Perhaps, ‘Unbound’ by Him; Released by Love
Damn that Ryan Moore, he did it to me again! Left me wet-eyed and tense, as I finished his exquisite short story, so few words faintly evoking a dark reflection of Cinderella, as did his ‘Unforgettable Encounter,’ combined with a bittersweet version of ‘Pretty Woman.’ So many literary and movie references, I’m still a bit awe-struck. He even references himself, I recalled several of his other stories and found myself playing compare-and-contrast as I slowly moved through his words. For me, Moore’s stories are not to skimmed or perused lightly, but to be parsed, examined, and enjoyed like the wines and foods the characters enjoy. Complex flavors, alternate levels, subtle hints of spices and minerals, all to be savored and contemplated. That’s just me, I like to indulge myself, you may want to zip on through to the ending, but do not skip the Spice of the middle, dear audience; don’t short yourselves that pleasure.
-Lest you think this gloomy, I found myself amused and chuckling at the beginning banter between closed-down, buttoned-up architect/designer Adrian and his date/escort/life-coach Kai. This is somewhat new, Moore has previously had wit, humor, evocative and sometimes deadly silences in other stories, but these first conversations were warmer and more supportive, even though our characters don’t even know each other. Kai is a master of sizing up a client and knowing exactly how to put Adrian at ease, in his own ‘minimalist’ apartment, no less. Humor from the doorway to the couch, comments about the almost ‘antiseptic’ appearance disarm Adrian, he is putty in Kai’s hands, and amenable, knowing somehow he is relinquishing control, and liking it. Kai is disconcerting, fresh and somewhat unpredictable to Adrian, just what he ‘doesn’t know he needs’ (to borrow a phrase from the end of this story). Multiple meetings, some by chance, and some ‘dates’. A bit of steam here, to loosen us up too, readers, to heighten our senses as the story goes to the next phase, a Gala from hell.
– Adrian, without thinking, invites Kai to his ‘gala’ function; status, snobbery and stuffiness arise, so different from the rest of the story. I’m cradling myself at this point, trying not to yell at the characters, and Adrian is left to wonder where it all went wrong; no empty slipper in Charming’s grasp, but no Kai, either. But redemption is in grasp, and promises; a rain-soaked Adrian is at Kai’s door (shades of Jimmy Stewart in ‘Wonderful Life’). Gasp – Moore suggests a sequel.
– ‘Blueprints – Adrian’s Story’ is Moore’s ‘freebie’ short, contemporaneous with the main story, Adrian’s innermost thoughts and fantasies about Kai. Again, this is a different approach from previous stories, revelatory and resolution. The architect daydreams about Kai at work, as he drafts overnight on projects, imagining him, drawing him, explaining his work to him, incorporating him into his thought process and realizing how freeing it is to have someone ‘see’ him as he really is, under all that constructed, constricted control. He fantasizes while conducting boardroom meetings, not distracted so much as including Kai into his thought processes. In his grandfather’s open concept design home, Adrian thinks of Kai in his childhood rooms, sharing touchstones of personal history, and first realizes his own deepest feelings. Adrian wants to share his thoughts, relinquish his strict control, be more inclusive and organic, grow more flexible, more amenable to Kai. The final scenes, as he blueprints an imagined life with Kai, he softens, becomes more himself, more complete as a human. We should all be so lucky. Thanks to the author for a layered and psychological Love story.
