“I’d also love to take a road trip and visit my friend Hal in Texas,” he continued. “I told you about him. This used to be his room, and he left me his sewing machine and all of these wonderful things when he moved away.”
“I remember. You said he fell in love with a cowboy.”
“Right. That cowboy runs a horse rescue. They also have a bunch of goats, and chickens, and a donkey, and a whole pack of dogs. It would be great to see all of that in person, and to spend some time with my friend and his fiancé.”
He said that so wistfully, as if it all seemed impossible. I was about to tell him we could rent a car and leave on a road trip right now if he wanted to, but then his phone dinged. He read the message and told me, “It’s a group text from my supervisor. He’s asking the entire staff to come in for an important meeting at five, which is an hour before the club opens. I wonder what that’s about.”
“Can I go with you? Not to the meeting, obviously. I want to grab a coffee, do some exploring in the Castro, and then come back to the club for tonight’s drag show.”
“Absolutely.” He closed the journal and handed it to me before climbing off the bed. “I need to get ready, but I’d like to finish looking through your book later, if that’s okay.”
“Of course.”
I changed out of my sweats and into a clean T-shirt and jeans while he took a shower. Kit usually walked to and from work, and I worried about him out there at night, since he got off work at two a.m. That was why I’d been making a point of ending up at the club every night and hanging out until closing, then walking him home.
I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to take care of him like that. He was a full-grown adult, and it wasn’t like he needed or wanted my help. But there was something about him that called out to me, something that made me want to protect him and keep him safe. I kept that to myself, though. Kit wanted everyone to know he was strong and self-reliant, so he’d probably yell at me if I ever said that stuff out loud.
Kit worked at a club called Miss Lady Jane’s, named for the drag persona of its seventy-two-year-old owner. It had been in business over thirty years, and Miss Lady Jane herself still showed up every night in full drag and acted as emcee. I thought that was pretty amazing.
We paused outside the employee entrance at the back of the building, and Kit turned to me and asked, “Do I look alright? I feel like I threw myself together.” He was dressed in his work “uniform,” a black T-shirt and black jeans, and his thick hair was pinned back from his face with a sparkly barrette.
I meant it when I told him, “You look absolutely beautiful, Kit. For the record, you always do.”
“That’s definitely not true.”
I smiled at him and gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
Kit opened the door, but then he turned back to me and asked, “Do you walk me to and from work because you’re worried something will happen to me if you don’t?”
The answer was yes, but I countered with another question. “Why would I worry about that?”
“Because you think I’m ‘snatchable.’ You called me that the day we met. Do you actually believe someone will toss me into an unmarked van if you’re not around to defend me?”
“Maybe I wantyouto defendme. Did you ever think of that?”
He tried to frown as he pointed out, “You never actually answer me. You just ask more questions.”
“Do I?”
He rolled his eyes. “Now you’re doing it on purpose.”
I chuckled and said, “Go to work, Kit. I’ll see you soon.” He took one last look at me and grinned before stepping through the door.
At about five-thirty, I was sitting in a café with a huge vat of iced coffee when Kit texted, asking where I was. I sent a reply, and two minutes later, he slid into the seat across from me and blurted, “The club is closing, effective immediately.”
“Oh, no! What happened?”
“The owner’s husband had a mild heart attack. He’ll be fine, but they decided it was time for both of them to retire and do all the things they’ve been talking about for years, like traveling.”
“I’m glad he’s okay.”
“Me, too. I’m in shock, though. That place was a San Francisco institution, and I guess I thought it’d be there forever. But the owner doesn’t want to leave his husband’s side, and really, there’s no Miss Lady Jane’s without thegrande dameherself.”
“True, but it’s a bummer that you’re out of work with no notice,” I said. “If you need some money, just let me know. I’m happy to help out.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’m totally fine. They gave all of us severance pay. Mine was almost two thousand dollars, can you believe it? I went straight to the ATM when the meeting ended and deposited my check, because I was nervous about carrying that much around with me.”
“That’s good news.”
