“We did. San Francisco.”
“So Daphne went with you? That’s awesome. How’s she?”
“Thinking with your dick again?”
“No. Just asking one friend about another.”
She laughed, happy and nostalgic. “She’s fine.”
“So… everything’s okay?”
“Yeah. I just wanted to hear a friendly voice.”
“And you called me? ”
“Is that so crazy?”
“Not from my perspective. I know I’m a nice guy. But from yours…?”
“I know you’re a nice guy.”
I thought of something out of the blue. “Hold on… how’d you get my number? Not that I mind or anything, but I’m curious.”
“From Jamie.” She laughed. “You’re getting quite a reputation.”
My brow creased at the non sequitur. “Reputation? How?”
“The queer grapevine in Knoxville. Seems you’re all the talk among Jamie and friends.”
“Okay,” I said cautiously. “Is that good or bad?”
“Oh, good. He raved about the party at your house this weekend.”
“Yeah. Halloween. A costume party.”
“Mmm hmm. He said you made a point to invite him.”
“Yeah. Him, Andy, Tom, a couple of other guys I met at your party. What about it?”
“He said you were cool with it. Not many straights are. Not once they realize… you know.”
“That you’re normal?”
“Christ, why is every conversation such a fencing match with you?”
“Sorry. I guess you bring out my combative nature.”
“Yeah? Well, give it a rest.”
“Will do. So, Jamie gave you my number?”
“Yeah.” She laughed. “I wanted to talk to him about… what’s going on in my life. He said it wasn’t his department. Call you.”
“What department?”
“Women.”
“Got it. So, what’s going on?”
“I guess I just wanted someone to talk to.”
“And you picked me? ”
“Yes! I picked you. Now, do you want to listen or what?”
“Sorry. I’ll cool it. I swear.”
“Yeah, well… whatever. Anyway, things haven’t been so great since we moved out here.”
I sat up. “Sorry to hear it. Anything I can do?”
“I don’t know.” I heard the shrug in her voice. “Nothing, really. Maybe just listen and tell me things’ll work out.”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s… Daphne.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yeah. She’s fine. But…”
I put two and two together. “Lemme guess,” I said, “same problem you had when she met me?”
“Yeah. Only this time…”
“The guy’s a jerk?”
“No. He’s nice enough. And that’s the problem.”
“Ah. Is it serious?”
“I think so. He’s nice-looking, single, decent job.”
I nodded.
“And he actually treats her right. Wants to rescue her.” Her contempt came through loud and clear. “At least you never thought of her as some sort of charity case.”
“No. But in a way, I think we both wanted to save her.”
“Who? You and this guy—?”
“No. You and me. I mean, that’s why you were with her, right? You wanted to save her.”
She was silent for a long time. “Yeah. I guess so.”
“I’m sure you loved her too—still do, obviously—but you wanted to take care of her.”
“Yeah.”
“And now this guy is trying to push you out?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then… what?”
She sighed. “I’m going to have to tell you everything, huh?”
“Not if you don’t want to.”
“Might as well.” She took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts.
“When we moved out here, I thought everything would be great. San Francisco! Woo-hoo!” She laughed bitterly. “They don’t tell you how expensive it is. Or how dirty. Or how no one gives a shit about you.”
I nodded silently.
“I had a couple of jobs lined up, and we stayed at the YWCA.” She snorted. “The irony is pretty thick, I know.”
I didn’t know, but I didn’t want to interrupt either.
“Then we started looking for a place to live,” she continued. “We couldn’t afford much, not and still eat. The best we could find was a dingy
little one-room apartment in the Hate—”
“Hold on. The what?”
“The Haight.” She spelled it. “Haight-Ashbury? Hippies? Counterculture?
Don’t tell me you never heard of it.”
“Never heard of it,” I admitted. “My parents weren’t exactly hippies.
Kinda the opposite, actually. My dad was in the military. Hawks versus doves. I’m a hawk.”
“Oh. That’s explains a lot. About you, I mean. You’re so clean-cut and Dudley Do-Right.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It kinda was, actually. Anyway, we have a crappy apartment in the Haight. It costs a small fortune, along with everything else. We blew through our savings in a couple of months, even with me getting jobs.”
“How’s that going, by the way? I know it’s off the subject, but… I guess I’m curious. You’re a really good photographer.”
“Thank you. It’s going well. Most of what I’m doing is commercial. For now, at least. Until I get a name with some of the gallery owners. But they’re starting to notice.” She laughed. “You remember those pictures I took of you? The silhouettes of you and your best friend?”
I laughed at her description of my hard-on. “I remember.”
“Those sold first thing.” She laughed too. “Let me know if you ever want to come to San Francisco.”
“You’ll find me a job?”
“Hell no! I’ll keep you to myself. Take pictures of you all day.”
“You’ll have to give me some inspiration,” I said.
“I’ll shoot naked and spread-eagle if it makes you happy.”
“Nude is fine. And then after…?”
She laughed. “Sorry, still not interested. I guarantee I can get you laid, though. Are you picky about who? Does it hafta be a girl?”
“Yeah, it does!” I laughed. “You know what I like.”
“I do,” she said, a smile in her voice. “I’m only kidding. Not about the work, but about getting you laid.”
“I figured. That’s okay.” I paused. “So work’s going well?”
“Yeah, it is. About the only thing, though.”
“Right. So. Back to Daphne.”
“I told you how expensive it is here, right? Well, when we started to run out of money, Daphne talked about finding another job, maybe going back to
the clubs.”
“Why is that a problem?”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, sort of. I mean, it’s Daphne’s body. If she wants to strip and make money, what’s the big deal?”
“The stripping isn’t so bad. It’s what happens in the back.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t thought about that.
“Some places aren’t so bad. Just handjobs and blowjobs. But other places have private rooms where anything goes. Management expects it. They take a cut of everything, and the more money a girl brings in…”
“Got it,” I said heavily. “Not good.”
“Exactly. Most girls are just meat to these guys. Chew ’em up and spit
’em out.”
“That sucks.”
“Daphne’s lucky, though… I guess. She’s pretty enough to work in one of the high-class clubs. Their clientele is better. VIPs and CEOs. That’s where she met this guy. His name is Austin. He’s some kind of finance hotshot.”
“And lemme guess,” I said, “he wants to ‘rescue his fallen angel’ or some other nonsense?”
“Pretty much.”
“Does he know about you?”
“Only that I’m her roommate.”
“What does she think?”
Sara paused for a long time, and her voice quavered when she finally spoke. “I think she’s happy. She’s… talking about the future again.”
“But one that doesn’t include you?”
“No.”
“I’m so sorry, Sara.”
She sniffed. “Yeah, well, what’d I expect!”