Chapter 21

“It is what it is,” Craig replies, nodding a shoulder. He seems disgusted with me, unsure of my thinking regarding the topic. “It’s your loss. I myself would reel those two back in and have my way with them.”

“It’s probably too late for that.”

“Probably,” he agrees with me.

My stare drifts over his right shoulder and catches a view of his two lovers: Joey and Tommy. The boys dance wildly on the dance floor among half-naked men. Both have smiles on their handsome faces and seem happy, lost, bemused. I take a mental note of the scene and think: You can have the same union, Nino…It’s there if you want it. What do you have to lose? 23

August 18. My forty-fifth birthday. The plan for the day is simple--there are no plans. I do have a bit of grocery shopping to accomplish, two loads of laundry, and a brief meeting with the Dean of English at West End College to discuss my fall semester. Other than these few tasks, I have the entire day to myself.