Love Means Courage - Andrew Grey

and he no longer hated himself because of it. Tim had told him once that there was nothing wrong with being gay or being who you were. He’d just warned him that he needed to be careful.
    Without looking back, Len walked to his car, climbed into the driver’s seat, and headed home. He did a quick check of his Timex and breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t too late, and he probably wouldn’t get the third degree from his mother.
After graduating from high school, he’d gotten a job at a small factory making parts for railroad cars, but that had only lasted a year before he’d been laid off because of the tanking economy. His mother had urged him to go back to school, and he’d followed her advice, attending the local community college. It had been a good decision. Len had been a mediocre student in high school, but he seemed to thrive in the college environment. His grades were good, and he was working part-time after classes mucking out stalls at one of the area horse farms.
    Pulling into their driveway, he parked the car next to the small house they rented and headed inside. His mother was sitting in the small living room watching television. “Did you have a good time?” Len had to stop himself from smiling too big. “Yes, thanks.” He’d had some time to think on the way home, and while he would definitely miss Tim, he was happy that he’d found a good job. And 14
    Andrew Grey

    Tim had been right: it was time for both of them to move on before either got too attached. Tim had been a wonderful mentor, and Len would never forget him.

    “There’s some mail on the table for you. Looks like you got a wedding invitation.”

    “From who?” She shrugged her shoulders and went back to the television. She worked hard, always had, and he wished he could help out more. But every time he talked about trying to get a full-time job, she’d scold him and tell him to finish school first.

    Len went into the kitchen and saw the large, fancy envelope sitting on the table. He picked it up, looking it over before breaking the seal, opening the envelope, and removing the invitation. “Ruby’s getting married,” he called to his mother.

    “That’s great; who’s the lucky boy?” Her attention didn’t waver from the television.

    “Cliff Laughton.” Well, damn him if that wasn’t a surprise. He hadn’t seen Cliff much since he was seventeen, but his mind wandered back to the night of the school musical cast party and the almost-kiss—or what he thought might have been an almost-kiss.
    With the passage of time, he wasn’t so sure.
“When is it?”
He consulted the invitation. “Three weeks.”
“Are you going to go?”
He thought about it. He hadn’t seen Ruby in a while, but yeah, it would be real nice to see her again. “I think so.” 15
Love Means Courage
THE wedding was beautiful, held in the country church a mile or so from Cliff’s family’s farm and what was to be Ruby’s new home. There were a lot of people there who Len knew. When he’d accepted the invitation, he’d wondered if he’d still know anyone.
    But for the most part, it seemed as though time hadn’t moved, and everyone was very interested in catching up with old friends. After the service, he drove to the reception and found his place at one of the tables, along with a number of people he’d been friends with years before. It was almost like a mini-reunion.
    He felt a gentle nudge in his side. “So, Len, are you seeing anyone?” Raelyn beamed at him from the next seat.
“Not right now.” He thought of Tim. “I was for a while.”
    “You remember Brenda Grant?” Len nodded and tried to look interested. He’d had so many people try to fix him up lately, and it was starting to become tiresome. “She just broke up with Brad and was talking about looking you up.” Thank God she hadn’t called.

    He made what he thought was a bland, noncommittal reply.
    “It’d be nice to hear from her again.” Raelyn beamed. “I’ll have to tell her.” Len almost groaned but kept it to himself, and the conversation shifted to other topics and local gossip before being cut off by the tinkling of glasses to indicate that it was time for the speeches. The best man gave his speech and offered the toast, and then dinner was served, followed by the usual wedding games.
    Len watched as Cliff danced his new bride around the floor, both of them smiling and happy. Seeing them together, Len let his mind wander back, and he thought that