We drove on mostly surface streets. Once we got on the I-10 for a few minutes, traffic was light and there were no holdups. It was a bit after midnight when we turned on to a residential street. There were people out on the front porches of houses, but there were no cars to get in our way. We moved down the block with Chet checking each house, until he got to one with the front porch light on, but no one was on the porch.

Chet parked between two larger cars before switching the ignition off.

"This is it. I spent a few months in that front bedroom on the right. Maybe no one is in it right now. I'd like to see it. Come on."

Chet opened his door to get out. He stood to look at the house for a minute, and then I followed him up the steps. He held open the screen door and knocked a polite knock.

I heard movement inside before the door swung open. A middle aged Latin woman stood staring at Chet. Her face was one of intense fondness for what she was seeing. She reached out her arms for Chet to step into just inside the door.

"Mama Rosa, you haven't changed a bit," Chet said.

He leaned to put his face against her face.

"My baby boy has come home to his Mama," the woman said in a surprisingly similar accent to Tevo's.

"Mama, this is Z. Z, the woman who saved my life," Chet bragged, and Mama Rosa held her arms out to give me an affectionate hug.

"Any friend of my baby, is a friend to me. My, my, you two do look nice. And Chet, you are dressed exactly the way you were dressed the day T brought you to me. You went to your club to dance tonight," Mama said.

"I did. I said goodbye to Juliet, and to Romeo. I was so anxious to get here, I forgot to change my shirt."

"Excuse me one minute. I must make a call," Mama said. "Go sit in the living room. I'll fix you both a plate when I'm done here. I'm sure you need some nourishment."

We stood between the entryway and the living room as Mama picked up the phone and dialed. She held the receiver to her ear and waited.

"They're here. They just came in the house. He looks good. Yes, I'm going to feed them. You have a restful night. Tell the girls Mama said, hello. I love you too, T."

Hanging up the phone, Mama walked us into the living room of a very neat house. Chet and I sat on the couch facing where she sat in a straight back chair.

"Tell me how you've been, Baby. I'm so glad you came back to me. I don't always see my boys once they leave. This is a hard place to forget, and not easy for the boys I care for to return to me, and you look wonderful. You've put on weight and you look so well. T tells me his customers love you. When some make reservations, they ask to be seated in the dancing boy's section."

"You are as I remember you, Mama. You don't know how nice it is to see you," Chet said. "Hardly a day passes that you don't come to mind."

Sitting in the living room, I could smell food cooking. It wasn't long before we followed her into the kitchen. This is where Mama shined. She moved from one pot to another, putting tortillas in a pan and sliding each out. In a couple of minutes, the table is covered with steaming mounds of food.

"You'll stay tonight. Your room is empty. I haven't cared for a sick person yet this month. I turned the bed back for you and the linen is fresh. It's so nice to have you at my table again. It's so good seeing you look so good."

The food was exquisite to see and wonderful to taste. I watched Chet using the tortillas in place of a fork or spoon. His hands got messy, but the smile on his face only grew. There was no way to compare it with American-Mexican food. Mama's version offered me authentic Mexican food, and I enjoyed every bite.

I ate too much and I couldn't believe how much food Chet packed away. If he lived at Mama Rosa's, he'd weigh a ton. It was hard to stop eating the kind of food I might never eat again. It was too good to stop eating.

Once we retired back to the living room, Chet didn't sit beside me. He sat in front of the straight back chair. He put his head in Mama Rosa's lap.

"I'm so glad you've come," Mama Rosa said.

She ran her hand through Chet's bright red hair.

"I haven't been able to come before this, Mama. You know I'd come back sooner or later. I wanted to see you as much as I wanted to do anything else. Thank you for the delicious food. I miss Mexican food. It's not the same in restaurants. No flavors like the ones you create."

"It was my pleasure. I love seeing my babies eat. Food for the belly and food for the soul. Feeding people is the way I show my babies how much I love them," Mama Rosa said, her hand brushing Chet's hair.

It was small talk. The connection was obvious. If T was the father Chet never had, Mama Rosa was the mother. She was kind, gentle, and as authentic as the food she fixed. She loved Chet and they looked as if they'd seen each other earlier in the week and they were catching up after Chet was away a day or two.

I watched Chet reach inside his bejeweled shirt and pull out two envelopes. He put them in Mama's lap.

"The fat one is T's. The skinny one is from me. You take care of someone else who needs you, Mama."

Mama picked up the fat envelope and hundred dollar bills rained out onto her lap and dozens fell on the floor.

