“I come!”
Almost immediately my phone rang. It was them: they thought I was joking!
“Then you don't know me yet,” I laughed in English. We set a date and decided that I would stay with them for a week. They both worked during the day, they said.
“Can you keep yourself busy throughout the day?” Nick asked.
“That won't be a problem.”
The flight was endlessly long. From Brussels to Los Angeles and from there a flight to San Francisco. Of course I made new friends on the plane – what else could you do. I arrived in San Francisco around 5 in the morning. Too early to bother Nick and Richard, I thought, so I set off on an adventure – exploring, looking for food. While walking I came across a typical American eatery, a “diner”. I went inside and settled in. Everything went very friendly and before I knew I was chatting with the “locals”. So many handsome men, so early in my journey. Wow. I've ended up in a candy cabinet, I thought. There was a group of them4 athletically built, handsome men walked in and I immediately made eye contact with one of them. I had decided to be careful.
My adventures in Belgium had taught me that you never know who you are going home with - and I wanted to be able to leave this country in one piece, too.
The whole diner started talking to each other. When they heard that I was Belgian, their interest was aroused and the chat ball started rolling.
I went to the toilet and saw that the entire toilet was covered with awareness posters about AIDS. They were hung next to several condom vending machines.
I came back and saw that my plate had been refilled. Strange, I thought, I hadn't ordered a second portion.
“Treat from the group!” said the manager. Wow, what hospitality here.
One of the four handsome men came to introduce himself as Mike. He also gave me his card. It said he was a “masseur”. Huh? Mike explained how that worked. He and the other men in his group were all masseurs: they rented a building with a large window, behind which massage chairs were placed. Their customers were all office workers who could use a good neck and shoulder massage after a whole day of desk work. I see! I thought. That was a very common profession in big cities, apparently.
“If you want a massage, or if you get into trouble or something during your trip here, just call us,” Mike told me. Very kind. “Thank you!” I said. “But I don't promise to call you.”
I remained on guard.
“No problem,” said Mike.
That was already a surprising and fun first morning. When I finally called Nick and Richard in a payphone, they said they would be home from 6pm.
“Can you keep yourself busy until then?” Nick asked.
"No problem!".
I was very tired, but still wanted to enjoy the day. I put my luggage somewhere safe at a local shop – the friendly owner was happy to look after it for me – and I started walking around. I decided to visit the Castro neighborhood: one of the iconic gay neighborhoods in San Francisco.
At 8 o'clock I started my walk there. Fortunately, walking went very well then, because - I didn't arrive until 4:30 PM. I had covered a very long stretch, just past towering skyscrapers. But I got there.
I entered the Twin Peaks Tavern, one of the oldest and first gay bars in the US. There was one old man inside as a customer. Another older man was behind the bar.
I told the bartender where I had walked from. I was getting a bit short of breath: how was I ever going to get back to that place within an hour?!
“Never heard of the subway, man?” he laughed.
“Metro?” I asked.
"Yes of course! There is a metro stop a little further away!”
Wow, indeed, I hadn't thought of that. The bartender pulled out a city map and showed me the underground metro lines. There was a perfect and smooth route for what I needed. What a relief. I was so tired. That endless flight, the jet lag, this walk, barely any sleep… It was enough for one day. I thanked the bartender, found the subway and went to the shop where I had left my bags. The owner was very friendly and also happy that he could help me; he even called up his son to take me by car to my destination with Nick and Richard.
We hugged each other hard when we met again. They let me into their home like a welcome guest. As a grateful guest, I gave them flowers and Belgian chocolate.
31.
