Chapter 2: Murphy and Austin
Featuring characters from the story, “Happiness Is a Warm Bum.”
I lay in bed next to my lover and watched him sleep. It was early on a Sunday morning, not even six o’clock, and I didn’t have to work, which meant it was the perfect day to snuggle up to Austin, and get up much, much later. The laugh lines and crow’s feet were not quite as pronounced when he was totally relaxed, and I loved every one of them. His left leg was thrown over mine, and his hand rested on my bicep, his obsession with my muscles still evident even in repose.
I loved the man, and I didn’t think he would ever understand how much.
When I had come roaring into town one winter’s day, angry, depressed, weary, and practically homeless, he’d given me a place to stay, paid work, and shown me
