Goldenboy by Michael Nava

Author:Michael Nava [Nava, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: detective, mystery, gay
ISBN: 9781555831301
Google: OtBFnOivxksC
Amazon: 1555831303
Publisher: Alyson Books
Published: 1988-01-02T07:00:00+00:00

15

The Hawk occupied a space in a row of stores between a deli and a manicurist. A blue awning over the entrance was the bar’s only distinguishing feature. I parked on the street and made my way over to the bar. A couple of men in 501s and flannel shirts were standing at the entrance drinking from bottles of Budweiser. I was wearing a gray suit, a maroon tie, and wingtips. We exchanged friendly nods as I pushed through the upholstered door.

The front room was a long, narrow rectangle with the bar running the length of it. Opposite the bar, stacks of beer boxes were pushed up against the wall. The room was packed and there was only a small aisle between the men lined up against the bar and those leaning against the beer boxes. The place smelled of spilt beer and cigarettes and was lit in red by spotlights above the bar. Dolly Parton was belting out a song from the overhead speakers and everywhere mouths moved, singing along with her. I wedged my way down the room looking for Josh Mandel.

There was a pool room behind the bar. A green-shaded light hung over the pool table. A thin boy with a bad complexion waited while his opponent, a lumbering bear of a man, calculated a shot. Josh Mandel was sitting on a bar stool beneath a chalkboard that listed the order of players. He wore jeans and an old white button-down shirt and his glasses dangled out of his pocket. A red sweater was spread across his knees. He was smoking a cigarette with one hand while the other grasped a bottle of beer. He looked too young to be either smoking or drinking. I came around the room until I was standing beside him.

“Josh?”

He jerked his face toward me. “Mr. Rios.”

“Henry,” I replied. “I’m sorry I’m late.”

“That’s okay.” He smiled at me. “You want a drink?”

“I don’t drink. Is there somewhere quiet we can talk?”

“There’s a patio out back,” he said, and hopped off the bar stool. “Come on.”

He led me out to a small fenced-in courtyard in the center of which was a big firepit. It was dark except for a couple of lights above the exit and the glow of the fire. We sat down on a bench beneath the feathery leaves of a jacaranda tree. Josh put on his glasses and the red sweater.

“I guess you figured out I’m gay,” he said.

“I assume that’s why you told me to meet you here.”

He nodded. “You knew when you saw me in court the first time.”

I remembered the odd jolt of recognition I’d felt that day when I had looked at him. I said, “I’m not sure. Maybe.”

He finished his beer. A waiter came by and Josh asked for a screwdriver. I asked for mineral water.

“Did Jim know about you?” I asked.

“No one does,” he *aid. “You probably think I should be more out.”

“That’s not my business.”

“I just mean, you’re out and everything.”

“I learned pretty early on that I’m not a good liar.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.