Author: N.D. Clark
Book: Troop Train
Release Date: April 28, 2016
Length: 50 pages (Novella)
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Synopsis
Michael
Gunderson comes of age just after WWII ends. He wants nothing more than to
leave behind an oppressive life of rural farming to strike out on his own and
discover what the alluring world has to offer to men who love other men.
Michael’s
big break arrives when he’s offered a porter’s job on a troop train with the
Pennsylvania Railroad and begins a journey of sexual discovery that culminates
in his meeting the love of his life.
Excerpt
Hordes
of servicemen crowded back aboard the train, returning with ravenous appetites after
hours of running wild and free. They rushed the dining car like panicked
cattle, quickly filling the place to capacity.
Hoping to talk freely and avoid Cromwell,
Michael and Keith had arrived first and nabbed the only table that was tucked
away in a semiprivate corner in the rear of the car. As the train lurched
forward, getting underway again, they braced themselves against their seats
with one hand. The cutlery, along with the thin wire caddy containing the salt
and pepper shakers, vibrated and slid across the table, teetering on the edge.
Both men extended their free arms in a reflex attempt to avert the inevitable.
Their fingertips grazed and neither was willing to withdraw for a few seconds,
the tenderness evoking mirrored smiles from each man. But discretion required
that they pull away; emitting long, deep breaths, they did so, and went about
the distracting business of returning everything to its proper place, ending
their sweet moment.
A dining car porter, Michael didn’t recognize, filled
their glasses with water and took their order, after which, he and Keith
offered him perfunctory nods and smiles. “So,” Michael began, “tell me more
about Petty Officer Keith Hearn.”
After taking a sip of water, Keith returned
his glass to the table with a slight chuckle. “Thank you, Mr. Gunderson, for granting me
the honor of going first.”
“My
pleasure, Mr. Hearn.”
“Let’s
see . . . where to begin? I’m from Westminister, Vermont. My family owns a bed
and breakfast there. Father operates a little side business, making and selling
maple syrup. And I have two younger brothers, annoying little shits, the both
of them.”
“Sounds
like a great life, Keith. What attracted an obvious landlubber to the Navy?”
“The
family vacations usually involved the outdoors and boating; I guess it was all
the great times we had out on the water. That . . . and,” Keith cleared his
throat, glanced down at the table and lowered his voice even more . . . “all
the rumors I kept hearing about lonely sailors at sea, you know, on duty for
months at a time . . . seemed just the thing for a young guy, coming of age,
longing to explore the world and his . . . curiosities.”
Michael couldn’t have held back his
laughter if he tried. “Can’t wait to hear each and every one of those stories.”
“Yes,
hear them you shall, all in painstaking detail, but later, in private.”
“Sorry,
you’re right, of course. Now that the war’s over, what’s next?”
“My
hitch in the Navy is up in three more months; I wanted to make the most of the
time I had left, use it to travel, so I volunteered for the restoration efforts
in war-torn Germany. I was hoping by the end of that assignment, I would have
reached a decision to reenlist or not.
“Well,”
Michael winced, fiddling with his fork and knife, “I guess that explains your
destination to Camp Kilmer.”
“Yeah.
I’ll be quartered there a week or two until I ship out to Germany. Forgive me,
Michael, but am I detecting . . . disappointment?”
“No,
it’s nothing of the sort; it’s just . . . okay, yes! I’m afraid I’m being
rather transparent, aren’t I?” Michael let out a long breath. “I know it’s
stupid,” he continued. “Let’s chalk it up to my lack of experience; I mean
after all, we’ve only just met.” Averting his gaze, Michael cleared his throat.
Forgive a young man’s infatuation?”
“I’ll
do no such thing. Do you want to know why?”
His eyebrows meeting, Michael swallowed
hard. “Go
on.”
“Before
I met you, my usual response to a guy developing feelings for me was to treat
him as a leper and immediately move along to the next conquest. The only variable
in this scenario being . . . you . . . Michael. So, here we are, having dinner,
getting to know one another. You’re up to bat; I want to know everything there
is to know about Michael Gunderson.”
With his pulse racing, Michael smiled using
only his dark brown eyes to channel his happy thoughts across the table as he
went on to tell Keith about his life on the dairy farm in rural New Jersey, and
how he’d
summoned the courage to leave it all behind to discover what else the world had
to offer.
