Joe knows Gene won't kick him out of their bed while he's in this body--knows he's all-accepting and trying to prepare for what happens if it doesn't go away, but after that first night, and the day  he's just had at the baseball game, his own feelings are so mixed and twisted to some new chemistry that he needs to get away from the homestead, the ( Read more... )

[from here]

It's like cleaning up a mess--enter the room, walk the perimeter, stoop to pick up this and that, waiting to tackle the stain in the middle, all in complete silence.  His breath comes out white and disappears on the light wind, drawing the cold around him and he's glad to see his jacket sitting there on the snow, where Gene left it.  He ( Read more... )

He'd only been to Sharon's hut once before, walking her home from the masked ball, but it was a small island and he wasn't one to get lost, with or without a map.  Gene hadn't protested when Joe told him he was going to collect Hera for the weekend, so he guessed he was off the hook for not mentioning it until now ( Read more... )

[Continued from here]

He starts to remember in bits and pieces, as he turns corners and opens doors.  He keeps one hand on the wall like he's in a maze, then there are no more walls and he sets off for the beach, not consciously, just knowing that any aimless direction will eventually lead to the shore.  It's a small island.

He remembers the laundry ( Read more... )