Tom was still angry and brooding when they pulled out of the driveway.  His wife, Marie, was also upset at the furor her husband had caused in what should have been a joyous occasion.  At the same time, however, she felt exhilarated over having the courage after so long to stand up to her husband’s domineering ways. 

Jerry and Zack apologized to Jason for triggering Tom’s outburst and ruining the family get together.  “Don’t worry about it,” Jason replied.  “Tom is arrogant, pompous, and self-righteous.  We’ve all known that for some time.  To tell the truth, I’m proud of Marie for finally standing up to him.  I’ve watched him dominate her for too long but, of course, couldn’t do anything about it.  One of the hardest things a parent must do is to let adult children lead their own lives.  Fortunately, there’s been no physical abuse ...  at least that I know of.  Then, I’d have stepped in to protect her.  I don’t expect Tom will change his ways.  He’s always fought to win.  Frankly, the best thing to happen would be a divorce.  They have no children to hold them together and Marie could get along fine — in fact much better — without him.  Who knows?  Maybe she’ll find a more reasonable man.  She’s still quite attractive.”

As soon as Tom and Marie got on I-77, heading north toward home in Shaker Heights, Tom’s discontent erupted and he forcefully said, “I don’t appreciate your mouthing off to me in front of everybody.  It’s demeaning and embarrassing.  Don’t ever do that again!”

“Embarrassing?  Demeaning?” Marie exclaimed.  “How do you think I feel when you bark orders?  Do you have any idea what it’s like to be treated like an ignorant servant?  Marriage ought to be an equal partnership but you act like a dictator without considering my feelings.  I’ve had my fill of it, Tom, and won’t take it any more.”

“Is that a threat?” Tom asked.  “Back at your dad’s house you said IF you came home.  That sure sounded like a threat.”

“I said that because you made a total ass of yourself by ranting about Zack and Jerry.  They’re gay.  But they’re fine young men and don’t deserve to be persecuted with your poisonous attitude.  I was protecting them as much as objecting to your egotism.”

“They’re QUEER, Marie!  It’s unnatural and sinful!  That’s why I worked so hard to get the definition of marriage on the ballot in Ohio.  And it got voted into the State Constitution.”

“Such a shame, too.  It denies the minority the rights enjoyed by the majority.  Speaking of majority, did you know that a recent poll found that fifty-two percent of Americans think homosexuality is morally acceptable?”

“You wanna know why?  The homosexual bullies are intimidating God-fearing people and trying to turn it into a discrimination issue.

“Bullies?  Intimidating?”  Marie exclaimed.  “Seems to me that the extremist Evangelicals are the bullies.  They’re the ones that mistreat gays, spew hate from the pulpit, and picket funerals of soldiers, claiming that they died because God is punishing America for tolerating gays.  They’re the ones who...”

Tom cut her off.  He reflexively counter-attacked.  He would not allow facts to trump his beliefs.  “They’re creating a lot of heathens who want to ban religious values in America.  It’ll be a disaster if we don’t respect traditional marriage.”

“Traditional marriage?”

“The kind in the Bible.”

“You mean Jacob and his two wives, Leah and Rachel and their two hand-maidens?  Or Solomon and his seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines?”

“Not that kind, no.”

“Stoning brides on their wedding day if they’re not virgins?”

“NO!  You’re misinterpreting the Bible, Marie.”

“But you don’t hesitate to quote the Bible to me, Tom.  Do you want to impose your interpretation on everyone else?”

“No.  That’s what THEY want.”

“Who?”

“The homosexuals.  They want to change the definition of marriage for everyone.”

“Do they want to force you to marry a man?”

“Of course not.”

“Do they want to outlaw traditional marriage?”

“No.”

“What do they want?”

“They want to legalize sin!  It’s not right!  Every child deserves opposite sex parents.”

“Thank goodness we don’t have children, Tom.  They’d be infected with your excessive intolerance.”

Exasperated, Tom exclaimed, “What the fuck’s gotten into you, Marie?  You’re talking like one of those heathens who condone homosexuality.  Do you want to be condemned to Hell?”

“My compassion, forgiveness, and tolerance won’t condemn me to Hell, Tom.  But you’ll have to worry about your hate and your persecution of those who don’t agree with you.” Marie was tempted to add a comment on her husband’s ‘intentional ignorance’ but thought better of the idea.  He would only get angrier, deny it, and prolong the argument.

There was an icy silence for the rest of the drive home.  Tom, figuratively licking his wounds, felt like he may have lost a battle but he resolved to win the war.  Marie, having found her voice that had been repressed for so long, couldn’t feel triumphant because of the specter of her husband’s probable revenge and, significantly, the future of their marriage.  ‘What marriage?’ she asked herself.  They started out as a loving couple but for last few years she had been miserable.  There was no joy in being together any more.  There was no love.  There was plenty of sex — when he demanded it and with no regard for what she wanted or how she felt.  There was neither affectionate foreplay nor any sign of his trying to give her an orgasm.  It was ‘biff-bam’ but no ‘thank you, ma’am.’ Perhaps the evening had been the beginning of the end ...  and could be a new beginning for her.

<><><><><> 

Meanwhile, a minivan was traveling south toward Columbus.  Three boys were in the rear, sleeping off the prodigious meal they’d eaten at their grandfather’s house and recuperating from playing football.  Their parents, Henry and Julie, were in front, occasionally chatting about what a wonderful day it had been — except, of course, for Tom’s outburst, which, they agreed, was tactless.  “Can you believe how furious he was?” Julie asked rhetorically.  “Just because Zack and Jerry are gay?”

