Page 20 of Valor on the Move
At least it’ll be over in January. Not much longer.
The reply was: LOL, always the optimist. You’ll probably miss it all, you freak.
Even though he knew Matty was kidding, it still hurt. He wanted to write back: Just because I didn’t scream and stomp my feet doesn’t mean I like it. Instead he typed: Yeah. Probably.
Later. My session’s starting. Don’t drink too much Kool-Aid.
Rafa wanted to reply, but he tossed his phone on the mattress. What was the point? He choked down his resentment. Matty had never understood why Rafa played by the rules and didn’t make waves. Besides, he was breaking the rules now, wasn’t he? Asking Shane up to the third floor was…well, he supposed it wasn’t against the rules, per se. And could Shane really say no? He was probably afraid Rafa would call his dad and get him in trouble if he didn’t do as he asked.
Ugh. Was he, like, sexually harassing Shane?
No. It wasn’t as if Rafa was hitting on him, or expecting anything other than a few opinions about his food. That was okay. It wouldn’t even take long. It wasn’t as if Shane was—
His phone buzzed, and he snatched it up. Maybe Matty had written more. But as he stared at the picture of his father, laughing on a hike they’d taken the last time they’d all been at Camp David, Rafa’s stomach swooped. He hit the screen. “Dad?”
“Hi, Rafa. How are you?”
The line was so clear his father could have been right there in the room. Irrational guilt whooshed through Rafa since he’d been masturbating and thinking of a man—his Secret Service agent, no less. He tugged the duvet over him as if his dad could see he was naked and sticky. “Um, great. How are you?”
“Oh, fine. These Chechens are being stubborn. Russians too, but what else is new?”
Rafa forced out a laugh. “I’m sure you’ll wear them down. You always do.”
“Well, I try. But I want to talk about you, Raf.”
Great. Since when? “Uh-huh? Everything’s fine.” It wasn’t that his father didn’t love him—he did, very much. But Ramon Castillo was a damn busy man.
“Enjoying your summer break?”
“Mmm-hmm. I’m working more with Mom’s foundation.”
“Good, good. When I get home, I’d like us to sit down and talk about your future.”
I can’t wait. “Sure. Well, you know I still have one term left of college, so…” Thank God for that.
“Of course.” He paused. “Raf, are you sure everything’s all right?”
His heart skipped. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?” He’d been telling his father everything was terrific for years and he’d never been questioned.
“You must miss Ashleigh.”
Relief coursed through him. “Well, yeah. But she’s getting such great experience. She wanted to thank you again for helping with the internship.”
“Of course.”
Rafa could imagine his father’s self-deprecating smile and dismissive who, me? wave of his hand. As a conservative man of the people, he’d perfected his humble routine years ago. Not that Rafa thought he hadn’t genuinely wanted to help Ash. It was just hard sometimes to know what his father was really thinking. “We appreciate it, Dad.”
“Perhaps you should fly over and surprise her. We could easily arrange a plane.”
“Oh! Um…that would be awesome, but like I said, I’m doing a lot of stuff with the foundation. I’m actually chairing an event in August.” He was suddenly incredibly grateful Marissa had called. Not that he didn’t miss Ashleigh and want to see Paris, but it made him uneasy for some reason.
“I just want to make sure you’re happy. We worry about you.”
You do? “I’m good, Dad. Honestly.”
“All right.” His voice went distant for a moment as he said something to someone else. “Raf? I’ll see you next week. Love you.”
“Love you too. Have fun with the Chechens.”
After he hung up, Rafa laid there on his bed, staring at the artfully swirled paint on the cream ceiling. Jesus, how was he going to tell them the truth? He should have done it in high school, but his father’s reelection campaign had been brutal. He’d barely squeaked out a second term, and Rafa hadn’t wanted to distract him.
Then the bill had happened. His stomach churned just thinking about it.
S.J.Res. 19: A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to marriage.
The battle over same-sex marriage had waged on for years, even after the Supreme Court’s verdict declaring it legal in all fifty states. Then a junior senator from Oklahoma had introduced the bill to amend the constitution and overrule the Supreme Court. They wanted to call it “constitutional” marriage, and of course no same-sex couples need apply.
Even now, almost four years later, it made him sick to remember that night the week of Thanksgiving.
The TV lights were blinding as they stood on stage waving to hundreds of people gathered in some meeting hall or banquet room. Sweat trickled down his temple, and he hoped his neatly slicked hair would stay put. His mother’s opal bracelet shone delicately as she waved. It was so noisy he could barely hear himself think…
