ODDS OF LOVE : SEASON TEN

Episode 119

" Part two of last night," Faith said with a casual smirk as she sat down at the table across from a shamefaced Joy Jones during the busy lunch rush crowd at Richard and Nigel's.

Joy smiled shyly. " I am so  sorry, Faith. For walking out on you last night. I'm glad you came today. I want to explain. I need to explain. "

Faith crossed her long lean legs under the oak wood rounded table and plopped her hands atop the table. " And I want to hear it. What the hell, Joy ? I mean pardon my language, pastor, but it was a nice night. Until I kissed you. I thought you were into it all , the kiss , the date , everything but then.... Let me guess. I'm not good enough for a pastor. I know . I'm just a recovering drunk cop who lived in a housing project in DC once upon a time. You could have just told me. You could have just said no to the date in the first place. You know. "

Joy widened her eyes. " No. I would never.... I don't think like that. Nobody is better than anyone. We're all one and the same under God. " She grasped her hands together as though she were praying. " I.... I did like the kiss. "

" Then why? What happened? "

" It's a long story. "

" I got time, pastor. "

Joy swallowed hard and exhaled before beginning to tell  a story of how she had fallen in love such a long time ago with a beautiful pensive intelligent fellow minister named Bethany Benson. Bethany had loved her as well to the point that they had developed a relationship that eventually lead to living together and marriage. Bethany had not been a perfect woman but who among them was really. She had been in recovery herself ; from an addiction to heroin that she had fallen into long before they had ever met each other. When they met she was clean however and she was living a whole new life as a pastor devoted to helping others trapped on a similar path through the UUC church.

As the server left menus wordlessly at their table and then departed to let them decide, Joy continued her story with ," She never knew she was sick. Until it was too late really. One day she passed out while speaking at a NA meeting and was rushed to the hospital. They ran tests. A lot of tests. Blood especially.
She found out she had Aids. "

" I didn't know women could get that ," Faith said quietly as she sat opposite her still, her hands playing oddly nervously with her own  wrapped silverware. " I mean they never really talk much about women with AIDS. "

Joy smiled bitterly. " Yes. They still tend to focus a lot on gay and bi men. Even today too many see Aids and HIV as a gay illness but it's not. Do you know that in 2022  fifty three percent of the thirty nine million people living with HIV in the world were women? A good portion of them are African American women like us. "

Faith swallowed harder than she wanted to before saying," I didn't know that. "

" I'm not surprised. Like I said the face of AIDS and HIV, even today, is that of gay men. Although we know so much more now. Stigma still exists today about this illness. I know. I know intimately. From watching how people treated Bethany before she died of pneumonia. She was so brave and not just about the damn illness that killed her. She didn't deserve to get addicted. She didn't deserve to.... get AIDS from a dirty needle she had been sharing with literal strangers. "

Faith reached out to touch and squeeze Joy's  trembling hand as she saw tears forming in the woman's eyes. " I'm sorry. "

Joy sniffed and tried to smile at her. " I'm sorry too. I loved her. I may always love her. Death doesn't automatically turn off love for another human who was special to you. She did not deserve to get AIDS. Nobody does. And I didn't deserve to get HIV from loving my partner and using sex toys. Yes. That's how my dead wife gave me HIV. "

Faith's heart thudded hard inside her chest. Her mouth grew dry. She couldn't believe that she was hearing what she had just heard. Joy had AIDS, HIV? But she looked so healthy.... Of course some of them did today. It was 2025 after all. Treatments were getting better. She had read the people with it didn't even have to take a million pills anymore like before. But she didn't really know much more about it all. It was her brother who was the smart doctor not her. She was just a dumb ass cop. She knew that AIDS and HIV still killed them. She knew that.

She kept holding Joy's hand as thoughts ran through her head like it was a marathon.

Joy hesitantly asked," Is that all ok with you, Faith ? Because I do like you. As a woman. And I really liked the kiss last night. And ..... I would like to see where all this leads to. But it is totally up to you what happens now. I understand whatever choice you make. "