Henrytook my proffered hand and gave it a hard shake before scampering to the other side of the table to sit by his dad andBilly.
“You’rein a good mood today,”Dadobserved. “Ifigured you’d be bitching like you usually do about how much work you have to get done.”
“MaybeBillysettling into family life is affecting all of us.It’shard to be in a bad mood whenHenry’saround.”
Thelittle boy had quickly stolen all our hearts.We’dall known him his entire life becauseMichaelhad still been around after he andDannysplit up, but things were strained for a long time.Noneof us had wanted to do anything that would be seen as betrayingDanny, and looking back, it wasHenrywho’d suffered more than anyone.Thewhole situation was fucked up, which one might expect when the baby of your family fell in love with his brother’s best friend and the best friend was a complete dumbass who ran instead of relying on his partner.
“Thatit is, but it’s more than that.”Dadstared at me, ice cream dripping off the spoon he held in front of his mouth. “You’vebeen almost pleasant this week.Carsontold me you even invited him to lunch a couple of times.”
“Yeah, well…”Dadwasn’t usually the type to pry, butIstill found myself searching for a logical explanation.Iwasn’t sure whyIwas so worried about admittingIwasn’t sitting alone in my living room.ThetimeI’dspent withKevinwas somethingIjust wasn’t ready to share with everyone. “MaybeI’mstarting to realize being the family crab ass all the time isn’t getting me anywhere.”
“Good.”Dadclapped me on the shoulder. “Iworry about you,Anson.Ikeep thinking you’ll eventually mellow and realize you don’t have to kill yourself to prove you’re talented, but as time passes,I’vestarted worrying you’re going to drive yourself into an early grave.”
“It’sreally not that bad,Dad.”Adull ache formed in my chest, a heaviness that made it difficult to breathe.Ihated worrying them, especially my dad, who had enough of his own issues going on. “I’mnot like the rest of the guys.Idon’t have hobbies to keep me busy, andI’veoutgrown the bar scene.”
“Well, maybe it’s time you found a hobby then.Youneed to do something other than work and come home to work some more.Itwouldn’t kill you to have less on your plate at any given time.”Ithought back to the nightsI’dspent in the kitchen withKevin.Cookingwasn’t something that had ever interested me, butI’dfound myself enjoying the time we spent together.Hewas always patient whenIdidn’t know what he was talking about, and the food was better than anythingIcould make for myself.MaybeIcould look into some recipes to make for him for a change, drop something off on a night he had to work so he didn’t have to resort to leftovers.
“Thanksfor the advice.Andmaybe you’re right.”Asthe band started winding down, we all got up and gathered our garbage so another group could take our place.JamesandTheojoined us, which was pretty damn cool, seeing as they were teenagers.WhenIwas their age,I’dhave done whateverIcould to not have to hang out with my family during the festival.Thenagain, they were both fairly reserved, and their circle of friends had gotten smaller after a few of them got in trouble over the summer for vandalizing a church.Itdidn’t matter how funny a lot of people in town had thought the act was.Itwas still a crime, andJamesknew he had to keep himself out of trouble or risk the stable familyBillyandMichaelwere building for him.
Iwas about to grabHenryto head over to the games whenIspottedMayorThompsonand some of theTruth&LightAssemblycongregation standing near the edge of the tent.Theywere here every year, casting judgment among themselves for the most part, but occasionally, those who didn’t hold an elected office chose to confront people they felt were crossing the lines of their perceived morality.
“Fuck, does that man always look like he’s got a corn cob shoved up his ass, or is it just me?”Blakemock-whispered.
Mylaughter was cut short whenIheard the mayor talking shit as he passed, as if we wouldn’t all know what he was talking about. “Absolutelydisgusting.”
Myjaw clenched asIspun to face the mayor, setting my beer down on the corner of a nearby table.Thisasshole had gotten away with talking shit about my family andHarmonyHousefor far too long.Ithought about what it had to be like for someone likeKevin, knowing he worked for a man who didn’t even bother hiding his homophobic views. “I’msorry,MayorThompson.I’mnot sureIfollow.”
Itwould have been easy to call him out, butIwanted to see how far he’d shove his foot in his mouth.Iwanted him to explain his comment and tell us and anyone within earshot what he thought was so disgusting.
