The Rainbow Conspiracy

by Stuart Hopps

  ‘I say, Michael’s having a nap, but I can quickly go and call him.’

  ‘No. Please don’t do that on my account. I’m sure he probably needs his rest.’

  ‘As a matter of fact, we have had quite a hectic few days. What with all the packing up to do here, our visit to Dove Park the day before yesterday, which was rather draining, and then the hospital today. Now I seem to have forgotten my manners. What can I offer you to drink, Dr Levitt?’

  ‘Oh, please call me Allen. And coffee’s fine. I won’t have a drink, thank you Clive, not before the meeting: I need to be able to think straight. So tell me, when did you arrive in Columbus?’

  ‘I think it was Tuesday. But, you know with jetlag, it’s so easy to lose track of the days and we have had rather a lot to do.’

  ‘Yes, it sounds as though Michael has been taking on a little too much for his own good.’

  ‘And what with putting me up as well. That’s why we moved in here, by the way, where there’s more than one bedroom. And honestly, Allen, I am trying to help Michael with all the packing up he has to do here.’

  ‘I’m sure you are, but you really must try to stop him from overdoing things. Whether he realises it or not, he is still suffering from delayed shock and I’m sure you’ll understand when I tell you that it will take him quite some time to get over the sort of thing he’s just been through.’

  ‘Of course, you’re absolutely right. I suppose I ought to try to get him to slow down a bit.’

  ‘Get who to slow down a bit?’ Michael emerged around the bend in the stairwell. ‘Is Uncle Allen telling you I’m being a naughty patient?’ And he went straight over to Allen and gave him a huge hug.

  ‘No, of course not. Would I say that behind your back? You’re damn right I would. Listen Michael, just try to deal with one stressful event a day, and not three!’

  ‘Well, with Clive staying here and keeping me company, I feel I really can cope. And what’s more, I’ve been trying to stay off the booze.’

  ‘That’s something, I suppose. You know I have your best interests at heart, and I know you don’t mind me checking up on you, which is what Dennis would have wanted.’

  The briefest of silences followed, which Allen broke. He asked Clive how long he had known Michael and where he was from in the UK. The Englishman responded with a potted history of how he had met his Columbus boys and described his glittering career as a theatrical agent in London. While Michael made some coffee in the kitchen, Clive seized the opportunity to explain to Allen that his few days in Columbus had made him realise how ill-informed he was about AIDS, although he admitted that on his last visit to New York he had become aware of its existence. Consequently, Michael had suggested that they meet so that Clive could go home with a much better picture of the latest medical developments in the USA.

  ‘I’m more than happy to answer any questions you might have, Clive. I believe everyone should be kept up to date about AIDS in order to safeguard their own health as well as take responsibility for others’. But that’s why I suggested that you come along to the talkin at the Men’s Center tonight. Our weekly meetings are designed to put people in the picture. I want to try to help everyone cope with this terrible illness, share information about the research that’s going on, and prevent the kind of alarm and hysteria that comes from listening to far-fetched rumours.’

  When Michael brought the coffee into the lounge, Allen asked him if he minded if Clive went along to the meeting.

  ‘Of course not. Besides, Clive must need a break: we’ve been spending far too much time together; he must be sick to death of me.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Michael. I came back to Columbus specially to be with you. But this meeting does sound like the kind of session which will help me get my head round all this AIDS business.’

  ‘Then you shall go to the ball!’ joked Michael. ‘Seriously though, you go right along. Why don’t we all meet up for dinner afterwards somewhere downtown? I’ll book a table at Le Gai Paris.’

  ‘Sounds great. Let’s meet at my clinic at nine o’clock. It’s close by the Center and that will give me enough time to check my message service after the meeting and make sure there are no emergencies to deal with.

  Then Allen suddenly looked at his watch. ‘I really think we better get going, Clive.’

  He added something to his coffee before quickly gulping it down, then explained that he had to get there a little before time to make sure that everything was set up and ready.

  ‘Yes, of course. I’m ready. I just have to get my mac.’

  ‘Your what?’ Michael asked.

  ‘Oh! My raincoat. Mac is short for mackintosh. We may all speak English, Allen, but you Americans speak an entirely different language. See you later, Michael.’

  With that said, Clive was escorted to a black Cadillac saloon, which was parked outside Dennis’s house. Although he thought himself mature enough not to be overimpressed by such a luxurious vehicle, he had to admit that he hadn’t ridden in such a posh car for quite some time. He had also noticed the rather expensive gold Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso that Allen sported on his wrist. However, as his New York millionaire friends the Carlsbergs had told him so frequently, there was a lot of new money around in the US of A, and Clive simply assumed that Allen came from a wealthy background.

  On the drive downtown, Allen explained that the STD clinic he ran was attached to the Columbus General Hospital, but set back in its own grounds, and added that he had largely pioneered the work being undertaken there. The Men’s Center had asked him whether he could do more educational work within the gay community, to which he’d agreed and so he had decided to set up weekly AIDS information sessions on a Saturday night and be their facilitator. He also told Clive that although he had not officially come out to the hospital personnel manager, he had never denied his own homosexuality when challenged. He had made it quite clear that he had a personal as well as professional interest in assisting the local gay community, and was determined to try to prevent the spread of AIDS in the Columbus catchment area.

