When Sam goes on a gay website looking for romance, he finds more than he bargained for. Rejecting all the usual requests for hook-ups, he searches for something more sincere. And he finds it in the most unexpected of places, as he is drawn to the profile of a man in a faraway place. Amir, an Algerian descended from desert nomads, has posted a profile looking for the love of his life. Sam finds it amazing that a gay man born in the Algerian desert has the bravery to not only declare he is gay, but also to admit his dream is to find a husband to spend his life with. While Sam doesn’t consider himself the marrying kind, he starts chatting with Amir, telling himself he just wants to learn about another culture. His friends laugh at him, saying this man just wants to use him to emigrate to the west and take him for his money. But he refuses to believe it, sensing a sincerity he has never seen with anyone else. The two begin a dialogue that moves to weekly Skype sessions, discussions of religion and world politics, assistance with life challenges and, finally, a declaration of love ... and an invitation. Can these two men from vastly different worlds and cultures meet and find common ground for a romance? The challenges are great, and spending a life together seems like an impossible dream. While Sam’s friends continue to discourage him, he knows he cannot give up this man. Is Amir sincere, or is Sam being used? There is only one way to find out if Amir is really sincere. And Sam knows what he has to do.

Not on My Bucket List

Soon we left the city and were travelling along the coast. We were on a two-lane highway now, but the bus was still travelling very fast. Too fast, I thought. My mind wandered back to all the news stories of bus accidents in Mexico or India, of how I had dismissed them as irrelevant to me because they were in third world countries where regulations about vehicle inspections and speed probably were not enforced as they were in the US. Now here I was riding in a speeding bus in a third world country, curtains billowing in the breeze and hitting me in the face, no seatbelts—was I about to become a statistic?


As we entered a small town, the bus suddenly pulled over and came to an abrupt stop. The driver let out a stream of invective in Arabic, cursing as he exited the bus. A policeman on a motorcycle pulled up, and a heated conversation ensued. I turned to Amir, raising an eyebrow, silently asking him what was going on.


Chapter 32