Garner working as a waiter at an upscale restaurant with a growing attraction to a man named Alonzo, who always asks to be put in his section for dinner. One night after work, the man is assaulted while trailing Garner. Garner goes to his aid, but is shot for his trouble.<br><br>Taking time off from work to recover, Garner is resting on a park bench when Alonzo suddenly appears at the other end of the bench. Garner never saw him approach. He asks why Alonzo is trailing him.<br><br>After some hesitation, Alonzo explains he wants to recruit Garner to help fight against others who systematically hunt people like himself. Garner isn’t inclined to get involved in anything dangerous, but he does finds Alonzo more and more attractive, so he agrees to consider the idea. As he learns more about Alonzo’s bizarre and dangerous subculture, what Garner really wants to know is whether Alonzo is romantically interested in him at all.

Call to Love

And, when he wasn’t rescued by a co-worker, Garner’s natural humility came to his aid. There was nothing, it seemed, that quelled the anger of an irate diner as a genuine apology and the offer of an extra—free desserts, for example (taken from Garner’s wages)—as restitution.


Still, it was like a high wire act, and not pleasant. As the dinner rush began to tail off, Garner felt a gradual return of the pain, along with a clearer head. But as the pain strengthened, because occasionally he had to do something with his left arm, it became strong enough to distract him. He gritted his teeth and focused


There was also the return of his preternatural sensitivity, only tonight it seemed stronger. It seemed, he thought, to go deeper. He had always been able to read customers. Tonight, however, he registered the states of the diners to a disturbing degree, greater in intensity and in detail.


Chapter 26