“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”
~Mark Twain
“Rolling around in the gutter with stupid people only leaves you stinking like them. Rise above it; be smarter.”
~Romeo Bradley
“Which tie would look best in a television interview with the investigative reporter from Channel Eleven news?” I asked Julius Monday morning, holding my top two picks up in front of me. “Dark red or navy blue?”
Julius rose from the bed and shook his head. “Neither.” He walked into my closet and returned with a pale lavender tie. “This one is my favorite. Wear it and know that I’m there with you.”
I exchanged the red and blue ties for the lavender one. “I wore this tie on the day the board hired me.”
“I know,” he said. “We were hired the same day, remember?”
“Of course, I remember. My first official act as the superintendent was to greet the new science teacher. I’m surprised you remember my tie.”
“I remember everything about you.” Julius took the tie from my fingers and looped it around my neck. He used it to tug me closer to him for a kiss. “I’m so damn proud of you, Rome. You could’ve let Cait’s phone call ruin your day, but you didn’t.”
I wouldn’t let the latest development with POS destroy what had started out as a perfect day. We’d slept in late, made love, then spent a wonderful couple of hours with my family. I hadn’t lied to Julius when I said my family would love him, but it still made my heart all warm and fuzzy to see how quickly he was absorbed by them. My nieces had loved making boasts that they could beat him at tennis and chess, he geeked out with my dad over science talk and aliens, talked theater with Astrid, and bonded over beer with my mom. If I hadn’t been holding the baby, I would’ve jumped to my feet and did some ridiculous double fist pump while whooping about how right I was.
I was high on life when Cait called to let me know she’d received an interview request from Channel Eleven news. The POS group had flooded them with complaints and false stories about the play, the board’s handling of their complaint, and alleged that I was engaging in inappropriate behavior in front of impressionable students. Me? What had I done? My mind replayed all the times I longed to acknowledge Julius as mine in some way but refrained because it wouldn’t be professional. Not just because we were two gay men, but because of our positions in the school. Other married teachers in the district kept their personal lives just as private as we did which was next to impossible in such a small town. Julius and I weren’t breaking any rules, and we didn’t so much as hold hands during the school day. The allegations were false, but they could still negatively impact my career.
“I wasn’t sacrificing valuable time with you to fret over those hateful bastards.”
“That’s the spirit. This will work in our favor, babe. I just know it.”
Julius and I worked as a team in the kitchen. I cooked the sausage and browned the toast while he made the egg white omelets with spinach, tomatoes, and feta cheese. I would’ve left the dishes for later, but it would bug Julius all day long, so we tidied up, topped off our coffee mugs, and headed to work. Julius rode with me since tennis season was over, neither of us had meetings planned after school, and play rehearsal didn’t start until six o’clock. Well, if the board didn’t change their mind after the latest stunt. Damn, I hoped they stayed strong and didn’t back down from the bullies. The kids would be so crushed. Julius must have sensed the tension rising in me because he laid his hand on my knee. I loved how he intuitively knew when I needed his touch.
I placed my hand on top of his and squeezed. “You know what would really make me feel better?”
Julius chuckled. “I could guess.”
“That too, but I was thinking about heading into Goodville to get some Christmas decorations. I decided to get all new stuff for my new house.”
“Christmas decorations? It’s not even November yet. Can’t we celebrate Thanksgiving first? I have much to be grateful for this year.”
“I do too, love, but I didn’t plan to decorate until after Thanksgiving.”
“Why today then?” Julius asked.
“All the good stuff will be gone if we don’t grab it now. I want to buy the decorations and store them until it’s time to decorate.”
“Which is?”
“After Thanksgiving,” I said.
“I can live with that. I’m in.”
“I should warn you that ‘after thanksgiving’ sometimes means once the feast is cleared away and the kitchen is cleaned.” I gave him my best innocent smile.
Julius just shook his head. “Warn a dude. How crazy do you get with your Christmas decorations?”
“On a scale from one to ten, with one being Scrooge and ten being Griswold, I’d say I’m about a seven. I’m a firm believer in making things merry and gay.” Jules groaned. “I promise that my decorating will be the epitome of tasteful and timeless. There won’t be a single gaudy decoration anywhere.”
