Asylum (Pride and Joy Book 2)

by Robert Winter

  Hernán expected that reading his own story would be difficult, but Sofia’s framing of it gave the emotional distance needed to focus on its accuracy and completeness. She’d adopted a theme that Hernán had suffered a lifetime of abuse for being gay, in a country where homosexuality continued to be anathema. He’d had no one to turn to when Cuernos targeted him as a gay man—not family, nor church, nor police. She had captured it all. The terrifying encounter as a child, the punishing response by his caregiver, the torment by Cuernos, and the nightmare of the journey with the other pollos.

  Sofia left out the graphic details of the time he was trapped with Lonnie in the border town, mentioning only that “I was raped during the journey, and I have since learned that I contracted HIV as a result.” She also omitted all but oblique references to Albert, Andrea and Isela.

  The narrative concluded with the words, “Eventually, family members lawfully in the United States paid the ransom necessary to get me over the border.”

  It was only when Hernán lifted his pen to make some edits that he realized how badly his hands shook. The most fleeting references to Lonnie still made him sweat, and a cold shiver ran down his spine. The name brought back the vile feeling of his helplessness, his impalement. Hernán could see again the predatory, possessive stare Lonnie would throw at him across the dining room. He saw the coyotes coming through the dormitory for him…

  “Are you all right?”

  Nick’s voice in his ear made Hernán jump. He looked around wildly. “What? Oh. Nick. Sorry about that.”

  “No worries,” the guard said gruffly. “You looked upset.”

  Hernán flushed and stared at the document before him. He’d intended to edit but his pen pressed so heavily into the pages on top that it had torn them. In an unsteady voice, he said, “Some memories hit me hard.”

  Nick nodded and backed off, but a few moments later Colin came in from the kitchen. He crouched by Hernán’s chair.

  “Do you want to talk about anything?” he asked gently.

  Hernán looked down at him, dazzled all over again by the compassion he saw in Colin’s eyes. His instinct was to conceal his emotions, but Colin deserved more. “It’s the part about Lonnie. Even seeing his name makes me feel…I don’t know. Weak. Afraid.”

  “But you aren’t, Nán. You survived him.”

  “It left scars inside,” Hernán whispered. “My disease and my fear.”

  “Badges of honor,” Colin insisted. “It was terrible but you won in the end. You’re fighting back with the compassion you show at the immigration center.”

  Hernán managed a small smile. “How do you find the good in every situation? I wish I could do that.”

  Colin returned a chuckle. “It’s easy. I’m in love.”

  Hernán ran a hand through his hair and blinked back tears. He nodded, unable to speak.

  Colin continued, “Do you want help with the revisions, or to talk through any part?”

  Shaking his head, Hernán said, “No. Sofia did a great job. I can’t think of anything important she left out of the narrative. All I’ve done is add a few details I remembered as I read through her summary.”

  “What about the portion with the legal argument, about why you deserve asylum?”

  “I haven’t read that section yet.” Shyly, Hernán said, “Can we read it through together? I’d appreciate your perspective.”

  “Of course.” Colin looked so pleased Hernán berated himself for not asking immediately. “Let’s sit at the kitchen island to go over it.”

  It was nice, there in the kitchen. Bright sunshine poured in through a bank of windows and a skylight. They read through each page of Sofia’s argument, jotting notes or questions here and there. The argument seemed compelling. She wove together facts from Hernán’s story with materials Colin had provided to demonstrate El Salvador’s general intolerance for LGBTI and HIV-infected people and its unwillingness to protect victims or prosecute offenders. To those strands, she applied the legal standard for CIS to grant Hernán asylum.

  By the end of the three-page brief, Hernán wanted to cheer. Just reading it all gave him the first real spark of hope he’d known. It might actually work. He might actually be able to stay in the country legally. With Colin.

  “It’s really good,” Colin said. “Sofia always does great work for the clients we send to the law firm way, but this is a step above. We should use David’s scanner on these pages to get our comments to her.” He blushed. “Do you know how? We have assistants at the center, so I’ve never learned.”

