Page 82 of Inside Out
“Me? I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“He seems to think differently. I received a lengthy email that reeked of homophobia and it included a photo of you kissing a man I presume is your boyfriend or husband.”
“Photo? What photo? I haven’t so much as held my boyfriend’s hand on school grounds.”
“The two of you were kissing on what appeared to be a stage.”
The Getty.It was the night I told Julius I was in love with him after blurting out my favorite sonnet. I was outraged and sickened that Roy Halifax witnessed one of the most beautiful moments in my life. How had I not sensed his evil lurking? “There were no kids in the theater at the time. I had personally supervised the younger kids getting picked up by their parents and watched the older kids drive away in their cars. That means that asshole was stalking me.”
“He was outraged that the parents weren’t concerned about leaving their kids in your care, so he was going to look out for them.”
“By hiding in the shadows and snapping photos of private moments. How dare he?”
“That’s what I thought too, so I decided to investigate this case after all, but not in the way he expected. I decided to dig into his background and the nonprofit organization he runs.”
“And you’ve discovered that they’re not legally operating under the 501c3 rules?”
“Correct. It would be easier to tell you the tax codes they didn’t break than it would be to list the ones they trampled all over without bothering to cover their tracks. They’re either as stupid as their acronym implies or completely careless. Either way, I’m going to do my best to destroy their credibility.”
“How do I come in?” I sounded as confused as I felt.
“I just want you to tell us about your interactions with him.”
“I’ve only had one interaction with him at the school board meeting. I never spoke with him before or after. I had no idea he was following me around.”
“I obtained a copy of the board meeting transcript, but I’d just like a few sound bites to go with it. The focus will be on exposing POS and Roy Halifax.”
“Okay. Let’s do this.”
The Hammer only asked me two brief questions then allowed me to talk about the incident with POS. I talked mostly about the support we received from the school board and the community of Blissville.
After he left, Priscilla came into my office to give me a high five. “Love always wins,” she said.
Between the phone calls and unexpected visits, my morning was completely unproductive, but it was hard to be upset when everyone was so excited. I was feeling especially festive when Julius and I went shopping for Christmas decorations after school.
“Merry and gay,” I reminded him as the cashier began ringing up our purchases.
“Totally Griswold,” he countered.
“Hush, or I’m coming back for the inflatables this weekend.”
“If you want them, you better grab them now,” the cashier said.
“See,” I said. “Don’t act like you weren’t putting things in the cart left and right either.”
“I guess your ‘merry and gay’ is contagious.”
I snorted. “I think I saw that same accusation in the POS complaint against me.”
Julius stored the Christmas loot away then made dinner so we wouldn’t be corralling teenagers on an empty stomach. Rehearsal went off without a hitch, and we were home by nine which gave us enough time to shower, grab a snack, and settle in for the news at ten. I cringed a little when I saw myself on the news but was pleased I sounded calm and spoke eloquently. There was no keeping the grin off my face when Charles Zimmerman dropped the hammer on Roy Halifax and his POS group. The hatemonger sputtered and stuttered when he found out that The Hammer had already sent a copy of his findings to the Carter County Sheriff’s office and the Ohio attorney general.
“Justice,” Jules and I both said at once.
I was glad that Roy Halifax was getting what he deserved, but I was still sickened by the thought of him trailing after Jules and me.
“Put it out of your head,” Jules said, knowing where my mind had gone.
“I can’t.”
“Let me help you drive out the ugly so you can focus on the beautiful.”
And he did.