Page 94 of The Happy Month

“I think it was a relationship of convenience. Most of the time they spent together a women named Gigi was also with them.”

“Beards.”

“Yes. Lesbian beards.”

“The best kind.”

“Can you tell me anything else about Ivan and Patrick?”

“They lived very quietly. They weren’t active politically. They socialized mainly at home with a small circle of friends.”

“Was Skip Harkness one of those friends?”

“Yes.”

“Did you talk to him?”

“He passed away four years ago. I did talk to his partner though… So, Patrick Gill is dead, right?”

“No. He’s not.”

“The house he shared with Ivan was sold last year. We thought it was because he passed—though, I couldn’t find an obituary.”

“He’s in a home. He’s senile… has dementia… whatever they’re calling it now.”

“Oh, I see. Would it be worth our time to try to talk to him?”

“That’s tricky. His sister doesn’t know he’s gay.”

“Um… he lived with a man for more than two decades.”

“I know. He’s much older and they weren’t really close during that time. She’s romanticized his relationship with Vera. Thinks her death is the reason he never married.”

“But…” he stopped. He was clearly angry that a gay relationship could be so invisible.

“Explain to me how you’re going to connect Melchor’s sexuality to his design work?”

“He and Skip Harkness, and a number of other designers, were very influenced by Greek and Roman architecture and sculpture, and then the renaissance artists Michelangelo and DaVinci who themselves were influenced by the Greek and Romans. You see the influence clearly in the filmsVenus de Memphis,New York in TwilightandThe Langley Boys. All of which were directed by Cecil Ryland, who placed coded gay references into the story and action.”

I could imagine him having long and confusing conversations with Junior.

“Is Ryland still alive?” I asked. He would be someone else to talk with.

“No, he was one of the early victims of AIDS. They didn’t even realize what had happened to him until years later.”

“In your research you didn’t run into a woman named Gigi? Like the musical?” He seemed like the kind of gay guy who’d benefit from a musical theater reference.

“No, we’d only have run across her if she worked in the industry. We’re not looking at all of Melchor’s friends, just the ones who were involved in moviemaking.”

This was feeling like a dead end. Still, I gave the kid my card and thanked him for his time. Before I was able to leave the office, he said, “My boyfriend and I are totally into mysteries.”

Not wanting to get into a conversation about SherlockHolmes and Agatha Christie, I nodded awkwardly and said good-bye.

It took forever to get back to my Jeep. It had to have been at least a mile. Probably much more. By the time I turned over the engine it was around four. Rush hour had already begun. Having learned my lesson, I got out myThomas Guideand looked up Faring Road. Looking at the map I noted that the UCLA Film Department was nearly in Holmby Hills.

Roughly five minutes later I sat in front of 401 N. Faring Road. Ronnie had said it was a tear-down and he’d been right. The house was gone. Even the foundation had been ripped out. All that remained there on that particular afternoon was a giant hole in the ground.

This was where Ivan and Patrick had lived happily for decades. All of that was gone now, knocked down and ripped away. I couldn’t help feeling that’s what would eventually happen to the property Ronnie and I owned. It would change, disappear, become something else, forgetting we were ever there.