RETURNING TO MILWAUKEE...WHY?
Lenny Kosnowski got out of the rented Prius. God, there it all is. He turned to Abe, who had shut the door on the driver's side. He looked at the Avenue. Everything was gone. Of course when they'd all moved to Burbank, Frank DeFazio had sold the pizza place. But Vogel's Deli, gone. The coin laundry, too. Jesus, there's a Apple store.
Abe came around the side of the car. He smiled. "What's wrong, Len. Everything changed, didn't it?" He reached out for Lenny's arm, but Lenny moved ever so slightly.
Abe sighed.
Lenny turned. "Abe, I...not here. It's different here."
Abe shook his thick white hair. He rolled his eyes, but he had to be patient. Thirty-three years they'd been together, they'd raised Abe's daughters, after Gladys walked out after catching Abe and-who was that young man?
Murdock! Right. Merrick and Murdock were twins, and they sold their asses downtown...and Gladys had caught Abe with Murdock.
And that was pre-Lenny, that was for sure. A sweet little hustler. And Gladys was GONE. And then Abe had met Lenny at the baths in downtown Burbank, was in 1984?, No, '82, and then they got together for good a year or so later.
"I thought I had the love of my life, but it turned out he was just using me 'cause he couldn't get laid, with girls. I couldn't either, but I knew I didn't want to." Lenny had explained once.
"Well, deep down. I think we both thought that we were getting it on temporarily until we met girls. Yes, from seventh grade till Squiggy suddenly met Beth and got married. And then we even fooled around a lot after that, but then Squiggy told me to get out of his life
Abe understood that kind of thing. But what he couldn't imagine was...the ugly little creature who Lenny had burned a torch for.
Abe had seen a few tattered Polariods, and Squiggy was short and revolting.
Abe had been known in gay Burbank as "Abe-the-Babe", and a lot of queens had been depressed when the gorgeous tax attorney had hooked up with the depressed "Lone Wolf" cabdriver.
Abe had put Lenny through electrician's school, and they'd raised the girls, so well that when Gladys re-emerged in 1999, Shannon had actually said "Fuck you, Lenny's my mother."
And now, a damn class reunion is shaking everything up. Why?