  Although such honesty might be considered detrimental to his career prospects, he maintained that he was totally committed to the gay cause and that now, with the AIDS scare, it was more important than ever to stand up and be counted and help in any way possible. As a medic, he was in a privileged position to make a uniquely important contribution to society, which left Clive thinking that, to all intents and purposes, his new acquaintance was a very impressive young man.

  However that Spoke nose of Clive’s picked up on something else. Certainly Allen Levitt was handsome and, clearly, gifted, but slightly too keen to stress how dedicated and unselfish he was for Clive’s taste. So as they drove through town, Clive felt his sympathy with Allen wane. Although later on, at the meeting, Clive was soon to discover that Allen’s charm and good looks seemed to have an almost mesmerising effect on most of the young men with whom he came into contact.

  ‘I’ve been in Columbus for less than a year, but I really feel at home here: it’s really quite laid back you know.’

  ‘Tell me, what drew you to work in such a small town, when I imagine you could have chosen a more prestigious hospital. Do you have family here?’

  ‘No, as a matter of fact I don’t. I grew up in New York but there’s less pressure here. My parents lived in Manhattan where I was born but sadly my dad passed away when I was three and mum remarried so I was raised by my stepfather who I must admit I didn’t get on with.’

  At which point Clive’s questioning became somewhat more personal, until he finally came out with it and plucked up the courage to ask him if he had a lover in Columbus. At first Allen tried to brush off Clive’s line of enquiry, but when pushed further he responded:

  ‘You see Clive, we were quite observant at home and homosexuality was frowned upon by my mother. I guess although I’ve moved away from all that now, I can’t escape my roots and my upbringing does make me feel more than a little uncomfortable abo
ut my orientation.

  Clearly Clive’s prying into the more private aspects of Allen’s life had touched a raw nerve and he realised that despite the young doctor’s apparent confidence regarding professional matters, Allen was much less forthcoming about his personal life, which was clearly rather complex.

  Clive decided to drop his line of questioning and simply accepted he’d been possibly too forthright. He reminded himself that back home he had always believed that personal privacy should be respected at all times and he had endeavoured to make that clear, especially on the work front at Spoke Associates. Back at the office, he revealed little about himself and, similarly, he knew only too well that despite their closeness, Clive had never dreamt of prying into Shirley’s past and consequently knew relatively little about her pre-Spoke days either.

  So, as they drove along, Clive was able to restrain his curiosity about what made Allen tick, and the physical attraction he had initially felt for the young man began to wane. Finally, the professional in him asserted itself: Clive decided to change tack completely and bring his line of questioning back to the meeting he was about to attend. Allen, now on more comfortable ground, said he was determined to be as supportive as possible and allay all misconceptions that might confuse and distress anyone in his audience. He admitted it was no easy task to pitch his talk at the right sort of level, and made it clear to Clive that he welcomed all members of the Columbus community, including the families and friends of patients, and wanted to create a warm and friendly atmosphere.

  Clive admitted that he was very sympathetic to Allen’s concern about his people skills, and pointed out that he knew how important it was to be firm while also being able to put folk at their ease, especially when it came to dealing with thespians. Allen welcomed Clive’s confidence and went on to describe how hard it was not to sound too condescending nor underestimate the intelligence of his audience. Clive, adroitness personified, responded that although they’d just met, he felt sure that Allen was more than capable of pulling the event off with great aplomb.

  CHAPTER TEN

  THE TALK-IN SATURDAY

  When they finally reached the Men’s Center, Allen directed Clive towards a room set out with rows of chairs lined neatly in front of a projector screen, to the side of which was a small desk and a slightly more imposing chair. Five or six men were already waiting and they appeared to be acquainted, since they were heavily in conversation. Clive took his place in the back row and watched on as the room gradually filled up. A little after half-past seven, Allen made a sudden, quiet entrance, and an immediate hush fell on those assembled.

  ‘Gentlemen. Firstly let me apologise for keeping you all waiting, and welcome you to this week’s AIDS talk-in. Let me say how very pleased I am to see so many of you here tonight, and how much I appreciate your attending. However, I would also like to stress that these meetings are open to all members of our Columbus community and I would be so happy to see more families and friends here. So do please spread the word and let’s try not to make the Men’s Center in any way exclusive.

  ‘This isn’t a formal lecture, but it will contain a certain amount of medical detail, as those of you who have been here before have come to expect. So please go ahead and feel free to interrupt me at any point during my talk with questions. However, before I begin, I want to be frank with all of you and, in order to avoid any mixed messages, tell you that I am also a gay man.’

  At this point the entire room seemed to adjust its seating with what Clive thought was an almost tangible sign of approval. Allen assured his congregation that any questions answered would be in complete confidence and apologised for the fact that his statistics might already be somewhat out of date.

