Straight Man Gay Two by Danny Culpepper

Author:Danny Culpepper [Culpepper, Danny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, love, gay, humor, sexy, love story, romantic, funny, san francisco, london, men, scottish, straight
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Brian – October 27

The National AIDS Memorial Grove is a tranquil, somber place; one I doubt I would have visited if it weren’t for John. It’s not that I’m ignorant or insensitive to the toll this virus has taken. I’ve donated heavily to various organizations around the world to show support in finding a cure and improving medical care for those infected. It’s just that for the first time, it’s surfaced as something personal because of who I’ve become since meeting John. Due to the practice of anal sex (and we practice it a lot), I’m now a member of the infamous, high-risk category. We’re careful and we’re definitely monogamous, but society has still plastered the label on me and that’s a shocking fact to accept.

The Memorial grounds often host special events and weddings on the weekends, but our mid-week arrival finds the grove peacefully quiet and we have the Circle of Friends all to ourselves for the better part of an hour. Reading the names etched into the pavers, nearly two thousand of them at this point, is a daunting effort. Circle after circle radiates outward, each one containing more names of those who have died or who have honored a death.

John was just a toddler when the epidemic began, but I was a teenager and I remember hearing adults talk about it—always in hushed voices, of course. At that time, it was something ignorant Scottish folk thought New Yorkers, Philadelphians and San Franciscans had brought upon themselves due to their wild, sinful ways and rampant sexual deviance. They saw it as a dedicated curse; something awful that would fade away once all the western heathens had died. When HIV cases started turning up in Scotland, they finally had to accept it wasn’t just America’s curse. It was everyone’s curse and it was merciless.

Simon lost his first love and countless friends to the virus; their cause of death hushed by family members and quick, simple burials usually performed as an obligation, not out of any love or sympathy for those who died. Simon’s inability to grieve openly for them year after year was what finally drove him out of the closet. By the time I met him, he was still bitter about all those hushed deaths and the lack of compassion.

Today, though, we’re in a beautiful place of contemplation and remembrance, lovingly tended by hundreds of volunteers and appreciated by thousands, including us. Martin and Jeff are off taking pictures of the park-like setting. Prissy is laid out on his belly, tracing the etched names with his fingers and humming to himself. John, Ben and I are setting out our picnic lunch of sandwiches, salads and fruit as the sun shines through the trees and a few lizards lounge on the warm boulders surrounding the Circle. By the time I convince John that these lizards aren’t poisonous, don’t jump and won’t bite, Martin and Jeff have returned and we sit along the circular bench to enjoy our meal.

With our

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