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xp_logsMark and Jay pass the time before work playing cards and talking about sex. Is there ever anything else on these guys' minds?
"Ah'd swear Jen keeps brow beatin' me every time she sees me. Can't tell if she likes me or hates me," Jay confessed, adding another card to the discard pile. "Imagine what she'd be like as a mutant? What would her power be, do ya think? Ah reckon it'd be somethin' like Monet's, but with more of a temper."
"I think she just thrives on giving people a hard time," Mark replied, carefully examining his hand before pulling one card from the pile and discarding one of his in turn. "I think her power would be more like that big guy at your place. Um, Marko? Once he starts movin', nothing can stop him? Yeah, that'd be her."
"Ah think she's a dyke in denial personally. Got that kinda personality, even though she's always gettin' her hooks into guys that are bad for her. Don't know why she dates guys from the bar. Ah know Ah wouldn't. Would you? Never seen you with.... someone."
"There's more than one kind of lesbian personality, Jay," chided Mark, but not unkindly. "And bein' bad with men doesn't necessarily make her one. Fuck, if it did, then I'd be totally straight. I have a . . . bad record lately with guys." One tried to kill him, and the other was a whore. "Might be time to go back to women, really."
"Is there? Ah didn't know," he said innocently. Jay fanned his cards out, looking down at the card on the top of the pile and pulled one straight from his hand. He set the ace of spades down. He nodded his head, silently agreeing that Jen was scary, even on a good day. "If you wanna," he said, casually propping his foot on Mark's chair, next to his knee. "Ah think girls are like freight trains. Once ya get 'em goin', they're pretty hard to stop. Or like angry bulls."
"And some folk just like getting gored. Giggity. How 'bout you? Got someone fanning your flames, so to speak?"
"Sorta. It's complicated. This love's got rules, so we're keepin' it an open relationship ‘cause there ain't enough extinguishers to put the fire out and keep us happy. Works better that way, Ah reckon. Women don' seem like your type - no offense."
Mark laughed. "There's more to me than meets the eye. I've dated men and women. Hell, one of my longest relationships was with a transwoman. But be careful about an open relationship. It can lead to petty jealousy if you're not careful." He thought back to his breakup with Jean-Phillipe, and couldn't help but sigh a little, wondering if he'd made the right choice. "Also, wrap it up. I feel it's my duty to remind everyone about latex. S'very important."
"It's why we're in an open relationship ‘cause Ah get jealous too easily. Think it's ‘cause Ah ain't gettin' enough." It was Jay's turn to laugh this time. "Ah don't think wrappin' it up matters concernin' him. I’m a dehydrated man in a desert. Mah dick will shrivel up from not gettin' used."
"Better that than the HIV," replied Mark, turning his attention back to his cards. "You know what I've heard lately? All rumor and happenstance, I'll disclaim, but there've been people comin' down with something and a shot of penicillin or azithromycin ain't helpin'. So, yeah, latex."
"And what if you're allergic? Then you've got a real problem. Those other condoms are hella expensive. 'Sides, Ah don't think HIV would stick on someone like me, do you?" he asked and shrugged, nudging Mark with his foot. "Your turn. Even if Ah couldn't catch it, Ah still don't bareback. Makes me feel like Ah'm doin' somethin' wrong if Ah do."
"Ah, guilt, a time-honored contraceptive tradition. I'd almost confuse you for Catholic with that attitude, except for all the butt sex with men. Actually, not that different." Good thing Marie-Ange wasn't about. He wasn't allowed to make such jokes in front of her often. "And instead of latex, use polyurethane. We got both in the vending machines in the restrooms. Just a quarter each. And any good clinic gives condoms out for free."
"Clinics? Ah haven't been to a clinic in ages. Ah doubt Ah'd need one now, except for the condom thing." He folded his cards up and rested his hands in his lap, looking at Mark for the first time through the eyes of someone who could find him attractive. "So what's this thing that's going around?"
Mark's face fell and he shrugged. "Dunno. This girl who comes a lot works over at The Kaufman Clinic and she was tellin' me that they've had a few patients come in lately with something new. S'not bacterial, since those medicines aren't working and they usually get rid of everything. It seems like HIV, but the tests, um ELISA? Think that's what it's called. ELISA isn't detecting HIV. Which means it's either something else entirely or it's a mutated virus that standard assays can't detect. Pretty scary, if you ask me."
"Well if they don't know what it is," Jay said, "Then what are they doin' about it? Ah mean, if ya got something that's not able to be fixed, Ah think Ah'd be pretty damn scared myself. It ain't in the norm for stuff to pop up that ain't known, right?" he asked.
"Such is the story of AIDS, hon. Came about in the '50s, and it wasn't until the early '80s when it was recognized as an actual disease. And fuck, there's still no cure, just treatment. Really, Jay, what kind of gay man are you?" Mark chided playfully, though the humor wasn't entirely in his eyes. "Time to learn your people's history. This time, I hope, the paradigm's changed and we're better prepared. You could check by the clinic to see what kind of research they're doin'. At the very least, they could probably use blood donations for controls."
"A healthy ignorant one," Jay teased back. "Ah know the basics and Ah know that blood donations are out of the question. But if that's the case, Ah'll stop by anyways. Ah wouldn't be a good gay man if Ah didn't contribute to the community. What's yer contribution? Rubbin' it in?" he said, trying to lighten Mark's mood.
"I encourage others to lie and donate blood even if they're not eligible. I just refuse to lie myself. It's a perfectly valid double standard in my mind." Mark picked up a card, and, satisfied with his hand, laid it out for Jay to see. "Gin."
