The police notified Decker’s father who came down and made his own inquiries. He took possession of Decker’s property, including his cell phone, my number was in it and, when the police secured his call records and, in fact later, his texts, I appeared prominently there. They identified me as a romantic interest of Decker’s and I was questioned even more closely about my relationship with him and his disappearance. I was happy to cooperate and told them everything I knew which included our romantic–sexual–relationship. I was “cleared” as a “suspect” but, not surprisingly, the police would return to question me.
The report was that Decker’s father being a man of immense influence and resources, hired investigators to track his son. They had no greater success than the local police. He and talked many times and all I could do is reassure him that his son was a good man, a hero, that I loved him, and the only issue that I could see that might account for his disappearance was his PTSD.
But…recently, I was watching a national TV news program that was covering a city, not near me, with a serious trash collection that had reached proportions that would garner national attention. There was a “street reporter” giving an account of the issue and in the background I spotted a man that I thought looked like Decker who walked through the frame. He was sporting a thick black beard…it looked almost like a disguise…but I knew Decker had naturally thick dark hair…everywhere. I phoned that into the local police. I didn’t hear anything back from them. I only hope they followed up.
I never thought, in this day and age, that a man couldn’t be found, even if he didn’t want to be found. Eventually the turn up. The more famous they are, the more likely they will be found, like that big time mobster who disappeared for 15 or 20 years. He was found. Of course the FBI was on his trail and there were rewards. Still, how can anybody disappear as completely as Decker? Clearly, there may never be an answer.
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I was, horribly distraught by Decker’s disappearance. The fact that he was gone was bad enough; not knowing why, or where he might be, compounds the feeling of helplessness and loss. I turned to my friends for solace.
Gladys and Tanya were a great, though both of them were busy with their own affairs…and I don’t mean just their romantic affairs. I know that both of them are, if not highly placed, certainly significant women in their fields. It was rare, but Tanya and I would get together for one-to-one “fun” time. But something had gone out of it. I was mourning Decker which made high voltage sex difficult for me. Also, Gladys had become an exclusive lover with Tanya; that’s not to say that Tanya didn’t have other lovers, it’s just that Tanya was Gladys’s only lover and it diminished our opportunities to have sex at all.
I lived for the time that June/Juliette could spend together. Unfortunately, that time became less and less, as well. Juliette became so much more popular after she “came out” and demand for her performances skyrocketed. We texted and e-mailed but even with that our contact shrank to what could charitably characterized as occasional. I followed her on her webpage, though.
Recently, I pulled up a news item about June/Juliette. The centerpiece was a large photo of her and another woman, a soprano diva–top shelf opera singer–Glorietta, “somebody”, Italian, you know. She looked gorgeous and not the stereotypical grand opera soprano that I have always visualized. You know the type; “45-45-45” boobs, hips, waist, dressed in Viking helmet with horns, with a voice that would shatter a plate glass window. No, this woman, while she had prominent boobs–36D…DD?…was otherwise trim and shapely, with a darkly exotic–and may I say erotic–look to her. In a word, GORGEOUS!
The headline on the article was:
“FAMED VIOLIN VIRTUOSA TO WED WORLD RENOWNED DIVA!” The supporting text recounted Juliette’s career, her announcement that she was a lesbian, her meeting with Glorietta and their mutual attraction sparked by Glorietta’s publically identifying herself as a lesbian, too.. The rest of the article was “yadda,yadda,yadda” The important part was that Juliette and Glorietta were deeply and irretrievably in love and were to be officially married.
You know the sad state of affairs that prevailed in a city when there was a devastating explosion that leveled the city for a mile, corpses everywhere, and then the blizzard of the century hit and covered the city and ice so thick that the dead couldn’t be recovered until Spring? NO? Well it did actually happen way back when…like…a hundred years ago….Well, THAT’S how I felt! My lover Juliette, effectively gone, to another lover. My lover, Decker, gone…period! So much for our promise of unending love! It’s a good thing I didn’t own a dog; I’m sure it would have been hit by a car and died, too!