tell her the
truth," Chandler suggested. "See what she thinks. She might surprise
you."

Alex shook his head before laying
it against Chandler's furry chest. Suddenly he longed, to stay here all night.
"I wish I could, but I just don't know how she'd react. The last thing I
want is to alienate her."

"Moms are pretty resilient
creatures, Alex. Mine was very accepting. My father too."

"Man, are you every
lucky." Alex sat up and sighed, suddenly tired. "What about Bitsy?
Does she know?

"I've not come out to any of
my New Orleans relatives, but God know they must have been lobotomized if they
haven't figured it out. Hell, I'm a thirty-eight-year-old bachelor who
decorates houses and lives in Key West. Duh!" Chandler chuckled. "I
was planning to tell Bitsy this trip, but she's so damned dizzy I'm not sure
she knows what 'gay' means." He studied the fatigue on Alex's face and
gave him a sympathetic look. "I've been where you are, man, and I really
wish I could help."

"Thanks, but—"

"Of course you could run off to
Key West with me. I'm flying home tonight."

"I wish I could. In fact I
wish I could just chuck everything and get the hell out of Dodge and start all
over again."

"Why don't you?"

At the ripe old age of twenty-six,
Alex was too embarrassed to admit that he was totally dependent on his father,
that all his credit cards were courtesy of Sumner Petroleum, and, worst of all,
that he still lived at home. Nor was he keen to confess that his current
predicament had him frightened, frustrated and angry at the whole world.

"I appreciate your concern,
Chandler, but it's way too complicated. I know it sounds like a damned soap
opera, but I'm trapped in one of those family spider webs that I simply can't
escape."

"I understand."

"I believe you do and I thank
you for it." Alex gave him a quick kiss and slipped from bed. As he
dressed, his damp shirt felt clammy from the overly air-conditioned room, and
he shivered as he tugged it on. "I apologize for rushing off, but my
family dines promptly at seven, and I don't dare be late." He looked
longingly at the bed and the man in it. "If I had my way I'd climb right
back in there, pull the sheets over our heads and will the world away."

"I'm flattered, Alex.
Truly." Chandler grabbed his trousers and fished in the wallet for a
business card. He held it out. "I know you're going through a really rough
patch, so if you ever want to talk or need a place to hide out, give me a call.
No strings attached."

Alex was touched as he pocketed the
card. "I appreciate that, Chandler. I really do."

Chandler nodded. "Good luck,
buddy."

"I'll need it, thanks."

They embraced for a sweet, long
moment, this time without passion, before Alex left. As he walked to the car,
he couldn't stop thinking about what Chandler said about running away from it
all. It was an alternative he had never dared consider, much less voiced, but
as he analyzed the possibilities he felt like Scarlett O'Hara at the end of
Gone with the Wind, eyes streaming tears as she pleaded with a departing Rhett
Butler: "Where shall I go? What shall I do?"

Rhett famously announced that he
didn't give a damn, but Alex knew his father would never been so indifferent.
If he ever tried leaving New Orleans, he'd be tracked down like a dog. Or would
he? If he knew his son was homosexual, would the elder Sumner say good-bye and
good riddance? If so, how hard would it be for Alex to start a new life without
friends or funds?

The more Alex weighed thought about
it, the more excited he got. He also became terrified because it involved
standing up to his father, something he'd never done. The wedding loomed like a
time bomb. If not now, he thought, when? It's my life hanging in the balance,
and if I don't put up at least token resistance I'm not sure I can live with
the consequences
.
As Chandler said,
mothers can be full of surprises, and maybe, just maybe, Daddy could be too.

Only one way to find out!