Themayor’s face turned a shade redder as he tried to keep his voice steady. “I’mtalking about those two boys.Holdinghands in public?It’snot decent.IfJameswas in a suitable home?—”
Itwas hard to keep my expression neutral whenIreallywanted to knock this man on his ass.Itwas bad enough for him to talk shit about grown men, but he was degrading kids as well as implying my brother wasn’t providing him a hell of a lot better home than his own flesh and blood had. “Isee.Andyou came all the way here, weaving your way through the crowd, just to let us know your personal opinion?”
Themayor flinched whenIsquared my shoulders and leaned forward.Outof the corner of my eye,InoticedKevinand a couple of other officers at the edge of the crowd starting to gather.Iprayed whatever happened here wouldn’t bring our budding friendship crashing to the ground. “I’msimply saying what many in this town feel.It’smy duty as the mayor?—”
Therewere murmurs all around us, mostly people telling the mayor he was full of shit.Thisfelt like a turning point.Ifsomething didn’t change now, nothing ever would.Thelonger we allowed those who followedTruth&Light’sperverted interpretation of theBibleto dictate how this town ran, the more power they’d hold over everyone who believed in progress.Andif no one else was going to step up, maybe it was time for me to finally do something with my life other than look over contracts.Ididn’t let the ass get another word in beforeIcut him off.”Well, maybe it’s time we elect a mayor who doesn’t concern himself with who’s holding hands with whom but instead focuses on making this town a better place to live.Someonewho creates a truly welcoming city where kids likeJameswill feel safe.Wherepeople willing to turn their backs on their flesh and blooddon’tfeel comfortable spewing their venom to anyone, regardless of whether the other person is interested in their opinions.”
Themayor’s mouth hung open.Heblinked slowly as he took in my family’s reactions, then looked over his shoulder to see where his supporters had fled. “Thisis a town with a storied history, and you won’t ruin the traditions that have lasted since the first family claimed this land as their home.”
“Withan election coming up next spring, it’s amazing to see how hard you’re working to tear apart the progress we’ve made around here.”Itook a step closer, keeping my hands at my sides so everyone could seeIwasn’t threatening him.“Itwon’t take much for someone to knock you off that pedestal you seem to have built at city hall.”
“Isthat a threat?”Helooked over at the officers, jerking his head as if summoning them.
Theymoved closer but didn’t try to stop me.Theyknew the law, and confronting a bigot was well within my constitutional rights.Kevin’sbrows were knitted in concern, soIgave him a subtle grin.Ihad no fucking clue whatIwas thinking, but it was going to be okay. “Nope.It’sa damn promise.I’llsee you at the polls, mayor.We’llsee which of us the people ofHarmonyGrovewant leading them into the future.”
Themayor’s face turned beet red.Hespluttered, trying to get the last word in.Whenhe was left speechless, he spun on his heel and marched away.Whatreally caught my attention was how many people looked at him with absolute disgust.Whilemost quickly returned to the conversations they were having before the mayor’s outburst, more than a few nodded and lifted glasses to me.
Ifelt a strong hand on my shoulder. “Son, whenItold you it was time to get a hobby or find something to do with your time, that wasn’t exactly whatIhad in mind.”
“Yeah, well, someone’s got to do it, and as you pointed out, it’s time for me to have more in life than work.”Ismiled at my dad, hoping he wasn’t about to try talking me out of this.Iwasn’t sure howIwas going to go from never having held a public office to being the mayor, butIwas determined to make damn sure kids likeJamesandTheodidn’t grow up thinking assholes likeThompsonwere in control of their futures.
7
KEVIN
Whywasit hot to watch a good-looking man go all superhero on the mayor?Andwhy did it have to happen whenIwas on duty and needed to keep my freaking libido in check?
Theargument betweenAnsonandMayorThompsoncame to an abrupt halt whenAnsoninformed the mayor he would have a fight on his hands come spring.Iwasn’t sure where the idea had come from, butIwas definitely looking forward to getting home tonight.Hopefully,Ansonwouldn’t be busy with his family, and we could hang out for a bit.Iwas dying to know if this was something he was sincere about or if it was a heat-of-the-moment threat he had no intention of following through with.
