James Rockton is ready to die. In fact, he plans on it. Having lost his life partner to AIDS, he books the South Pacific cruise Richard didn't live to share. James will spread Richard's ashes at sea, and then slip overboard to join him forever. He’s too old and too heartbroken to continue on alone.<br><br>But James doesn’t count on meeting a young man whose parents constantly put him down. Then there’s the obviously gay young art dealer who ogles a crazy young photographer traveling with an older gay man about James’s own age.<br><br>James and Herb begin spending time together, trying not to laugh too hard or get too involved with these young men, who circle each other in rapidly shrinking orbits. After all, James and Herb are old, with gray hair and less stamina. With time, talk, and martinis, will love manage to find them, too?

Fade to Gray

Hey, we crossed the International Date Line again, and it’s the second Tuesday of next week! Well, this week, but that’s close enough. That’s what my dad always said when I asked if he’d buy me a bike or when something was going to happen. It took a lot longer than I’d like to tell for me to finally figure it out, that it wasn’t ever going to happen. Hey, look, here we are, Dad.


Chapter 21