  “How would you survive in the TARDIS, cariño?” Hernán teased gently. “But yes, I think I can do it. Would you like some more tea? I was thinking it would be nice to sit on the patio in the sunshine for a little while.”

  “I’ll make it while you scan.”

  Hernán took away the documents and heard Colin ask Melody and Nick if they’d like some tea as well. Both agreed, so after Hernán had scanned and emailed comments back to Sofia, the four of them sat at the table on the front patio.

  The security team radiated readiness to act if anything happened, even as the warm afternoon sun relaxed Hernán in a way he hadn’t expected. The sense of being protected—not just by the guards but by Colin, Sofia and David, and even Colin’s parents—brought Hernán unexpected insight.

  This must be why Colin is so bright and trusting. He’s always had this.

  Suddenly Melody sat up straight in her chair. The apparent languor of a woman drinking tea vanished to reveal a trained soldier. Nick also stiffened before Hernán and Colin even had time to understand what had triggered their response.

  “Nán!” they heard, and quick footsteps.

  Melody leapt from her chair and actually cleared the picket fence before Hernán could call out, “It’s my cousin.”

  A strangled sound came from the other side of the mounded grasses. When Hernán and Colin made it to the fence to look into the street, Melody had Rudy on his knees, one arm bent behind his back. Rudy looked terrified.

  “It’s okay, Mel,” Colin called. “This is Rudy. Hernán’s cousin.”

  She nodded, helped Rudy up and apologized brusquely. Rudy looked from her to Nick and then finally at Hernán, wide-eyed. “What’s going on?”

  “Come in to the yard, Rudy,” Hernán said. “We’ll explain.”

  Seated again on the patio, they told Rudy about the security arrangements Colin’s father had initiated.

  Rudy still seemed stunned, though his gaze returned frequently to Nick. “I just got off the bus a few minutes ago and ran here. I’m so glad to see you, Hernán. And you too, Colin. I saw the tweet. Oh my god, Nán, you looked fabulous in that picture. Did you read the comments? I counted at least fifty marriage proposals, and twice as many indecent propositions.”

  Hernán felt his cheeks burn. “No, I didn’t read any of them.”

  “I did,” Nick volunteered. “Wanted to see if there were any direct threats to focus upon. We didn’t find anything specific, and nothing that connected you to New Jersey or to Provincetown.”

  “Well, that’s good news,” Rudy purred at Nick. “You’re so helpful.”

  Nick seemed nervous at the attention, and Melody looked like she was choking back a laugh. She said, “I’m going to do a perimeter check, Nick. I’ll do a tight loop and then a broader one.”

  Hernán brought Rudy up to speed on what they’d been doing.

  “It sounds like you don’t know how long you’ll stay in Provincetown,” Rudy observed. “Well, at least I can keep you company.”

  “No luck with a job in Boston?” Hernán asked.

  Rudy sighed dramatically. “No. I think I went to fifteen different restaurants and bars yesterday and this morning. Unless I want to bus tables or wash dishes—no offense, Nán, but that would suck—nobody wants to hire me. I need to let my landlord know soon if I’m keeping the apartment through the winter. I don’t have any work here, but I don’t want to let the place go until I get se
t up in Boston.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m sure something will turn up for you,” Hernán said. He looked at Colin. “I didn’t mention before that Rudy is having trouble finding a job. Could he come to DC with us to look there?”

  “Of course,” Colin said enthusiastically. “We have plenty of room, Rudy. You’re welcome to stay with us while you job-hunt, for as long as you need.”

  Rudy squealed in excitement as Hernán pulled Colin close for a kiss. “Thank you, corazón,” he breathed into Colin’s ear. “You’re the kindest man I’ve ever met.”

  Even Nick looked cautiously pleased for Rudy, but he said to Colin, “I guess we still don’t know how long you’ll want to stay here before you return to DC.”

  That comment sucked away the enjoyment. Colin glanced at Hernán, and then shook his head. “Not yet. We’ll figure something out though. Rudy, I think you should go ahead and give notice at your apartment. Surely this will be resolved before you need to move out.”

