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As Luis approached the front lawn, the little boy dropped the baseball and flung hi chair on the front porch and nodded in his direction “What can I do for you?” his uncle asked

Luis had prepared what he was going to say ahead of tiuy he occasionally referred to as Chip “My nauy naot to Tennessee I'ht putI don't have any money” He also knew his uncle had a soft heart and he wouldn't turn away so to work for my keep”

Luis's uncle descended the steps and crossed the lawn to where Luis stood The little boy reer who seemed to have arrived from nowhere The uncle looked hi than Luis had remembered him in 1986 “I'm Frank If Chip sent you here, I suppose I can put you up for the night I have to take my nephew home His mother and father took his twin brother to the hospital to have his tonsils out and I've been babysitting for a couple of days I shouldn't be gone long They only live a few otten all about his tonsils being reh he was curious, he didn't want to see his mother or father This would have been too much for him the handle The last time he'd seen them they'd kicked hiive the in New York They were bible carrying Christians ould never accept hiay man, not in the future and not in 1986, and he knew there was nothing he could do to change that “I'll wait right here on the porch,” Luis said “I don't lanced at the garage at the back of the house and saw the back of his uncle's Grand National and he smiled It looked exactly like Jase's car He knew his uncle babied the car and didn't drive it often; he hated getting it dirty

Luis's uncle pulled the keys to his old white pick up truck out of his pocket and glanced at the little boy “Let's go, Eddie I'm sure your mom and pop will be anxious to see you”

Eddie dropped the baseball and walked toward the truck with the saer he would one day have as an adult On the way, he stopped, glanced up at Luis, and said, “You look like soh his body “I do?” Eddie alas a little creepy that way

Eddie nodded yes; he continued to stare at him

“C' You've never seelanced over his shoulder and suard and his jaw dropped When the uncle saw Luis's surprised reaction, he laughed and said, “Looks like you saw a ghost”

Later that night, Luis's uncle s and plopped into a rocking chair on the front porch after he insisted on washing and drying the dishes The one thing that worried Luis about seeing his uncle as an adult was that his uncle ht be attracted to hiuest He didn't say or do anything inappropriate that would embarrassed Luis It was simply understood, as if they both shared an unspoken bond, that nothing would happen

After dinner, they sat on the front porch and talked about San Francisco and the uncle's friend, Chip Luis listened more than he spoke He spoke with care so he wouldn't say the wrong thing He'd been to San Francisco enough times to know the city in a basic sense, but he never went into detail about anything He adht out and say it aloud, but he implied, with a sheepish smile, that he and Chip had been casual lovers who only knew each other because they'd slept together a few times His uncle seemed to believe this and he didn't probe for ht this was because his uncle was being polite But then he noticed so deep and dark in his uncle's tone, as if he didn't really care what Luis said So Luis decided to change the subject and talk about politics He remembered how his uncle didn't have an And this was because Ronald Reagan refused to do anything to acknowledge or help people with AIDS For a President to siivable to Luis's uncle

Luishis uncle would be impressed But his uncle closed his eyes, leaned forward, and rested his elbows on his knees Then he buried his face in his hands and started crying Luis sat there in stunned silence, waiting for hi what to do next

When he did stop crying, Luis glanced at hi I can do?” Luis wasn't sure why his uncle was crying He couldn't reh any serious issues in 1986 Even if he had, Luis's parents wouldn't have mentioned it openly

His uncle exhaled and said, “I just found out I have AIDS You're the first person I've said it aloud to I never thought I'd live a long life But I never thought it would be this short”

A lump formed in Luis's throat He never knew exactly when his uncle had been diagnosed with AIDS Growing up, he'd heard his parents talking about this, too, alith hushed tones and snide comments about what a deviant sinner his uncle was Luis re in the late 1980's and sell his Grand National The small farm fell into disrepair to the point where the uncle had to move into an old trailer on the property His uncle had been one of the nosed with AIDS in 1986, if there was such a thing He'd s like AZT to be developed He started taking the drugs and his life is, he sold off large chunks of farer existence in the rusted, dented trailer Eventually, money ran out and he couldn't afford the exorbitant costs of the medications anymore; he didn't have s So he stopped taking theanic remedies that didn't work

In the future, Luis would always feel so hopelessoften guiltyabout the last years of his uncle's life Luis's parents did nothing to help the uncle; they held their bibles and said it was God's will Luis would be in New York by then, working hard to et back on the HIV meds Luis sent hi enough to see Luis succeed in life He died at the sas started getting better financially By this time, it was too late