"That T, he is such a thoughtful man. He was my first Baby. If anyone came to me in worse shape than you, it was T. He went to the hospital twice the first week my brother brought him to me. I did what I could, but I knew nothing then. T was such a handful as a boy. Once our mother died, I was the oldest girl, I took over raising my brothers. Miguel hid T's involvement in the drug business. I'd have given them hell if I knew T had joined them. It was the family business and my father ran the business. T was youngest and the last to join. It fell on me to save him, if I could. He's such a fine man, but I need not tell you. You're the son T never had. He brags about how charming you are. How his customers love you."

"You're T's sister?"

"I am his older sister. I wouldn't take the drug money to do what I do, but T had restaurants and he had become such a success. I know he has money. It came from Daddy's business. Putting it to work in healing the sick is no sin."

"Why didn't you tell me? I was afraid of T at first. I was afraid I'd do drugs and he'd beat me senseless if he caught me using again."

"I don't know. It never came to mind. T brought you to me, and he asked me to do for you what I did for him. All I did was sit by him and keep him clean. I think T took the longest to kick it, but I'm sure he's never gone back to drugs. He got out of the family business and began opening restaurants. I don't go to restaurants. Cooking is too important to me. Miguel and Julio wouldn't know what to do if there wasn't food on the stove when they come in."

"They're both still here?" Chet asked.

Chet sat up and he collected the pile of bills into Mama's lap.

"Miguel is Mama's youngest. He'd hear me roll out of bed at night. He'd come in my room, scoop me up, and put me back in bed. Miguel is huge. He just picked me up and tossed me back in bed."

"Miguel is a big help. Julio had his girlfriends to take care of. He doesn't spend much time at the house," Mama explained.

"Julio is a ladies man," Chet said. "When I was getting better, I went out with Julio. He was always sweet talking the ladies."

"And you have charmed your young man. Taking him with you was the way you made sure you'd go back home?"

"You know me too well, Mama. He'd drag me out of Rainbow if I hadn't left willingly. I saw how he watched me. Anyone got near me with cocaine, he'd have tackled them. Z is the boy I love, Mama. I didn't know what love was. When I saw Z, my heart fluttered. I had to know him, and I never had to know anyone. I survived by staying on the move. Z stopped me in my tracks. I love him. I never loved anyone before. I love Z. I love you, Z."

"I love you Chet," I said, never saying it in front of someone before.

"T told me he was precious. T is a good judge of character. Your friend is quiet, but I can see his love for you. What you share is all over both of you. When one of my babies comes home, I can't always see how good they are doing. Both of you wear your love," Mama Rosa said. "Love is a good thing. Sharing it makes love better. Seeing your love makes Mama Rosa happy for both of you."

*****

Chet took me upstairs to the room that had once been his. It was a typical bedroom with a double bed, dresser, and night tables on either side of the bed. A plain rocking chair sat between the dresser and the door.

We undressed, put on the pajamas that were laid out, and we got into bed. The light on the nightstand on Chet's side of the bed was on. I rolled over to place my hands on his stomach. I placed my chin on my hand to look at him.

"What?" he asked as my eyes stayed on him.

"You're Romeo. I was never more impressed by anything that has ever happened to me. You are Romeo. I watched you change. Once you put on Romeo's clothes, you began to change. You walked different, stood different, and you spoke in a voice I could hardly recognize. It was deeper, abrasive."

"It just took over. It's like it was when I danced at Rainbow. I became Romeo. It wasn't something I did on purpose. It came out of my depths. Maybe Kim put it inside of me. Maybe it was always there, and it came out when I danced with Juliet."

"How'd you know you'd dance with Juliet? I had the distinct impression you weren't as welcome there as Juliet made it sound. The sign said: Tonight Only. How'd he know you weren't back for good?"

"He knew I was dressed to dance with Juliet. He knew, as soon as Juliet saw me, she'd be ready to dance with me. He wouldn't put his foot down for more than tonight only. Claude is an odd duck. He took advantage of a situation. I broke my contract with him. I left a few months early. It cost him nothing, but he'd block me from dancing anywhere in Hollywood. Claude does hold a grudge. For one night he set the grudge aside. Who do you think called channel 5 News?"

"Claude?"

"Of course. He now has a story line he'll milk for all it's worth. Romeo, Romeo, where the hell are you Romeo," Chet said laughing loudly.

"You couldn't know that for sure. He might let you dance there again."

