Love is Always Write Anthology Bonus Volume

"I don't think I've heard you say that before."
    "What?"
    "Gay like us."
    "Maybe I should have."
    At home they turned on their own TV and watched the coverage, as riots and arrests continued through a second night. When they finally snapped off the set, Jacob sat silently on the couch. Daniel tried to figure out what Jacob was thinking. Phil was right, in a way. The violence was having a backlash, with commentators railing against the actions of militant homos. Or laughing at them and ridiculing the protesters as commando queens. But it was exciting too. Energizing. Like a whole lot of being careful and holding back was finally being loosened and thrown off.
    "You're not thinking of going to the city," he joked to Jacob, maybe only half joking because the impulse to get up and go join in was stronger than he would have expected.
    Jacob shook his head silently, eyes on the blank screen. Then he got up and walked stiffly out of the room. Daniel stared after him with concern. A minute later Jacob came back with two framed photos in his hands. "Which one do you think?" He held out the pictures for Daniel to see.
    Daniel looked at them. One was a snap of the two of them on a hike, flushed and a little disheveled from the climb, arms around each other with the vista behind them. The other was a formal picture of Daniel. It wasn't his favorite. Jacob had asked for photos a year ago for his birthday, and Daniel had gone to a studio to oblige him. Something about the photographer had been intimidating, though. The result had been a series of poses that Daniel thought made him look like a waxwork or something. But Jacob had chosen this one and framed it and kept it beside their bed.
    "For what? You know how I feel about the portrait, so if whatever you're planning would get it out of the bedroom I'm all for it. I even depress myself in that one."
    "I want one for my desk at work."
    "You what?" Daniel stared at him.
    "Monday. Monday I'm going to walk into the office and put your picture on my desk, and put both our names down for the Fourth of July picnic."
    Daniel stood and went over to him. Carefully, he tried to take the pictures out of Jacob's hands. "Listen, Trip, you don't want to be hasty."
    Jacob held onto the frames stubbornly. "I'm not being hasty. God, I should have done it years ago. I'm going to tell Father either he accepts me the way I am, with you or..."
    "Or what? Are you really ready to quit if he says no? Listen, honey, I love that you want to do this. And I hope someday soon you will. But are you sure you want to do it now? You know your dad is talking about retiring soon. And he'll either pick you or that tight-assed bastard Davidson as company President when he leaves. You've worked damned hard and given up a lot for the company, for a lot of years. Do you really want to give him a reason to dump you now?"
    "I don't care." Jacob looked at Daniel but his eyes were glazed. He seemed to be looking past Daniel at something distant. "It's been too long already. That's what those riots are about, you know. Just too much for too long. Too many people telling us we're crazy and wrong and degenerate and denying us our rights. Those men in the bar weren't hurting anyone. They were just trying to live their lives. And yet the cops have the right to walk in and bust them and throw them in jail, just for who they are. For who we are. And it won't stop until people see that being gay isn't just about The Stonewall and drag queens and rent boys. It's about the vice president of a pharmacy chain and a gifted commercial artist."
    "Ooh, now I'm gifted. How sweet of you." Daniel leaned forward to kiss Jacob's cheek but the humor fell flat. Jacob just stared intently down at the two pictures.
    "Well, if you're seriously going to do it," Daniel said, "Then do it right. Take the one with the two of us. That way I don't look like your deceased second cousin or something."
    That jerked a laugh out of Jacob. He looked up to meet Daniel's eyes. "You're okay with this?"
    "I've been waiting for you to come out for two decades. I'm delirious. Okay, given that you've waited this long I did think you might wait another year or two until you had the brass ring. But I can see why you need to do it now. We'll be fine. The mortgage is more than half paid off. My job is pretty secure, even of the camera boys are slowly taking over from the real artists. We have some savings. So even if your father does throw you out, we'll get