Page 55 of Pieces of Me

“What isn’t?”

Just then a fat, old white-haired man working behind the counter caught sight of them. “We don’t let his kind in here,” he sneered, pointing at the woman. “Take that filth elsewhere.”

“And what ‘kind’ would that be?” Rylan asked pleasantly. “Paying customers? Not much good for business.” He gave a pointed look around the completely empty diner. “What do you say, honey? Head across the street to Nico’s for our steak and lobster?”

The woman grinned, taking Rylan’s arm and plastering herself to his side. “Sure, baby,” she purred, playing her part. “But you also promised me a banana split. And gallons of coffee.”

“Ah well.” Rylan heaved a theatrical sigh, making a show of patting the pocket his wallet was in. “Money will spend anywhere, won’t it, sugar?”

“All right, fine!” the owner snapped. “But if I see any funny business in the booth or back in one of the bathrooms, I’m calling the fucking cops!”

The woman sneered at him. “Just in here to eat, fuckwad. I wouldn’t grace this shithole with my presence otherwise.”

They slid into a nearby booth, and the man slapped menus down in front of them sullenly, somewhat mollified when they both ordered full breakfasts and a carafe of coffee.

When he’d gone, the woman held out her hand. “So, my name’s Maya.”

“Rylan.”

He reached across the table and shook Maya’s hand before settling back in his seat with a sigh of weariness.

“Why you wanna take our picture, Rylan?” Maya toyed with her silverware, spinning the knife around and around on the old Formica tabletop.

Rylan looked up at the ceiling for a second, marshaling his thoughts. “Well, obviously you know I’m a photographer.”

“No shit,” she said, her voice dry, the knife spinning hypnotically while her finger kept it going.

“But I’m not a pornographer.” He stressed the “porn” part of the word emphatically. “I’m legit. I’m trying to put together a photo-essay of street people that I want to submit to some national magazines.”

“Which ones?”

When Rylan named them, she whistled under her breath. “Huh. And they all want pitchers of the beautiful trans women of Van Buren Street.” Her tone was flat, disbelieving.

Rylan smiled at her pronunciation of “pictures,” and said, “I’m sure they do. They’re always on the lookout for human-interest stories. I’m hoping they’ll buy my photo-essay and send a writer out to actually write the piece.”

Maya gave him a skeptical look. “That’s been done a ton of times, ain’t it? Stories like that, about street people and sex workers?”

“Yes.” Rylan nodded. “Which is why I’m interested in telling the stories of trans women, especially trans women of color, probably one of the most marginalized groups in the country.”

Her look was steady. “You want to tell our story? In a nice way?”

“In a nice, completely respectful way,” Rylan said quietly. “I promise you, I’m not here to mock anyone, or exploit them. All I want to do is tell the story.”

The diner owner stomped over to set down plates of steaming food in front of them, and refresh their coffees.

Maya picked up her knife and fork, digging in. “Some of the girls think you’re lookin’ for ‘she-males’ for fetish porn.”

“I know. I’m legit, Maya,” he repeated. “Not looking for free sex, or to cop cheap feels or to make porn.”

“Can you blame us for bein’ ’spicious, though?” she mumbled around the food in her mouth. “Lone white dude, hangin’ ’round us with a camera?”

Rylan took a sip of water, washing down his own bite. “Don’t blame you one bit. I realize I’m asking a lot by asking you to trust me. I can imagine trust in men doesn’t come easy.”

Maya snorted derisively at the understatement. “Yeah,” was all she said, her face shadowed. “It don’t.”

They finished their meal in relative silence, and Rylan asked if he could take some photos of her. At her nod, he snapped a few quick shots, played with the filters, and showed her the result. She quirked her lips in a tiny smile. “You aiight, man. You made me look pretty.”

Rylan winked at her and signaled to the diner owner for the check. The man slapped it down, snatching up Rylan’s money a moment later and returning with the change. Rylan rolled his eyes at Maya over the man’s rudeness, and they chuckled in rueful amusement.