Kate was a girl I knew at primary school. I developed something of a crush on her. For those of you of haven't been paying attention, I've had a character named "Kate" in practically every major piece of fiction I've written in the last decade and a half: "Kate", for me, is a shorthand way of referring to some hypothetical perfect woman.
BBCi News - September 2006
The families of two British men beaten to death in Budapest have spoken out against their attackers at a press conference organised by gay rights group Stonewall.
Carlton Marcell, 49, and David A-----, 27, had been celebrating the completion of their Civil Union ceremony with a "honeymoon" in the Hungarian capital when they were set upon by a group of up to twenty British revellers.
The attackers, who were in Budapest for a Stag party, were arrested by the Hungarian authorities but released after less than forty-eight hours due to a lack of evidence.
At the press conference, David's younger sister spoke movingly of her relationship with her brother.
Carlton's younger brother was overcome with emotion and unable to speak.
Their murder by homophobic vigilantes is far removed from the lifestyles both men used to lead.
Carlton was married with two young daughters and a successful legal career when he met David eight years ago.
As a senior partner with one of the Southeast's most well-respected law firms, Carlton had successfully conquered years of racist abuse. By the time he revealed his relationship with David, he found his colleagues to be considerably more tolerant than they had been when he started his career two decades earlier.
David, meanwhile, had grown up in a long-term relationship with his childhood sweetheart, Kate, before coming to terms with his sexuality.
After Kate moved to a well-known public school, she became increasingly critical of David's lifestyle and friends. This criticism later manifested itself as strong verbal and physical abuse, which led, according to David's sister, to a long period of introversion and depression. The vicious cycle was broken only when he met Carlton, who encouraged him to leave Kate.
A Stonewall spokesman said, "This could and should have been a perfect happy ending. The ignorance and intolerance displayed by their attackers beggars belief. We will be calling on the UK authorities to launch a full and honest investigation into the deaths of Carlton and David."
Well, wasn't that a cheerful one to finish with? For the last time, remember: This is a work of complete and utter fiction from start to finish. I haven't seen Kate since primary school, which seems like a very, very long time ago. With regret, I have no idea where she is now: Kate's one of those irritating individuals who has a Friends Reunited profile, but has helpfully left it blank.
Other characters named in this piece are also fictional. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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