Chapter 54

Reece

Brennan doesn't ask any questions. At least, he doesn't ask me. I think he's gotten the whole story from Sawyer. Still, he doesn't treat me any differently, and for that I'm grateful. I was afraid I'd jeopardized Sawyer's job too. And mine.

I still can't believe my father did this to us. It's so stupid that we have to deal with it in the first place.

Abe is the first to bring it up at work. He pulls me to the side before our shift and puts a fatherly hand on my shoulder. "Lotta people be talkin' ‘bout y'all three boys all over town. Is that all true, boy?"

Now that Asher is refusing to deny our relationship, there's no point in acting otherwise at work.

"Yeah, it's true." I put on my gloves, not sure if I should elaborate.

"You mean, all three of y'all?" Abe looks more curious than appalled, so I answer. "Yeah, Abe. Sometimes, it happens that way, I guess."

"Yeah but – but how, boy? Those two have been together for a lotta years if I remember correctly."

He's not judging me. Us. He's not judging us. My friend, Abe, is genuinely interested. "Asher and I . . . we were . . . together when we were younger. Seventeen."

"Together? Y'all was boyfriends?"

I grin. Abe is the sweetest. "Yeah, we were boyfriends."

"Well, what happened?"

"My dad. He didn't like it. He did a whole bunch of horrible things and Asher and I couldn't be together after that. We moved on with our lives. Asher married Sawyer, and I married a really great girl named Julie. We got divorced a little while ago."

"Yeah. But how'd you three end up in this situation?"

I look into Abe's kind eyes. It feels nice to tell our story to someone, who just wants to know how it all happened, and not because they want to tear us down. "I – I just felt drawn to Sawyer the first moment I saw him. He felt the same way about me. I always loved Asher. It's possible to love two people at the same time, Abe. I know because it's what happened to me. To us."

Abe shakes his head. "You young generation are brave things. When we did such things in our time, we made sure no one knew 'bout it."

"Brave, Abe? Do you really think we're being brave? Not stupid? Asher says he won't deny our relationship. That he'll fight for his job, but I don't know if he'll win."

Abe chuckles. "Ask me, Reece, boy. And I'll tell you that love is always worth fighting for. Y'all be safe, though. Most folk in this town is alright but if you get on the wrong side of some few rotten apples, they can make life real hard. Besides, plenty of debates and such carrying on now with the elections and all. They'll jump on anything in this small town."

"Thanks, Abe," I say with gratitude. Since coming to Iowa, I've been in a continuous loop of thankfulness for the people around me. "Thank you," I repeat.

The older man with more wisdom than me nods and his lips lift in a parental smile. Right now, he reminds me of Asher's dad. A quiet man, who didn't say much, but when he smiled at you, you just knew everything was going to be okay.

"You want to go to Al's for a beer later? You and Sawyer? Asher too, if he'll come out?"

Deacon, who happens to be passing by, slows down. "Beer?" And before Abe can say another word, he hollers, "Hey. Yo, Wade. You wanna go get some beer with Abe and the boys later?"

Abe chuckles and shakes his head. "Who invited you, you little shit?" he tells Deacon.

"Sure," Wade calls out and then he hollers at Walter, who hollers at Brian, and that's how we end up drinking beer at Al's Diner after work.

Sawyer texts Ash to come to the diner. He says he'll work on his defense for the hearing, and it's better that we go with Abe. He'll need the quiet time to think.

Al is back to running his diner, but I still hear him every now and then talking with patrons about the time he spent in hospital for bronchitis.

Deacon takes a huge swig, sets his glass down and tells me, "We don't care how many people you keep in your bed, Reece. You're a good person and these assholes are just too uptight. The only person that should be mad about any of this is Brian."

Brian jerks his head in our direction at the mention of his name and scowls. Then, he punches Sawyer's arm. It's not playful, and Sawyer winces. "You have Asher. You couldn't leave Reece alone? Just when I got up the courage to be who I am?"

I laugh. "Hey, I had a say in it too, you know. I couldn't leave Sawyer alone either."

Brian rolls his eyes. "Y'all are so perfect together it's pathetic."

Walter tips his glass in the air. "To liberty and freedom," he says dramatically.

We all drink to that.

Abe's sober tone turns the table serious. "Where is he, anyway? I don't care what this town has to say," he says loudly, just in case some of the ninety-eight petitioners are in the diner. "That is a good man and the best football coach this town has ever seen. He should be here with us, drinking beer."

"He wanted some time alone to prepare for his hearing," I say. There are a few nods and mumbles around the table, and then we go back to drinking our beer, the conversation turning to the Iowa Wilds and their abysmal season.

Sawyer and I leave the boys at the diner after another round, stopping at Dotty's just before closing time.

"No one can fire you for falling in love with more than one person," she says while she packs some mini pecan pies and three slices of chocolate caramel cake. The mini apple pies sold out three hours ago.

"And besides, these ninety-eight petitioners—" As they're now being called— "These ninety-eight petitioners are probably the worst ones. I'll bet they're sleeping with other people and their spouses don't even know." She smiles and hands me the bag, her smile directed at Sawyer. "You boys are being all classy about it."

Sawyer laughs. "Yeah, it's not exactly like that, Dotty."

She laughs too. "Oh, I know. Well, I don't really know, but you know what I mean. Anyway, I heard Deliah's trying to get herself a spot in the hearing as a witness for the school district." She sighs. "Can't believe people think they can debate the merits and faults of your personal lives like it's any of their business."

We say our goodbyes and at the door, Dotty stops us. "Another thing. Tell Ash that Gerald is also going to give a statement at the hearing. That's what I heard. Tell Asher not to talk to him."

We walk out of the store together and suddenly, it feels awful, all of this. Worse than before, when Asher first brought the news home.