allen　down　and　killed　him；　if　not　in

his　sleep；　then　in　this；　perhaps　the　worst　waking　moment　of　his　life。

？I　knew　this　would　be　perfect　on　you！　Can　you　imagine　what　kind　ofsplash　you？ll　make　at　the

Chelsea　nightclubs？？　We　can　imagine？and　it？s　already　giving　us　nightmares。

？I　have　another　gift；？　she　continued　conspiratorially；　taking　Dan？s　elbow　and　leaning　in　close；

her　singsong　voice　dropping　to　a　low　whisper。　？But　this　one　is　for　your　eyes　only。？　Jeanette

reached　into　the　hip…length　macram？　tote　still　hanging　from　her　shoulder　and　drew　out　a　large；

black…bound　book；　which　she　handed　to　Dan。

He　ran　his　fingers　over　the　gilt　label：　HOMOESENSUAL：　THE

GREATEST　GAY　LOVE　POEMS　OF　ALL　TIME。　The　book　must　have　weighed　over　fifteen

pounds。　Dan　stared　down　at　the　cover；　not　sure　what　to　say。　It　actually　was　a　really　thoughtful　gift。

After　all；　hewas　a　poet；　and　he　was　pretty　sure　he　might　be　gay。　It　would　do　him　good　to　read

some　gay　poetry。

Still；　couldn？t　she　have　just　given　him　a　card？

？I　figured　you　might　want　something　moreartistic　to　celebrate　your　awakening；　and　I　knew

you？d　appreciate　this　new　European　pilation。　I　picked　it　up　at　this　delightful　little　？alternative？

bookstore　in　Paris？they　have　gay　movies；　too！　I？ll　be　sure　to　pick　one　up　for　you　next　time　I？m

there。？　Dan　frowned　down　at　the　book。　Had　his　mother　just　offered　to　send　him　gay　porn？　She

seemed　really　excited　by　the　idea　of　having　a　gay　son；　and　he　hadn？t　seen　her　in　at　least　ten

years？why　not　humor　her？　He　shrugged；　picked　up　the　penis　？clair；　and　took　a　giant　bite。　It　tasted

like　a　Bavarian　cream　donut。

？Delicious；？　he　declared；　smacking　his　lips　and　really　ca