before the first day of classes because at least one prof is sure to add something, delete a book, or go some entirely different direction with course material.
"Dun-can is a nice person," Irene said when the door had closed behind him going off again on some other errand.
"Yeah," I said, "he is."
"He's taking you to the bookstore later?" she asked as if the point might be in doubt.
I admitted this was also true.
"Have you known Dun-can (she said it like Dun can) before this quarter?"
"No," I said. "Just met last night."
"But he's your roommate?"
"Yes."
"Hmm?" Irene said. "That's interesting."
I confess at the time I didn't know what was so interesting but perhaps Irene was a person who was easily fascinated. We went on to discuss Irene's earlier college work, her time in public schools, her decision to return to college and hopefully be a magazine editor someday.
"Now I recall where I met you." Irene said. Worth McClure Junior High, room 214, 1968 I believe?"
"Oh yes!" I said, recalling in a flash the large experimental social studies classroom, capacity about 120 students. Irene had been one of the teaching assistants. Then she was a grown-up, a faculty member. Today even at her rather elevated age of 27, she was, well--a fellow student.
"Do you go out on dates?" Irene asked with another sudden twist of topic.
"Yeah, I do."
A hesitation, "With girls you meet here at college?"
There may have been the merest stress on the word girls. "Mostly," I told her. Actually I couldn't recall dating anyone not from this campus except Zoe who'd been in my high school before going to North Seattle community college.
"Well, you and Dun-can will be going to the bookstore pretty soon?" She rose. "I'd better get home myself. I've got a lot of studying to do and this is just the first day."
"I know what you mean," I agreed. "Thanks for the interview."
"And you." I got up, opened my room door for Irene, preceding ber to the cluster door, holding that for her. "Gee," Irene said, "I'm amazed at how you find your way? How long did you say you'd been blind?"
"Since I was five," I told her.
"I'm impressed."
***
The University bookstore was jammed, being only the first day of the summer term and our various study areas were widely separated. Duncan was generous in helping me find the texts needed for my three classes and having nothing more important to do I accompanied him on searches for his various language books.
"Oh," he said, pique evident in his voice. "This book is forty dollars! I was told I could get a used one cheaper but they're all gone!"
"Have you run out of money?" I asked as some response seemed in order.
"Oh, yes!" he replied. "My parents will send me money later but I need it tomorrow!"
I did some mental arithmetic. "How much are you short?" I asked.
"Twenty dollars," he said.
"I can lend it to you," I offered. "Put it on my account." The book allowance associated with my scholarship had been untouched until now and there was about twenty-five extra left in there.
"Oh really?" Duncan exhaled in relief. "That is so nice of you!"
We settled our scores at the check-out desk and slung U-bookstore bags over our arms.
"That was so nice of you to lend me the money," Duncan said at least three times on the return trip to the dorm. "I'll pay you as soon as I can!"
We made it barely in time for dinner and again and we sat at the all boy table. As I ate and he chattered I reflected that Duncan had mentioned his father was a noted pediatrician. Why, I wondered was the son of a Doctor so short of funds?
I felt a touch on my shoulder. "Hi Dave, Hi Duncan."
"Hi Ellen." To Duncan, "this is my friend Ellen from across the hall. To Ellen, "this is my roommate, Duncan."
"Hi Duncan," Ellen repeated. "See you Friday!" I'd hoped she'd sit down to tip the gender balance a bit but she had places to go.
"Hey Duncan?"
"Yeah?" Duncan replied his voice indicating he was turned toward the window.
"Do you go out on dates very much?"
"Well I suppose if I find the right person. No, really I have so much studying to do I'd have to say I don't go out very much--now."
"Oh," I said. "I was just wondering. That girl Ellen, invited both of us to a party Friday. I'm supposed to tell her if you'd like to come."
"Where's the party?"
"In her cluster," I told him.
"Oh," he said sounding nonplussed for some reason. "I don't know."
"Well," I said, "she and her girlfriend are both pretty nice." I'd speculated on Janice, really knowing nothing much about her nor for that matter, of Ellen and why hadn't I said roommate?
"Girlfriend?" Duncan inquired.
"Roomie," I corrected.
Again, "Oh, well, maybe some other time."
"Okay." It seems to me that free refreshments probably, and something to do on Friday was worth at least some risk. "I got out seldom enough myself but if you can't party the first week of term, when can you?"
"You know Dave," Duncan said a few minutes later.
"Yeah?"
"I'm gay so all of my relationships are with men."
Chapter Two
I'd been standing next to my bed looking toward Duncan's side of the room as he spoke. Now I felt my knees sag. I sat involuntarily onto my bed. It wasn't as if there hadn't been clues, lots of them in fact but to have it stated so clear-cut like that, still managed to astonish. "I have transvestite tendencies," I told him, for some reason feeling I needed to match his own declaration.
"You dress in womens' clothing?" Duncan asked.
"For a period of time," I said.
"Yes," he responded.
"So" I inquired, "do you have no relationships with females at all?"
"Oh," he replied "I suppose I could be bisexual but I feel I'd just as soon not bother with women."
"Oh."
I'd have to say that women or at least girls had been pretty much paramount in my mind since I'd been thirteen or so.
"Did you ever have a girlfriend?" I asked.
"There was a girl I knew when I was about fifteen," he said. "We'd lay together naked and you know, touch each other and she wanted it to go further but I knew it never could."
By now the shakiness had pretty much gone out of my legs and the subject at hand was drawing me in from a more or less sociological standpoint
A number of things suddenly occurred to me. "With gay men," I began, not quite sure how to talk about this stuff, "is it true that one guy is more feminine and the other's more masculine so they kind of I don't know, complement one another?"
"Sometimes I'm dominant and very masculine," Duncan said "and sometimes I'm very passive and very feminine. It just depends on the situation and a lot on who I'm with." Duncan took a moment to inhale on his cigarette. He smoked more or less constantly. "I've been out in drag before," he continued. "But that's not really the same thing as wanting to be a girl or even feeling female. It's a kick in the balls to all conventional men, even gay men, an attack on their macho trip.