LaGuardia Airport, New York City – September 1972

Buddy stepped off of the planes walkway and into the terminal. He quickly looked behind him, his eyes searching for Andy. They couldnt hold hands in public, but he didnt want to find himself too far away from his lover. Andy meant safety to him.

“Hey, Im right behind you!” Andy called, trying to get the strap of the overnight bag settled on his shoulder as he navigated the crowd disembarking from the plane.

They caught up with one another as they went to baggage claim.

“Should we take the subway or get a taxi?” Buddy asked.

“I think well just get a taxi – its on the record companys dime after all,” Andy said as they left the terminal to find a taxi.

~ ~ ~ KB ~ ~ ~

“You dont think anyone was suspicious of us – getting one room instead of two?” Buddy asked.

“No, men travel all the time and share a hotel room. There are two beds, we just mess up the blankets in the other one and nobody will know the difference. Quit being so paranoid, Buddy. This is New York – we can be a little more free here,” Andy assured his lover. He put out his hand and caressed Buddys cheek, moving his thumb to touch the corner of his mouth.

Buddy pulled away, moving a little more away from Andy as they walked down the street. Nobody seemed to be watching the couple, but Buddy was still afraid. They went on in silence, Andy a bit irritated and Buddy nervous.

“Im sorry, Andy,” he said, contrite. He really didnt mean to be so fearful, but he just couldnt help himself.

Andy just kept walking. He knew Buddy couldnt help it, he knew why, but he had no idea how to address the problem. Guys were coming back from Viet Nam with the same issues, Andy read about in the newspapers. They were calling it Post-Viet Nam Syndrome, but it was the same thing: combat fatigue or shell-shock, what ever they called it. Andy wondered if that was what was wrong with Buddy. Even if he had never been in the military, he had fought his own war with the bullies in school and it seemed to have affected him just as much as if hed been in the jungle or the Ho Chi Min Trail.

Buddy walked along, his head down, looking at his feet.

“Dont be sorry, Buddy. I do understand. Well be fine. I have to go in and sign some paperwork, then we can go to lunch and do some sight-seeing. Okay?” Andy asked.

“Okay,” Buddy agreed, feeling just a shade better.

Andy gave Buddy a big smile. “You can come in and wait in the reception area, they have sofas and magazines to read. I wont be long,” Andy promised.

Buddy followed him in, sitting down on a blue plastic Eams chair in the lobby. After a while, he got up, pacing for a while. When the receptionist gave him an exasperated look, he walked outside and leaned against the bricks of the office building. He hated it when people looked at him like that. He decided to walk down to the corner to buy a newspaper to occupy his time.

On his way back, Buddy got a funny feeling, as if someone was following him. He walked faster, thinking this was broad daylight, would someone try to harm him?

“Hey, sissy boy!” he heard, but kept walking, a little faster now.

“Oy!! Wait a second, I only wanted a light!” the voice came again. Buddy slowed down and turned to see a teenager standing there, his long hair greasy and unkempt. He had holes in his jeans and his boxer shorts showed through, and his T-shirt had a pack of Camels rolled up in his sleeve like it was 1954.

“I dont smoke, Im sorry – I dont have a lighter,” Buddy said, then turned to walk back to the record companys office. He could hear the boy was still there, and he had been joined by several more.

“Stop a minute, man, just wait up,” he heard the boy say, then some mumbling as angry-sounding voices were heard.

Suddenly one of them jumped in front of Buddy, pushing him into the alley he was crossing.

“Wait, I think youre mistaking me for someone else,” Buddy said, walking cautiously as the boys crowded him into a corner behind a dumpster.

“Oh, yeah...we thought you were Elvis,” one of them snickered.

“No, hes Tricky Dick Nixon – be careful, he might want to draft you,” another said. They pushed him back into the depths of the alley until he couldnt move any further, then they started throwing pebbles at him.

“Stop. Please...I didnt do anything to you. Why are you doing this?” he whimpered, covering his face with both arms.

“Because we saw you and your queer boyfriend walking in our neighborhood, thats why,” the first one said.

“My what?” Buddy asked. “You must be mistaken...”

“Nope. Saw it all. You did everything but carry a purse. We dont want your kind around here,” he said.

“But...wait...” Buddy started to say, but another boy came from behind the others. He was a big, burly kid and he was holding a bat.

“No, were done talking,” he growled and the last thing Buddy saw was the boys tie-dyed T-shirt. It had a peace sign and said Love for All across the front.

~ ~ ~ KB ~ ~ ~

Andy walked out of the record companys office. The receptionist said Buddy had headed east, having said something about going to get a newspaper. Andy couldnt see him when he looked down the street, but started walking that way in hope that Buddy had just stepped into a store or something. He could hear some kind of ruckus going on, but wasnt sure. Coming even with the alley, he glanced down to see a gang of kids swinging bats and fists at what looked like one person who was curled up on the ground.

Andy saw a police car just turning the corner and shouted for them to follow him. Their windows were rolled down and he saw them turn on their lights and come up even with the alley.

Andy ran down the alley with a terrible sinking feeling in his chest. He didnt want to look, was cringing inside because somehow he knew it was Buddy.

His shouts and the reflection of the police lights were enough for the gang to start running, one of the policemen in pursuit, the other calling for an ambulance. Andy got there first, gingerly turning the body over. It was Buddy.

“No! No! No! Buddy!” he groaned out, his heart stopping in the split second between finding him and recognition of his lover.

“Andy...” Buddy said, and closed his eyes.

“Buddy! Say something...wake up!”

“Sir, lets let him rest. You dont want to move him too much now, there may be injuries,” the policeman said, taking Andy by the arm and moving him back.

