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In February 1992, Luke gave Minty a golden retriever puppy for his birthday. He named her Butter—short for Princess Butterfly Marmalade. She was the first in a line of four well-loved retrievers.
In August 1992, Kyle was sentenced to prison for drugging and filming the rape of three women. He was released in 2001 for good behavior. Minty never saw Kyle or sought out anyone like him again.
In June 1993, Minty started work with TVA in river ecology studying the salamanders he loved. The job provided him with the financial security he needed to buy his mother a small home, and to make improvements to the home he and Luke had made together. He stayed with TVA as a long-term employee until he started working for the US Forest Service in 2006. He was proud of being a “Pretty Boy in Hiking Boots,” and he taught Luke to love camping and the outdoors.
In 1996, Minty received word that his father had died in prison. Luke was with him when the news came, and though he requested a longer than usual session in their now very posh basement dungeon, he didn’t resort to past coping mechanisms. There were no tears shed, and he almost never talked about his father again.
In 1998, Minty and Luke began antiretroviral treatment with HAART, a revolutionary new drug which reduced their HIV viral load. As the years passed, they gained access to increasingly effective medications, and their life expectancy increased. With each passing anniversary of their respective diagnoses, they remained miraculously healthy. They felt they owed it to their friends who weren’t as lucky to stay grateful and happy in their lives.
In 1999, Luke’s father passed away from a second stroke. Luke had never been able to patch up their relationship, but his dad had been well cared for in the senior facility. That same year, they told Luke’s mother about their HIV diagnoses, the effectiveness of the new medication, and finally allowed her to support them emotionally.
In 2000, Minty stopped his weekly sessions with Pamela Novik after almost a decade. He went to monthly sessions instead, continuing with her until 2006.
In 2002, Daniel and Peter spent a summer in Paris. Minty and Luke joined them for a few weeks, enjoying the romance of the city. But, on the flight home, Minty told Luke he’d missed his Appalachian rivers, and mountains, and salamanders. “Just call me your Appalachian Fairy Prince.” Luke laughed and kissed his face.
In 2006, Minty and Luke moved to Asheville, North Carolina where Luke was invited to help a friend start a new brewery business. Minty began work with the US Forest Service in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Luke loved the new direction in his life, and Minty loved tromping through the mountains every day.
In 2015, after the Obergefell vs Hodges decision, Minty and Luke were finally legally married. Luke called Minty “Your Majesty” in the ceremony to make Minty laugh, and the minister insisted he repeat the vows properly. Either way, as far as Luke was concerned, he got married to a prince.
In 2018, with the help of the latest medications, Luke reachedundetectable status with his HIV, and Minty’s viral load was nearly so. Their life expectancy was assumed to now be the same as the national average. They started to see the dates of their diagnoses as anniversaries worthy of celebration instead of grieving. Another year well-lived!
In 2020, Minty discovered the termnon-binarywhile clicking around on the internet and realized for the first time that a word existed to describe how he felt inside. Afterwards, he proudly wore a non-binary flag pin on his work jacket. Though, in the end, he chose to stick with he/him pronouns, saying that he still felt most closely identified to “a pretty man with the right priorities in fashion.”
In October 2021, Minty and Luke celebrated their thirty-year anniversary with a trip to a cabin by Norris Lake. Minty fished and waded out into the water in his big rubber boots to examine the salamanders. In his sixties now, Luke paddled around in a canoe watching him do what he loved most. Later, they made love by a roaring fire. Even later, bent over Luke’s knee, Minty received thirty anniversary strikes with his favorite crop.
In the end, love really was on their side.
