May 1970

Gordie arrived in San Diego, at a cute little blue bungalow on the side of a hill, facing the Pacific ocean. It was clear and the weather was a little humid, but the wind made it feel cool and sweet. It was nice that his old classmate Maurice, who now went by Mo, let him stay at his place. Mo looked quite different than his school days, instead of being a round, pimply faced teen, he shot up and out into a muscular surfer type, with long strawberry blonde hair. To Gordie, it was a complete change. He found it unnerving, not because Mo wasn't attractive, he was, but, he also couldn't reconcile the now 23 year old to how he was at 17, a chubby tall gangly guy.

Lilly Brower also stayed with him, after finding a temp job working in La Jolla, at a hiring agency. Lilly had her hair cut short, almost down to a buzzcut, and rows of earrings all over. She was still the same Lilly though. However, to them Gordie didn't change really, still in tees and jeans, and always with his nose in a book.

Mo wasnt sure about Gordie living with him, but realizing that he graduated college meant he could get a job easy. Mo had his degree in Business, so it was fine, whereas Lilly, she was a traveler, she wouldn't stay for long. For Mo, having a roommate who was reliable like Gordie was better than one who wasn't like Lilly, and the way she made it sound, he needed to leave Orono, ASAP. Orono wasn't much better than Castle Rock in Mo's eyes, so he felt he was helping a friend.

In the weeks that followed, Lilly moved to La Jolla, while Gordie and Mo were good roommates, splitting everything down the middle, and Mo was rarely home anyway, going to his girlfriend, Sheila's. Sheila was a downhome Cali girl, who was a surfer's dream, as leggy and sunkissed as she was, she found herself attracted to the rather worldly Mo. Before Lilly left, Gordie wanted to let Mo know the truth.

–

Mo sat on Sheila's patio chair, waiting for her to come back with a glass of punch. The cute little apartment off of Bacon St. was tiny, but it was home for Sheila. Sheila came out, with two glasses of Hawaiian Punch, and they sat together. Mo was worried about something.

"Sheila…I dont want to sound like a shit, but I am not sure about Gordie, man."

Sheila took a drink and then looked at her boyfriend. Usually Mo was easy going but he was stressed out.

"Babe, what's wrong with Gordie, he's nice and friendly, and hes good people."

"I found out last night that Gordie's gay, and he came from Maine to escape his boyfriend."

Sheila looked at him rather cross. Gordie was always so nice and Mo always accepted gays that they knew, so what was wrong with Gordie?

"Is it because he lives with you?" Sheila said, getting up.

Mo thought his words carefully. "No, its because of the secrecy."

"We were kids and hung out all the time and I thought I knew him, ya know? He was always nice to me, and even though we didn't have the same interests…" Mo wasn't sure why he was upset at Gordie.

Sheila put her glass down. "If Gordie was gonna hit on you, he might have back in 1964, but you are now adults. And anyhow, if from what Lilly told me, this Chris dude really did hurt him so bad.

Mo dropped his glass. It didn't break, but the remaining juice sploshed out.

"Chris….Chambers?"

Sheila got a rag and started to clean the mess.

"Yeah, thats who Lil told me. What's wrong?"

"It all makes sense now. Chris came from a mean ass family, the Chambers were such white trash, nasty ass people."

Mo slumped in his chair. Now he felt really bad. Gordie was such a nice guy and Chris was kind of an asshole to him. The whole Beverly thing, why Gordie became so sad when they were teens. It made Mo kind of mad for Gordie. He did remember being picked on by Eyeball all the time and how his dad, Everett Johns, always left the bar early because of the bullshit Wilbur used to pull. He remembered his dad telling him when Wilbur died that Castle Rock, Maine knew what peace was again.

Mo never understood Chris and Gordie's friendship. Even as Seniors, he didn't understand why Chris and Gordie were around each other like moths and flames. Now he knew. They loved each other in a way two people who loved each other did.

And Mo felt bad for Gordie. He deserved better.

Gordie was sitting on the couch, listening to the late night radio, it was one of those call in shows, some guy named Dr. Mark, and some chick named Patty whose man was having an affair on her when Mo walked in.

"Hey can we talk?" Mo said, sitting on the couch.

"What's up." Gordie said, turning off the stereo.

Mo smiled and said, "look dude, if you are gonna live with me, you gotta level with me. Was Chris Chambers your boyfriend?"

Gordie was shocked. "what does that have to do with anything?"

Mo got up and said "Its about trust dude, we have known each other for years, and I want to feel like I understand what's up."

Gordie looked out the window, and told Mo the entire story. About Beverly, about school, about how Chris hurt him.

Mo listened, and then spoke. "As long as we are friends, I want there to be honesty between us. I care about you, and don't like the idea of that jerk hurting you like he has been. You deserve better. You don't need to hide that you are gay around me, just be you."

Mo walked into his bedroom and quietly shut the door.

Gordie lay on the couch, for the first time in a long time, unwound.

—-

March 1973

Gordie started working at the San Diego county Counseling centre, where he would help people with their mental health issues, all the while, still writing his stories. It was almost three years later he would hit paydirt. He would sell his first novel, The Light from Upstairs, a scary tale about a girl who was tormented by the ghosts of her past.

As he was signing the forms from the publishing company, a thought crossed his mind at the time. Chris.

What happened to Christopher Chambers?