by Mark Zubro
“How was it?”
“A little odd.”
“That was a kind thing to do. I’m proud of you. Did the other kids make fun?”
“No. It’s not like it was the first high school dance with two guys dancing. We’re both pretty big and athletic. The people I care about know I’m straight. The people I don’t know, I don’t care about. And I’ll be gone in a few months anyway.” He stood up and put the half-filled container of yellow goo back in the refrigerator. “I gotta get changed and get my stuff for the Dunes.”
Paul asked, “You heard your baseball coach quit?”
“Yeah, that was a shitty thing to do to Shane. I heard the coach was supposed to meet with Mrs. Talucci, but quit first.” The boy smiled. “She’s a marvel.”
Brian hesitated in the kitchen doorway.
“You and Ben knew something was wrong, didn’t you?”
“Ben and I suspected.”
“How?”
“I’ve known you eighteen years. I must have learned something. You weren’t yourself. You were doing things you do when you’re down. And we know about your stash in the garage under your sports equipment.”
“You know about the candy bars?”
“We found it by accident. Just because you don’t clean your room, doesn’t mean we don’t clean the garage.”
“You guys never said anything.”
“It’s best not to let you discover all of our parental secrets. The key is you’re okay. The prom was good. You’ve got a scholarship to college. And I love you.”
In two strides Brian was on him and giving him a huge bear hug. “Thanks, Dad.” He grabbed a couple more of Mrs. Talucci’s cookies and strolled out the door.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Zubro is the author of twenty-three mystery novels and five short stories. His book A Simple Suburban Murder won the Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Men’s mystery. He also wrote a thriller, Foolproof, with two other mystery writers, Jeanne Dams and Barb D’Amato. He taught eighth graders English and reading for thirty-four years. He was president of the teachers’ union in his district from 1985 until 2006. He retired from teaching in 2006 and now spends his time reading, writing, napping, and eating chocolate. His newest book Another Dead Republican, is his thirteenth in the Tom and Scott series. One of the keys in Zubro’s mysteries is you do not want to be a person who is racist, sexist, homophobic, or a school administrator. If you are any of those, it is likely you are the corpse, or, at the least, it can be fairly well guaranteed that bad things will happen to you by the end. And if in Zubro’s books you happen to be a Republican and/or against workers’ rights, it would be far better if you did not make a habit of broadcasting this. If you did, you’re quite likely to be a suspect, or worse.
TRADEMARKS ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Amazon.com – Amazon.com, Inc.
Burma-Shave – American Safety Razor Company
Chicago Bears – Chicago Bears
Chicago Cubs – Chicago Cubs
CNN – Cable News Network
Dell – Dell, Inc.
DePaul University – DePaul University
Facebook – Facebook
Google – Google Inc.
Grande Hotel – Sferra Linens
iPod – Apple Inc.
Loyola University – Loyola University Chicago
MacBook Pro – Apple Inc.
Maglite – Mag Instrument Inc.
Mercedes – Daimler AG
Monty Python – New Media Broadcasting Company Inc.
New York Times – The New York Times Company
Opus Dei – Opus Dei Information Office
Oreos – Mondelēz International.
Parnian – Parnian
Speedos – Speedo International
The Salvation Army – The Salvation Army
YouTube – YouTube, LLC
MLR PRESS AUTHORS
Featuring a roll call of some of the best writers of gay erotica and mysteries today!
