Tripod Chapter 43

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Tripod -- Chapter 43

"Dad and I are going to head over to the gym this morning. You feel like taking Asher over to He-Brew for breakfast?" Mom asked as I walked down the stairs at around 8:00 the following morning.

"Sure. I did plenty of cooking last night. I'm always happy to eat a tasty meal on someone else's dime. You wanna put some coin on my debit card, please?" I responded.

"Spoken like a true teenager," Mom replied. "I'll take care of it. I'm guessing that Asher had a hard time getting to sleep last night. He was so excited about getting the lead in the show. I hope we're doing the right thing with him. So, give him until 9:00 then go wake him up. He's got homework to do and we thought you guys might like to go to the movies with us tonight. He needs to get his homework done first, OK? Wanna invite Darius?"

"I'd love to but he and his family are in Toronto for the weekend. It's his uncle's fortieth birthday and they're having a big party. He'll be back tomorrow night. Thanks for asking though. Can I invite Eddie and Brandon? Both Tyler and Sho work on Saturday nights, so they'll probably just be hanging out at home."

"If you invite them, then you should invite Reggie and Braden so that Asher doesn't feel left out," Mom suggested.

"That's cool. Let me see who's up for it. What were you thinking about for flicks?"

"Either that new superhero one or the one about that girl who loses both her parents in an accident and gets raised by her gay uncle."

"Well, I'd never say no to a movie with great special effects and hot guys in tight costumes, but maybe the second one would be better, even though it doesn't exactly sound like a laugh riot. It'll give us all something to talk about afterward," I volunteered.

"Hey, speaking about movies, I've got some exciting news. My next doc is shooting in Spain over the summer. I want you and Asher to come along and work as PAs. Dad can only come for two weeks but it looks like the production will take about six weeks total. My folks are going too, for part of the time. My dad really wants to try to reconnect with his family before they're all gone. I'm sure his parents are dead by now but maybe he still has some siblings. He hasn't spoken to anyone in the family since they cut him off when he married your abuela and that's way over forty years ago. I've volunteered to help him navigate through social media to see if he can track anyone down. Maybe his siblings or even nephews or nieces will be kinder than his parents were."

My stomach dropped listening to Mom go on about spending six weeks away from home.

"Can I think about it? I was kind of hoping to spend the summer hanging out with my friends before we all head off to college."

"Well, you won't be gone the whole summer. You graduate in May. You won't leave for Spain until June when Asher gets out of school, and Northwestern doesn't start until September. I really want you there. It's important to me, actually, to the whole family."

"I understand that, but Darius and the rest of my friends will probably be heading all over the country. We'll never have another chance to be together."

"You don't know that for sure, but you're probably right. I know this is going to be hard for you, Jaime, but life works that way. Most of Dad's and my close friends from school, both high school and college, have moved away. We still keep in touch, at least with some of them, but it's not the same. I know how close you guys all are and how you're there for each other. The memories you make in the next few months will live with you forever but your life will change once you're at Northwestern. You'll meet new friends and some of those people, I suspect, will be just as important to you. That doesn't mean you have to forget these friends. It's so much easier to stay in touch with people now than when I was your age. We only had email and our cell phones could only make calls and send texts, no emojis, no video chats. When my parents were your age, they had to write letters and make pricey long-distance phone calls from landlines. Can you imagine?"

"God, how did anyone survive before the twenty-first century?" I smirked.

"I know, right?" Mom laughed. "Anyway, your family is important, too. My parents aren't getting younger. You'll also cherish the memories of the times we spent with them. I promise. And Asher loves having you around and I think he should really learn how much work goes into a production. Besides, the experience you'll gain on the shoot will come in really handy at Northwestern."

"I get where you're coming from. I really do. But I feel like every second I can spend with Darius and my friends is important, too. I can go out on production with you next summer."

"Jaime, you're not a little kid. I'm not going to force you to go, but you've been on productions with me since you were fourteen helping out the caterers and lugging tripods around."

"Hey, speaking of tripods, Asher knows the secret. I let it slip a few nights ago. He fell over laughing. Thinks he has some of the same problems."

"Don't change the subject," Mom responded. She really wasn't in the mood to see the humor.

"I know. I just need a little time to let reality sink in. This school year has been the best one in my life. I have great friends. I have someone who loves me and will probably be thousands of miles away next year, and I can honestly say that I'm happy with myself for the first time ever. I just want to enjoy all of this for every second that I can."

