East on St. James

Prologue

When people cooperate, there is no limit to what they can accomplish. Take an attorney, Dury, newly retired, and a chef and vagabond, Keith, and put them together… well you’ll see what they come up with.

As unlikely as it seems, this meeting takes place over a tuna sandwich on a bench in a North Charleston park.

It’s all it takes for a beautiful friendship to begin.

Dury is straight. Keith isn’t. Keith is HIV+. Dury isn’t. This has little to do with the story, but it’s where the two men are where this story starts.

Dury has spent his life practicing law in New York City and Charleston, South Carolina. He is a well-to-do successful attorney. Keith doesn’t think in terms of being successful. He likes to cook. As long as he can cook, he’s happy. Happiness is good.

Keith learned the tricks of his trade on the road. His longest lasting job was as chef for a New Orleans restuarant. He went from prep crew to chef, being taught by a master.

What you have when you put Dury and Keith together is chemistry, and just maybe a little bit of magic. The dream they share involves giving people, working class people, a nice friendly place to live, to heal, to retire, according to their need when they hear about a place that sounds too good to be true.

CHAPTER 1