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

But there was no response, and gradually the lilac smell faded. Garner sought with his mind, but felt nothing, and at last, seating himself, he was left to consider whether he had imagined the scent.


Two weeks passed, and neither Garner nor the manager attempted contact. Thanks to Sharon’s loan, and Vera’s repeated visits, when she brought over the food she said she wouldn’t eat because she had over-shopped, Garner wasn’t in any imminent danger of being unable to pay his bills. But he didn’t enjoy being effectively dependent on others.


Meanwhile, he became if anything more determined about both diet and exercise, and so finally came to the point where his clothes did not fit anymore. He had tightened his belt to the limit of its holes, but the pants began to look like those of a circus clown.


One day, after they met for lunch, Vera announced that she was taking him clothes shopping.


“I don’t think it’s that noticeable,” he countered, but Vera shook her head.


Chapter 45