Page 44 of Awakening the Sheriff

“Good luck, guys,” Morgan said, and I followed her out of the room. Byron would never open up if I was on his ass the whole time, so I’d step back and let them forge their own connection. Hopefully, my decision to bring Byron here would benefit him in ways he couldn’t yet see.

“Thanks again for having us today,” I said to Morgan. I’d been honest with her on the phone about my reason for bringing Byron here, though I’d kept the details vague.

“We’re happy to have him. Anything we can do to help people become more accepting. Ultimately, that benefits all of us.”

I found a spot in a quiet corner, settling into a reading chair with a book I’d brought. I’d debated doing some volunteer work myself, but I was responsible for Byron, and I didn’t want to get distracted from that. I lingered a safe distance away, keeping an eye on Byron and Raoul as they worked on the mural. Every now and then, I checked in on them, careful not to intrude on their conversation.

The first time I checked, Raoul animatedly shared his vision while Byron was listening, but half an hour later, Byron was expressing his thoughts and opinions. Despite Byron’s initial resistance, he was beginning to engage with Raoul and contribute to the project. Exactly what I had hoped for.

By eleven, they had started sketching their design on the wall in pencil, and the sight of Byron, his tongue peeping from between his lips, completely focused on his drawing, warmed my heart. Raoul was talking to him, and Byron replied, making real conversation. The ice was melting.

“Hey, Auden!” Raoul called out when I came to get them for a lunch break. “Come take a look at what we’ve done so far.”

It took me a few seconds to figure out what I was looking at, but then I recognized the shapes. “Penguins?”

They had drawn a whole colony of penguins, some on snow or little icebergs, others frolicking in the water. “Wow.” I was genuinely impressed with the artistry, even in this first drawing stage. “You two are creating something special here.”

“Thanks.” Byron’s eyes didn’t leave the mural. His voice held a hint of pride I hadn’t heard before. He seemed almost…happy.

“Byron came up with the idea,” Raoul said. “Penguins are known to have same-sex relationships. He told me about a couple of gay penguins who adopted an orphan penguin baby.”

“Really, Byron?” I asked, trying to keep the surprise from my voice. “That’s incredible.”

“Whatever.” His cheeks reddened. “It seemed like it fit, you know?”

“This is going to be beautiful when it’s done. You should both be proud of yourselves.”

Byron shrugged, still avoiding my gaze, but I could tell my words meant something to him. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

When it was time to leave, they’d painted the first few penguins, and the whole scene was taking shape. “We’re out of time, unfortunately,” I said to Raoul.

“No worries. It’s been fun doing this with you, Byron.” Raoul halted his paintbrush for a moment. “Catch you later.”

“Later.” Byron gave him a small nod of farewell. As we walked back to the truck, Byron’s demeanor had changed. He seemed more at ease, like some of the weight he’d been carrying had lifted.

“Did you enjoy it?” I asked as we drove off.

“It wasn’t too bad.”

In teenage speak, that was high praise, so I’d take it.

“Hey, have you seen any good movies lately?” I tried to keep the conversation going as we drove back home. I wanted to make the most of the time we had left before dropping him off.

“Uh, yeah.” He seemed caught off-guard by my question. “I watchedEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mindlast week. It was pretty cool, I guess.”

“Ah, that’s a great film. Such an interesting concept, erasing someone from your memory like that.”

“Definitely.” He stared out the window at the passing scenery. “It kind of makes you think about what memories you’d want to keep and which ones you’d rather forget, you know?”

“God, yes. I can think of some memories I’d be all too happy to erase, like back in high school when I was about to score the winning point against our biggest rival in football…and I dropped the ball right before I reached the end zone. They recovered my fumble and managed to get halfway to the end zone before being tackled. We lost.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I’d want to erase that too.”

We drove in comfortable silence for a while, the hum of the engine and the soft music playing on the radio creating a soothing atmosphere. As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the world in twilight, it felt like we’d reached a turning point in our relationship, like Byron was starting to see me as someone he could trust. Maybe I could now ask some of the more difficult questions, the ones that would help me make sense of the whole situation.

“Byron,” I ventured tentatively, “how’s your relationship with your mom? Do you two get along?”

He hesitated. “Yeah, we get along. She’s just…different from my dad, you know?”

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