The Changing of the Sheets

Mark always looked forward to the changing of the sheets. Most of the time, Richard put out the expensive sheets that he dared not sully. Once a month, however, Richard put out the old gray sheets, wrinkled and fraying from many a washing, which meant that he wanted to have sex, and that he would indulge Mark every night until Sunday arrived and it was time to change the sheets again back to the crimson cloth that meant no more nooky. Mark enjoyed helping to put on the fitted sheet, put cases on the pillows, and tuck the gray under their mattress in hot-blooded anticipation. After two years together, Richard said that it was time to dispose of the gray sheets, at which Mark felt oddly melancholy. As Richard stuffed them in the trashcan, he noticed Mark’s forlorn face and said, “the red ones will take the place of the gray ones now.”