Chapter 5

I’d been friends with Laurence, Horace and the gang for years. They were my gay sisters. Most were a bit older than me and had upper class aspirations. Bless their hearts, many were rather queenly, too. Laurence probably was the most effeminate of the lot. My mind drifted back to the first time they’d encountered Bradley. Horace had rung up inviting me to one of his frequent little parties. These were merely an excuse for the queens to gather round and dish the dirt on their other friends

* * * *

I wasn’t at home when Horace’s call came, and Bradley accepted on our behalf. I should have known that a boy from a hick town in the Midwest wouldn’t mix well with the refined Horaces, Laurences, and Timothys of this world. But I was in love with my American guy, and stupidly I didn’t ring up to cancel our invitation or feign an illness at the last moment.