  Then, reading from his notes, Allen went into some historical background concerning the discovery of the disease. He explained that in the United States, AIDS had come to the attention of the general public only a few years ago when the first official report appeared in 1981 and was issued by the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. He also revealed that in New York, back in ‘79, there had been an outbreak of an unknown disease, unclassified at the time, which had caused some deaths, but he pointed out that it was only later that it had been identified as AIDS. Professional colleagues, whether they be immunologists, haematologists, virologists or pathologists, had applied themselves to dealing with what had now become a crisis. Current research specialists were attempting to discover the cause of the outbreak and ultimately find a cure. However, he regretted to have to inform the gathering that so far none of his colleagues had reported any kind of breakthrough.

  ‘AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, which is a condition that causes a complete or partial breakdown of the body’s natural ability to fight off an illness. We still haven’t been able to find a procedure that can put right the body’s immune machinery and restore its defence mechanism once AIDS has been contracted. And I’m sorry to have to tell you that anyone diagnosed with the disease will have a difficult time surviving once this illness takes hold.’

  This last remark caused a strong reaction amongst those gathered, not least from Clive, who now felt more determined than ever to have an AIDS test.

  ‘However, it is also true to say that life expectancy varies, and current research does indicate that some cases live longer than others, which some of us believe is due to the more positive attitude taken by some of the patients dealing with the illness. But let me be clear … the number of people being diagnosed with AIDS in the US is developing at an alarming rate and almost doubles every six months. It is estimated that by 1985 we will have some twenty thousand cases to deal with and this is expected to increase twofold every six months.’

  One of the youngest men attending that evening immediately shot his hand into the air and Allen quickly responded with: ‘Yes, go ahead.’

  ‘You say that there’s no cure as yet. But does that mean that there is no treatment being administered at all?’

  ‘Good question. As far as I know, some patients have been given certain drugs that seem to attack the opportunistic infections, but getting at the agent that actually causes AIDS itself is the problem. Perhaps we’re just not looking in the right places, or maybe our research equipment isn’t advanced enough. However, I do know that some colleagues are hopeful that the drug Interleukin 2, which can stimulate the development of new helper cells in the immune system, may be a breakthrough. But the fact remains that trial tests on humans require at least two more years to complete and even then there is no guarantee that any conclusive deductions will be made.’

  At which point he took a sip of water, and then continued to point out that current research also indicated that the figures had levelled off somewhat recently and he thought that the de-escalation was probably due to a greater sense of responsibility amongst the gay community as a whole. Nevertheless, he stressed that the most important fact was that nearly three-quarters of US AIDS patients up to that point had been gay men under the age of sixty, and he regretted to inform the gathering that there had already been eleven deaths reported in Columbus, as some of them were already aware.

  Despite the slightly alarming nature of these facts and statistics, Allen wanted to stress how important it was for all of them not to panic. Although he admitted that it was legitimate to be concerned, he also insisted that it was important not to overreact and, despite the fact that there was an immense amount of research still to be carried out and many questions continued to remain unanswered, he assured them that what doctors did know for certain was that they were dealing with a disease that could not be spread casually. In other words, he maintained that it was absolutely not possible to catch AIDS from drinking from a glass, using a towel or sitting on a toilet seat used by any AIDS patient. He also added that it had not been proved that it could be passed on by coughing and spitting, although he also confirmed that it could be transmitted from the exchange of saliva.

  At which point there was another reshu
ffling of chairs and Allen sensed that his last comment made many of his audience feel uneasy, which caused him to pause for a moment. This halt in the proceedings encouraged another question.

  ‘Excuse me, sir, ‘asked a young man, ‘but how much research is actually being undertaken? I mean, is there enough money being put into all this?’

  ‘I thought that this question might be asked, so I’ve brought some statistics to read out. It says here, and I quote: “In 1983 our government invested some forty-eight million dollars into AIDS research.” Now, that sum represents twenty-four thousand dollars towards each of the two thousand cases reported at that time. In addition to this, several cities and state councils have also funded research. For example, New York and San Francisco did, and I know for a fact that the California State Legislature voted to give nearly three million dollars for research. In New York, The AIDS Medical Foundation has been established with funds donated privately, and similar gay health-action groups have been set up in other cities with big gay communities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. Here in Columbus, I am pleased to report that a group of us recently started the Columbus AIDS-Now Trust Fund, which has also been privately sponsored.’

  The same young man stood up again: ‘Dr Levitt, I would like to make a small donation to that fund. I recently inherited some money from my grandfather, and I would like to pass some of it on.’

  ‘That’s great and I’ll be more than happy to provide an address where money can be sent here in Columbus, to our new local Trust Fund.’

  This last statement produced an encouraging round of applause from all those gathered. Then Allen told his audience that he wanted to address the symptoms commonly found in AIDS patients. Before doing so, he stressed how important it was for them not to internalise what they were about to hear and see. It was very important that they didn’t start to imagine they had everything he was about to describe and although it was legitimate to be concerned about one’s health, it was also imperative to understand that AIDS was not the only cause of immune deficiencies. If by any chance anyone there believed that they really did have any of the symptoms he was about to list, he would be glad to arrange an appointment for them with a professionally qualified person at the STD clinic attached to the Columbus General Hospital where he worked.