A Portrait of Emily
Page 23
“Or her.”
“And Grandma Hastings? What of her?”
“If she’s very, very good, she might just get to see her grandchild every now and then.”
“Not much chance of that by the looks of things.”
“Peter, I can’t grieve for my parents. They had every chance to be decent loving human beings, and they chose instead to make their children’s lives a living hell. My mother has even turned against Anthony—Anthony, who loved her when I could not. Well, she’s lost him too—and you know what? I’m glad. Glad, because he’s finally happy now that he’s found someone who really loves him.”
“It’s all about love then, in the end,” Peter said.
“It’s so simple really, isn’t it?” Emily gripped Peter’s hand. “Earlier today, before you arrived, I was looking at my portrait and wondering how you managed to make me look so serene, so assured, when on that day I was feeling anything but. Did you see beyond that and somehow look into the future—to know how I feel now? Because, if you did, you got it right. That’s exactly how I feel now.”
“Well, I’m not going to take the credit for knowing all this would have a happy ending. Heck, I hardly knew you then. But, although I saw your sadness, what I painted was what I wished for you.”
“Thank you, then. Because your wish came true.”
“You know,” Peter said, “I think I’m going to circle today’s date on my calendar. It’s definitely one to remember as a very good day.”
“One of the best, although I have to put the days Jerry and I were on honeymoon slightly ahead in the favorite stakes.”
“I’ll bet.” Peter grinned at her. “Well, if we’re going to go there, there’s a few I could also shove to the top of the list, young lady.”
“Oh, here we go.” Emily laughed. “And I thought this day was going to be your favorite.”
The corners of Peter’s mouth lifted slightly as he pretended to reminisce. Then, with an angelic smile, he said. “Oh, well—I lied.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J.P. BOWIE was born and raised in Aberdeen, Scotland. He wrote his first (unpublished) novel at the age of 14 - a science fiction tale of brawny men and brawnier women that made him a little suspect in the eyes of his family for a while.
J.P. wrote his first gay mystery in 2000, and after having it rejected by every publisher in the universe, he opted to put his money where his mouth is and self published A Portrait of Phillip. Now several books, short stories and novellas later, he is writing m/m erotica almost exclusively. J.P.’s favorite singer is Ella Fitzgerald, and his favorite man is Phil, his partner of 15 years. Visit J.P. on the internet at http://www.jpbowie.com.
MLR PRESS AUTHORS
Featuring a roll call of some of the best writers of gay erotica and mysteries today!
M. Jules Aedin
Maura Anderson
Victor J. Banis
Jeanne Barrack
Laura Baumbach
Alex Beecroft
Sarah Black
Ally Blue
J.P. Bowie
Michael Breyette
P.A. Brown
Brenda Bryce
Jade Buchanan
James Buchanan
Charlie Cochrane
Jamie Craig
Kirby Crow
Dick D.
Ethan Day
Diana DeRicci
Jason Edding
Angela Fiddler
Dakota Flint
S.J. Frost
Kimberly Gardner
Roland Graeme
Storm Grant
Amber Green
LB Gregg
Wayne Gunn
David Juhren
Samantha Kane
Kiernan Kelly
M. King
Matthew Lang
J.L. Langley
Josh Lanyon
Clare London
William Maltese
Gary Martine
Z.A. Maxfield
Timothy McGivney
Lloyd A. Meeker
Patric Michael
AKM Miles
Reiko Morgan
Jet Mykles
William Neale
Willa Okati
L. Picaro
Neil Plakcy
Jordan Castillo Price
Luisa Prieto
Rick R. Reed
A.M. Riley
George Seaton
Jardonn Smith
Caro Soles
JoAnne Soper-Cook
Richard Stevenson
Marhsall Thornton
Lex Valentine
Haley Walsh
Missy Welsh
Stevie Woods
Lance Zarimba
Check out titles, both available and forthcoming, at www.mlrpress.com
THE TREVOR PROJECT
The Trevor Project operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. Every day, The Trevor Project saves lives though its free and confidential helpline, its website and its educational services. If you or a friend are feeling lost or alone call The Trevor Helpline. If you or a friend are feeling lost, alone, confused or in crisis, please call The Trevor Helpline. You’ll be able to speak confidentially with a trained counselor 24/7.
