Read Online Disclosures - SF4 by Susan X Meagher - Free Book Online
Authors: Susan X Meagher
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chaos, but after a moment of staring in openmouthed amazement, Jamie began to see order within the chaotic jumble.
When she looked closely, each group was standing or sitting by a large poster board sign that identified them by name and number. Some groups wore Tshirts that further identified them; as she took it all in, she felt a comforting hand on her back. "Overwhelmed?" a soft voice asked gently.
"I’ve seen pictures in the paper, but…I had no idea," Jamie murmured slowly.
Ryan chuckled a little at the look on her partner’s face. "This is just the early call, Babe. Our group is the second one out, so we have to be here early. New groups will be arriving every half-hour or so until this street is filled and cleared at least six times."
Jamie turned slowly and tried to express herself clearly. "Are these all our gay people?" she asked, rather inelegantly.
Ryan cocked her head slightly, trying to discern the meaning of the question. "Our gay people?" she repeated slowly, then realization dawned. "Oh! I get it! You mean are these all locals?"
"Yeah," she blushed. "It seems like an awful lot of people to just be from San Francisco. I mean, people joke that everyone here is gay, but given this crowd…" she trailed off, having already stated the obvious.
"No, Honey," Ryan said. "These people are mostly from the Bay Area, but that’s a pretty big area, as you know. Beside locals, though, there are lots and lots of visiting groups, mostly from Northern California, but there are some people from around the country, and even from other countries."
"Wow," she muttered, leaning against Ryan as well as she could given her position, still atop her bike. "That’s still a lot of people." After staring for another moment she asked, "Do other cities have this?"
"Yeah," Ryan said. "Lots of cities around the world have pride events. Ours and New York’s are the biggest, though."
"That’s nice," the smaller woman said decisively. "We shouldn’t get to have all the fun."
Well, well, well , Ryan mused as they walked their bikes the rest of the way to better observe the crowd. It seems like my little neophyte is acclimating pretty darned well .
At 10:30 on the dot, the motorcycles started to rev their engines, as they waited impatiently at Market and Beale. The traditional leaders of the parade--the group now formally known as the Women’s Motorcycle Contingent, but constantly referred to as "Dykes on Bikes"--were given the signal and they roared away, two by two. Ryan felt a small stab of longing, having ridden with her buddies since she was 18. But the fleeting wish in no way dampened her deep satisfaction at being able to share the parade with her partner.
She had often taken a date to the parade, and had once gone with Ally, but she had never shared the event with anyone who really mattered to her. While they waited to get the signal, she decided that being a part of the parade with Jamie made all of the difference in the world. She was now able to view the event through her partner’s novice eyes, and she found that it was a deeply satisfying experience.
For the past hour and a half, Jamie had been a veritable whirlwind of questions, exclamations and exhortations. They walked around investigating every little cache of people; Ryan proudly introduced her partner to everyone that she had even a passing acquaintance with.
Now, as they awaited their sendoff, Jamie turned to her with a luminous smile and said, "Thank you so much for making this safe for me, Ryan. I’m so glad I didn’t let my fears stop me from coming."
"You’re up!" the co-coordinator shouted, before Ryan could say a word, and their group started to roll. Rounding the corner onto Market, the thunderous applause that greeted them brought tears to the eyes of most of the riders, who were spread across the street, six abreast.
When they met up with their group, Jamie was amazed to see so many familiar faces from the just-finished AIDS Ride. They
When she looked closely, each group was standing or sitting by a large poster board sign that identified them by name and number. Some groups wore Tshirts that further identified them; as she took it all in, she felt a comforting hand on her back. "Overwhelmed?" a soft voice asked gently.
"I’ve seen pictures in the paper, but…I had no idea," Jamie murmured slowly.
Ryan chuckled a little at the look on her partner’s face. "This is just the early call, Babe. Our group is the second one out, so we have to be here early. New groups will be arriving every half-hour or so until this street is filled and cleared at least six times."
Jamie turned slowly and tried to express herself clearly. "Are these all our gay people?" she asked, rather inelegantly.
Ryan cocked her head slightly, trying to discern the meaning of the question. "Our gay people?" she repeated slowly, then realization dawned. "Oh! I get it! You mean are these all locals?"
"Yeah," she blushed. "It seems like an awful lot of people to just be from San Francisco. I mean, people joke that everyone here is gay, but given this crowd…" she trailed off, having already stated the obvious.
"No, Honey," Ryan said. "These people are mostly from the Bay Area, but that’s a pretty big area, as you know. Beside locals, though, there are lots and lots of visiting groups, mostly from Northern California, but there are some people from around the country, and even from other countries."
"Wow," she muttered, leaning against Ryan as well as she could given her position, still atop her bike. "That’s still a lot of people." After staring for another moment she asked, "Do other cities have this?"
"Yeah," Ryan said. "Lots of cities around the world have pride events. Ours and New York’s are the biggest, though."
"That’s nice," the smaller woman said decisively. "We shouldn’t get to have all the fun."
Well, well, well , Ryan mused as they walked their bikes the rest of the way to better observe the crowd. It seems like my little neophyte is acclimating pretty darned well .
At 10:30 on the dot, the motorcycles started to rev their engines, as they waited impatiently at Market and Beale. The traditional leaders of the parade--the group now formally known as the Women’s Motorcycle Contingent, but constantly referred to as "Dykes on Bikes"--were given the signal and they roared away, two by two. Ryan felt a small stab of longing, having ridden with her buddies since she was 18. But the fleeting wish in no way dampened her deep satisfaction at being able to share the parade with her partner.
She had often taken a date to the parade, and had once gone with Ally, but she had never shared the event with anyone who really mattered to her. While they waited to get the signal, she decided that being a part of the parade with Jamie made all of the difference in the world. She was now able to view the event through her partner’s novice eyes, and she found that it was a deeply satisfying experience.
For the past hour and a half, Jamie had been a veritable whirlwind of questions, exclamations and exhortations. They walked around investigating every little cache of people; Ryan proudly introduced her partner to everyone that she had even a passing acquaintance with.
Now, as they awaited their sendoff, Jamie turned to her with a luminous smile and said, "Thank you so much for making this safe for me, Ryan. I’m so glad I didn’t let my fears stop me from coming."
"You’re up!" the co-coordinator shouted, before Ryan could say a word, and their group started to roll. Rounding the corner onto Market, the thunderous applause that greeted them brought tears to the eyes of most of the riders, who were spread across the street, six abreast.
When they met up with their group, Jamie was amazed to see so many familiar faces from the just-finished AIDS Ride. They
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