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

“No more mention of spending the night.”


Whirling on his heel, Ronnie marched stiff-legged out of the house. Jim followed, catching the screen door to keep it from banging. They didn’t stop until they got all the way out to the rise, at which point Ronnie collapsed onto the broken grass.


Jim saw his grimace of pain before he ducked his head. “I can get you some aspirin if you need it.”


“It won’t help.” Stiffly, Ronnie stuck his braced leg out in front of him and rubbed at his calf through the metal bars. “I hate this thing.”


Though he wasn’t sure Ronnie would welcome it, Jim settled onto the ground beside him. “How much longer do you have to wear it?”


“Fuck knows,” he muttered, then sighed. “The doctors say I should’ve been out of it by now, but the bones aren’t setting the way they hoped. There’s talk about another surgery.”


Chapter 11