"Ah'd swear Jen keeps brow beatin' me every time she sees me. Can't tell if she likes me or hates me," Jay confessed, adding another card to the discard pile. "Imagine what she'd be like as a mutant? What would her power be, do ya think? Ah reckon it'd be somethin' like Monet's, but with more of a temper."
"I think she just thrives on giving people a hard time," Mark replied, carefully examining his hand before pulling one card from the pile and discarding one of his in turn. "I think her power would be more like that big guy at your place. Um, Marko? Once he starts movin', nothing can stop him? Yeah, that'd be her."
"Ah think she's a dyke in denial personally. Got that kinda personality, even though she's always gettin' her hooks into guys that are bad for her. Don't know why she dates guys from the bar. Ah know Ah wouldn't. Would you? Never seen you with.... someone."
"There's more than one kind of lesbian personality, Jay," chided Mark, but not unkindly. "And bein' bad with men doesn't necessarily make her one. Fuck, if it did, then I'd be totally straight. I have a . . . bad record lately with guys." One tried to kill him, and the other was a whore. "Might be time to go back to women, really."
"Is there? Ah didn't know," he said innocently. Jay fanned his cards out, looking down at the card on the top of the pile and pulled one straight from his hand. He set the ace of spades down. He nodded his head, silently agreeing that Jen was scary, even on a good day. "If you wanna," he said, casually propping his foot on Mark's chair, next to his knee. "Ah think girls are like freight trains. Once ya get 'em goin', they're pretty hard to stop. Or like angry bulls."
"And some folk just like getting gored. Giggity. How 'bout you? Got someone fanning your flames, so to speak?"
"Sorta. It's complicated. This love's got rules, so we're keepin' it an open relationship ‘cause there ain't enough extinguishers to put the fire out and keep us happy. Works better that way, Ah reckon. Women don' seem like your type - no offense."
Mark laughed. "There's more to me than meets the eye. I've dated men and women. Hell, one of my longest relationships was with a transwoman. But be careful about an open relationship. It can lead to petty jealousy if you're not careful." He thought back to his breakup with Jean-Phillipe, and couldn't help but sigh a little, wondering if he'd made the right choice. "Also, wrap it up. I feel it's my duty to remind everyone about latex. S'very important."
"It's why we're in an open relationship ‘cause Ah get jealous too easily. Think it's ‘cause Ah ain't gettin' enough." It was Jay's turn to laugh this time. "Ah don't think wrappin' it up matters concernin' him. I’m a dehydrated man in a desert. Mah dick will shrivel up from not gettin' used."
"Better that than the HIV," replied Mark, turning his attention back to his cards. "You know what I've heard lately? All rumor and happenstance, I'll disclaim, but there've been people comin' down with something and a shot of penicillin or azithromycin ain't helpin'. So, yeah, latex."
"And what if you're allergic? Then you've got a real problem. Those other condoms are hella expensive. 'Sides, Ah don't think HIV would stick on someone like me, do you?" he asked and shrugged, nudging Mark with his foot. "Your turn. Even if Ah couldn't catch it, Ah still don't bareback. Makes me feel like Ah'm doin' somethin' wrong if Ah do."
"Ah, guilt, a time-honored contraceptive tradition. I'd almost confuse you for Catholic with that attitude, except for all the butt sex with men. Actually, not that different." Good thing Marie-Ange wasn't about. He wasn't allowed to make such jokes in front of her often. "And instead of latex, use polyurethane. We got both in the vending machines in the restrooms. Just a quarter each. And any good clinic gives condoms out for free."
"Clinics? Ah haven't been to a clinic in ages. Ah doubt Ah'd need one now, except for the condom thing." He folded his cards up and rested his hands in his lap, looking at Mark for the first time through the eyes of someone who could find him attractive. "So what's this thing that's going around?"
Mark's face fell and he shrugged. "Dunno. This girl who comes a lot works over at The Kaufman Clinic and she was tellin' me that they've had a few patients come in lately with something new. S'not bacterial, since those medicines aren't working and they usually get rid of everything. It seems like HIV, but the tests, um ELISA? Think that's what it's called. ELISA isn't detecting HIV. Which means it's either something else entirely or it's a mutated virus that standard assays can't detect. Pretty scary, if you ask me."
"Well if they don't know what it is," Jay said, "Then what are they doin' about it? Ah mean, if ya got something that's not able to be fixed, Ah think Ah'd be pretty damn scared myself. It ain't in the norm for stuff to pop up that ain't known, right?" he asked.
"Such is the story of AIDS, hon. Came about in the '50s, and it wasn't until the early '80s when it was recognized as an actual disease. And fuck, there's still no cure, just treatment. Really, Jay, what kind of gay man are you?" Mark chided playfully, though the humor wasn't entirely in his eyes. "Time to learn your people's history. This time, I hope, the paradigm's changed and we're better prepared. You could check by the clinic to see what kind of research they're doin'. At the very least, they could probably use blood donations for controls."
"A healthy ignorant one," Jay teased back. "Ah know the basics and Ah know that blood donations are out of the question. But if that's the case, Ah'll stop by anyways. Ah wouldn't be a good gay man if Ah didn't contribute to the community. What's yer contribution? Rubbin' it in?" he said, trying to lighten Mark's mood.
"I encourage others to lie and donate blood even if they're not eligible. I just refuse to lie myself. It's a perfectly valid double standard in my mind." Mark picked up a card, and, satisfied with his hand, laid it out for Jay to see. "Gin."
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