The Tenor Tuner (an Avondale Story)

1Praise for Etienne

About a Bottoms trilogy

If you love a book that has depth to it and can still have the sexiness of two men in love, you will certainly enjoy this series.

Top 2 Bottom Reviews

Scourge

I will recommend this to those who love gritty mysteries, well-woven stories, complex plots, finding love unexpectedly and a very good happily ever after….

MM Good Book Reviews

Trial

The story does not need sex. Here we are looking at love and doing so with style and elegance.

Amos Lassen Reviews

Bodies of Work

Etienne has created an intriguing murder mystery that I enjoyed a great deal.

Literary Nymphs

I fell in love with the characters and their story. It had me hooked and I didn’t want to put it down.

Night Owl Reviews

The Path to Forever

The concept of longevity as it is presented here, with all its details and consequences, is fascinating.

Queer Magazine Online

Books by Etienne

The Avondale Stories

Bodies of Work

Drag and Drop

Break and Enter

Sleuth, LLC: Birds of a Feather

Magic Fingers

The Burdens of Truth

Love Turns the Page

Curiosity Satisfied

The Tenor Tuner

The Performers

Bottoms Up

Bottoms Out

Bottoms Away

Buzz Bets Badly, But Begets Bliss

Fold, Do Not Starch

Sleuth, LLC: Bring Out Your Dead

All Fall Down

A Touch of Blood

The Forever Books

The Path to Forever

Prognosis: Forever

Sold!

Children of Forever

Appearances

Trial

Tribulation

Triumph

The Ivory Solution

Scourge

Cleanse

Purify

Other Books

Grand Tour

Bobby and Clyde

The View From Baskins’ Ridge

(Bobby and Clyde Redux)

Rhodri’s Rangers: Searching For Us

EMT: A Tale of Love and Disaster

Apocalypse—Not

Raleigh’s Folly

Anthologies

George and Mike (The First Avondale Anthology)

Bodies of Work

Drag and Drop

Break and Enter

Forever (a Trilogy)

The Path to Forever

Prognosis: Forever

Children of Forever

The Tenor Tuner

(An Avondale Story)

Revised Edition

Etienne

Quick Links

Begin Reading

Table of Contents

Copyright Information

Copyright © 2011, 2016, 2020 by Etienne

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Wherever possible, the syntax and spelling in this book follows guidelines set forth in The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th Edition, and in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary.

Cover Art © 2016, 2020 by Gerald Lopez

Acknowledgments

This story began several years ago, when I received an e-mail from a fan in one of my favorite southeastern cities. He wrote to tell me that he was born blind, and really lamented the lack of stories about gay men such as himself. I wrote back and said that I couldn’t possibly undertake such a task without help, and he agreed to be my adviser as to all things concerning the blind. So, thank you, my young friend—this story would not have been possible without your advice.

To my long-suffering editor Jim Kennedy, what can I say, but thanks.

To my partner of many years, thanks as always for your support and encouragement.

Dedication

The story is dedicated to all of the men and women out there who deal on a daily basis with a problem the sighted cannot possibly fathom.

Author’s Notes

Many people have written to inquire if the places described in the Avondale stories are real, and I'm happy to say that most of them are. Avondale is a very real neighborhood in Jacksonville, Florida, situated between Roosevelt Boulevard (US-17) and the St. Johns River. It is bounded on the northeast by McDuff Avenue which separates it from the neighborhood known as Riverside, and on the southwest by Fishweir Creek.

After the great fire of 1901 leveled much of downtown Jacksonville, destroying over two thousand buildings and leaving nearly ten thousand people homeless, the Springfield neighborhood immediately north of downtown was developed. Then the city began to move west and south along the St. Johns River, and first Riverside then Avondale were born. Said to be the first planned community in Florida, Avondale was developed in the nineteen twenties.

The restaurants frequented by our guys are very real, and pretty much as described in the stories:

The Derby House, sometimes referred to as Gorgi’s Derby House was a popular restaurant for several decades, until it closed circa 2011, give or take a year or so. It was the kind of neighborhood hangout where people seated themselves. After its closure, the building was remodeled, enlarged a bit, and a new restaurant emerged, known as The Derby on Park.

Biscottis, which opened in the fall of 1993, is a very popular restaurant located in the Avondale shopping area.

The Pizza Italian in Five Points, was opened by a Greek immigrant in the spring of 1976, and he dished out good pizza, wonderful lasagna, and the best meatball subs in town for just over forty-one years. Sadly, the restaurant closed in 2017, due to the owner’s age and health problems.

Richard's Sandwich Shop in Five Points, for some thirty years offered the best Camel Riders* in town. After more than thirty years in business, the owner sold the property and retired in 2016.

The Goal Post Sandwich Shop is located across the street from the complex that houses The Loop, and has been a fixture in the neighborhood for a very long time.

The Cool Moose Café has been serving breakfast and lunch to neighborhood residents for some twenty years.

The Loop Pizza Grill, home of the best grilled chicken sandwich in town and locally referred to simply as The Loop, began in Jacksonville in the late eighties, and has grown to several locations around town. The Avondale location, situated on Fishweir Creek, was popular for its deck, where one could sit and watch sea birds foraging in the tidal estuary while eating. Unfortunately, the entire complex was razed by developers in 2017, and replaced by apartments. The Loop moved to another location nearby, but that location, sadly, lacks a deck on the water.

*THE TERM Camel Rider might sound like a pejorative to some in today's politically correct society, but in Jacksonville—which has one of the largest Middle Eastern communities on the East Coast—it's the name of a sandwich offered at the numerous sandwich shops around town operated by people whose ancestors fled the economic decline and religious persecution of the Ottoman Empire. Predominately Christian, they came from Syria, Lebanon, and other parts of the Middle East and settled in Jacksonville during the early twentieth century and shortly before.

All of the sandwich shops offer sandwiches in a pocket of pita bread, and these sandwiches are called riders. The Camel Rider is a pita pocket stuffed with lettuce, slices of tomato, cheese, and cold cuts, with a bit of mustard and a dash of olive oil. The camel rider is a very simple, but amazingly satisfying sandwich.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

About the author

Contact the author

Other books by Etienne

The Tenor Tuner

(An Avondale Story)

Revised edition

Etienne

Chapter 1

IT WAS FRIDAY morning, the last class of the spring term was behind me, and I would graduate in a few days. I’d already signed up for a summer term to begin working on my master’s and was, at the moment, looking forward to a day of creative loafing. Sally, my roommate, was at work, and I had the apartment all to myself. The harsh sound of the doorbell interrupted my reverie.

It’s open, I said in a loud voice, wondering who would be at my door on a Friday morning.

I heard the door open and a familiar voice say, It’s just me.

Hi, Norm, I said to my best friend, Norman Simms, and when I heard the door close behind him I added, What’s up?

Not a lot. I’m headed out to the beach, and I’m going to take you with me.

After what happened last time, I shouldn’t think you’d want me along.

So you tripped over a curb and skinned your knee. It was my fault for not warning you.

It was actually my fault for allowing you to talk me into leaving my cane in the car. You can’t be expected to see every little thing that pops up in front of my feet and warn me in time.

Enough of that, Josh. Get your ass into your bedroom and out of those clothes. I want to see you in those Speedos I bought you for your birthday—right now.

Okay, I said. "I guess a little sun wouldn’t