Mom came in for a hug. Damn. Her secret weapon.

"I know you do, mi hijo, and I want you to for the next four months. We've never told you not to spend time with your friends, except after that Halloween nightmare. We love all of them and think that Darius is a great match for you and want you to spend free time with them, but you also have responsibilities to your brother, to your dad and me, and also to the rest of your family. When was the last time you went to pay a visit to your abuelos, hmm? Given the strings my mom had to pull both to help Brandon and his family, and Asher, the least you can do is give her and my dad undivided attention in Spain for a few weeks. ¿Me explico? And how about a visit to Mama Bernice, Grandpa David, and Great Grandma Esther?"

"I know. I promised Mama Bernice that I'd drive down to Hyde Park to see them and bring Asher with me."

"And have you done it? No."

"Damn, I hate it when you're right," I mumbled. "I'm probably the only kid who ever complained about having to go on a trip to Europe...well, maybe not. OK, I'm in. Maybe I can help Abuelo find his long, lost relatives. Cruz is a pretty common name in Spain, right?"

"Yes. But I've got a list of his siblings and when you look at who's following a person, you can figure out if the names match. I also know the name of the town where he grew up. That will probably help. He said that he comes from a well-known family, so maybe there's even newspaper articles in online archives."

"Morning," said Asher, looking disheveled and definitely not his perky self. "Coffee?"

"Nope. Mom and Dad are springing for breakfast at He-Brew. Just us two. How's that sound? Lattes, and bagels and lox. And if you're a good boy, and if Mom has put enough money on my debit card, I'll get you some hamantaschen to take home."

"I'm verklempt! Too much excitement for first thing on a Saturday. Let me go and put on some street clothes. No hamantaschen though. You don't want me getting fat before opening night, right? What will my fans think?" Asher said, putting the back of his hand to his forehead and faking deep concern.

"Oh, God. We've created a monster," Mom laughed.

While Asher and I threw on some clothes and brushed our teeth, I stopped to text Eddie and Brandon about the movie night.

Stinky: Sounds good to me. Let me check with Reggie

Brandon: Works 4 me if it's an early movie. Sho gets off work @ 9:30. Braden's got nothing up

Me: 7:00 PM show. From the Ashes. About the kid who gets adopted by her gay uncle after her rents get killed in an accident. Cheery

Brandon: IKR. Supposed to be amazing tho. Bring tissues. I'm a 😭

Stinky: We're in. We'll pick up Brandon and Braden

Me: CU@645

***

Bundled up against the February cold, Asher and I walked over to He-Brew. Only three more months of winter left, ugh. Whoever decided to put a city here must have arrived in summer because if they had known what was coming, they would have kept right on going.

We headed up the steps and into the warm, inviting atmosphere that is He-Brew. It wasn't completely full, so no need to rush and snag a table before ordering.

We walked over to place our order. The cashier was a twenty-something woman with a nose ring, lip ring, and copious tattoos. Her name tag said, "Destiny, She/They."

"Good morning and welcome to He-Brew. What can I get for you today?" she said with a genuine smile.

"Hey, Destiny, I'll have a well-toasted, everything bagel with chive cream cheese and lox, and an extra-hot latte. Asher?"

"I'll have a...oh my God, is that whitefish spread?" Asher asked.

"It is. Something new on the menu."

"Jaime, can I get two bagels? Maybe we can split the second one?"

I nodded.

"OK, I'll have a toasted sesame seed bagel with plain cream cheese, lox, onion, cucumber, and tomato; a toasted poppy seed bagel with whitefish spread; and a cappuccino."

"Anything else?" Destiny asked.

"We're celebrating. We'll take two chocolate chip rugalach and two cinnamon raisin rugalach," I added.

"OK. Sounds good."

As she started ringing up the order, she looked confused.

"Sorry. I don't think they've added the whitefish spread to the regular menu yet. Give me a second."

She walked away from the register and poked her head into the office. A second later, she was back with none other than Miguel walking behind her. He glanced up and froze for a second. He locked eyes with me and smiled weakly.

"Hi, Jaime," he said.

Then he turned to Destiny and said, "You can ring up the whitefish under `Open Food, Option-01.'"

"Thanks. That's it. That will be $48.51," Destiny said.

I touched my debit card to the sensor, added a tip, then typed in my PIN.

