Page 66 of See My Words

“I think Brian and Julia would have a differing opinion about the ‘friends’ part,” Minh remarked, “but I’m gonna officiate, and Chris can handle the photos if you two want to head back, no problem.”

“They’d be lucky to have you too, Rylan,” Chris said. “You have breathtaking talent.” He paused. “That’s why I really want you to accept that internship and come to Africa with me.”

His eyes were steady on Rylan’s, and Rylan gave a rueful quirk of his lips when Minh burst out, “Internship? What internship?”

Chris explained the situation briefly, concluding with, “I’d be acting as a mentor of sorts, and Rylan has the chance for his work to appear in a national magazine under the byline of a pretty famous writer. It’s a big deal. The guy’s a bestselling author.”

“Whoa.” Minh looked back and forth between Rylan and Chris before cutting his eyes over to Scott. “I think we all need a drink.” He stood, heedless of his nakedness, water sluicing down his sleek body as he grabbed a towel and padded to the kitchen for a bottle of wine and some plastic glasses.

Rylan peeked at Scott’s face, and while he appeared serene, Rylan could see the tension in his shoulders, his neck.

“How long?” Scott asked, his tone conversational. “Would you be gone, I mean?”

“Couple of months,” Chris said, and Scott shrugged, his shoulders bunching even more.

“I still haven’t decided if I’m going to go.” Rylan reached up to take the glass of wine Minh offered him, mouthing his thanks. “My project—I’m not sure I’m ready to put that aside just yet.”

“What project is this, sweetie?” Minh lowered himself back in next to Chris, his skin pebbled with goose bumps after his brief foray out into the cool evening air.

Rylan explained what he’d been trying to do, saying, “About six months ago, national media picked up on a series of sex worker murders here in Phoenix, murders of trans women of color, and that the mayor had decided not to dedicate any resources to pursuing it.”

“The fuck?” Minh looked appalled. “I heard about those murders but not about the fucking mayor.”

“It’s the same old stigma, that sex workers are criminals themselves, just doing it to support a drug habit, that they’re not worth a city’s time and resources.”

“I imagine a lot of the women around here are undocumented,” Chris said quietly. “No papers means no job. Not a whole lot of options.”

“Exactly. Trans, Latina, undocumented. Sex work is one way to make a living. What I envisioned for my project is a photo essay. Women going about their lives—including their job.”

“Try to destigmatize it,” Scott stated.

“Yes. I got a writer interested in writing the accompanying piece, and I cashed out the last of my savings and trotted my happy little ass to Phoenix, Arizona, convinced I was on to something important.” Rylan winced. “I even had delusions of grandeur, that maybe the piece would eventually convince the mayor to change his mind about investigating the murders.”

Chris smiled at him. “That’s not so far out there, Ry. The power of journalism is a force to be reckoned with.”

“Well, what I totally overestimated, as some random white cis dude, was my ability to get anyone to trust me. I made sort of a breakthrough not long ago—” He told them about Maya and the diner. “—but I haven’t been able to pin her down since.”

Minh looked at Scott. “Maybe he should talk to Beej?”

Scott pulled himself out of the hot tub, his legs casually splayed, face flushed from the heat. “That’s actually a fantastic idea,” he said. “I’ll take him over there sometime this week.”

Rylan tore his eyes away from Scott’s happy trail, glittering with water droplets, and croaked, “Beej? What the hell’s a Beej?”

Scott gave a husky laugh. “Would you believe a Beej is a nun?”

“A—nun?” Rylan blinked. “What?”

“Yep. Sister Belinda Jalisco. She works with that homeless center I told you about,” Scott said. “Remember? Where I met the guy with the sign-twirling job?”

Rylan nodded, and Scott went on, “A big part of her program is sex worker outreach, handing out condoms, like I said, no questions asked. She keeps a list of low-cost or free resources for other needs, like STI testing, abortions.”

“Also a bad-date list,” Minh interjected. “Names of sympathetic cops and detectives in case of assault. Pro-bono lawyers in case of arrest. She does good stuff, Ry. It’s about advocacy and support, not rescue.”

Rylan pursed his lips. “But a nun?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Named Beej?”

Minh giggled. “Sister Belinda Jalisco. You know, BJ?” He winked.

“Ah, shortened to Beej. I get it.” Rylan chuckled. “So obviously she’s plugged in to the community.”