Between Nick and Arturo, they filled several boxes with debris. Nick pulled his long blonde hair away from his face into a ponytail and hoisted the heavy boxes onto his broad shoulders, one after another. He carried them out through the kitchen door to the dumpster in the alley behind the restaurant.
Nick felt sweat trickle down his back and knew he’d need another shower before continuing his search for Tim. He figured he’d go back to Tim’s apartment and let himself in again. He was used to Tim’s shower by now—even had his own toothbrush in the rack beside the bathroom sink—but he still felt funny about using his key when Tim wasn’t home.
Nick threw box after box of debris over the side of the dumpster. “Aw, shit!” he yelled out loud when a black glob of something gelatinous landed on one of his shoes. This was not how he’d envisioned spending his Sunday morning in San Francisco.
“Are you all right, Nick?” he heard Arturo yell from inside.
“Yeah, I’m fine. You owe me a shoe shine, that’s all.”
Nick was glad to help out, but he wished he had his work clothes with him. This was a dirtier job than he’d ever imagined. Nick looked down into the dumpster and gasped. The last box of debris had broken open and sliding down the pile of muck was a plastic bag with a human hand poking out of it.
“Arturo!” Nick stopped was he was doing. “I think you’d better come here and have a look at something…”
To Be Continued…
About the Author
Like Tim Snow, Mark Abramson grew up in Minnesota and also worked for a time as a waiter in the Castro, but is better known as a bartender and producer of events such as “Men Behind Bars” and big dance parties on the San Francisco piers, “Pier Pressure” and “High Tea.” He also had an Aunt Ruth Taylor, but his maternal grandmother was not a psychic. His other grandmother might have been, but she died before he was born. And his mother doesn’t drink at all, unfortunately.
Mark Abramson’s writing has appeared in the gay press as far back as Christopher Street magazine, Gay Sunshine, Mouth of the Dragon and Fag Rag and more recently in the Lethe Press anthology Charmed Lives: Gay Spirit in Storytelling. In addition to the Beach Reading series, he is working on his Castro Street diaries which recount true tales of life before AIDS in the great gay Mecca with friends such as John Preston, Rita Rockett, Randy Shilts and Al Parker.
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