Drag Thing; or, The Strange Case of Jackle and Hyde: A Novel of Horror. Victor J. Banis

know, you can be arrested for sexual assault, Mister Kravitz.” She gave him her cop-glower.

      “Look, it was an accident, okay, don’t get your drawers in a knot,” he said sharply. He went past her toward the garbage chute.

      “Well, you want to be a little more careful,” she told his back. “People can get hurt in accidents. Real bad.”

      “Yeah, I’ll watch myself,” he said without looking back. Like, he was worried about a dyke cop. What was she going to do anyway: tell her fag husband? Who’d probably come over and beat him with a powder puff.

      He laughed aloud to himself at that idea. A powder puff. Might be kind of fun, if you thought about it. “Here, hit me here, please, Mister Fag, oh, again, please.” He laughed again.

      * * * *

      Peter was furious when she told him about the incident. “That creep,” he said angrily. “I ought to go over there and punch him in the nose. Teach him a lesson.”

      “Don’t you dare,” she said. “You’d just get yourself arrested for assault and I would have to come bail you out.”

      “Maybe. But it would be worth it.”

      “Forget it. He’s not worth it. Besides, you know what he thinks. Dyke and fairy. There’s no cleaning up minds like his. The best thing to do is just to ignore them.”

      “I guess you’re right, but it does tick me off. One of these days,” he said. He picked up his backpack from the floor by the door.

      “What’s that?” she asked.

      “Oh, just stuff,” he said. “Some shirts I’m going to drop off at the Salvation Army box on my way to work.”

      “That’s a bit out of your way, isn’t it? Here, I’ll drop them off.” She reached a hand toward the backpack.

      “No, that’s okay,” he said quickly. He gave her a hurried kiss and was out the door before she could argue.

      He practically ran to the elevator. He just hoped those women scientists were still at the lab when he got there.