Banging Becky

She was so different from me, but somehow over the months that followed,
we found that we had something in common. We weren’t the only straights
in the survivors of AIDS group, but mabe the fact that most of the group
was gay did help push us together. The first thing we discovered we had
in common was an aversion to everything we associated with our encounter
with AIDS, and that included sex.

A few weeks after she joined our support group, we ended up walking out
to the parking lot together after a meeting. It was January, but above
freezing, and after the recent cold spell, we both found it pleasantly
warm, enough so that we stood outside and chated a bit before we got in
our cars to drive home.

“By the way,” I asked. “I remember you said you did jewelry design; got
any of your work to show off?”

“Other than my earrings, Nope,” she said, and then paused thoughtfully.
“It’s funny, I used to like flashy jewelry, but since Janet got AIDS …
well, I guess I’ve tried to avoid being flashy. I guess I’m one of the
new puritans the minister talked about at the meeting. It sure sounds
odd saying it, though, I mean, my self-image is about as far from that
as possible.”

While the rest of the group came down on her for abandoning her friend,
I admired her. She was stunning looking, if plainly dressed. Her long
hair was tied back in a ponytail to show her ears, and in each ear, she
wore a row of gold earrings that ran from the earlobe right up over the
top, as many as twenty in each ear.

I still remember Anne’s outburst at her first meeting. “Damn you!” she
screamed. “Don’t you understand? Janet and I,” she sobbed, “Janet and
I shared all the same lovers.” She paused for a ragged breath. “How
can I make you understand? See these rings?” She ran her finger over
the arc of rings in one ear. “Janet and I had this deal. Everytime we
had a new guy, we’d put in a new pair of earrings, one ring for each of
us. Now she’s got AIDS, damn it, but I didn’t run away from her, I ran
away from all of our lovers! Janet I could face, I couldn’t face all the
guys!”