Sunrise: Jonathan

You are cordially invited to view another of a triptych of stories involving the lives and loves of gay men who work or volunteer at the Sunrise Arts Center in Stafford, North Carolina.

Dr. Jonathan Baker volunteers to man the reception desk because, like he says, he enjoys meeting people. He also boasts he folds a mean program. Everyone tells him he's wasting his talents at doing such menial tasks. But Jonathan is lonely and needs to keep busy.

After retiring, Jonathan decides to move back to his hometown. Although he was quietly out at work, he's uncomfortable in disclosing his sexual orientation in the more conservative hometown. This is despite the new director of the Arts Center being out and proud. Whitney is young, Jonathan is not.

In a further effort to meet people, and to dip a toe into the waters of the local gay scene, Jonathan joins a men's book group at his local church, most of whose members are gay. The person chairing the first meeting is high school English teacher Frank Cummings. Frank confesses he knows of Jonathan through scholarly articles Jonathan had written.

Frank and Jonathan soon find they have several things in common. Both teachers of English, both belong to the same church, and both are of a similar age. This last is the problem. Jonathan has previously lost a lover to illness and fears history repeating itself. Is it fair to burden someone with looking after him if/when he becomes frail? Should people their age enter into relationships or just stay friends? Only time will tell, but how much time do they have?