"Is it OK if I stop by your table for a second after you get your order?" Miguel asked.

"No problem," I responded still in shock to see him.

Destiny handed us a number and Asher and I went to sit down.

"Who's that?" Asher asked. "He's kinda cute."

"That's Miguel. The guy whose trial we were at a couple of weeks ago."

"WHAT??? The one who tried to rob Ashley's house? What the fuck is he doing here?"

"I guess he's back working here. I'm as surprised as you are."

"Why would they hire him back? Obviously, he's a criminal." Asher said.

"Did someone help you when you needed it?" I asked.

"I didn't do anything wrong, Jaime."

Miguel walked over with our order and placed it on the table. In addition to our regular order, there was a poppy seed and a raspberry hamantaschen on the tray.

"Can I sit with you guys for a second?" he asked.

I nodded. Asher looked uncomfortable.

"We didn't order the hamantaschen," Asher volunteered, slightly annoyed, probably because he'd already said that he shouldn't be eating any hamantaschen and the sight of them was driving him crazy.

"They're on me. I get an employee discount. It's the least I can do."

"Miguel, this is my brother Asher."

Miguel extended a fist, which Asher cautiously bumped with his own.

"I thought you were an only child," Miguel responded.

"A late addition to the family. It's a long story," I said.

"You're probably wondering what I'm doing here."

"Yup," I responded.

"Well, the day after the trial, I went down to the public library to use their computers to apply online for any job I could find. Then I realized that maybe I should come back here and ask if I could get my old job back. I had nothing to lose. I'd always been a hard worker until the day I said something stupid and walked out. I let my ego get in the way. Anyway, when I walked in, the owner was in the store. He looked at me a little annoyed but I swallowed my pride and asked if I could have just five minutes of his time. He said OK. I apologized and explained that I had learned a lot about myself and what I should focus on in my life. I asked him if there was any way I could possibly get my job back, even if it was just to fill in some shifts during the week. I promised him that I would win back his confidence, and that I really wanted to help him, and that he wouldn't even have to train me. He looked at me for a second and said that I couldn't have my old job back because they had plenty of baristas but he really needed an assistant manager. I started the next day. It's only been a couple of weeks, but every day now I wake up and realize that people cared about me but I was too angry to see it. You and your friends told the truth about what happened that night, even though I'd hurt you. The owner is taking a chance with me, too. Anyway, I didn't text you because I figured that if you wanted to be my friend, you would have reached out and I probably don't deserve your friendship. I don't want to bother you guys anymore."

Miguel turned to leave.

"Not so fast," Asher said. "I have something I want to say to you. I know from what happened to me...I got thrown out of my house for being gay...that you can let the bad things that happen to you make you mad and bitter, and sometimes your life sucks. But we've both had people who've reached out a hand to help us. You can sit and soak in all the shit that made you angry in the first place or you can accept the help and go take a mental shower to wash it away. It's not easy. Sometimes I still feel really mad at my birth parents for throwing me out of the house. I mean, how could someone throw out their own kid? But then I look at where I am now, with a family that thinks I'm special and with friends who like me for me. I'm doing things and experiencing things that I'd never have been able to. It makes me really happy. I know that you made a bad decision but you now have a chance to fix it and people like Jaime and like the man who owns this place did a mitzvah for you. Be happy and don't fuck up again. And thanks for the hamantaschen. They're my favorite and Purim is coming up soon. I just hope I can still fit into my clothes next week."

"How old is this kid?" Miguel asked.

"He'll be sixteen in a few weeks. I know. Seems like a wise grandpa in a cute kid's body."

Asher blushed.

"Maybe you'd like to hang out with my friends and me some time, Miguel. Darius is my boyfriend, by the way, and Brandon's been seeing a guy named Sho since New Year's Eve. And Tyler's still with Eddie. But we can all chill sometime."

"I thought you didn't want a boyfriend," Miguel said.

"Well, sometimes things happen when you're not expecting them. I met Darius at the supermarket. He's amazing. Super smart. Confident."

"And a total size queen," Asher added, causing me to choke on my hot latte.

Once I'd stopped coughing, I turned to Asher, "Where did you learn that expression?"

"Bentley's been teaching me. Did I say it right?"

"Perfect," Miguel laughed. "Darius must be really something to be able to take all of you, Jaime."

"Please! Not in front of the children!" I said, half joking and half serious.