"No, he wouldn't. I was aware of how Claude works. I saw him with Kim, and she set the terms he agreed to, because he wanted me. Because he could see the chemistry between Juliet and me. She dances alone now, and you saw the place was full. Half that dance floor was once back stage. He's expanded the dance floor since I left, because Juliet fills up the club. He doesn't need me. Why take another chance on a guy who walked away from him once."

"You were Romeo. I saw you. You were good. Juliet was good. I could see how well she moved. I like her. I don't think I would like her father, but she was down to earth in spite of headlining at her father's club. Couldn't she go out on her own? Do a stage show or a movie? Can she sing?"

"If she sings, I haven't heard her, Z. She has a loyalty to her father I didn't have. If I'd have stayed here, and told T to get lost, Claude would have had to bury me. Juliet would have seen to it right after I died of a drug overdose. If anything sunk in while I performed at Rainbow, it was that I would be following River Phoenix to the grave. I knew it. I saw it when T showed me where he died. I could hear River calling me. T had to nearly carry me to his car. He brought me here. I had no idea Mama was his sister. I knew he worked for his father in a drug dealing operation."

"It's an amazing story. I wish I was a writer. I'd tell your story," I said, looking at the face of the boy I loved.

We went down the next morning to have huevos rancheros with chorizo and her fresh tortillas. Mama kept feeding us as long as we kept eating. I'm sure I ate two pounds of food while sitting at Mama's table for two meals.

Miguel came downstairs to sit at the table with us. He was huge, but as was true of most big men, he was a gentle giant. He spoke softly and smiled each time he looked at Chet. If we ate a lot, Miguel ate more, and I understood why Mama put so much food on the table. She needed to feed Miguel.

The four of us stood in the hallway as Chet and I were ready to leave. We made small talk, and I walked down to the car to get the three carnations I'd collected off the floor at Rainbow. I took them back up to stand just outside the door. Miguel told us goodbye and disappeared back in the house.

Mama Rosa held Chet's hand and she told him how good the visit had been for her. They hugged a long intimate hug, and Chet kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Mama. I love you and I owe you my life. I'll be back."

I stepped up and handed Mama a red, white, and pink carnation.

"Oh, my. Thank you Z," she said, giving me an equally affectionate hug.

"After Romeo and Juliet dance, the people sitting next to the dance floor throw carnations at them. The floor fills with flowers," I said. "I thought you might like these."

"They are beautiful. It's been so nice to meet you, Z. You see to it that Chet stays well. Will you do that for Mama Rosa?"

"Considerate it done. I've never enjoyed any visit more than I have enjoyed this one. I've never eaten better food, Mama. Thank you."

*****

Chet moved along at slower than the speed limit. Cars zipped around us, and he zipped around no one as we moved south on Interstate 5. I kept my eye on him, because I liked his looks. As much as I loved Chet, I was more impressed than I'd ever been with anyone.

We'd left home the day before.

I'd lived inside the world Chet left about the time I was traveling across country in order to become a California boy. Seeing his life from inside that world, told me more about Chet than I ever hoped to know. From Kim's influence to T and Mama saving his life, it was an impressive ride.

He had the sense to walk away, or in this case, be carried away from the life that would be the death of him. As impressive as Chet was, and as unforgettable as he was for the people who encountered him, he broke the spell, took the cure, and he went off in an entirely new direction.

As impressive as my man was, the people who remembered him were equally as unforgettable to me. Chet had some remarkably good people who reached out to him. It was a journey no one could take alone. Good people were all around Chet. They felt his presence as acutely as I felt it.

I was the lucky lad he fell in love with. I had come along after Chet lived in several lives. Lesser men wouldn't have survived it. Chet hit bottom before turning his life around with a little help from his friends.

I knew all my life that I loved boys. I didn't love them before I ended up in California, but I could have loved boys. Once I did love a boy, it was the best thing I ever did. There is nothing that compares to love.

I couldn't have loved Chet as much as I did, without having been loved. It was being loved that kept me from giving up the ghost. For many years I questioned why I was the boy who could love other boys. The answer was, because I could, and the boys I loved needed loving.

In my mind, I'm one hell of a lucky lad. I can love. I do love. Z loves Chet.

I watched his hands on the steering wheel. I looked up at his face. We were going home.

I couldn't wait to get my man where we belonged, in our bed.

I looked at Chet's beautiful face. I felt warm all over.

"What?" Chet asked, as he glanced my way.

"You know what," I told him.

I leaned against him. He put his arm around me.

"I love you so much. Thanks for letting me do this, Z. Thanks for taking this journey with me."

Chet stayed in the right lane. Moving south at a moderate speed, we'd be in El Cajon in an hour.

We had a marvelous adventure, and we were going home.