  “Oh Colin, I’m going to love you as an in-law,” Rudy sighed. Looking at Hernán, he made a long face. “Why couldn’t I have been the one to pull mister man here out of the harbor?”

  Chapter 31

  The next few days passed for Colin in a spiral of emotions. His concern and worry gave way to contentment at time spent with Hernán, and that turned into a fierce protectiveness bringing him back to concern.

  Despite the circumstances, he enjoyed being part of small gatherings of people. They saw Jane and Sara for dinner the first night, and lunch the following day. Rudy joined them for dinner out at one of the few restaurants still open, while Nick and Melody occupied a nearby table.

  After the first night full of tension and doubt, Hernán also seemed calmer in the morning. When they heard Nick leave for a run while Melody moved around downstairs, he pulled Colin closer to make love. Their kisses were more subdued than before the gossip item. They were more mindful of their moans than in the privacy of the apartment. Still, when Hernán hovered over Colin, his arms holding up Colin’s thighs, sheathed cock carefully sliding inside, the love Colin saw in his face stunned him.

  “Hernán,” he whispered.

  Hernán cupped the back of Colin’s head with one hand as he lowered himself for a kiss. He rolled his hips, lobbing his thick cock deep inside Colin before beginning to thrust.

  As the pace built, the fat head of Hernán’s cock dragged repeatedly across Colin’s prostate, making him clench his jaw to keep from shouting. He shoved back against Hernán, hands on Hernán’s ass to urge him on to a soul-shaking fuck.

  The headboard squeaked but Colin ignored a flash of worry Melody would know what they were doing. At that moment, modesty was gone. All he could think about was the firm muscle, glowing eyes, flushed cheeks, and glorious smile of the man pounding him into the mattress.

  He barely had time to grab his own dick between their bodies, slick from sweat and precome, before Hernán changed his angle and slid his cockhead directly against Colin’s gland. Fountains of come erupted from his dick.

  Hernán claimed his mouth, drinking in Colin’s shouts. Then he shifted again to slide in and back with long strokes, faster and faster, until his body, too, stiffened. His muscles strained and glimmered in the morning light as he fought to draw out the moment as long as possible. Finally he plunged to the hilt inside Colin, crying his passion into Colin’s mouth as he filled the condom.

  Collapsing onto Colin’s sweaty and sticky body, Hernán huffed quietly in his ear. “Do you think there’s any chance Mel didn’t hear?”

  “None whatsoever,” Colin whispered back. He refused to feel ashamed.

  The passionate start to the day led to an intimate breakfast. Within an hour, though, lassitude and even boredom took over as they milled around the quiet house. No messages from the lawyers, no news from his father… Colin felt like a fly trapped in amber.

  When Hernán said he’d like to go for a run, Melody accompanied him while Nick stuck around to watch Colin.

  Another day passed, and Sofia sent them the final versions of the asylum papers by email. Hernán had collected the supporting statement from Rudy and the hospital records he needed to prove his stabbing, but he hadn’t been able to reach his sister in San Marcos. Sofia filed the papers that were ready and told Hernán they could supplement the record if needed.

  “Now we wait,” David said. “It usually takes several months, even as much as a year, before we get a hearing date.”

  Colin glanced at Hernán, who seemed alarmed at the delay. “It’s fine, Nán. If you want to move on from the center, remember you can work if you don’t get a hearing in six months. You can start school. You can do anything you want.”

  Hernán rested his head on Colin’s shoulder.

  On the fourth morning in Provincetown, Hernán sat at Colin’s shoulder when his video call with Maryanne connected. Colin used Skype to keep in touch and continue to do work for the Immigration Initiative. They had quite a bit of follow-up to the lobbying visits to attend to, including sending thank-you letters and providing additional information and position papers.

  Maryanne’s image said, “Oh, hi Hernán. Your classes really miss you. Nancy is taking them through the materials but you have a real connection with the students.”

