| Elmwood Park - Things Happen in Unusual Places |
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| Written by David Moore | |
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“IT'S WEIRD HOW EVERYBODY WHO LIVES AROUND UPTOWN SEEMS TO ALWAYS END UP BACK HERE,” says Matthew O'Connor as he squeezes Niesha Campbell's hand. “Yup.” “I don't think it's so weird. It's a peaceful place. You've got a spectacular view of the skyline and rows and rows of fascinating history beneath your feet. Look at how the sunlight filters through the trees. It’s beautiful here.” Matthew nods. “I have noticed that whenever I'm having trouble with some issue, a walk through Elmwood always gives me a fresh perspective.” “You know, Marshall's told me a lot about this place — it's really fascinating. All kinds of history. See that far corner over there where there are no headstones?” Matthew squints in the sunlight as he peers in the direction Niesha is pointing. “Yeah — just a lot of grass?” “Slaves are buried there. Some of the slave owners cared enough to give them a proper burial, but not enough to properly mark the spot.” “That's sad.” “Not all of them are like that. Marshall told me a story about one pretty elaborate headstone from a family that referred to a man named Jack as their 'beloved slave and member of the family.' Actually, I think he and Christina had thought about doing an investigative piece on that for some magazine — but now … well … you know — that's not going to happen.” “It strikes me as odd that the woman that I used to date and the one I'm now really serious about both had or have some kind of involvement with Marshall. What's the deal? Why is he so irresistible?” Niesha and Marshall continue to walk slowly up the winding pavement that snakes its way through the old cemetery. She points to a stone bench off to the right that’s been bleached to almost solid white from years of sun exposure but pockmarked with black pits from a century or more of pounding rainstorms. “Let's sit for a minute, okay?” Niesha says. As they sit down on the warm stone she turns to Matthew and runs a hand through his dark hair, staring intently in to his dark blue eyes. “There's nothing between Marshall and me,” she says matter- of-factly. “Nothing more than just friendship. We became friends because we were forced together at a pivotal moment. He saved my life. He saved my sister's life, too. I didn't really know him so well before any of that happened, but I've come to know him just recently as somebody who's funny, fascinated with the world around him, and he genuinely cares about people.” “Sounds like you're talking about somebody you really care about.” Niesha's face goes hard for a moment — then it suddenly softens as a broad smile appears across her face. “Are you jealous, Matthew?” “I think so. Somewhat.” “I don't think even if I was interested anything would ever happen. I don't think I'm exactly what he's looking for, if you know what I mean.” “You mean he doesn't like black women?” Niesha rolls her eyes. “We've never discussed his racial viewpoints, but he seems pretty liberal so I don't think he'd discriminate based on skin color.” “Then why wouldn't he be interested? You're beautiful. I can't imagine any guy not wanting to jump your bones right this minute.”  Matthew wraps his arms around Niesha's waist and nuzzles his face next to hers. “There's nobody around,” he says softly. “Why don't we go inside that open crypt over there?” Niesha laughs out loud and smacks Matthew on the leg. “Quit it fool — I ain't doin' it in the graveyard.” “Awwh, honey ... c'mon...” Niesha continues to chuckle. “Stop it, Matthew. We could get arrested for that. If you wanna do it so bad we can just walk back to your place.” Matthew lets go of Niesha's waist and leans back on his hands. “See what I mean? You’re that hot. I’d do it with you right now in that crypt in a heartbeat.” “But you don’t wanna just walk back home and do it?” Matthew wrinkles his face ever so slightly and then laughs. “Of course I do. It’s just doing it in an out-of-the-way place makes it even hotter. So tell me why I don’t have to worry about Marshall busting a move on you?” Niesha scratches her head. “He and I haven’t talked about this, but I think he likes guys. I think he’s gay.” Matthew looks perplexed as he turns toward Niesha. “Really? He doesn’t act so gay. He’s always got lots of women around him.” Niesha’s voice goes up an octave as she feels her temper starting to flare. “How does somebody act gay?” She says with a noticeably rising irritation in her voice. “Why do you always get so freaked out on the subject of gay people? I remember when I named my dog Mayor Pat you were steaming about McCrory being anti-gay.” “I have a few gay friends. And I had an uncle — on my mom’s side. He was gay. He practically raised me. He was always there for me — watching after me and bringing me presents. Then one day he just stopped showing up and we didn’t know what happened to him.” “He just disappeared?” “My mother looked for him for weeks. He never came back to his house. The police couldn’t find anything. Then one day a John Doe shows up in the city morgue. Turns out Uncle Derrick was shot and stabbed and dumped into a wooded area over near 36th Street. “ Matthew sighs heavily, shaking his head apologetically. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” “Of course you didn’t. It’s not something I care to remember very often. I guess the reason I’m so touchy about the gay issue is that the police just didn’t care. They hardly investigated. They weren’t particularly interested because he was a middle-aged black man who worked as a bartender. They were even less interested when they figured out he was gay — so we never knew what happened to him. The most we could figure is that it was some kind of hustler who tricked him into playing around and then knifed him for his wallet and dumped his body.” Niesha falls silent, placing her hands over her face and hanging her head towards the ground. Matthew puts his hand on her shoulder as she sobs slightly. “He didn’t deserve that,” Niesha says mournfully. “He deserved to have a life with someone who loved him, just like everybody else wants. It’s not fair to say who you can or can’t love.” “I agree with you there,” says Matthew. “I don’t believe in discrimination of any kind. I just find it hard to believe Marshall is gay.” Niesha sits up straight on the bench, wiping her eyes with her hands. “I don’t know for a fact he’s gay — but I just think he is. He’s got lots of female friends, but he never talked about any romantic involvement. He seemed more interested in the bartender at Cosmos than he did any girls that were anywhere nearby.” Matthew rises to his feet and grabs Niesha’s hand. “It doesn’t make any difference to me if he’s gay or not — but it would suck if he felt he had to be in the closet around his friends.” “You know, I think you’d like him if you got to know him better, “ Niesha says, as Matthew pulls her up from the bench. “He’s funny as hell and I think he can drink anybody under the table.” “So maybe we can all go out drinking at The Forum sometime, huh?” “That sounds like it might be fun.” “Let’s go back to the loft,” says Matthew. “I can think of some more fun we can have back there.” Niesha leans forward and presses her mouth against Matthew’s full lips. She runs her hands down his back as he pushes tightly against her, moving his hands across her body. “I think maybe I changed my mind about that crypt,” she says. Niesha does a quick radius check around the cemetery, scanning for anyone in view. “C’mon, boy.” ~ David Moore |
