Then she turned and walked away, leaving the pair of us standing there. Luke huffed out a laugh, watching her for a moment. Then, once she was far enough away that she couldn't hear us, he turned back to me.
"That was going so well for a moment," he said. "Right up until you decided to be an asshole."
"No," I corrected. "Until I reminded her that she can't walk on me and think I'll forget. Luke, she doesn't get to make the smallest effort and get a large one back from me - or you." I stepped closer to him and lowered my voice. "She's the kind of person who will abuse you over and over, then think that saying she's sorry erases the past. It doesn't. Forgiving her is not the same as forgetting what she's done, and making an effort should never mean that we ignore the history of abuse she has heaped on both you and Faith."
"No, she hasn't - " he tried.
But I wouldn't let him finish that. "She has. Screaming at you, cutting you down, telling Faith she's fat, and all of those things are abuse. It's mental, verbal, and emotional abuse, and just like with Faith's bullies, it's often harder to recover from than the physical kind. So no, I won't forget." I reached up to clasp the side of his neck, holding his attention on me. "I'm your boyfriend, and I get to protect you in my own way. This is it. Now, if she can learn, I will forgive."
Luke leaned in and pressed his brow to mine. "One day, I want to be as proud of who I am as you are, Ash."
I let my thumb trace the edge of his jaw. "It takes time to learn how to ignore the stares, the comments, and the things people say. Just know that you can go two ways. Either you push yourself down until you're small and unoffensive, or you push back until you're rubbing who you are in everyone else's face. Cy taught me how to do the second. He's mellowed over time, but that man has found a balance that I'm still trying to figure out."
"How to love who he loves like it's normal," Luke said, showing he understood. "Yeah. He makes it look easy."
"He also came out when he was thirteen," I reminded him, easing my hand away even as I stepped back. "Church, Luke. Your daughter is waiting for you."
He tilted his head toward the entrance. "Maybe you should sit next to me today. You know, just to mix things up."
So I did. Violet smiled at us and slid down next to Cy. Faith was confused for a split second, but then she turned back to Zeke and kept talking about her weekend with her mother. I heard something about how it hadn't been too bad and for the first time, Meredith had actually listened to her.
Then, halfway through the service, Luke reached over and curled his fingers around my palm. I looked at him and he offered a shy smile, but it made butterflies take off in my stomach. Such a stupid thing to be excited about, but this man had just taken my hand in public without shame. To my knowledge, it was the first time he'd ever done that.
He'd always said that he wanted to come out. He wanted to make it clear that this was who he was, and he refused to be ashamed of it. I knew that was easier said than done, but Luke just kept doing it. He might not always be graceful about it, but the man was made of so much "try" that it was inspirational to me. It might even be the thing I loved about him most.
And then, right at the end of the service, David closed his Bible and let out a heavy sigh. "Now, I want to talk about something important in our community. Last week, Ashton Walker from Southwind asked me if I'd be willing to remind all of you about the city council vote in November. I told him I would, but that I didn't feel right trying to influence anyone's opinion." He looked over to where we sat, and smiled. "Well, that man sure knows how to change my mind.
"You see," he went on, "every time I've asked someone from Southwind for help, they have done it without hesitation. Last weekend, another member of our congregation asked me to pray with him about finding a job. I did, and then - since I know that Southwind is rebuilding - I asked Ash if he had any work available. What happened next was not at all what I expected. Southwind not only offered the man a job, but helped him catch up after life took a bad turn."
David patted his Bible. "In here, it talks about caring for our neighbors. God commands us to love one another. Now, I hear all the comments about how different things are up on that hill, and how the people from Southwind aren't like us, but let me ask you this. Why not? When someone needs help, they help. When someone is in trouble, they step up. Isn't that the kind of people we're supposed to be? Maybe they have jobs that are hard for us to understand and have gone places that we can only imagine, but that doesn't make them bad people. Violet, Ash, Cy, and Luke were all raised here. They are members of this community. Like many of our kids, they grew up, moved away, and lived a little, but now they are back.
"So I take back what I said, Ash. I do think that it's fair and just for me to ask everyone in here to let our mayor know that we want Southwind to have a business license. I think that what they are doing up there is good. It might be new, but it is definitely good. So please, let us help make our community better by encouraging a locally-grown group to open a business with jobs that will bring our families closer instead of tearing them apart. Thank you."
He went on to say a few more things, and then stepped away from the podium. That was when the murmur of voices began to grow. People stood, talking to whoever was beside them, and like always, groups began to form. Most headed for the doors. Some headed for friends. And while we also stood, we waited for the majority of the group to move.
"That wasn't what I expected," Cy said, looking over at me. "What did you do last weekend, Ash?"
"I just hired Scott," I admitted.
Luke chuckled once. "And offered him a loan to get back on his feet. Ash, that's the over and above part he's talking about. Keep this up and I'll start thinking you're a big softie."
I scoffed at that. "I'm just trying to impress Violet."
"Consider me impressed," she teased. "I also think things are looking up. Granted, I feel like we're on a rollercoaster, but we keep spending more time on the high side, right?"
Luke leaned a bit to see her. "Only if you don't think what happened to your car was - "
He was stopped in the middle of his sentence by a guy pushing past Zeke and Faith to get in Luke's face. "Hey, faggot," he snapped.
Luke turned and braced up. "Back up, Jeremy, and don't you ever push my kid like that again."
Jeremy didn't move. "We don't want your kind around here, so how about you and the other fags get the fuck out, hm?"
"Come here," Emily whispered, pulling both Zeke and Faith into the row with her.
Berto pushed the kids behind him too, making a wall between them and the threat. Zeke looked pissed, like he was about to say something, but Faith was grabbing his arm tightly, using it to hold him back. I saw it from the corner of my eye, but I wasn't ready to look away from this asshole. Behind me, Cy was moving Violet out of the way too.
"Too bad for you," Luke said, "this church has no problem with people like me. Maybe it's you who needs to go elsewhere." Then Luke leaned in. "I know you were at our place Thursday morning."
