{"id":345,"date":"2019-12-16T05:33:12","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T05:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2019\/calendar\/?p=345"},"modified":"2019-12-16T05:33:12","modified_gmt":"2019-12-16T05:33:12","slug":"december-16th-david-by-dp-patricks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2019\/calendar\/?p=345","title":{"rendered":"December 16th- David by DP Patricks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Starsky and I had arrested Thomas Dresden that morning, with enough incontrovertible evidence to create a cheerfulness in the D.A.\u2019s office usually only seen at Christmas. As a result, our captain, Harold Dobey, was so pumped up, he was babbling through the phone\u2019s receiver I held to my ear. I could barely get a word in edgewise.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUh\u2026 yes, Captain\u2026 yes, sir, I\u2019ll be sure to tell Starsky\u2026 as soon as he gets out of the shower\u2026Yeah, that wine vat was handy but he and Dresden were in it so long, it\u2019s taking some time, and a whole bar of Lava soap, to cut through the stain\u2026. Yes, sir, I\u2019m afraid so, his clothes are a total loss\u2026. No, sir, I don\u2019t think he really cares right now\u2026. Yes, sir\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Having heard the water stop running, I glanced toward the bathroom and nearly swallowed my tongue. Dave Starsky, my partner, buddy, pal, best friend, and lover, stood in the doorway. To me, he looked like a master sculptor\u2019s dream. He\u2019d regained the weight he\u2019d lost after Gunther and — because getting back in shape with P.T., yoga, swimming, and running had become his new religion — the pounds were in all the right places.<\/span><\/p>\n

I suddenly had great difficulty concentrating on what Dobey was saying. \u201cUh\u2026 yeah\u2026 yes, sir\u2026 dissolving the coke in the wine and then distilling it out after it got to this country was clever, even if it was inefficient\u2026. Yes, sir\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

My focus strayed back to the sight of my partner. Shimmering with water droplets, his curly hair, muscular body, and exquisite masculine parts brought an image to mind that made me nearly drop the phone.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUh\u2026 no, sir\u2026 I\u2019m listening\u2026 of course, I am\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Standing barefoot, hip-shot, a towel held over his left shoulder, with that elbow pointed forward, and a fresh bar of soap in his dangling right hand, Starsky looked almost exactly like the marble statue I\u2019d seen in Florence, Italy, many years ago. The David.<\/span><\/p>\n

Only, this was my <\/em>David. And I suddenly wanted a hammer and chisel in my hand. Wait! What the hell was I thinking? I\u2019m not an artist; I can\u2019t draw a straight line without a ruler. But Starsky\u2019s always saying things like, “You sing, you play the piano and guitar, you write songs. You\u2019ve helped me crop my photos so that they\u2019re much more artistic. You\u2019ve got a great eye, Hutch! You should try painting!”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWha’cha lookin\u2019 at?\u201d Starsky grinned, knowing the answer.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Brooklyn accent was a discordant note. Instead of allowing it to ruin the moment, though, I gathered it to my heart. \u201cYou.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Clearly having expected a different response, he blushed all over, raising his right hand. \u201cThis is the last bar of that skin-scrapin\u2019 soap you had.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I finally remembered I was still on the phone with Dobey and brought my thoughts back to our conversation. \u201cUh, yeah, sure, Cap\u2019n, I\u2019ll tell him right now\u2026. Thanks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I hung up, wrenched my gaze away from Starsky, and wrote “Lava” on the shopping list.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t get the idea out of my head. While Starsky was giving his deposition on the Dresden case, I went to the library and made copies of photographs of the famous statue from every angle I could find. The body style was different but the pose did wonderful things to the memory of my dripping partner. And his prodigious manhood made the original look like a travesty of the male anatomy.<\/span><\/p>\n

I wondered if Michelangelo\u2019s model really was that poorly-endowed, or if it was a sly editorial comment. Maybe it was something artists and sculptors of the period did – make light of a man\u2019s equipment. Whatever! I decided that, if I could manage to come up with something half-way recognizable, I\u2019d draw Starsky\u2019s magnificence in its normal at-rest glory. The way he filled his jeans, slacks, cut-offs, or any other garment he wore in order to hide those jewels from the world would be more than enough to depict in this drawing. An eight-foot column of marble being unobtainable, I had decided on trying to do a sketch. That was daunting enough!<\/span><\/p>\n

The art supply store\u2019s clerk made recommendations after I explained that I was a beginner and wanted to draw a friend\u2019s likeness. I left there with a pad of charcoal paper and several pencils. He also gave me a card with an art teacher\u2019s name and phone number but I knew I\u2019d either produce something I was reasonably proud of by myself, or give up the idea entirely. I could never allow anyone except Starsky to see what was in my mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, my God, it was much tougher than I ever thought it could be, getting lines down on paper that came anywhere close to the picture I had in my head. I began to understand why not everyone was an artist. Still, I kept at it because a few of the scraps began to approximate what I had hoped to achieve.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWha’cha doin\u2019 in there, Hutch?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d lost count of the number of times Starsky had asked that question during the previous week. I knew he was terribly curious but I wouldn\u2019t tell him, and blocked his view into our spare bedroom when I opened the door. \u201cIt\u2019s a surprise, Starsk. I know you love surprises and I want this one to be special.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIs it a present for me?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, maybe it\u2019s for both of us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re killin\u2019 me, here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m not. I am tantalizing you though, for which I apologize. But I need you to promise that you will not, under any circumstances, come in here when I\u2019m not home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAw, Hutch –\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI mean it, Starsk. Not under any circumstances.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou promise? You\u2019ve never broken a promise to me and I\u2019m going to hold you to it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I promise.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGood. Thank you. Now, leave me alone. I need to get back to work if the surprise is going to be ready on time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn time?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFigure of speech. I meant when it\u2019s done.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Grumbling, he slunk off and I hated having caused him any distress at all. I just hoped, when he saw the drawing – if I ever finished it — he\u2019d forgive me. His seeing it beforehand would not only ruin the surprise, it might even embarrass him. I didn\u2019t want that. I wanted to give him something that would make him understand how I see him: the ideal human male form.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fact that he was also the kindest, gentlest, most loyal, dedicated, compassionate, trustworthy person I\u2019d ever known, simply added to the person that was David Michael Starsky. The man I love.<\/span><\/p>\n

Author’s Note<\/strong>:<\/span> I\u2019m pretty sure just about everyone has seen, at one time or another, a photograph of Michelangelo\u2019s masterpiece — or possibly seen the real thing — so I\u2019ll hope readers can superimpose Starsky\u2019s body over that of the famous statue.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Starsky and I had arrested Thomas Dresden that morning, with enough incontrovertible evidence to create a cheerfulness in the D.A.\u2019s office usually only seen at Christmas. As a result, our captain, Harold Dobey, was so pumped up, he was babbling … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,10,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fic","category-nsfw","category-slash"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2019\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2019\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2019\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2019\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2019\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=345"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2019\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":347,"href":"http:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2019\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions\/347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2019\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2019\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/advent.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2019\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}