Surely,
All relationships change my life.
once I met a boy at a lemonade stand during a summer in New York City,
first boyfriend in the city. Mid-July, anything but Starbucks coffee, burgers, lemonade, gin and tonics, and codfish salads. That boy knew how to make a codfish salad.
That was part of our last date, a picnic and a movie at Bryant Park, with a delicious codfish salad.
he was also my first HIV + boyfriend.
he took me out to drinks after I was done running a lemonade stand for a fundraiser.
It started with me yelling…
“Lemonade, Lemonade, have some ice cream and Lemonade!!”
he found it adorable.
I thought he was crazy, especially since he was on his fourth cup of my lemonade
we went to an empty gay bar in Greenwich Village and partied-down on gin and tonics.
he was a real sweetie. blonde, blue eyed, facial hair. total babe.
i went home with him that night, it was late and i missed my train back to Jersey
he promised that he wouldn’t pressure me into anything.
so we cuddled, kissed, innocently felt each other up in the night.
in the morning, i got up. we decided on a local coffee shop for breakfast.
he handed me my very own toothbrush and once I finished I moved to the other room to get dressed
“shirt is on, pants are on” and while looking for my socks
I glanced upon a pill container that read “Kaletra”
i knew immediately, i didn’t want to know,
i felt like i was being intrusive just by knowing
thoughts began clouding my head
he comes out and i’m able to regain myself
we walk out together, i’m holding on to his arm and thinking as I am walking
“maybe I should say something, or ask, it’s probably a friend’s..”
just then, he stops and asks me to listen
he told me he really liked where this was going, he loved that he met me and
“I just want to let you know that I’m HIV +”
i felt a sense of relief.
I acted like my best self. I thanked him for telling me. and that it wasn’t a problem.
just as long as we were safe.
he agreed and i loved him.
From then on, my perspective on sexually transmitted diseases changed.
we had coffee and cookies for breakfast.
that morning and many mornings after,
until Summer came to a close.
Donald: 