The Trevor Helpline: 866-488-7386
On the Web: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/
THE GAY MEN’S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROJECT
Founded in 1994, The Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project is a grassroots, non-profit organization founded by a gay male survivor of domestic violence and developed through the strength, contributions and participation of the community. The Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project supports victims and survivors through education, advocacy and direct services. Understanding that the serious public health issue of domestic violence is not gender specific, we serve men in relationships with men, regardless of how they identify, and stand ready to assist them in navigating through abusive relationships.
GMDVP Helpline: 800.832.1901
On the Web: http://gmdvp.org/
THE GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION/GLAAD EN ESPAÑOL
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
On the Web: http://www.glaad.org/
GLAAD en español: http://www.glaad.org/espanol/bienvenido.php
SERVICEMEMBERS LEGAL DEFENSE NETWORK
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, legal services, watchdog and policy organization dedicated to ending discrimination against and harassment of military personnel affected by "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT).The SLDN provides free, confidential legal services to all those impacted by DADT and related discrimination. Since 1993, its inhouse legal team has responded to more than 9,000 requests for assistance. In Congress, it leads the fight to repeal DADT and replace it with a law that ensures equal treatment for every servicemember, regardless of sexual orientation. In the courts, it works to challenge the constitutionality of DADT.
SLDNCall: (202) 328-3244
PO Box 65301or (202) 328-FAIR
Washington DC 20035-5301 e-mail: sldn@sldn.org
On the Web: http://sldn.org/
THE GLBT NATIONAL HELP CENTER
The GLBT National Help Center is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that is dedicated to meeting the needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and those questioning their sexual orientation and gender identity. It is an outgrowth of the Gay & Lesbian National Hotline, which began in 1996 and now is a primary program of The GLBT National Help Center. It offers several different programs including two national hotlines that help members of the GLBT community talk about the important issues that they are facing in their lives. It helps end the iso
lation that many people feel, by providing a safe environment on the phone or via the internet to discuss issues that people can’t talk about anywhere else. The GLBT National Help Center also helps other organizations build the infrastructure they need to provide strong support to our community at the local level.
National Hotline: 1-888-THE-GLNH (1-888-843-4564)
National Youth Talkline 1-800-246-PRIDE (1-800-246-7743)
On the Web: http://www.glnh.org/
e-mail: info@glbtnationalhelpcenter.org
If you’re a GLBT and questioning student heading off to university, should know that there are resources on campus for you. Here’s just a sample:
US LOCAL GLBT COLLEGE CAMPUS ORGANIZATIONS
http://dv-8.com/resources/us/local/campus.html
GLBT Scholarship Resourceshttp://tinyurl.com/6fx9v6
Syracuse Universityhttp://lgbt.syr.edu/
Texas A&Mhttp://glbt.tamu.edu/
Tulane Universityhttp://www.oma.tulane.edu/LGBT/Default.htm
University of Alaskahttp://www.uaf.edu/agla/
University of California, Davishttp://lgbtrc.ucdavis.edu/
University of California, San Franciscohttp://lgbt.ucsf.edu/
University of Coloradohttp://www.colorado.edu/glbtrc/
University of Floridahttp://www.dso.ufl.edu/multicultural/lgbt/
University of Hawaiÿi, Mānoahttp://manoa.hawaii.edu/lgbt/
University of Utahhttp://www.sa.utah.edu/lgbt/
University of Virginiahttp://www.virginia.edu/deanofstudents/lgbt/
Vanderbilt Universityhttp://www.vanderbilt.edu/lgbtqi/