crowd with a sign that read I LOVE MY GAY SON. I’m not sure how much faith I put in that rumor, though. I can’t imagine any parent carrying a sign like that, here or anywhere else.
“Sharon! Tammy! Hey!” I recognized Evelyn’s voice, and I waved with a smile. She was wearing dark sunglasses and a white T-shirt that said WOULD YOU WANT MICHELANGELO TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN ART? It was also very obvious she wasn’t wearing a bra under it, but then, a few minutes earlier I’d seen two women walk by with no shirts at all. “You missed an awesome show last night.”
“Oh, right, sorry,” I said, while Tammy’s smile faded. “We were going to go after work, but…uh, something came up.”
“It’s cool.” Evelyn grinned and waved at the marching band going by. They were playing a startlingly upbeat version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” while men in short red shorts and bright white knee socks twirled batons. “Next time, right?”
“Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater.” Leonard’s voice sang out from behind Evelyn. She stepped aside as Leonard and Dean maneuvered toward us through the sea of people. I was about to introduce them to Tammy, but before I could say anything Dean pushed through the crowd and plastered his face onto my brother’s.
“What the—?” I lunged forward, my instincts telling me to pull Dean off before he hurt Peter, but Tammy laughed and grabbed my arms.
“Oh, my God, you two,” she said, laughing. “Your kid sister’s right here, man.”
“Oh, shit.” It was Dean who answered, drawing back from Peter in an instant. “Sorry. You okay, Sharon?”
“I’m fine,” I mumbled, wishing I could turn myself invisible.
The others were still laughing, but Peter was blushing, too. My brother doesn’t blush as often as I do, but when he does, he turns an even brighter shade of tomato-pink.
“Hey, were you at that meeting on Briggs a couple of weeks ago?” Evelyn asked Dean. “I thought I saw you there.”
“Oh, yeah! One of your friends gave my boss a ride home on her bike. I was so jealous. I’ve always wanted to ride one of those.”
“You mean you haven’t? Oh, my God, it’s amazing. You have to get somebody to give you a ride—it’s such a rush.”
Evelyn and Dean got into a very enthusiastic discussion of motorcycles while I ordered the blood to stop rushing to my cheeks.
“Dean’s cute.” Tammy waved at a float carrying a few nervous-looking politicians dressed in shirts and ties. “Well done, Peter.”
“I mean, I don’t know that I’ve done anything…” Peter bit his lip and glanced my way, but I kept my gaze fixed firmly on the parade. His cheeks were luminescent. “We’re friends, that’s all.”
“Yeah, that’s totally how I greet all my friends…” Tammy sounded as if she was going to tease him more, but then trailed off as she glanced my way, too.
I tried to steady my breathing. I was still in shock.
Did my brother go around kissing guys in public all the time? What if someone saw?
Last year a gay man was stabbed to death right in this neighborhood. It was on the news for weeks.
“Whoa, look at that float.” At first I thought Peter was only trying to change the subject, but I followed his gaze past a large contingent of men marching over the cable-car tracks with NO ON BRIGGS! signs, and over to a pickup truck with eight young kids crammed in the back. A sign taped to the side read LESBIANS WANT THE RIGHT TO BE ORDINARY MOMS.
“Are those seriously kids of gay people?” Peter asked.
I shook my head. “How’s that possible?”
“Anything’s possible.” Tammy bounced on her toes. “It’s a whole new world.”
I couldn’t help smiling. “Is this how you pictured Gay Freedom Day?”
“Just about.” Tammy beamed at a group of women marching past us. One of them was waving a hand-lettered sign that said PRESERVE ABORTION RIGHTS. Two others, dressed in flip-flops, halter tops, and cutoff shorts that barely covered their underwear, were walking with their arms around each other’s waists. The words GAYS FOREVER were