Jody shot a warning look his way.
“Going….” He fired up the grill.
Clark and Jody fell into a comfortable silence, alternately stuffing their faces with the appetizers and finishing their drinks. After a short time, Lil joined them with the charred steaks and veggies.
“Dig in, men. It’s feeding time at the zoo.”
So they did, enjoying every bit of the food that he’d prepared. Finally, Clark pushed away from the table and groaned. “I need to walk off this food or I’ll burst. I ate way too much.”
“Why don’t you go with him, Jody? I’ll clean up,” Lil said easily.
“Thanks, Lil,” Jody glanced at Lil, who nodded and waved his hand in Clark’s direction.
“Go!”
Chapter 6
W E WERE walking on Alvarado Road, watching out for the cars that careened up and down the hill.
Jody lived high in the Oakland hills, almost at the Berkeley border, close to the vintage Claremont Resort Hotel. Most of the houses in his neighborhood had withstood the firestorm that swept through the hills that Sunday morning in October of 1991. No one could explain how some houses were spared and others were razed to the ground, but the combination of the Diablo winds and the dry, brittle vegetation had created the perfect environment to turn the hills into a roaring inferno. The few residents whose homes were spared felt like they’d survived an atomic bomb, the devastation was so complete.
“Were you in the Bay Area at the time of the fires?” I asked, as we continued our brisk walk through the neighborhood. I had slowed down to let Jody catch up and we walked side by side, turning onto a side street that had sidewalks rather than trying to navigate the main road.
“I’d just started medical school. I remember seeing the smoke all the way from Palo Alto, far across the bay. It went on for days.”
“Yeah, it was awful. Many months later my dad piled the entire family into our minivan, and we drove out here from Folsom to see the damage. I kept thinking of all the animals that died that day, and the people of course; I was ten at the time and really into wildlife.”
“Do you have a pet?”
“No. My life is a little too hectic right now.”
“What’s your schedule like now that your season is technically over?”
“I go to the gym almost every day. I can’t afford to get fat and lazy during the off-season ’cause it’ll be that much harder to get in shape in the spring.”
“It never hurts to plan ahead.”
“That’s right,” I agreed. “What about you? What do you do on your days off?”
“Oh, a little bit of everything. I have two days off each week, but they’re not always consecutive, so my free time is precious.”
“How often do you work out?”
“Every day. I have a Bowflex in the garage, and I try and run every morning for my cardio.”
“It shows.”
“Thanks,” he replied, seemingly pleased that I’d noticed.
“Are you seeing anyone?” I asked, curious about his love life.
“Not right now.”
“Do gay men date like straight people, or do they just see someone they like and hook up?”
Jody smiled at me, evidently amused by my curiosity.
“I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” I said quickly, wondering if I’d put my foot in my mouth again.
“It’s okay,” Jody said. “Most of us are just like everyone else, Clark. We have the same fears and desires, the same insecurities.”
“I thought gay men just fucked around randomly.”
“You’re buying into all the movies and stories about us,” Jody said, changing his walk into an exaggerated strut. “The gay predator,” he growled, lowering his voice and trying to sound sexy.
I huffed out a laugh and said, “Yeah, like those guys on TV.”
He stopped moving and stared at me for a minute, waiting for me to slow down. “The reality is that the majority of us are just looking for love, like everybody else. We want someone to come home to, to listen to us when we bitch, to hold at night. We’re
“Going….” He fired up the grill.
Clark and Jody fell into a comfortable silence, alternately stuffing their faces with the appetizers and finishing their drinks. After a short time, Lil joined them with the charred steaks and veggies.
“Dig in, men. It’s feeding time at the zoo.”
So they did, enjoying every bit of the food that he’d prepared. Finally, Clark pushed away from the table and groaned. “I need to walk off this food or I’ll burst. I ate way too much.”
“Why don’t you go with him, Jody? I’ll clean up,” Lil said easily.
“Thanks, Lil,” Jody glanced at Lil, who nodded and waved his hand in Clark’s direction.
“Go!”
Chapter 6
W E WERE walking on Alvarado Road, watching out for the cars that careened up and down the hill.
Jody lived high in the Oakland hills, almost at the Berkeley border, close to the vintage Claremont Resort Hotel. Most of the houses in his neighborhood had withstood the firestorm that swept through the hills that Sunday morning in October of 1991. No one could explain how some houses were spared and others were razed to the ground, but the combination of the Diablo winds and the dry, brittle vegetation had created the perfect environment to turn the hills into a roaring inferno. The few residents whose homes were spared felt like they’d survived an atomic bomb, the devastation was so complete.
“Were you in the Bay Area at the time of the fires?” I asked, as we continued our brisk walk through the neighborhood. I had slowed down to let Jody catch up and we walked side by side, turning onto a side street that had sidewalks rather than trying to navigate the main road.
“I’d just started medical school. I remember seeing the smoke all the way from Palo Alto, far across the bay. It went on for days.”
“Yeah, it was awful. Many months later my dad piled the entire family into our minivan, and we drove out here from Folsom to see the damage. I kept thinking of all the animals that died that day, and the people of course; I was ten at the time and really into wildlife.”
“Do you have a pet?”
“No. My life is a little too hectic right now.”
“What’s your schedule like now that your season is technically over?”
“I go to the gym almost every day. I can’t afford to get fat and lazy during the off-season ’cause it’ll be that much harder to get in shape in the spring.”
“It never hurts to plan ahead.”
“That’s right,” I agreed. “What about you? What do you do on your days off?”
“Oh, a little bit of everything. I have two days off each week, but they’re not always consecutive, so my free time is precious.”
“How often do you work out?”
“Every day. I have a Bowflex in the garage, and I try and run every morning for my cardio.”
“It shows.”
“Thanks,” he replied, seemingly pleased that I’d noticed.
“Are you seeing anyone?” I asked, curious about his love life.
“Not right now.”
“Do gay men date like straight people, or do they just see someone they like and hook up?”
Jody smiled at me, evidently amused by my curiosity.
“I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” I said quickly, wondering if I’d put my foot in my mouth again.
“It’s okay,” Jody said. “Most of us are just like everyone else, Clark. We have the same fears and desires, the same insecurities.”
“I thought gay men just fucked around randomly.”
“You’re buying into all the movies and stories about us,” Jody said, changing his walk into an exaggerated strut. “The gay predator,” he growled, lowering his voice and trying to sound sexy.
I huffed out a laugh and said, “Yeah, like those guys on TV.”
He stopped moving and stared at me for a minute, waiting for me to slow down. “The reality is that the majority of us are just looking for love, like everybody else. We want someone to come home to, to listen to us when we bitch, to hold at night. We’re
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