“I CAN believe it,” her husband replied.  “I agree with his disapproval of homosexuality.  But to fly into a rage like he did in front of everyone is inexcusable.  His vehemence is consistent with his character, however.  And to insist on leaving just because two gays were present was over the top.”

“Indeed it was,” Julie remarked.  “I felt sorry for Marie when Tom exploded but I think she handled it well.  In fact, she should have done something similar a long time ago.  Which reminds me ...  I love you for being a good husband.”

“You’re good to be good to,” Henry grinned and, after a pause, asked, “Did you notice how Tom was quiet and sulking afterwards?”

“How could I not notice?  He got what he deserved.  I don’t feel sorry for him at all.”

“I’ll bet he has more to say on the drive home,” Henry mused.

After several miles of quiet reflection, Julie asked, “How would you feel if one of our boys turned out to be gay?”

“They won’t!”

“Probably not, Henry, but it’s possible.  Could you accept that?  Would you still love him?”

“Frankly, I don’t know if I could accept it, but I guess I’d still love him.”

“Suppose for a minute.  Suppose Jerry or Zack was your son.  Would you be proud of him … or ashamed?”

“That’s a ‘what-if’ question, Julie.  Why worry about something that won’t happen?”

“Because it might.  The chances are slim but it’s always good to be prepared for the unexpected.  You have to admit that Jerry and Zack are bright, personable, and quite admirable young men ... who happen to be gay”

“That they are,” Henry had to acknowledge.

“Well,” Julie began somewhat hesitantly, “I’d be proud to have either one as a son.  Oh sure, I’d worry.  Being gay is still a bit dangerous because there are too many Toms in the world.  Their hatred would be hard to endure.  Not, I suppose, unlike other minorities.  If one of our boys were gay, could you offer them the support they needed to cope with persecution from bigots?”

The man thought for a while before responding, “It would be difficult but he’d still be my son.  I guess I could accept it ...  but NOT approve of their behavior — as long as they weren’t swishy, effeminate types.”

Julie laughed.  “That’s the last thing you’d have to be concerned about.  They’re about as macho as they come.  Is any one of them a sissy type?”

“No way!  Oh, oh!  Road construction ahead.  They oughta make orange barrels the state symbol!”

<><><><><> 

The next few weeks passed uneventfully for Zack and Jerry.  A phone call from Brad (the member of Alex’s inner circle who promised to be a mole and report any plans for persecution) rekindled their fears of being bullied.

“Hi, Jerry.  This is Brad.  Just wanted to give you a heads-up.  Alex has started mouthing off about fags.  Sorry.  Didn’t mean to offend but that’s the term HE uses.  Anyway, football season is over.  He and the rest of his gang are all seniors so the coach’s threat of expelling them from the team is no longer a concern.  He hasn’t mentioned you two specifically but he’s showing his hatred more than usual.  I don’t know if he is or will be planning anything but I thought I’d better let you know.”

“Thanks, Brad.  We’ll be careful.”

Careful they were.  They were more alert and more cautious, especially on campus.  They even started carrying pepper spray in case harassment turned into physical violence.  (They were unaware that it was not nearly as potent as the kind used by law enforcement personnel and that it might only make the aggressor angrier, leading to even more brutality.)  But their fears would evaporate at the beginning of the Christmas break when Jerry got another call from Brad.  “Good news, Jerry,” Brad began.  “Alex will be dropping out of school.  I don’t know all the details but it seems he screwed up applying for another student loan; missed a deadline or something.  His dad lost his job and can’t afford tuition.  Alex is a real bastard but I feel sorry for him.  He has only one semester left before he was to graduate.  Anyway, I think his clique will sort of break up next semester.  Even if they don’t, there’s not one of them that has the balls to organize any kind of attack on you or anyone else.”

“Thanks, Brad.  That is good news.  Not because Alex won’t graduate on time but that Zack and I won’t have to be on guard all the time.”

“I didn’t say that, Jerry.  I’d suggest you watch your back for a little while longer.”

“Will do, Brad.  Thanks again.”

Brad’s final recommendation would prove to be unnecessary.  Lacking a leader who, by charisma, demanded unchallenged loyalty, the clique of jocks gradually disintegrated.  Their only incentive was to earn passing grades that would ensure graduation.  Intimidation or persecution of gays fell off their list of priorities.

Epilogue

Jerry and Zack now live in Columbus, Ohio, and are blissfully happy.  They had several job offers when they graduated from college, but selected Columbus because it was relatively close to their families.  Each of them had contacted his parents, but the responses ranged from coolness to mild antagonism for having abandoned his heritage.  Nevertheless, each maintains hope that he might eventually restore an amicable relationship with the family he still loved.

So far, their efforts have been unsuccessful.  The seemingly irreparable collapse of the relationships with their parents is partially offset by continuing contact with Jason.  They visit often and keep in touch by phone and email.  Holidays, particularly Thanksgiving and Christmas, are especially joyful occasions.  Jason’s family gathers and treat Zack and Jerry as “adopted” members of the clan.  (The festivities are particularly enjoyable due in part to the absence of Tom whom Marie divorced.)

Both Jerry and Zack were pleased to hear that Alex, the bigot jock, was able to complete his degree requirements and graduate after two years working full time and attending classes part time.  They sent a congratulatory letter to him but never received a reply.

They still keep in touch with Brad who had secretly engineered the coach’s stern dressing-down of Alex’s clique.  Brad is completing his doctoral degree at UCLA.

The end.

Author’s Note:  Iatia’s meticulous editing and his insightful and creative suggestions improved this story and are sincerely appreciated.