Holding It to Heart

The other day I was in a crowded mall going about my busy little business, taking quick steps, oblivious to much of everything around me.  People passed by me in swarms.  I wasn’t particularly looking at any of them.  I had my mundane errands to run.  And then as luck who have it, my eyes dropped at the right moment to a clutch of teens and their hands.  Some held bags, others gripped their precious iphones as they chatted and laughed, but at the back of the of the group two unassuming young guys held hands as innocently as any fourteen or so year olds on a first “date” to the mall.  I smiled, not so much at them, but more to myself. 

I unfortunately know a time when such young and nervous heart strings wouldn’t be so confident to show affection.  I also know a time when I’d have been afraid for these skinny little fellows who looked like they may not be able to fend off some jack ass bigot.  But these are not those times and that sweet image has lingered with me and made me smile ever since I so surreptitiously glimpsed it that tedious afternoon. 

For too many years, so many have struggled to find the strength to be who they are, without the poison of guilt, fear or regret.  In my upcoming release, Polished, Spencer Hartley makes a long journey to find comfort in his needs and desires.  That kind of struggle is a painful one if the steps taken are wrought with doubt and judgment.  Good thing there are happy endings in my stories.  Even better is the fact that there are now so many in real life.

We are moving in the right direction.  The hearings on marriage equality today made me giddy with hope that HEA will soon be a right for everyone!