Happy Independence Day
Terrence Bottom wants to change the world. A prelaw student at Columbia University majoring in political science, his interests range from opposing the draft and the war in Vietnam, to civil rights for gays, to anything to do with Cameron McKenzie. Terrence notices the rugged blond hanging around the Stonewall Inn, but the handsome man—and rumored Mafia hustler—rebuffs his smiles and winks.
Cameron McKenzie dropped out of college and left tiny Paris, Kentucky after the death of the grandmother who raised him, dreaming of an acting career on Broadway. Although he claims to be straight, he becomes a prostitute to make ends meet. Now the Mafia is using him to entrap men for extortion schemes, he is in way over his head, and he can’t see a way out—at least not a way that doesn’t involve a swim to the bottom of the Hudson in a pair of cement flippers.
Cameron is left with a choice: endanger both their lives by telling Terrence everything or walk away from the only man he ever loved. The Mafia hustler and the student activist want to find a way to stay together, but first they need to find a way to stay alive.
MR: Thanks so much for inviting us over to Love Bytes. I’m Michael Rupured and with me today is Terrence Bottom. Well Terrence, last I heard, you were staying in a shelter for homeless kids in Washington, DC. Still true?
Terrence: Nah. I’m living in New York now, man. Just finished my sophomore year at Columbia University. I’ll graduate in 1971 and hope to go on to law school at Yale or Harvard. Can you believe it?
MR: Wow! I’m really impressed. From homeless hustler to the Ivy League in a little more than two years. Congratulations. How’d you do it?
Terrence: Hustling got me out of a bad situation at home. Until I ran away, school was my escape from a slew of wicked stepfathers. On the streets, school was the only normal thing left in my life. Being the photographer for the school newspaper was a good excuse to hang out at school all the time. I worked hard and made good grades, but I wouldn’t be at Columbia without Philip Potter and George Walker. They wrote letters for me, helped me with my application, and pay for everything my scholarship doesn’t cover—including my studio apartment in Greenwich Village.
MR: I know they’re proud of you. How does living in NYC compare with living in DC?
Terrence: Like night and day, man. Think about it. DC is full of uptight bureaucrats who worry about being outed and losing their government job. I like the vibe better in New York—artists, actors, musicians—just a cooler bunch of people.
MR: How about the legal environment?
Terrence: Betty Badge raids gay bars at least a couple of times a month no matter where you live. Entrapment is the norm in bigger cities across the country too. If an attractive guy hits on me in a public bathroom, I ignore him no matter how hot he is because he’s probably an undercover cop. But the crazy liquor laws, the Mafia-owned clubs, and Mayor Lindsay’s ongoing campaign to clean up the city, make things much worse in New York. With the mayor up for reelection, I expect we’re in for a rough ride from now to November.
MR: Crazy liquor laws and Mafia-owned clubs?
Terrence: Yeah. It’s like prohibition for gays. Places that serve to homosexuals lose their liquor license. Make something illegal and the Mafia steps in to fill the void. Take the Stonewall Inn. Technically, it’s a private club. If the goons guarding the door let you in—they won’t admit anyone who doesn’t look like they belong—you pay an outrageous cover charge, sign the membership book, and then you’re free to enjoy overpriced and watered-down cocktails in one of dirtiest, sleaziest dives east of the Mississippi River.
MR: Then why go?
Terrence: The Stonewall Inn is the only place in New York, outside of private homes, where men can dance together without getting arrested, beat up, or worse. The place is packed every night of the week.
MR: Does the Stonewall Inn ever get raided?
Terrence: Yes, but only early in the evening before the place gets crowded, and never without advance notice from crooked cops on the mob’s payroll. But even without the raids, police harassment is a persistent and ongoing problem that my friends are talking about more and more. One of these days, the police will go too far and things will blow up. I just hope I’m there when it does.
1
sandaled foot on the linoleum-tiled floor and bit his lip. Speaking his mind at
a Mattachine-New York meeting was a waste of time and energy. But watching the
older members of the homophile organization nod their heads in agreement as the
speaker droned on about homosexuality being a mental illness had been more than
he could take. As the uptight men and women nearby glared at him, he rolled his
eyes at Kelsey Ryan and whispered, “You ready to blow this joint?”
the esteemed speaker concluded his remarks. After a polite round of applause,
the well-dressed men and women filled the aisles and chatted as they made for
the door of the Columbia University lecture hall where the meeting had been
held.
merged into the slow-moving mass creeping toward the exit. Between reed-thin
Terrence’s curly blond hair and Kelsey’s height—never mind that she was built
like an offensive lineman for the Washington Redskins—the unlikely pair stood
out in the crowd. Rather than the suits worn by other men in the lecture hall,
Terrence had on faded bell-bottomed jeans embroidered with flowers, a tie-dyed
T-shirt, and a wide white belt with a peace-sign buckle.
doesn’t get it,” Kelsey said, rolling up the sleeves of her oxford shirt to her
elbows as she walked. “Working behind the scenes to change the world hasn’t
gotten us anywhere.”
that,” Terrence said, falling in beside her. “Legal challenges to alcohol
regulations have helped to crack open the door here in New York.”
hands into her pockets. “The police have raided every gay bar in town at least
once in the last two weeks. Legal victories haven’t stopped them from harassing
us every chance they get.”
men their age working for change.” She shook her head. “They think we should be
patient, but my patience has run out. We need new tactics so the world stops
seeing homosexuals as mentally ill, morally bankrupt freaks who can’t be
trusted to work in the government or around children.”
on her soapbox now. He didn’t bother reminding her he agreed with her. She was
too wound up to stop until she’d said her piece.
aren’t going to give us our rights. We need to stand up and fight for equality,
like the Black Panthers or Students for a Democratic Society.” She punched her
open palm with a fist. “They didn’t get anywhere until they stood up to the
cops. What a fight!”