Julius scrutinized me intently. “I don’t believe you for a minute.”
I loved how easily he distracted me from negative thoughts during the short drive to the school. I turned to face him once I’d parked in front of the school board building. “Regardless of what happens today, I get to go home with you. That’s all that matters to me, Jules.” I reached over and caressed his face, letting my thumb linger over his lips.
“I’ll see you at lunch,” Jules said, looking as hesitant as I was to part ways. “Walking tacos today. I’ll grab extra napkins for you to tuck into your collar so you don’t ruin your lucky tie. I know how enthusiastic you get on taco day.”
“Good call, love.”
Once inside the building, I found Priscilla at her desk in front of my office. She was looking extra dragon-ish while pulling guard duty which meant she’d already heard the news. “You’re looking pretty damn chipper for a man who’s about to be interviewed by Charles Zimmerman. That guy is a real ballbuster.”
“I’m wearing my lucky tie, Pris,” I said cheerfully. “What’s not to be chipper about?”
“The Hammer is coming. That’s why.” I got a kick out of the nickname the news station had given their investigative reporter.
“What have I done to earn his anger?” I asked. “I haven’t cheated senior citizens out of their money, and I’m not a corrupt contractor. The man doesn’t scare me.”
“That’s true, but still. He’s—”
“Don’t you worry about me, Pris. I need to focus all my energy on the looming budget meeting later this week. Will you hold my calls until after I meet with The Hammer?”
“You got it. No one gets to you without going through me. They don’t call me The Dragon for nothing.”
I winked at her before heading into my office. Once alone, I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. Everything would be all right, and I refused to entertain any other thoughts. Cait called my cell phone as soon as I sat down.
“Good morning, Cait. I’m surprised it took you this long to call me,” I teased.
“Anything earlier would’ve been indecent. I’m sorry to call your personal phone. I knew better than to try to reach you on your office phone since all your calls are routed through Priscilla and not the voicemail system the rest of the district uses. I just want to wish you good luck.”
“You won’t be here?” I asked.
“No. I have a court hearing in fifteen minutes. It shouldn’t take long, but I won’t make it back to Blissville in time. You don’t need me there anyway. You’ve got this, Rome. I know you’ll handle that bruiser just fine and make our district proud. You were the right man for this job in the spring, and you’re the right man now. Nothing has changed. I just needed you to know it.”
“Your support means a lot to me, Cait. Thank you.”
“I gotta run. I’ll see you later this morning.”
“Good luck!”
The Hammer arrived with his cameraman at seven fifty. His voice was as big as he was, and I heard him greet Priscilla politely and ask to speak with me. I rose from my chair and crossed the room to open my door. Priscilla scowled at the man and looked like she was about to give him a piece of her mind.
“Gentlemen,” I said cheerfully. “Come in.” I stepped aside to let them pass before I poked my head out the doorway and mouthed “behave” to Priscilla. “I would say it’s an honor to meet you, but I’m afraid I’d be lying under these circumstances.”
Charles Zimmerman guffawed and shook my hand before dropping down in the chair in front of my desk. It squeaked in protest under his bulk. The investigative reporter wasn’t overweight, but he was carrying a lot of muscle on his broad frame. “I’m not here for the reason you think, Mr. Bradley.”
“Dr. Bradley,” I said, but softened my correction with a good-natured smile. “You’re not here to investigate my conduct as superintendent or talk about the play our school will perform in January?”
“No.” He chuckled at my raised brow. “I want to hear about your encounters with a hate group that’s operating illegally as a 501c3 nonprofit organization.”
“They were granted nonprofit organization status?” I asked.
Charles nodded. “Religious groups can apply for a 501c3, but they have to follow the same rules as all other nonprofits.”
“Can I ask which rules you suspect they’ve broken?”
“I don’t suspect, Dr. Bradley. I have hard evidence to back up my claim. Normally, I would tell you to watch the show because of ratings and such, but I’ll make an exception since you were clearly targeted by this POS”—a wry grin spread across his face—“organization. And, I would hate for the supportive crowd outside to turn into an angry mob.”
“Crowd?”
