Nightfall by John Inman

Author:John Inman [Inman, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 978-1-64080-642-9
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2018-09-17T16:00:00+00:00

IT WAS strange getting ready for work in the tomblike silence of an apartment devoid of electricity. The juice hadn’t come back on yet, and that was starting to worry Joe. Through the course of the long day, the light outside had progressively dimmed as well. The red haze was so thick and heavy now, it lay like a film before the eyes. More than once Ned and Joe found themselves standing at Joe’s front window trying to see across the lawn outside. Trying to spot the street. Trying to discern the landmarks they knew so well. The palm tree on the corner. The big blue mailbox on the sidewalk out in front of the building. The movement of traffic that always before had thrummed up and down Sixth Avenue in an endless procession. Not only could the cars not be seen, even the sound of them was lost in the haze. Or maybe there was no traffic at all. From where they stood, it was impossible to tell.

Whatever was going on out there, it was goddamn creepy. Joe knew that much.

Visibility was now reduced to ten feet or less. The haze was like a blood-soaked curtain, blocking everything.

“Don’t worry,” Ned whispered at his side. “We’ll get to the zoo and everything will be all right.”

It was almost time to go. They were dressed, Joe had his flashlight, and they were wearing the heaviest coats they owned because not only was the day outside a big red mess, it was also freezing cold. The temperature had continued to drop. And since the power was out, the apartment was cold too. He and Ned had spent most of that day burrowed under the covers in Joe’s bed, snuggled against the icy air, talking quietly, falling deeper in love.

And now, standing at the front window, looking out with Ned at his side, Joe knew he was a different person. Every time he gazed at Ned’s face, or felt Ned’s hands on him, or simply heard Ned’s laughter shimmering through the unholy twilight, he knew he finally understood what being in love was all about.

It was a wondrous discovery. Wondrous and beautiful.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go,” he said now. He cast another worried glance through the window, more hesitant by the moment. “God knows what’s going on out there. Maybe we should stay here. Barricade ourselves. Lay low.”

This time it was Ned who pulled Joe into an embrace. He pressed his lips to Joe’s throat and gave his Adam’s apple a playful nip. “We have to take care of the animals. You said so yourself.”

“I know.”

“We both have to keep working. This red shit isn’t going to last forever. We don’t want to come out of it unemployed. That wouldn’t be a very good way to start a life together.”

“I know.”

“And most of all, I want to see the zoo. I’ve never been able to afford to go. I’ve never been there.”

At that Joe grabbed Ned’s shoulders and pushed him far enough away to look at his face.

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