When they graduated from high school in 1962, best friends and secret lovers Jim McCutcheon and Ronnie Mayer had high expectations for the rest of their lives. Six years later, both are back in the small Nebraska town they called home, and worse, no longer together.<br><br>Once the golden boy, Jim now works on his grandfather's farm, away from the town's disappointment he didn't end up at NASA. Ronnie lives in his parents' basement, recovering from the blast that sent him home from Vietnam. Neither is where they want to be, but it takes a special request from Ronnie's mom for Jim to swallow his pride and visit.<br><br>Though it doesn't go well, it opens the door for the two young men to start communicating. One question haunts them, though. Have they changed too much to find their way back to each other again?

Silences of Fallen Stars

The worst part was, he agreed with them a lot of the time.


He hadn’t today. That was due to Jim.


All the best parts in his life had always been due to Jim.


If Jim could help him, the least he could do was help him back. 3


In a perfect world, everything would’ve gone back to normal. Ronnie would stop limping with the brace, they’d laugh and wrestle and fall asleep sated and spent like they did as teenagers, and Jim would be able to look in the mirror without a shred of disappointment.


But the world wasn’t perfect. People got hurt. People became afraid. People learned things about themselves that would forever change them.


One day working in the yard didn’t wave a magic wand and heal either one of them. All it did was open the door to the possibility.


Chapter 9