The ambulance was there, the medics strapping Buddy down on the board to lift him into the waiting van, lights and siren going.

“You can ride with us,” the medic told him, pointing to a place for him to sit next to Buddy. Andy was in a daze, holding Buddys hand and begging him to hold on. His face was a mess – his eyes swollen already and his nose broken. He had a broken arm, the wrist bending in a direction it shouldnt be able to go.

Later at the hospital, Buddy was in surgery. They had to repair his lacerated liver and set the compound fracture of his arm. Andy just sat in the lobby, staring at the wall. He looked as if he was in a catatonic fit, not moving or blinking.

He had tried to go in with Buddy, but he wasnt family. He lied and said he was Buddys brother, but it was too late. The policeman had heard him tell the medics they were roommates back in Ohio. He finally broke down and told the woman in charge that he and Buddy were partners. Like married, but of course they were not allowed to get married. She was sympathetic, but said patients in ICU were not allowed visitors except family.

Hours later, Andy still had no idea if Buddy was alive or dead. Nobody would tell him a blessed thing. He had sat, crying his eyes out, his tears flowing unchecked down his cheeks to his chin and dropping from there to his oxford shirt.

Finally, a nurse he had spoken to earlier walked by him, turning her head to see if anyone was near. She whispered to him, just loud enough for him to hear:

“Your friend Kurt came out of surgery fine. Hes hurt and its serious, but hes alive and hes a fighter. Dont give up hope.”

He turned to thank her, but she put a finger to his lips.

“My brother...hes like you. It isnt fair, but I could lose my job for telling you about Kurt. Just dont tell anyone it was me that told you. I did it for my brother...”

And she was gone.

Andy had been sitting in the same chair for almost seven hours when he saw Mr. Hummel rush in to the desk.

“I need to see my son, Kurt Hummel. I was told he was here...”

“I will go check to see if you can go up. Wait here,” said the young girl at the desk. Mr. Hummel looked around and spotted Andy.

“Andy! What happened? What did they mean that Buddy was hurt? They wouldnt say anything on the phone, just told me he was in surgery!”

“We were walking to my meeting, Buddy was waiting in the lobby. The next thing I knew I was out of the meeting, looking for him and I saw he was being beat up by a gang of kids in an alley. I called the cops, they called the ambulance. I got to sit with him in the ambulance, but once we got here, they said I wasnt a relative. So I have been sitting here, waiting for any kind of word,” Andy said all at once. He was feeling the panic rise in his gut once more.

“Ill make sure you can go in, Andy. I dont understand...” Mr Hummel promised.

“Mr. Hummel?” a man with a white jacket and a stethoscope around his neck stepped into a conference room, leading Mr. Hummel by the elbow. Andy went with them, but the doctor said he wasnt family, looking at Andy sternly.

“He is also my son, doctor. We are family. Now, tell me about Kurt.”

A short time later, Andy was sitting next to Buddys bed, Mr. Hummel on the other side. Buddy was wrapped with bandages everywhere. He was waking up, still groggy but alert.

“Dad? Did I dream it?” he asked, trying to keep his eyes open.

“No, bud, you didnt. You are in the hospital. You had surgery and your liver has been repaired. Your arm is full of pins and screws, but they think they saved it. I know youre going to be okay,” Mr. Hummel said.

“Where....where is Andy? They didnt get him, did they?” Buddy asked, looking around wildly for a moment until he felt Andys hand in his. He turned to look at his lover.

“Im fine, Buddy. They didnt get me. We were lucky the police had been called and arrived at the same time I did.”

Buddy tried to move his hand to touch his head, but it was in traction and couldnt be moved.

“Hey, calm down. Im right here. Im fine. We just need to get you better so your dad and I can take you home,” Andy said.

“Home....” Buddy said, his eyes closing in exhaustion.

~ ~ ~ KB ~ ~ ~

They were in New York for ten days before Buddy was well enough to board a plane home.

Andy stepped around Mr. Hummels car, carefully helping Buddy out and guiding him to the stairs. He and Kurts dad got him up the stairs and into the bed in Andys room – propped on pillows and covered with blankets.

“You call if I can do anything, Andy. I am literally just a phone call away,” he reassured the man once more. Mr. Hummel couldnt take a lot of time off, he owned the business, but he knew his son needed round the clock care. Andy was happy to provide it, and so the nurse they hired to care for Buddy didnt end up doing much.

“Buddy?” Andy called, entering the room and seeing if Buddy was awake.

“Andy...come sit with me, please?”

“Of course. How are you feeling?” Andy asked, still acting standoffish with Buddy. He was so worried that Buddy would blame him for his part in the incident.

“It hurts. A lot. I need kisses,” Buddy said, his face serious.

“No, I cant risk hurting you,” he said.

“It would only make it better, my love,” Buddy coaxed.

“Maybe just the one, okay?”

“Yeah, one...” Andy agreed, leaning over for a very quick kiss on the lips. Buddy had other ideas. He pulled Andy close and kissed him long and deep. “Andy, promise me well never go back to New York. Please.”

“I promise, Buddy – never again.”

“Can you just hold me? I need you, Andy,” Buddy begged. Andy took off his street clothes, leaving just his shorts and sleeveless undershirt. He was careful as he got into bed with Buddy for the first time in three weeks. One look at the sad face of his lover broke his heart.

“Buddy, I promise, we can stay here forever. I love you, and we can do whatever you want. Just promise youll never leave me – ever,” Andy asked.

“No, Andy. Ill never really leave you. Until your last day on earth, Ill be by your side. Then we can come back and do it all again. I promise...”