"Got it," Miguel smirked. "Enjoy your breakfast. It was nice to see you, Jaime. Really. And I'd love to hang out with you guys. I gotta get back to work. It was cool to meet you, Asher."

Once Miguel was out of earshot, Asher leaned in and said, "I think you're right, Jaime. He wants to start his life over. He seems really sorry for what he did. So, he's seen you naked, too? Boy, you get around."

"Did Bentley teach you about `slut shaming'?"

"Nope. What's that?"

"It's when you trash someone because you think they've had a lot of sex partners. It's not a very nice thing to do. Besides, what may seem like a lot to one person doesn't seem like that many to someone else. No one should judge."

"You're right, Jaime. I've never been with anyone, so everyone seems like a, what's the word again `Slut?' to me. So, what's the story with Miguel?"

"He was the first guy I fooled around with who wasn't a friend to start with. I'd always thought he was cute. We flirted for a while, then fooled around a couple of times. The second time though, he completely disrespected me. He got so obsessed with the idea of getting fucked by me that he hurt himself and he hurt my feelings, too."

"How did he hurt himself?"

"OK, I'm gonna have to go into some detail here. This is kind of embarrassing."

"I'm not going to laugh, Jaime. I'm no asshole," Asher said.

"You know that I'm really, really big. He tried to take it all inside of him all at once. No one can do that. I'd warned him ahead of time that he needed to go slow. I know I'm not for everyone. He didn't even want to kiss or do anything else first. It's like I wasn't even in the room. Just him and my dick. He told me just to shove it all in him. When I did, he screamed like hell. He said I was killing him. He said I was like some weird freak. Anyhow, he's apologized a few times now."

"I'm a little afraid that I could hurt someone, too, but I'll let you know how it goes when the time comes."

"Go really, really slow. Use a ton of lube. Be very patient. Don't be annoyed if someone takes a look at your dick and just says, `No.' It's not personal."

"Got it," Asher responded, "but what's more important is that I know what it's like to feel different. Remember how I got treated at my last school for being a Jew? How I got treated by my parents for being gay? It's horrible to be told you're not as good as someone else just because of what makes you you. It doesn't matter whether it's your background or who you love or something about your body that makes you different. You're every bit as good as anyone else. Actually, Jaime, you're better. Thanks for taking me for breakfast and for sharing your secrets with me. Oh, God, this whitefish spread is geshmak. I'll save the hamantaschen for later. It looks amazing."

"Let's eat up and head on home. I want you to get a head start on your schoolwork. If you can read a little ahead it will help out when you start rehearsals. Remember that in a couple of weeks, you're going to have to memorize the whole script, and you're the lead. That's a lot to take in. I'll be happy to watch over you when you're ready to recite your lines."

"OK, Big Brother," Asher smiled.

"Wait, do you mean `Big Brother' like the book or `Big Brother' like the TV show?"

"You're weird, Jaime. What are you talking about? Like the sibling."

***

Asher dutifully spent Saturday afternoon working on his homework, only poking his head upstairs for a cup of coffee and a poppy seed hamantaschen. Mom was busy reviewing the script for her upcoming production in Spain and making notes for the production staff. It might take months to get the proper clearances for some of the historic sites where they wanted to film. And Dad spent the afternoon jumping between videoconference calls to review work for another new business pitch and trying to come up with some ideas to freshen up a long-running campaign for an existing client.

I had a paper due for English class and some chemistry homework to catch up on. Procrastination called instead. I decided to video chat with Darius.

"Hey, Stud, how was the flight up?" I asked.

"Wrong question. O'Hare was a mess. Our flight was delayed for over an hour. The airline claimed that it was weather-related but I checked the weather radar. Nothing but clear skies for the incoming plane. No snow in Chicago. No snow in Toronto. Lying fuckers. We finally took off on a flight that's like a little over an hour. Then when we landed, Toronto Airport was a total shit show. The line at immigration was an hour and a half long. And the idea that Canadians are the nicest people ever died with their Border Services employees. I don't get how people that say, "Sorry" so much can be such assholes. Talk about passive-aggressive. It sounds like they keep apologizing for thinking we're a bunch of terrorists coming to take their jobs. It doesn't help to have an Iranian last name, let me tell you. Once we finally got out of there, the taxi line was awful, too. We waited out in the cold for an hour to get a cab."

"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the show?" I joked.

