Love Means Courage - Andrew Grey

out of the truck, they strode into Steve’s and sat at the nearest table. Len saw Shell, and she walked toward their table.

    “Your kind isn’t welcome here!” Len turned his head and look into the eyes of a huge kid.

    “And what kind is that?” Len heard Cliff’s voice carrying through the room. “Paying customers? Or maybe this place is only for good-for-nothing loafers like you.”
    “Fags. We don’t want fags here.”
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    Cliff stood up, staring the kid in the eye, obviously conscious that every eye in the room was on him. “And who’s we, Henry? You and the friend who paid us a visit last night?” Cliff picked up the hats from the seat next to him. “You two ran away in such a hurry you left your hats behind and a brown streak across my lawn. I’d sure hate to be the one to do your laundry.” Soft laughter could be heard throughout the restaurant. Cliff held the two hats up high for everyone to see and then placed the one on the kid’s head. “I suggest you leave before someone calls the police and has you arrested.” “This ain’t over!”
    “Yes, it is.” Cliff turned to all the people in the room.

    “Everyone here has heard what you did and the threats you’ve implied. If anything happens, we’ll know right where to look.” Cliff handed Henry the other hat. “Give this to Jasper. He’ll be looking for it.”

    Henry looked around the room and found a whole lot of people doing their best not to meet his eyes. Seeing his support gone, he turned and left the restaurant.

    Cliff sat back down in his chair and motioned to Shell. “I don’t think we’ll have any more trouble.”
    Shell came over and took their orders with a brighter smile than usual before moving on. Gradually the room returned to its normal conversation level. Both of them had no doubt that they were the topic of most of the conversations. “Are you sure?” Len looked around the room and saw others meeting his gaze instead of looking away.
    “Yes. They may not understand, but they respect us for having the courage to stand up for ourselves.” Shell brought their lunches, setting their plates in front of them. “That was sweet, the way you handled Henry, and Steve said 204

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    to tell you that you are welcome here any time.” They exchanged smiles and began to eat. Throughout lunch, Len noticed that people would nod or smile as they passed the table.
    “Let’s finish our lunch and get back to the farm.”
“That’s fine with me. I feel like I’m on display,” Cliff agreed.
Len did his best to ignore that attention and ate his lunch.
When they were finished, they paid their bill, being sure to leave a generous tip, and left the restaurant.
“Is there anything you need while we’re here?”
    “No, let’s get back to the farm, I’ve got work to do, and you need to check on the fields to make sure everything’s okay.” Cliff nodded, and they got in the truck.

    “I think it’s going to be fine, Len. That doesn’t mean we won’t have trouble in the future, but hopefully we won’t have a repeat of last night anytime soon.” Cliff started the truck and pointed it back toward the farm, a hand on Len’s leg.

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    “ARE you ready to see the fireworks?” Cliff tossed Geoff in the air and then hugged him close, father and son playing their own happy games. Cliff looked at Len. “Is the car seat ready?”

    “Yup, and I’ve got a bag of drinks and snacks in the trunk along with blankets and a few of Geoff’s cars.”

    “Then let’s go.” Cliff was just about to shut the door when the phone rang. Handing Geoff to Len, he went back inside, and Len carried Geoff to the car, buckling him into his seat.

    “Daddy should be here in a few minutes, and then we can go.” Geoff was excitedly bouncing his heels against his seat. The passenger door opened, and Cliff climbed into the car and they started toward town.
    “That was Mari; she’s going to meet us there.”
“So are Mom and Jerry. This should be fun.” Len drove carefully because of all the traffic heading toward the fireworks. As 206 Andrew Grey
    they got closer, traffic got heavier, and they lined up to get into the parking area. Len rolled down his window and made a donation to the fireworks fund before pulling into the spot designated by one of the men in orange vests. Getting out, Cliff got Geoff, and Len grabbed the supplies from the trunk. Then they walked to what was usually