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made me cling to him even though he felt that way.
~ “I just had to feel his hands on body. It never
went farther than that. |

“Eventually he found a job away from home and
that was the end of that. He got married as soon as
he could. I pretended to be sick on the day of the
wedding. I knew I’d make a scene if I went.

“One good thing came out of it. After he married,
I threw myself into my work at the piano. Almost
overnight I became good. I practiced hard, really
. studied and worked. After high school I got a year’s
* scholarship at a conservatory. I did good work and
the following June I was told I would have another
year at the school. I was overjoyed and made up
my mind to celebrate. '

“How? I hadn’t the slightest idea. I’d never been
anywhere. I didn’t want to celebrate with my parents,
so I dressed myself up in my best clothes, took five
dollars that I'd been hoarding, and headed
downtown.

“Queens have often told me that homosexuals can
always find a ‘gay bar’ just by following their noses.
That’s what must have happened to me. I walked
around the East Fifties, heard a pretty good piano
coming out of one place and walked in.

“It was packed with men, all sizes, shapes and