I hold her to the ground, one hand around her neck, the other holding my vintage cameo above her eye.
I may be eighty-one years old, but it’s finally time, I realize, to fight for myself.
“Don’t you ever fuck with an old gay man in a dress!”
“May I come in?”
Leo looks at me for a second and then says into the phone he’s holding, “Can I call you back?”
He ends the call.
Leo opens the door wide and steps back, and I follow him into his living room.
“I didn’t know if I was going to see you again, Sid,” Leo says, gesturing for me to take a seat on the couch, but I remain standing.
Leo sits. “You didn’t return any of my calls or texts. You ghosted me. At brunch with my parents. I wasn’t just humiliated, Sid, I was devastated. I thought everything was going great.”
I take a deep breath and then remove my wig. I collapse into a chair next to the sofa.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“Sorry is not enough,” Leo says. He begins to text on his cell.
“Leo,” I say.
He does not look up.
“Leo.”
His eyes finally meet mine.
I tell him about what just occurred in the library parking lot.
“My God! Not again! Are you okay?” he asks. “I’m calling the police.”
“I’m fine,” I say, truly meaning it. “And they already came and arrested her.”
“I’m so sorry, Sid.”
“I know.”
And then I tell him about the conversation at the restaurant with his mother.
“I’m such an idiot,” he says to himself. “I should have known something was up. I cannot and will not make excuses for her.”
“She loves you, Leo. She only wants what’s best for you. And so did I.” I hesitate. “Or I thought I did.”
I sit next to him on the couch.
“I was wrong to walk away without talking to you,” I continue. “But your mother is right: I am an old man, Leo. You will, hopefully, have many more years on this earth than I will. Should our relationship continue, it won’t simply be filled withsunsets, wine and good health, it will have its share of struggles. But I realized today we never know how much time any of us has, and we should fight for each and every second. We should fight for love because it’s so rare and so precious.”
I take Leo’s hand.
“That’s all I wanted,” he says. “For you to fight for me like I will always fight for you.”
“I love you, Leo Levy.”
“I love you, Sid Silverstein.”
