Love Means Courage - Andrew Grey

him. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you, but I wanted to ask you to join us for lunch, and tell you thank you.” Cliff stepped into the stall. “I can’t believe you’ve only been here a month—I didn’t think things would ever be going so well again.” Cliff stepped to him and kissed him, their lips gently exploring. Cliff pulled back, smiling. “See you in fifteen for lunch.”
    Len nodded, smiling as well.

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    “HEY, Mom. Would you like to go to the play?” He’d just gotten home and was rushing through the house to get cleaned up and ready. “It starts at seven-thirty, and we’re meeting Cliff and Geoff at the Dairy Barn for dinner.”
    She turned around in her chair. “I don’t know.”
“What are you going to do, watch television all evening?
Come on, it’ll be fun.” Len was already halfway toward the bathroom.
“How dressy should I get?” He could hear her walking toward her bedroom.
    “We’re going to the Dairy Barn and the high school. Dress comfortably.” She laughed, and he grabbed his clothes before stepping in the bathroom. Len started the water and stepped under the spray. He was happy and felt like singing. He washed quickly and got out, toweling himself off before going to the sink and shaving. He really wanted to look nice. God, it felt like he was back 126
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in high school, except back then, he’d never been this nervous.
    Washing off the remaining shaving cream, he combed his hair, parting it in the middle. Then he pulled on his pants and shirt, and he found himself actually turning around to look at his butt in the mirror. “I’m turning into a girl,” he told himself, but he still looked to make sure the pants looked good. Then he padded to his bedroom to finish dressing.
    When he was done, he walked to the living room. His mother was already set, sitting on the sofa waiting as Len checked his watch. “Do I look okay?”
    “You look great, Mom.” She really did. “Shall we go?” He handed his mom her jacket, and they left the house, locking the door behind them. Len held the door for her, got in the car, and they headed for town.
    The Dairy Barn parking lot was full, and Len just managed to find a place to park. Luckily, when they got inside, Cliff and Geoff were already there with Geoff standing on the seat, watching for them. He began jumping up and down when he saw them. “Wen!” Before Cliff could stop him, he’d jumped off the seat and went running, and Len scooped him up to high-pitched giggles. He carried him over to the table, setting him in the seat next to Cliff.
    “Cliff, this is my mother.”
Cliff extended his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Parker.”
“Please, call me Lorna, and it’s nice to meet you.”
“And this—” he tickled Geoff’s tummy, “—giggle monster is Geoff.”
They sat down, and the waitress brought menus and took their 127
Love Means Courage
drink orders. “What do you want, Geoff?” Len asked as Geoff played with his silverware.
“Bwench Bwies.”
    Cliff sat him down and took away the silverware. “You can have french fries, but only if you sit down and behave.” Geoff sat in his booster seat, his head swiveling all around the restaurant. The waitress returned and passed out the drinks before taking their orders and rushing away to the next table.
    “You look familiar, Lorna, where do you work?”
“I work at the hospital in medical records, but I’ve seen you and Geoff in the grocery store a few times.”
“I suppose in a town like this, everyone seems familiar.”
“So how are things at the farm?”
    Cliff smiled, and Len thought how wonderful he looked when he smiled. “Going much better. My dad bought the Henderson farm just before he died, and my sister has decided to buy the house. We met with the lawyer today, and he’s drawing up the paperwork to subdivide the land and complete the purchase. He said everything should be done in a month or so.” The relaxed look on Cliff’s face was like a breath of fresh air. Len hadn’t seen that before, and he couldn’t help smiling back, knowing he’d helped put that smile on Cliff’s face.
    The waitress returned with their food and set their plates in front of them. “Can I get you anything else?” Cliff was already eating, so Len answered. “No, thank you.” She smiled, and then she was off again. “Man, they’re hopping tonight.”
    Cliff gave Geoff some fries, and he started shoving them in his