Francis Gideon’s short story of two lonely men avoiding
Christmas in an airport is a cozy albeit depressing tale with a lot of
conversation followed by a little action.
Brad, a businessman, finds it preferable to spend Christmas
Eve night in an airport rather than his empty apartment. Mickey is an
actor/stuntman who would rather spend Christmas Even night in an airport than
spend time with his homophobic family.
They meet at the ticket counter for the airline which they have booked
to fly them from NYC to Toronto and strike up a conversation. Soon they’re bonding over an expensive bottle
of liquor and sharing their life stories.
Gideon takes his time to develop both characters but after a
while the conversation begins to slow the story down. I began to wonder if they
were going to hook up or not. Fortunately the story doesn’t end without a good
sex scene and the reader is left with the feeling that Brad and Mickey are
going to continue their relationship.
Although a good story overall, it does have a somber mood as
both men talk about why an airport is a preferable place to spend
Christmas. “The Cost of Doing Business”
is best read when one isn’t depressed.
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