His partner smiled, but his eyes looked worried.
“Right.”
“You were a cop?” Reggie asked Larry.
“Yes.”
“Knew a couple of gay cops, years ago. Seemed like there were more of them, for a while.”
“We had a program. The chief then was a woman.”
“They used to come in and have coffee at Roxy’s. That was when Jerry had his antique shop.”
“Couldn’t afford the lease anymore,” Jerry said.
“When did you two meet?” Amanda asked.
“When I came to Portland,” Reggie said. “Boy, was I a mess. Jerry met me after I got off the Greyhound. Eighteen years old and dumped from the system like a bag of rotten potatoes. Not a dime to my name. The prognosis, as they say, was not good.”
His voice was soft, husky. There were fine lines around his eyes.
“What can you tell us about Dennis?” Amanda asked.
“I wish it was better news. I do. That place destroyed us.”
“You were there until it closed?”
“I barely even remember the final months.” A pained expression came to his face. “After that place, I got sent from home to home, ended up in a lockdown facility. If it wasn’t for Jerry here, I’d be on the streets. Selling myself.”
“We look out for each other,” Jerry said.
Larry glanced up at the much older man.
“We were friends for a long time,” Jerry said, knowing that look. “I hired Reggie in the shop. He lived in the little room above it.”
“It took me forever to talk him into a single kiss,” Reggie added, smiling.
As Reggie’s smile faded, Jerry looked back out the window, waiting. The air was heavy.
“Brightwood,” Reggie said.
He looked at Amanda.
“Your brother deserved better. We all did.”
“What happened?”
“What didn’t happen? In my case, it was conversion therapy.”
Amanda looked confused.
“For homosexuality,” he said.
“I thought holding time was for attachment issues.”
“According to Martha King, it was for everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if she claimed it cured the common cold. She’s a true believer. They still use holding time, you know. In the centers. They just call it by different names now. Rage reduction therapy. Compression therapy. Rebirthing therapy.”
“I didn’t know that,” Amanda said, troubled.
