Twenty-one Year Old Tragedy: In Remembrance of Matthew Sheppard
In 1999, Matthew Sheppard was murdered, his body displayed on a fence. His offense: being a young gay man in rural Wyoming.
In the forthcoming third installment of my historical fiction series, “Red, White & Blues”, gay characters Asher, James, Luke and Toby are living in Laguna Beach and the news of the hate crime hits them hard.
Following is an excerpt from “Red, White & Blues: Book Three”:
It is early October. Delightful Diversions is in full party planning mode for the upcoming Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s Eve party season. James and Luke are working closely with one another; there is a lot to prepare for and do. With just a couple of weeks before Halloween and five parties to plan, there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day. Often working late to ensure everything gets completed, both James and Luke are aware of their respective partner’s suspicions. They had denied the accusations of their affair, but both Asher and Toby seemed unconvinced. In truth, James found Luke very attractive and vice versa. In truth, they had a strong attraction to one another and had acted on that attraction on more than one occasion, even after Asher’s fiftieth birthday party when they were both asked if anything was going on.
Further complicating the issue, especially with Toby, is the hate crime death of college student Matthew Shepard in Wyoming. The young man had been pistol-whipped and set on fire, then tied to a wooden fence where he was left for dead. Found by a cyclist who initially thought Shepard was a scarecrow, he was barely alive when he was taken to a local hospital in a coma where he died six days later, October sixteenth, which was yesterday. The story obviously brought back memories of Luke’s very similar experience and in turn, the fact that he had been cruising the park for a blow job when he was beaten.
The atmosphere in the gay community in Laguna Beach is understandably somber. And angry. Would hate crimes never cease? It was troubling, disheartening and sad.
That evening, a group of friends meets up, including Asher and James and Toby and Luke. The fall season in southern California equals summer weather elsewhere, so the evening is warm enough for the group of about twenty young men to head down to the beach to relax and watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean.
Spread out over several blankets, the group enjoys concealed beers, shots of tequila and crab meat sandwiches, pickled eggs and giant chocolate chip cookies while trying to blot out the feelings of continued persecution, lack of understanding and hatred for their community.
“I can’t get the image out of my head,” says Greg, Toby’s best friend. “I mean, of course I didn’t actually see him, but I can imagine what that poor boy looked like hanging on that fence, beaten and burned beyond recognition. Not only because of who he was, but what he was.” He shakes his head. “I just don’t understand,” he says quietly.
“Well, it doesn’t do you any good to think about that,” Asher says. “It’s more important that we continue to fight these bastards, continue to call them out for the ignorant assholes that they are.”
“Right!”
“I can’t believe fucking redneck hillbilly assholes like that still exist!”
“They do,” Asher says, and tosses back a shot of tequila. “And they always will. And it’s not just rednecks out in the middle of nowhere. Let’s not forget about those lunatics that went on a gay-bashing spree right here in Orange County back in ninety-three or when that idiot beat that Huntington Beach High School track star, leaving him with a steel plate in his jaw.” Asher stops, shakes his head. “And the goddamn principal called it a ‘game’. What we need to do is make sure that they know that we’ve got our eyes on them and we’re not going away anytime soon.”
Once again, James feels a rush of pride toward Asher. His dalliances with Luke seem petty and stupid when he thinks about all the years that he and Asher have spent together. Living in San Francisco and fighting for gay rights and dignity, making a real difference in the community and the lives of those around them had been an experience that shaped who he had become and they had done that together. Contemplating leaving him, however idly, was selfish and stupid. Besides, the Viagra has really been helping. James could tell that Asher’s confidence was back and in turn, he was happier, more positive about life in general.
He looks over at Luke and they hold a quick glance. Toby is a good man, too. He deserves a loyal and loving companion. Suddenly feeling protective of his friend, James makes a decision to not let his desires get the better of him anymore where Luke is concerned. It isn’t fair or right.
The news of Matthew Shepard had had a similar effect on Maura, Dan and their friends in the gay community in San Francisco. Although it was a tight squeeze, Maura managed to pull together a fundraising event in honor of Matthew Shepard the weekend before Halloween. With the help of Rusty and Lawrence, word quickly spread and a decent turnout was expected.
