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Saturday night rolls around fast. Time is ticking. The house is decorated with streamers and balloons by the decorating committee consisting of the one and only Penny.
“Is it just my imagination or are all the balloons shaped like a—”
Penny cuts me off. “You’re a dirty boy, and I think you need to drown yourself in a slippery otter.”
“Slippery otter?”
“Puu… ss… yy,” she annunciates.
I shake my head while smirking and make my way to the door to answer the knocking.
“Hello, I’m homo!” announces Eric.
Tristan follows him, rolling his eyes at Eric’s antics, and now that I’m aware of his sexuality, I search for something different. There’s nothing but the same old Tristan in front of me. I reach out and pull him into a hug. I’m sure going to miss the kid.
“You’re choking me,” he coughs before lifting his gaze to see Penny. “And is that a man?”
I let go of him. “Eric, Tristan, meet my good friend, Penny.”
“Penny… Penny Tration,” she adds.
Eric roars in laughter, but Tristan is a little more reserved.
“Oh, honey, I love it!” Eric gasps.
Penny pulls Eric and Tristan by their arms to the back, chatting away. I only hear the words, “Oh, you, twinks, you’re adorable together. Who does your hair, darling?”
The doorbell rings again, and it’s Fred and Jerry.
Fred is carrying a plate of Jell-O. Hazel thanks him and ushers him to the kitchen. Jerry looks different. His hair is cut short, and I think it’s brushed.
“Looking good, Jerry. I don’t swing that way, but it’s nice to know you care,” I joke.
“Ha-ha. Penny took me to some salon where the drags did a number on me. I got a date tonight with a girl from my local comic bookstore,” he grunts.
“A girl who works at a comic bookstore? Damn, now that’s a catch.”
“Yeah, she’s into a lot of the retro comics like me,” he says, shrugging his shoulders.
“I’m proud of you.” I pat his back. “Just be yourself and have fun, okay?”
He nods, making his way to the snack table where he shoves all the Cheetos into his mouth—poor comic book girl.
I head outside to the porch to mingle. I’m a little nervous and don’t ask Hazel about Adriana. Everyone here deserves my attention, and despite the tight chest from my mistakes being greater than I ever imagined, I manage to put on a grateful smile for everyone.
“You’re gonna love Sydney,” Tristan says to me, stepping away from Penny and Eric.
“I’m sure I will,” I agree, taking a sip of my beer. “Hey, kid, what was the real reason you left?”
Tristan shuffles his feet, his shoulders slumping as he becomes agitated by the question. “Mom’s husband, John, had a problem with me…” He gazes at Eric, and like there’s some sort of connection, Tristan finds his voice. “He beat me because he found out I was gay.”
My heart drops as he confirms my suspicions. Roy is a fucking asshole for touching the poor kid.
“I should’ve helped you, saved you from him,” I bellow, shaking my head with anger. “I was too messed up to see others around me hurting.”
“You did, you gave me a place to stay. You introduced me to new friends who helped me find my way. You did more than you can ever imagine.”
“Oh, kid, you’re gonna make me cry.”
