2 Chapter 2

“You little bastard, your mother came to me with a brat in her belly and I accepted you because I loved her.”

Sean lay on the black and white linoleum and stared up at him in shock. “I only kept you here for the sake of her memory, but now, I want you out of my house by morning. You’ll get no more from me. You can forget Nellie’s legacy because I control that until you turn twenty-five and I’ll make damn sure I spend every dime.”

“That’s my money.” Sean countered as he attempted to get up from the floor.

“But I have power of attorney and I say you get nothing.” Tom looked at him with pure loathing.

“I can take you to court.” Sean shouted.

“Try it, you faggot. By the time you pay for a lawyer, it will be gone. Get out of my sight and be out of here by morning. Be grateful I’m allowing you to pack your stuff.”

Sean crawled up the stairs and threw his few possessions into a large backpack. He took his laptop and cell phone, purchased with his own money, and readied himself to leave the house before his father got up in the morning. 1

Monday

The low grey clouds masked the half-moon giving the night an eerie diffused glow. Christopher Street’s sidewalks sparkled under the streetlights after the early evening rain. The water washed the city streets clean of soot and put the distinct smell of autumn in the air. Until this year, Sean had always loved October. The leaves of the trees planted between the sidewalk and the curb began to change color from green to yellow, then red to brown. Lights shown through the windows of the apartments created from the Federal era brownstone houses that lined the street. Sometimes he saw a fireplace lit from behind the French balconies. In contrast to the aura of peaceful urban oasis above the sidewalks, outside, groups of five or six young gay men strolled up the pavement, soon to be followed by posses of ten or more. They shouted and jostled each other passed the famous Stonewall Inn where the first stirring of the Gay Liberation movement began, continued from Christopher, down to West Street and onto the Christopher Street Pier built on the Hudson River.

A few of the more boisterous gangs led each of the two packs toward their destination—those who sold their bodies and those just hoping to get lucky. But tonight all he noticed was the churning in his gut. He hadn’t eaten in three days. Tonight he was going to do it, sell himself. He had no choice.

Since August he’d been spending his nights on the floors of his friends’ dorm rooms. He lost his apartment because he couldn’t pay his share of the rent and had no money for tuition for his last semester. The art gallery where he worked to make ends meet laid him off in September because art wasn’t a priority in the midst of the economic downturn.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to do this; but it was either sell himself or stay out on the street. Sean was frightened; but too hungry to care and enough of a pragmatist to know what had to be done. He had to talk himself into it. Prostitution, simple, he was going to make himself into a rent boy. Tears dropped from his eyelashes and down his high cheekbones. He never understood before why someone would sell themselves for money. Now he knew, rent himself out or starve; those were his choices. Leroy, one of the boys on Chelsea Pier he knew through a friend at NYU, told him that he could make good money at the trade.

“You’re small, blond with fair skin lacking freckles, dude. Your lips are full, your eyes a brilliant green. You look a lot younger than you are. You could make a fortune in this business, the perfect twink, but I think we need to find you a pimp to be safe.”

“This isn’t a life choice. All I want is money to eat and get a place to sleep until I have enough for a bus ticket to Boston. My friend Tony lives there with his wife. He’ll take me in and I’ll get a chance to make a few bucks at an honest job so I can finish school.”

“I’ll watch out for you until you land on your feet. You can crash with me on the sofa; but I can’t afford to feed you.”

“Thanks, I owe you.” They walked down to the pier together.

A huge man lurked at the edge of the pier looking over each boy as he arrived. He appeared dark and menacing.