"Yeah, right. Hah. Anyhow, the hotel is nice. We decided to stay downtown near where the party is going to be tonight. And wouldn't you know it, there's a convention of the Worldwide Association of LGBTQ Journalists at the hotel. Lots of eye candy around here making eye contact with me. Too bad I'm with the family. I wonder if the gym has a steam room? Maybe I could escape for a little while to work that special muscle group. By the way, did I tell you that I miss you?"

"Oops, a little late on the sentiment," I laughed. "I miss you, too. Going to the movies tonight with my family, Eddie, Brandon, and their sibs."

"That's cool. Say hi for me. Hey, you free on Friday? I need a visit from your pet snake, but I really miss cuddling up with its owner," Darius said, with a hint of a smile.

"Yup. You're already on the calendar. A flip fucking session sounds good. You give as great as you receive. The cobra will be ready and waiting. And a night of spooning sounds amazing," I responded.

"God, now you've got me hot. Gonna go explore and see if I can find a horny journalist who wants to do an interview up close and personal. He can talk into my meat microphone."

"You're horrible. Play safe. Say hi to your family. Have fun at the party tonight."

"I'll try. And Jaime, you know it's just play. I'd rather be with you anytime."

"I know. I still want you to have fun while you're away. If you get lucky, you can fill me in on the details when I see you."

"OK, later. Love you."

"Love you, too."

***

As we all walked into the movie theater lobby, Eddie looked around then stopped for a second and said, "Hey, Jaime, my folks gave me some money to buy popcorn and stuff for everyone. Can you give me a hand? The rest of you can save us a couple of seats, OK?"

"That was nice of your folks," I said.

"Yeah, but I really wanted to pull you aside for a second. See the girl standing near Tyler behind the counter?"

"The one filling up the popcorn bucket right now?" I asked.

"Yeah, the girl with the dark hair. She's the one you helped, well, your grandma helped."

"Oh, shit, I forgot that she works with Tyler. She doesn't have to know I know, ya know.

"Was that English?"

I laughed. "Sort of. I mean, you can just say hi, place the order, and hand it to me. You don't even need to introduce me if you think she'll be embarrassed."

By now, Tyler had spotted us and waved us over. The girl looked up, saw Eddie, and walked a few steps to stand next to Tyler.

Without needing to be introduced, she looked directly at me, the slightest of smiles barely perceptible on her face and the faintest trace of a tear in the corner of one eye. "Tyler said you'd be coming in tonight. You saved my life, you know. I just wanted to say thanks. Anyhow, I gotta get back to work. Saturday nights are crazy." Then she turned and walked back to take another order.

Tyler's lips were pursed tightly. He looked like he wanted to say something, but took a look at the line of movie-goers about to descend on the concessions counter and said, "Welcome to the Cineplex. What can I get for you fine, young, studly men?"

Eddie rolled his eyes. "Two large containers of popcorn. And I wanna see where that buttery topping is coming from, so keep the popcorn in plain sight with both hands on the containers, OK?"

"Ewww," I moaned.

"Aw, Eddie, you're no fun. Should I cut a hole in the bottom of the popcorn container so that you and Brandon can keep Jaime happy during the movie?"

"Don't be an idiot, Ty," Eddie said. "We only ordered the large size. You know he'd only fit in the bathtub-sized, super jumbo bucket. Hey, throw in a couple of boxes of chocolate-covered cherries, too."

"Must be feeling rich tonight?" Tyler responded. "That will be $41.89."

"What the fuck? My mom gave me $30," Eddie responded.

"You're the math genius," I said. "Didn't you pay attention to the prices?"

"I guess you didn't pay attention in class either when they taught us about supply and demand, and monopolies," Tyler added.

"Monopolies? This is fucking extortion. Keep the cherries, Ty."

"Your cherry's long gone, babe," Tyler replied.

"I've got ten bucks," I responded. "I can chip in. We'll take one box of cherries, Ty."

"Wouldn't want you guys to feel deprived. I'll kick in the $2.55," Tyler said.

We handed him the money and he handed us the two buckets of popcorn and the two boxes of candy.

Since this art film was nowhere near as popular as the superhero one that was targeted to the masses, our group had found eight unoccupied seats about halfway back in the middle of the center section. By the time the film began, the theater was close to half full.

