Mimi pulled her hand out of Roger's grasp. She saw the looks they were getting from the bar. The hate. The disrespect. They didn't want to see them being happy. They didn't want them to even exist. It was the price Mimi had to pay for being who she was. She looked to see her friends. Mark, filming, like always. Angel sitting on Collins' lap, planting kisses all over his face and hands. The two of them laughing at everything and anything. Maureen and Joanne cuddling each other tight, their hands woven together.
Sometimes, Mimi wished she could live like them.
"What's wrong?" Roger asked. He knew exactly what was wrong. He saw the other people giving him dirty looks. He had learned to shake it all off by now. Why couldn't Mimi?
"I... I don't like the way they stare at us," she whispered. "It makes me feel so dirty."
"You're not dirty."
"You're saying that to an S&M dancer?" The couple gave each other one last strong look before laughing.
"I'm gonna go take a piss," Roger told his lover.
"That's hot," she teased. He stood up and headed to the bathrooms. He knew that his friends were following him. And why.
"I swear, Angel, you can go into whatever bathroom you want, and no one would stop you," Mark said as the transvestite straightened her wig in the mirror.
"It's the benefit of being me," she replied. She gave Roger an apologetic look. "Sorry, sweetie."
"It's fine, it's fine," Roger assured her. He undid his zipper and relieved himself.
"How many beers did you have, man?" Collins asked.
"I lost track."
"Same here." The philosopher laughed at that.
"Baby, you're drunk," Angel teased.
"No I'm not."
"I can smell that." She giggled and placed a kiss on ler lover's soft lips. Roger pulled up his fly and turned to see that two other men entered the bathroom, their hands intertwined. They stared at Roger.
"I don't understand how they let the likes of you go out in public," one of them said bitterly.
"You're a sick man," the other one spat- literally. Roger wiped it off of his face in disgust.
"We don't want any trouble, honey," Angel said, praying the men would leave them alone.
"This doesn't pertain to you," the first one said. Mark instinctively started filming this; if he turned in a segment on hate crimes for his job at Buzzline, he may get a raise.
"Look, I'm not trying to make anyone here uncomfortable," Roger began. The two leaned in close and hissed the one word that defined Roger;
"Hetero."
The second man punched him in the stomach and threw him back against the wall. Another blow to the stomach. One to the face. One of them grabbed him by his hair- why did he choose to grow it out?- and smashed his face into the wall. His friends were constantly pushe back when they tried coming to the rescue.
"Leave him alone!" Angel cried out. She was in hysterics now. Watching hate crimes terrified her. Collins tried to comfort her as the two men left- after the first one gave Roger one last kick to the head.
Mimi watched the two men leave the restroom. She didn't like the looks on their faces, or the blood on their hands. Maureen and Joanne could sense that something was wrong too. Their worries were confirmed when Mark ran out of the bathroom.
"Call 9-1-1!" he shouted to the host. He nodded and dialed the number. Mark turned to see Mimi tearing up. She already knew what had happened. Mark gave her an apologetic look before running out of the Life Café. Angel came out of the restroom and hugged Mimi as the paramedics arrived and rushed out an unconscious Roger on a gurney.
"Come on," Collins said. "We need to follow them."
"We'll take my car," Joanne added. Angel and Collins had to carry Mimi, who was to disoriented to do anything. The hate was too strong in the world. She couldn't even go to her usual hangout without the risks anymore.
It wasn't her fault; it was how she was born.
"Good evening, New York City. I'm Alexi Darling, and you're watching Buzzline, where we update you with the latest buzz! Earlier today, another hate crime strikes as Roger Davis of Avenue B was attacked in the mens bathroom at the Life Café for being straight. This is the third hate crime this week. Here's the footage of the fight, recorded by our very own Mark Cohen."
Maureen was the one who turned off the television in the hospital room. It was too much for anyone to bear. Roger had come out with a concussion, two broken ribs, and a broken nose. Mimi had been at his side since they let her, holding his hand and trying her hardest not to break down in tears. The other Bohemians sat around silently.
"Thanks for trying to stop them," Roger told Angel and Collins. "I know you were trying to help, but it was bound to happen."
"It's not fair," Angel said. "Why can't we all live peacefully? Gay, straight, lesbian- why does it all matter in society?"
"It doesn't to us, but to others, we're just... different," Mimi sighed. "There's something somewhere that says that being straight is a sin, therefore we must be condemned for it."
"At least New York allows straight marriage," Mark pointed out. "That way you two can get married without breaking the law."
"Is that the only thing we can do?" Mimi asked. "I mean, damn it, we can't have a few beers without someone trying to kill us!"
"We all have to suck it up sometimes," Maureen said. "When I dated Mark, it was hell for us!"
"You cheated on me with Joanne!" he whined. She just shrugged it off.
"One day, being straight won't be a crime," Joanne said, smiling at her friends. "You'll see."