Derek Adams
Z. Allora
Maura Anderson
Simone Anderson
Victor J. Banis
Laura Baumbach
Helen Beattie
Ally Blue
J.P. Bowie
Barry Brennessel
Nowell Briscoe
Jade Buchanan
James Buchanan
TA Chase
Charlie Cochrane
Karenna Colcroft
Michael G. Cornelius
Jamie Craig
Ethan Day
Diana DeRicci
Vivien Dean
Taylor V. Donovan
S.J. Frost
Kimberly Gardner
Kaje Harper
Alex Ironrod
Jambrea Jo Jones
DC Juris
AC Katt
Thomas Kearnes
Sasha Keegan
Kiernan Kelly
K-lee Klein
Geoffrey Knight
Christopher Koehler
Matthew Lang
J.L. Langley
Vincent Lardo
Cameron Lawton
Anna Lee
Elizabeth Lister
Clare London
William Maltese
Z.A. Maxfield
Timothy McGivney
Tere Michaels
AKM Miles
Robert Moore
Reiko Morgan
Jet Mykles
William Neale
N.J. Nielsen
Cherie Noel
Gregory L. Norris
Willa Okati
Erica Pike
Neil S. Plakcy
Rick R. Reed
A.M. Riley
AJ Rose
Rob Rosen
George Seaton
Riley Shane
Jardonn Smith
DH Starr
Richard Stevenson
Christopher Stone
Liz Strange
Marshall Thornton
Lex Valentine
Haley Walsh
Mia Watts
Lynley Wayne
Missy Welsh
Ryal Woods
Stevie Woods
Lance Zarimba
Mark Zubro
Check out titles, both available and forthcoming, at
www.mlrpress.com
GLBT RESOURCES
RAINBOW ROMANCE WRITERS
Raising the Bar for LGBT Romance
RRW offers support and advocacy to career-focused authors, expanding the horizons of romance. Changing minds, one heart at a time. www.rainbowromancewriters.com
THE TREVOR PROJECT
The Trevor Project operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. Every day, The Trevor Project saves lives though its free and confidential helpline, its website and its educational services. If you or a friend are feeling lost, alone, confused or in crisis, please call The Trevor Helpline. You’ll be able to speak confidentially with a trained counselor 24/7.
The Trevor Helpline: 866-488-7386
On the Web: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/
THE GAY MEN’S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROJECT
Founded in 1994, The Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project is a grassroots, non-profit organization founded by a gay male survivor of domestic violence and developed through the strength, contributions and participation of the community. The Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project supports victims and survivors through education, advocacy and direct services. Understanding that the serious public health issue of domestic violence is not gender specific, we serve men in relationships with men, regardless of how they identify, and stand ready to assist them in navigating through abusive relationships.
GMDVP Helpline: 800.832.1901
On the Web: http://gmdvp.
org/
THE GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION/GLAAD EN ESPAÑOL
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
On the Web: http://www.glaad.org/
GLAAD en español: http://www.glaad.org/espanol/bienvenido.php
SERVICEMEMBERS LEGAL DEFENSE NETWORK
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, legal services, watchdog and policy organization dedicated to ending discrimination against and harassment of military personnel affected by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT).The SLDN provides free, confidential legal services to all those impacted by DADT and related discrimination. Since 1993, its inhouse legal team has responded to more than 9,000 requests for assistance. In Congress, it leads the fight to repeal DADT and replace it with a law that ensures equal treatment for every servicemember, regardless of sexual orientation. In the courts, it works to challenge the constitutionality of DADT.
SLDNCall: 800-538-7418
PO Box 65301or (202) 328-FAIR
Washington DC 20035-5301 e-mail: [email protected]
On the Web: http://sldn.org/
THE GLBT NATIONAL HELP CENTER
The GLBT National Help Center is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that is dedicated to meeting the needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and those questioning their sexual orientation and gender identity. It is an outgrowth of the Gay & Lesbian National Hotline, which began in 1996 and now is a primary program of The GLBT National Help Center. It offers several different programs including two national hotlines that help members of the GLBT community talk about the important issues that they are facing in their lives. It helps end the isolation that many people feel, by providing a safe environment on the phone or via the internet to discuss issues that people can’t talk about anywhere else. The GLBT National Help Center also helps other organizations build the infrastructure they need to provide strong support to our community at the local level.
National Hotline: 1-888-THE-GLNH (1-888-843-4564)
National Youth Talkline 1-800-246-PRIDE (1-800-246-7743)
On the Web: http://www.glnh.org/
e-mail: [email protected]
If you’re a GLBT and questioning student heading off to university, you should know that there are resources on campus for you. Here’s just a sample:
GLBT SCHOLARSHIP RESOURCES
http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/tell-us-about-an-lgbt-scholarship
Syracuse University
http://lgbt.syr.edu/
Texas A&M
http://glbt.tamu.edu/
Tulane University
http://tulane.edu/studentaffairs/oma/lgbt/index.cfm
University of Alaskahttp://www.uaf.edu/woodcenter/leadership/organizations/active/index.xml?id=61
University of California, Davis
http://lgbtrc.ucdavis.edu/
University of California, San Francisco
http://lgbt.ucsf.edu/
University of Colorado
http://www.colorado.edu/GLBTQRC/
University of Florida
http://www.multicultural.ufl.edu/lgbt/
University of Hawaii, Mānoa
http://manoa.hawaii.edu/lgbt/
University of Utah
http://www.sa.utah.edu/lgbt/
University of Virginia
http://www.virginia.edu/deanofstudents/lgbt/
Vanderbilt University
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lgbtqi/