The ads and coming attractions seemed to go on forever. After about fifteen minutes, the film finally started. Open on a nice, typical, American suburban home. The parents say goodbye to their cute, blonde daughter as they head out for dinner and a movie. The daughter clearly likes the babysitter--a girl of about fifteen. The parents say that they'll be home by about 10:30 PM and the daughter should be in bed by 9:30 PM. The babysitter smiles and says she'll do her best but that they're usually having so much fun that it will be hard to get the daughter to go off to bed.

Anyhow, long story short, when the parents aren't home by 11:30, the babysitter starts to get worried and calls both of their cell numbers and gets no response. She calls her mom, who comes right over. At 1:00 AM, they call the local police but are told that they have no information and that you can't file a missing persons' report on adults until after twenty-four hours.

Of course, the 9-year-old daughter is still awake and growing increasingly anxious. The babysitter and her mom try to keep her calm and suggest that her parents probably just went out for a drink after the movie and forgot to call. They know better than to try to get her to go to bed.

At 2:36 AM, there's a knock at the door. After peering through the peephole, the mom opens the door to find two state policemen standing at the door.

"Is this the residence of Robert and Jennifer Hawkings?" the first officer asks.

"Yes," replied the mom in a tight closeup so that you could read the dread in her eyes.

"Are you related to the family, ma'am?"

"No. I'm the mother of the girl who's been babysitting for their daughter."

At this point, the little girl runs to the door screaming, "Where are my mom and dad? Are they OK? When are they coming home?"

"Ma'am, could you step outside for a moment?" the second policeman asks.

The babysitter walks up and puts her arms around the girl as her mom steps outside and shuts the door.

You hear the mother's anguished cries through the door. Fade to black.

Fade up on a different house the next day. The little girl is sitting on a sofa looking shell-shocked. The babysitter is sitting next to her.

The doorbell rings and the babysitter's mom goes to answer the door. Standing in the doorway is a man in his mid-thirties. The door swings wide open and the girl runs to the man and starts sobbing. (Really great acting on the part of the kid, by the way.)

I'm not going to go through the whole story but it turns out this is the girl's favorite uncle, her mother's brother, who's gay and lives in a nearby city. He takes the girl back to his apartment. He has a boyfriend who doesn't live with him but who stops by to express his condolences. Shortly after the boyfriend arrives, there's a call from the security desk indicating that the girl's paternal grandparents are there.

What follows is a heart-wrenching scene where the grandparents say that living with a "homosexual" and exposing a child to that "lifestyle" is unhealthy and that they will be taking the girl with them. Obviously, the uncle tells them to go pound sand. It's clear the girl adores her uncle and doesn't care much for her grandparents.

At this point, some dude sitting in a seat in front of us said, "You got that right. Kids shouldn't be living with groomer faggots."

The girl sitting next to him gave him a look and said, "Shhh."

All of us in our group looked at each other and shook our heads in disbelief.

Most of the rest of the movie shows the girl adjusting to life with her uncle. There are some bumps in the road and they have a few fights, but it's clear that the uncle is a really great dad. He's also had to lawyer up and has been fighting to keep the kid. During the final scene in a courtroom, the grandparents' lawyer makes the argument that even though the grandparents are in their seventies, they're in good health and are well off and can provide for the child. He also points out that they can provide a more "normal" environment than the uncle can. They don't approve of his "urban" lifestyle. (Talk about your euphemisms.)

The uncle takes the stand and testifies that he has had a relationship with the girl since she was born and that the grandparents rarely visit and had a strained relationship with the girl's father and mother. He also points out that he has a good job and the girl has her own room in his apartment, and that like any responsible adult, he does not and would never expose the child to activities that would be considered for adult eyes only."

"Bullshit, you pedophile," screamed the guy from the audience.

"Shut up!" yelled another guy from the audience.

The girl in the movie takes the stand and the judge asks her who she'd rather be with and why.

"My Uncle Joe, Your Honor. I'm not a little kid. I know who really loves me. He treats me like I matter and that what I think is important. Maybe he doesn't agree with me all the time and sometimes he makes me mad, but it's just like my parents used to do. No kid is happy with what her parents tell her all the time. I know he's just trying to do his best for me. I like his boyfriend, too. He's really nice and helps me with my hair sometimes. I've started making friends at my new school and I really like where I live."

"What about your grandparents?" the judge asks.

"I only see them a couple of times a year. They talk to me like I'm two years old. I don't think they're bad people but they've been really mean to Uncle Joe. If they got to know him, they'd realize that he's a great dad and I belong with him."

Cut to reaction shots of the grandparents and the uncle.