Terrence hadn’t gone uptown with the students in his sociology class last year
to show support when the SDS had staged a protest over Columbia University’s
backing of the war in Vietnam. Rather than protecting the students, university
and law enforcement officials had beaten them with nightsticks and bombed them
with tear gas. The sight of his bruised and bandaged classmates afterward had
flipped the switch for Terrence. If he hadn’t learned anything else on the
streets, he’d learned you fought force with force.
descended the steps into the subway station to wait for the next train to
Greenwich Village. Businessmen, sweating in suits, loosened ties and glared at
them. Terrence knew they made quite a pair. He’d toned down his flamboyance
some, but next to Kelsey—sturdy, stocky, and rumbling, like a Mack truck—he was
the picture of femininity. Despite her efforts to conceal them, her impressive
breasts might have been attractive on another woman, but on her masculine
frame, they just looked out of place.
the Stonewall Inn later?” Terrence asked, spotting headlights moving toward the
station.
would the reason you want to go have something to do with that high-class
callboy you’ve been watching?”
“You don’t know he’s a callboy.” He tossed his hair and smiled. “And he’s
watching me. I just happened to have noticed.”
paused, waiting for the noisy train to come to a stop. “The man is gorgeous,
and for me to notice is saying something.” They stepped onto the car and the
doors squealed shut behind them. “But he’s a hustler, trust me, and he’s
working for the mob. I’ve seen him talking to Frankie Caldarone too many times,
and he ain’t shining the man’s shoes.”
the back of the subway car, and they settled onto the last seats on each side
of the aisle. “Frankie Caldarone? The bald-headed goon at the Stonewall Inn?”
Terrence crossed his legs and adjusted the forty-inch bellbottoms to cascade in
folds above the sandals he wore. “He’s just a bouncer.”
at an unlicensed private club, owned and operated by who?” She spread her legs
wide, leaned back, and wove her hands together behind her head.
Terrence didn’t want to admit Kelsey could be right. Trading sexual favors for
money didn’t bother him so much. Hustling was a dangerous, dead-end job he’d
managed to escape more than two years earlier, thanks to Philip and George.
Hustling for the mob, however, was a death sentence with no chance for parole,
pardon, or escape.
is the same.” She shook her head and leaned forward, dropping her hands to her
knees. “You’d be smart to stay the hell away from that one.”
Terrence fluffed his hair and adjusted his headband, feeling the embroidered
peace sign with his fingers and shifting the band a bit to center the emblem
over his nose.
his arm. “You say that like going out with him is the furthest thing from your
mind.”
wide-eyed. “You know me better than that.”
Kelsey shook her head and folded her arms. “I know you all right. Hearing you
can’t have something just makes you want it that much more.”
to her, and put his hand on her knee. “All we have is right now, this very
minute. Two minutes from now, this train could crash, killing us both.”
shuddered. “You know I hate the subway.”
window behind her. He stared, seeing remembered faces in the passing blackness.
“When you want something, you gotta go for it—before somebody snatches it away
from you and it’s gone, forever.” He brushed a fist over his eye and shook his
head. “Besides, I’ve never even talked to him.”
you two look at each other is enough to make me blush.” She chuckled. “I’m just
jealous. Hell, I’d pay a year’s tuition to have a pretty girl look at me like
that.”
tousled her short brown hair. “You’re a good person, Kelsey. If I was a
lesbian, I’d be proud to be your girlfriend.” He leered at her and grinned.
“Even without those big titties of yours!”
I’ll turn ’em loose on you.”
About The Author
In 2010, after more than twenty years in academia, Michael joined the Athens Writers Workshop, which helped him transition from writing nonfiction to writing fiction. Michael writes stories “true enough for government work” about the gay experience in earlier decades that, in addition to entertaining the reader, highlight how far the gay rights movement has come in the last fifty years. A serial monogamist who is currently between relationships, Michael writes with his longhaired Chihuahua, Toodles, in his lap from his home in Athens, Georgia.
You can find Michael at
Hi Michael, congrats on your latest book Happy Independence Day. I enjoyed the excerpt.
Thanks! I always use the first Chapter for excerpts–don’t want to spoil anything for anyone e;-)
I loved the character interview, they are one of my favorite things for authors to do. I love your picture too, your dog is adorable!
Thanks, Allison! Terrence is quite a character, and Toodles (the dog) is my heart. Good luck with the drawing!
So good to see the series continue, and I love the character interview!
Thank you!
I haven’t read the book , excerpt sounds interesting.
Read After Christmas Eve first–it’s the prequel. 🙂
loved the blurb 🙂
please count me in
Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoy the story as much!
Great blurb & giveaway. The book sounds great!
Thanks, Rod. I definitely learned a lot about the Stonewall Riots as I researched the story.
Didn’t realize this was connected to After Christmas Eve – reread time!
It’s a sequel. New story, but a lot of characters from After Christmas Eve are part of the action.
Congrats on your newest book. I’m looking forward to giving this a read.
Thanks, HB!
Help congrats on you new book!
Thank you!
Loved the interview! Great excerpt.
Thanks for stopping by!