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An Affair with Joe Rigoletto

A few months after my night at the Web, here I am again.  Finding myself back into a familiar place where boys, gals and gays alike will be rubbing elbows to get in and be able to show their best shot in the dance floor.  It was just me and Edwin; no presence or shadow of Miss B this time.  We did not get off at the usual 5th Avenue and 59th Street station but at 59th Street and Lexington as we were supposed to meet up with another gay friend, Danny, who lives by Upper East side and was supposed to take the downtown 6 train to get to this station.  As soon as we got out we stopped at the nearby wall of Bloomingdales so Edwin can text Danny letting him know we are at the meeting place at the meeting time of 11pm.   We waited for another 15 minutes with no visible presence of Danny.  Tired of calling and sending text messages Edwin said “This queen is ignoring my calls and text message so let us not waste anymore time waiting for him.  He is probably in the arms of another man.”  Since we are in unison that Danny did not even have the decency to let us know that he will not be able to meet us we have furiously decided that we will leave the place at once and head to the bar.  As we were walking along 58th Street Edwin and I were discussing at our displeasure with how Danny stood us up and never even bother to call us or answer Edwin’s call and messages.  “This will be the last time that we will invite Danny.  He is a liar and cannot be counted on when it comes to promises” I said to Edwin.  He agreed with me saying “It was very clear when I spoke to him earlier that he is coming and he was the one who changed the meeting place to 59th and Lex.”  “We really can’t rely on him” he added.  Before we headed to the bar I decided to stop at the Citibank branch at 57th Street and Park Avenue to withdraw money, “I need cash for the drinks and few dollars for the go-go boys in case I see somebody that I like” I said jokingly.  Few clicks on the ATM machine and off we go to another block for the bar.  We both agreed that it was better Danny was not there because we don’t have to force ourselves to listen to Danny’s stories of “I, Me and Myself” or in short, all about him being the best, the greatest and the most attractive gay guy on the planet Earth.

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Saying Goodbye

It was a chilly morning of March the 3rd.  I woke up feeling restless from tossing and turning during the night.  It felt like the whole world is on my shoulders and my head is about to break from the most excruciating headache.  Today is the day.  How do you say goodbye to a man you love and have known for more than 3 years?  How will you set free of someone you have shared three precious times of togetherness and separation as lovers and enemies until you got engaged on the last approach? How do you bid adieu to the person you have vowed to be the last and the only man in your life from the moment he proposed to you until forever?  How do you let go of the husband you got married twice to: first through a wedding officiant in Goshen, New York on December 27, 2014 and second through a minister in front of our families and friends by the shores of Lake Ontario in Henderson, New York on June 6, 2015?  I got reminded of the moment that fateful morning three days ago when he said his best friend’s wife is coming on Wednesday to help him pack his things and he is leaving me on Friday, which unfortunately is today.  Just like that, my whole world crumbled.  This feeling of restlessness and anxiety has been lingering on since the beginning of February where a simple misunderstanding, one stupid fight turned into a separation that broke the somewhat peaceful married life we both used to enjoy.

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The Abusive Video Shop Owner

Part of the reason for my coming to America, aside from mending my broken heart from a failed relationship with my first and only Filipino boyfriend who cheated on me was also to start a new life.  I was hoping to look for a new job though my arrangement with my former employer, a humanitarian agency based in Geneva, Switzerland was to come here for vacation and decide if I will accept another tenure with them for another 3 years.  They gave me a 3-month vacation, two months were paid and the last month was unpaid.  I came here in the US with $7,000 cash in my pocket hoping that it will be enough for the next 3 months while I look for a permanent job.  My foster parents in Chicago, Nanay Gina and Tatay Bing, as well as their 2 children Farida and Eros, were very nice to me and treated me like a part of their family.  While I was not having any luck in finding an employer to sponsor me for a visa, Tatay Bing suggested a part-time job for me in his friend’s video shop.  His friend’s name was Erning, a nickname for his full name of Ernesto.  I was told that Mang Erning (“Mang” is a term used as a sign of respect for an older man), as Farida and Eros would address him, is married to Aling Elena (“Aling” is a term used as sign of respect for an older woman)  and they have two sons, Elton and John.

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