  “I miss them too, Maryanne. Hopefully we’ll find a solution soon and I’ll be back.” They hadn’t told Maryanne much more, but she’d seen the tweet about the two of them. Colin opted to leave it at that, and let her believe nothing more than a desire to avoid paparazzi motivated their absence.

  At the end of the call, she said casually, “Oh, I almost forgot. Colin, a Latino man showed up at the center to ask for you. He refused to leave a name or say what he wanted.”

  “It might be nothing,” Colin said to Hernán after the call ended.

  “Or it might be Cuernos.”

  By the fifth day, Colin’s father reported no trouble had come to his parents or siblings. “We’ve had some press inquiries and a few photographers hanging around, but that’s it,” Dad said. “I’ve talked to my security group, and we’re going back to our standard levels of protection. You keep your team as long as you need to, though.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” Colin said. “We’re trying to figure out what to do, but it’s like proving a negative. How do we know if the threat has gone away unless we resume our lives, and then what do we do if we’re wrong?”

  “You’ve impressed me with your dedication to this, Son,” Dad said. “You’re in a difficult situation but I haven’t seen the slightest doubt from you. There was a time you would have given up already. Your mother and I have talked about it all recently, after what you and Hernán said. Maybe it was our fault you didn’t finish things. What worked for Katherine and Griffin didn’t work with you. We should have seen that was our failing, not yours.”

  Colin’s eyes watered. “It really did feel sometimes like you and Mom didn’t believe in me. I was too harsh, though, and I’m sorry. But going through this has made me realize something. If I didn’t stand up for myself or those I cared about before, it was because I didn’t want it badly enough. Now I have Hernán, I think there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep him safe. If I could put Hernán on an island away from the entire world, I’d do it. That makes me understand the way you and Mom were with me better. I probably never said it, but thank you for loving me so much.”

  His father seemed flustered, and his voice was husky. “You’re welcome. And your Hernán was right, by the way. There’s nothing funny about my stubborn, independent son deciding he can do good by running for Congress.”

  Colin’s cheeks burned. “I didn’t say I was going to do it—” but Dad cut him off.

  “I like the sound of Senator Felton, by the way. Or not. Whatever you choose to do with your life, your mother and I are proud of you.” He cleared his throat, and signed off.

  On Thursday, the sixth day, Hernán’s phone rang. He looked down and said, “It’s Sofia.” Connecting the c
all, he said, “Hi. What’s new?” He listened for a few moments, his brow furrowing as the lawyer talked. Finally he said, “Okay, I think I understand. I’ll let everyone know but you’re right. It’s probably nothing.”

  He hung up and said to Colin and Melody, “It’s a little weird. Sofia called the CIS field office to make sure my application was properly on file and to check if there was any word of a possible hearing date. The woman she talked to checked the computer and said it was odd, the files had been accessed by a different office. Apparently the clerk shouldn’t have said anything because she wouldn’t answer more questions. Sofia asked her to report it to her supervisors, just because it seemed unusual.”

  Melody frowned. “Is it possible ICE had already started to look at you, Hernán? Perhaps as a result of the gossip item?”

  Colin nodded slowly. “That makes sense. We were worried about the risk of deportation. It’s one of the reasons we rushed to get the application on file.”

  They discussed it a little longer, but could come up with no new interpretation.

  By Friday, even Colin had started to go running with Hernán and the security team. He had to do something active and hoped the exercise would help him generate some strategy.

  Almost immediately he lagged behind. Nick slowed to keep pace with him while Hernán and Melody ran a half-block ahead, up the middle of a deserted Commercial Street.

  In a conversational tone Colin couldn’t have managed then, Nick spoke up. “On open-ended assignments like this, Mel and I usually rotate in other team members for the weekend to give us a chance to see our families. Do you have any concerns about that?”

  “No,” Colin wheezed. “Sorry, it didn’t even occur to me.”

  Nick chuckled. “No worries, but my wife has plans for me to clean out the garage this weekend.”

  Rudy would be disappointed to learn Nick was married to a woman, Colin thought. “When do you leave?” he managed to ask as they tackled a slight hill on Commercial Street.