Chapter 49

Rolly was slumped over in his seat clinging to the wheel, barely able to keep the Miranda’s bow straight atop the swells. He was soaked to the bone, and the windshield was so wet and crusted with salt that he didn’t know it had stopped raining. He was grateful for the meager daylight, though, and amazed that he was still alive to see it.

Somehow the Miranda had stopped fighting the waves and begun riding them. The compass said he was headed north. Rolly no longer cared. He was going to die. He would keep her straight as long as he could, but he was weak and he knew that the next whirlwind would take him under. Dark, threatening clouds stretched overhead. On the horizon, there was a faint, pink smear of sunshine…so far away.

He shivered.

No one could have foreseen all this mess. At least David would never know that Rolly took the money. That was good. It would have hurt him so much, and he was already grieving.

David’s sweet nature reminded him of Ash, and the long-ago love affair that had freed him in so many ways. Marc Solomon had noticed the creative part and suspected the rest.

•

“That’s fabulous, I love it!” said Marc, looking over an oil Rolly was just completing. “The colors are so clear and vibrant. The impasto gives it great depth and power. Good job, Rolly!”

The whole class heard him, including the art teacher. Rolly was thrilled, and he stayed after the class to thank Marc.

“That meant a lot to me, what you said about my work. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s a terrific painting. You’re very talented.”

From that day on, Rolly had seen Marc as a role model rather than an enemy, and they had eventually become friends.

However, Rolly’s childhood had produced a secretive adult. Despite Marc’s urging, Rolly remained “in the closet”. The liberating change came when Marc moved to the Keys and Rolly came to visit.

Key West was a revelation…gays were everywhere! They walked down the street holding hands! Rolly loved it …the artsy, quirky waterfront atmosphere…everything.

After two more vacations, Marc convinced him to move down, to pursue his art in earnest. He even offered to show some of Rolly’s work in the Sandpiper, an art gallery he and his agent had opened. And so, Rolly had moved to Key West.

He’d gotten a job at the Marina, cleaning, scraping, caulking and painting boats. He made creative signs and devoted his free time to his own painting. Rolly was a happy and fulfilled person for the first time in his life.

And he owed it all to Marc Solomon.

Of course, he’d met David, Marc’s partner. He hung around with them, and enjoyed their company. He considered them to be a happy couple, which they were. Time passed, and their mutual friendship deepened.

One day in winter, the three of them were returning from a diving trip. When they got off the boat at the Marina, Rolly took them to see a boat he was working on, the “Miranda”.

“What do think of her?”

“What do I think? I think she’s a wreck,” said Marc.

“Me, too,” said David.

“No, she’s actually seaworthy,” said Rolly. “She just needs a lot of work. I’ve got three thousand dollars I could put down on her, and another thousand for parts and materials. But…I haven’t got any credit history, and I can’t get the other fifteen thousand.”

“Eighteen thousand? That’s pretty cheap for a boat this size,” said Marc.

“Are you sure you can fix her up?”

“Positive.”

Marc contemplated the situation.

“I’ll loan it to you,” he said. “We can fish and dive off her. She’ll hold more gear than our boat.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, I’m sure,” said Marc. “After you got caught with my marijuana? I owe you, man.”

Rolly was ecstatic. He bought the Miranda before the week was out, and by summer, she was in the water. He’d only made five payments when Marc came to his apartment.

“Rolly, I need to talk to you about David. He has a crush on you.”

Rolly had known that, but he had hoped that Marc didn’t. He was quick to reassure him. “You don’t need to worry about me, Marc. I would never do that to you.”

“That’s just it, I want you to.”

“To what?”

“To have an affair with David. More than that, Rolly. I hope it develops into much more than that.”

Rolly was stunned.

“What! Why?”

“Because David and I don’t have sex anymore. Because I have AIDS and he doesn’t. Because he’s a sensual person and he can’t go on this way. Because I love him, damn it…and I’m dying!”

Tears streamed down his face.

It took Rolly a while to reply. He couldn’t imagine such a calculated relationship with David.

“No, I can’t do it.”

“Look, he means everything to me, Rolly. Don’t take this the wrong way but - if you do this for me - I’ll cancel the debt on the Miranda. Please, just think about it.”

A few days later, Rolly took the deal.

•

Weakly, Rolly clung to Miranda’s wheel, trying in vain to minimize the old boat’s sickening slide into a trough.

Your plan worked, Marc.

His head dropped at last, and everything went black.

* * * * *