Page 30 of Leo
Edward and I left not long after, Edward’s yawns telling on him when he claimed he wastotally wide awake, Dad, I swear, just one more game with Leslie please!
He zonked out before we got down the driveway and didn’t wake up even when I put him in his pajamas and tucked him into bed.Making sure my door was open enough to hear him if he got up, I took a quick shower in my ensuite and put myself down for the night, but found myself staring at the ceiling instead.
Ambrose’s most recent text—sent just that evening, a few hours ago while I was still at Naomi’s—sat unanswered but on read because I was kind of being an asshole.
Ambrose:So anyway.About the RCC.Cynthia Borden dropped off the official application at the shop today.I haven’t filled it out yet because I wanted to get your input on it.
Ambrose:We got kind of distracted the last time I asked for advice…
The lack of pervy emojis was kind of sad, really.It made me feel sad anyway.Like he was holding back, which, I realized, was a ridiculous thing to think.He didn’t send an eggplant, a peach, and a water drop emoji—he must be sad!
I hesitated, glancing at the clock.He’d be in bed by now, I knew.Those baker’s hours.Still, I responded because now that I had the message open, now that I was re-reading it for the dozenth time and hearing it in his voice, I couldn’t not.
Me:Honest opinion?Not worth it unless there are some big changes.I think I might actually withdraw the home from the RCC.
I set my phone on the charger and grabbed the remote for some mindless television.If I couldn’t sleep, I reasoned, Lucy and Desi might as well keep me company.
The buzz of my phone five minutes later startled me.
“Hello?”
“Seriously,” Ambrose said, voice rough with sleep, “you’re going to withdraw?I thought it was like a big deal for your uncle to be part of it?”
“Shouldn’t you be asleep?”
“Mmm.I was but my phone buzzing woke me up.This really hot guy I like texted me so I couldn’t just leave that on read.”
“Ouch.”
“True though.”
I sighed, making a strategic side-step around that comment.“Uncle Benson loved the idea of the RCC and what it was promising to be.He would hate what it really is.And it’s not doing anything for the queer community or queer business owners, really.I asked some of the others in town if they’d consider joining, just to kind of get a straw poll going, and most of the businessowners had no idea there was even a separate chamber of commerce focusing on LGBTQIA businesses."
“Yikes.”He yawned.“That’s not a good look.”
“Especially considering that, for a town the size of Gaynor Beach, there’s an unusually large number of queer-owned businesses.Something like the RCC is great in theory but in execution, it’s just not working.”I sighed, feeling a tight coil in my spine unfurl.
“Been bottling that up, huh?”he teased.
“Sorta.”
He huffed a tied laugh.“Well.I trust you, Leo.And if you say it’s not a good move, I’m not going to put in the application.”
“If they ever make some big systemic chances, things might be different…”
“But I don’t want my business being tied to a group that doesn’t value my community,” Ambrose finished.
Warmth bloomed in my chest at his words.“Exactly.”
“Leo,” he said sleepily.“I gotta go here but, listen… Can we talk tomorrow?Like, really talk?”
“Of course.”
“‘Kay,” he mumbled.“Love you.”He fumbled the phone on a yawn, and the line went dead.
Well.Shit.
I stared at the phone, my thumb hovering over the little call icon next to Ambrose’s name.What did you mean by that?Are you dreaming?Was that a bro-y I love you, was that some sort of slip up?Are you freaking out on the other end of the line?
