Paul nodded and so did Cory and Brody.
“I appreciate that,” Thad said. Graham squeezed his hand. “But there’s a little bit more to it, ma’am. Uh, Angela. You work for the district attorney’s office that prosecuted me.”
He hadn’t realized that until earlier this week. He’d looked up Graham’s mom online and found the connection. That had been a nasty shock.
Angela winced. “Oh. Was I?—”
“No,” Thad said hastily. He wasn’t sure if he could have handled it if she had been the prosecutor for his case. “No. You weren’t the one who tried the case or even worked on it, that I’m aware of, anyway. It was your former boss, Gus Abbott.”
Angela’s lips thinned into a disapproving expression. “I always felt Gus was overzealous in his prosecution. There’s never been a formal enquiry, but I’ve long suspected he was more concerned about closing cases than getting justice. Do you feel you were unjustly imprisoned?”
Thad sighed. “That’s … difficult to answer. It’s complicated. I’d be happy to speak to you about it sometime, although I will say I don’t have any interest in trying to dig through the past and legally appeal anything. I just—I want you to know I’m—I’m not a violent man. The assault in prison was to protect someone else and?—”
She nodded. “I’m aware the environment in prisons often leads to people being in no-win situations.”
“Yes,” Thad agreed, surprised by how readily she’d understood. “Yes, it did feel that way.”
She pursed her lips. “I am also aware much of our judicial system in this country needs to be revamped. I don’t know how much Graham has told you about my work, but I campaigned on a platform of restorative justice and that’s a sincere commitment of mine. I have plans to work with various community leaders to find alternative ways to address crimes instead of incarcerating the people who commit them.”
Thad nodded. He’d found some of her campaign speeches online. It was probably theonlything allowing him to sit down today and meet with her without having a panic attack.
Well, and Graham’s support.
He turned to look at his boyfriend and found him looking back, smiling softly.
“Thad’s one of the best people I know,” Graham said quietly, not looking away from him. “And I love him. I hope you’ll give him a fair chance and get to know him. If you do, I know you’ll love him too.”
Thad blinked, overcome with emotion.
“Well, you better bring him to the wedding then!” Cory said cheerfully. “Please tell me he’s going to be your plus-one.”
“Oh yes,” Graham said turning back to face his sister. “Definitely.”
“Assuming everyone is fine with that,” Thad added.
“I don’t know,” Brody said, frowning. “I need to know about your sports teams before I agree to this, Thad.”
Thad laughed, limp with relief because for a second there …
“Uhh, well, big fan of hockey,” he said. “Obviously, I root for the Harriers.”
“Obviously,” Brody said like that was a foregone conclusion.
“I guess I do have one more confession,” Thad admitted. “I’m a huge Manhattan Vortex fan.”
Brody sat back, shaking his head. “I dunno, Cory. I’m not sure how I feel about having this guy at our wedding. A New York basketball fan? That’s where I draw the line.”
Everyone laughed and the anxiety eating at Thad all morning ebbed away.
“Fuck, I love you,” Thad whispered to Graham while everyone else was talking over one another, arguing about sports teams.
“I love you too.” Graham leaned in and kissed Thad’s cheek. “And see? I told you this would be fine.”
“You were right,” Thad said, leaning into the touch. “You were definitely right.”
After the video chat with his family, Graham manhandled Thad onto the couch and pulled him close. They needed to be at the O’Shea house for their informal Thanksgiving open house this afternoon, but they had a few hours to kill first.
“You doing okay?” Graham asked Thad because he still looked a little vague and confused around the eyes. Like nothing was quite sinking in yet.
