Page 126 of The Texas Sterling Collection
“Olives or twist?”
“Twist,” Rod said. “I’ll do that while you mix the martinis.”
Rod brought the twists as Wyl poured the martinis, and they sat on the leather sofa to relax for a minute. They had an hour before the support group session.
“I told Joe we would meet him at six-thirty.” Wyl’s voice sounded soft and tired.
“Good. It will take us about fifteen minutes to walk to the church, so we can relax for an hour.”
A minute later, Wyl glanced at Rod and found him asleep, a half-empty martini glass still in his hand. Feeling the effects of the tiring day and the martini, he set his glass on the coffee table and placed Rod’s there before laying his head back to rest his eyes for a second.
Wyl turned his head to see Rod snoozing, then checked his watch. Six o’clock. What happened to the time? “Rod,” Wyl gently nudged him. “We need to get moving. We have thirty minutes to shower, shave, dress, and get to Glide Church.”
Rod rubbed his eyes and yawned. “What happened? Did we both fall asleep?”
“Yes, and apparently, we needed it. Now we must put it in full gallop to get ready in time.”
They stripped their clothes as they rushed into the bathroom. They showered in minutes, hitting only pits, cock, and ass. They dried, shaved, groomed, and headed for the closet.
“I thought we were out of the closet.” A teasing grin crossed Wyl’s face.
Rod chuckled. “We’re so far out of the closet we can’t find it. After being on the front page ofThe Advocateand our performance along The Castro today, there’s no doubt we’re out and proud.”
Wyl reached over and tugged Rod’s chin into a kiss. “Definitely. Except for the getting hit on part. I wasn’t too fond of that.”
“Wyl. Left hand.”
“Oh, yeah.”
They wore starched jeans, white shirts, belts with Texas buckles, full quill ostrich boots, and silk sports coats. Cowboy hats completed the outfits.
“We dress up pretty good for old guys,” Wyl teased.
“Did you bring your cane?” Rod laughed.
Chapter Eighteen
Arriving at Glide church at 6:30, they discovered a crowd waiting to enter. Joe waved from the church steps and worked toward them through the throng.
“Something else going on in the church, Joe?”
“No, Wyl, this is all for you guys. Our usual support group of fifty morphed into a crowd of three hundred and growing,” Joe led them through the attendees waiting to enter. The din of conversation grew as Rod and Wyl were recognized, and a brief spate of applause broke out as they followed Joe into a side entrance.
Rod smoothed his jacket as they walked in the quiet hallway. “This kind of crowd is a surprise for us, Joe.”
Joe led them into a small room resembling a theater green room. “We changed the venue from the Fellowship Hall to the main sanctuary because of the crowd. This speaks to your popularity.”
Wyl found a mirror and fiddled with his bolo tie. “On Castro Street today, we got mobbed. Not in a bad way, but everyone wanted to meet us. We ate lunch at Harvey’s, and the diners applauded when we kissed.”
“We were amazed.” Rod tugged at Wyl’s shoulder and fixed his tie. “Should we expect that tonight?”
“You two are definitely a sensation. Cowboys are popular in gay culture, and Texans have a mystique that people like. You have both working in your favor. I guess I should have anticipated this kind of crowd.” Joe’s voice reflected his excitement at the unexpected increase in attendance. “We usually sit in a double circle, spaced out so everyone can see, so it’s easy for all in the group to participate. But our usual process won’t work with a crowd this large. I plan to do a modified talk show format. I’ll ask a few questions, and you two can answer.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me, Joe. Rod, are you okay with that?”
“Sure.” Rod fiddled with his own tie. “Will the audience be able to ask questions at some point?”
“When I saw the size of the crowd, I recruited several volunteer ushers to help. They hand out slips of paper as people enter, and attendees can write questions on those slips. We’ll take a short twenty-minute break midway through the session and collect the questions in a box. I’ll randomly draw out ten or so for you to answer.”