"Give me a fucking break. The kid's been brainwashed by that pervert," shouted the asshole in front of us.

A chorus of audience members telling the guy to shut up rang out.

The judge awards custody to the uncle but cautions that the grandparents should be allowed reasonable visitation. The grandparents, unbelievably, look contrite and approach the uncle to wish him luck and offer to help in any way they can and say that they've learned a lot.

"That kid's gonna be sucking cock and giving up her cooch by the time she's thirteen. Fucking mistake letting her live with that deviate. Why did I waste my money on this flick anyway?"

Then the girl he's sitting next to stands up to leave and yells, "Why did I waste my time agreeing to meet a creep like you?"

He reaches over and grabs her arm. "Sit the fuck down. I paid for the fucking movie. The least you can do is put out when this piece of shit is over."

I pulled out my phone and texted Tyler:

ME: CALL SECURITY!!! THEATER 2.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Brandon screamed as he stood up. "Let her go, you asshole."

"Stuff it, shithead. None of your fucking business. You're probably a cocksucker like the dude in the movie."

"And I take it up the butt, too. Now shut the fuck up and get out," Brandon screamed.

Within seconds the movie projection stopped and the lights came up. Two security guards, followed by Tyler ran down the aisle.

Eddie stood up and turned toward the security guard, trying to point out the guy causing the trouble, but the security guard fired his taser at Eddie instead.

Reggie shrieked. Eddie howled in pain writhing on the ground.

"Not him, you idiot!" Tyler screamed, as he ran to help Eddie. Fortunately, tasers stop firing after a few seconds and Eddie was OK.

"It's this guy," Brandon shouted as he pointed to a thin, white dude sitting in the row in front of us. "He's been shouting homophobic shit all through the movie but now he's grabbing that girl to keep her from leaving."

"Let her go," shouted the second guard. "Are you OK, miss?"

She nodded as the jerk let her wrist slip from his. She got out of her seat and slipped into the aisle.

"Fuck you, you skanky cunt!" the man screamed.

"You're a sad excuse. Don't try to text me," she screamed. "I'm ghosting you as of now."

"OK, buddy, come with us," the second guard said.

"Fuck you. You're no cop. You can't make me do shit," the guy said.

"I can call the cops if you want," Tyler said. "Unlawful restraint is a crime."

"What are you, a fucking lawyer? Eat shit, kid."

The security guards moved in, grabbed the guy, and dragged him up the aisle. The guy screamed and pounded his fists as he was led away.

Audience members applauded as the guy was hauled out.

Mom looked at us and motioned for us to leave. We'd all had enough anyway and headed out.

"Are you all OK?" she asked, as we assembled in the lobby.

Everyone nodded, but it was clear that Asher and Braden were shaking. Reggie looked like she'd seen a ghost.

"Brandon, that was very brave and very stupid," Dad said. "He could have pulled a knife or a gun on you. Didn't you learn your lesson at the Halloween party?"

Brandon looked down, clearly embarrassed, but then turned to Dad and said, "You're right. But sometimes you gotta do the right thing, even if you have to take a risk to do it. I've been a victim. So have Braden and Asher. What kind of example would I set for them if I just sat there and let that guy abuse that girl?"

Braden, who'd been huddled next to Asher, turned to his brother and said, "I'd rather have a live brother than a dead hero. But I'm still proud of you."

"Security walked in just at the right time. I didn't notice anyone leave the theater to get them," Mom said.

"I texted Tyler," I said. "He brought the security guys."

"Smart move, Jaime," Eddie said, "But maybe I should wear a glow-in-the-dark t-shirt that says, `Not Me, Officer.' I'm glad they weren't carrying real guns this time."

"They didn't even ask questions," Asher said. "They just saw a black kid and shot him. Eddie, I'm so sorry. I can hide being a Jew. I can hide being gay. You can't hide being black. It's like having a target on you."

Eddie walked over and gave Asher a hug.

"I think we should get going," Dad said. "We've had enough life lessons for the day."

As we were leaving, Tyler ran up to us. He kissed Eddie on the lips and pulled him into a tight embrace. "I'm gonna be a while. The boss wanted to talk to me and I need to fill out a report. I'll text you when I'm done. I'm a mess. Can you come over to my place later?"

Eddie nodded. He was a mess, too. Tyler didn't need to explain further. Sometimes being held by the person you love is just the right medicine.