“You didn’t know there are at least fifty people gathered in front of the school with signs showing their support for you and the play?”
“No,” I said. “I hadn’t been informed.” I had to swallow hard to dislodge the lump of emotion in my throat. “How long ago did POS start flooding your email asking for help?”
“The week after they were shut down by the school board. I had other investigations going on and didn’t have the time to dedicate to digging into their background. I reached out to your school board president first and she sent me a copy of the play for me to read. I’m sure she thought that would be the end of it. That’s what I thought too when I sent an email to Mr. Halifax telling him I wouldn’t be investigating his allegations after reading the school play. There was no agenda being pushed on the kids except encouragement to be decent human beings. He didn’t like my answer and turned his ire on you instead.”
“Me? I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“He seems to think differently. I received a lengthy email that reeked of homophobia and it included a photo of you kissing a man I presume is your boyfriend or husband.”
“Photo? What photo? I haven’t so much as held my boyfriend’s hand on school grounds.”
“The two of you were kissing on what appeared to be a stage.”
The Getty. It was the night I told Julius I was in love with him after blurting out my favorite sonnet. I was outraged and sickened that Roy Halifax witnessed one of the most beautiful moments in my life. How had I not sensed his evil lurking? “There were no kids in the theater at the time. I had personally supervised the younger kids getting picked up by their parents and watched the older kids drive away in their cars. That means that asshole was stalking me.”
“He was outraged that the parents weren’t concerned about leaving their kids in your care, so he was going to look out for them.”
“By hiding in the shadows and snapping photos of private moments. How dare he?”
“That’s what I thought too, so I decided to investigate this case after all, but not in the way he expected. I decided to dig into his background and the nonprofit organization he runs.”
“And you’ve discovered that they’re not legally operating under the 501c3 rules?”
“Correct. It would be easier to tell you the tax codes they didn’t break than it would be to list the ones they trampled all over without bothering to cover their tracks. They’re either as stupid as their acronym implies or completely careless. Either way, I’m going to do my best to destroy their credibility.”
“How do I come in?” I sounded as confused as I felt.
“I just want you to tell us about your interactions with him.”
“I’ve only had one interaction with him at the school board meeting. I never spoke with him before or after. I had no idea he was following me around.”
“I obtained a copy of the board meeting transcript, but I’d just like a few sound bites to go with it. The focus will be on exposing POS and Roy Halifax.”
“Okay. Let’s do this.”
The Hammer only asked me two brief questions then allowed me to talk about the incident with POS. I talked mostly about the support we received from the school board and the community of Blissville.
After he left, Priscilla came into my office to give me a high five. “Love always wins,” she said.
Between the phone calls and unexpected visits, my morning was completely unproductive, but it was hard to be upset when everyone was so excited. I was feeling especially festive when Julius and I went shopping for Christmas decorations after school.
“Merry and gay,” I reminded him as the cashier began ringing up our purchases.
“Totally Griswold,” he countered.
“Hush, or I’m coming back for the inflatables this weekend.”
“If you want them, you better grab them now,” the cashier said.
“See,” I said. “Don’t act like you weren’t putting things in the cart left and right either.”
“I guess your ‘merry and gay’ is contagious.”
I snorted. “I think I saw that same accusation in the POS complaint against me.”
Julius stored the Christmas loot away then made dinner so we wouldn’t be corralling teenagers on an empty stomach. Rehearsal went off without a hitch, and we were home by nine which gave us enough time to shower, grab a snack, and settle in for the news at ten. I cringed a little when I saw myself on the news but was pleased I sounded calm and spoke eloquently. There was no keeping the grin off my face when Charles Zimmerman dropped the hammer on Roy Halifax and his POS group. The hatemonger sputtered and stuttered when he found out that The Hammer had already sent a copy of his findings to the Carter County Sheriff’s office and the Ohio attorney general.
“Justice,” Jules and I both said at once.
I was glad that Roy Halifax was getting what he deserved, but I was still sickened by the thought of him trailing after Jules and me.
“Put it out of your head,” Jules said, knowing where my mind had gone.
“I can’t.”
“Let me help you drive out the ugly so you can focus on the beautiful.”
And he did.