pointed out a tall man with short, nearly black hair. “That’s Kevin.”
“Where’s he work?” I asked.
“He’s in vice, right now, but he’s looking to move.”
“Where does he want to transfer to?”
“Homicide, or preternatural,” she said.
Ah, I was seeing why she was sitting with us now, and why she’d apologized. She was doing politics for her husband like a good spouse does, and I was in a position to give a good word for Kevin Appleton to the preternatural squad if I wasn’t pissed about the whole lusting-after-my-boyfriend thing earlier. Or maybe Jamie really was sorry, and especially so because our “kids” were playing together. Maybe, and maybe Santa Claus was a friend of mine, or was I being too cynical? Maybe, but I doubted it.
“How long has he been in vice?” I asked.
“Five years.”
“Most people need a change after that long,” I said.
“Would you want to transfer?” she asked.
I thought about it, and finally said, “I’m not sure. My skill sets are a little specialized to work anywhere else.”
One of the little girls shrieked. It made us all look up. The little boy across from Matthew was trying to hit him, but the table was too wide, so he’d climbed onto the table and headed for Matthew.
The three of us were up and moving toward the fight, as were a lot of the adults. Matthew got up from the table and tried to avoid the other boy, but he’d waited too long, and the other boy launched himself at Matthew and down they went.
It was Zerbrowski’s son, Greg, who got there first, because he’d been forced to sit at the little kids table; at twelve he had resented it. He grabbed a glass of ice water and dumped it on the fighters. By the time we got there, any adult got there, the little boys were silent, wet, and panting, still entangled, but not really fighting anymore.
I picked up Matthew and a man I didn’t know got the other little boy. They both had dark straight hair, olive complexions, and the same bone structure; other than the man having pale gray eyes and the boy having brown they looked like mirrors of each other.
Matthew was crying, arms locked around my neck. His curls and shirt were damp as he clung to me. “Matthew, are you hurt?” I asked. I wanted to make him let go so I could check him for injuries, but somehow it seemed more important to hold him right at that moment.
Jamie Appleton was holding her little girl, Becky. Her face had blood on it. I was betting the other little boy’s foot had caught her as he went over the table. Kevin Appleton was making his way through the crowd.
Nathaniel was patting Matthew’s hair, trying to get him to look up so we could see him better. Micah hovered around us all, but he kept his attention on the other father. I realized that it hadn’t occurred to me that the fight could spread from the children to the adults. It was stupid of me to let my guard down just because I had a little kid wrapped around me crying, but it was like the feel of him in my arms had hit a switch and all I could think of was, Is Matthew hurt? Is he okay? Other than looking at the boy and man, I hadn’t really seen them as a threat. Stupid, but luckily Micah hadn’t forgotten that everyone can be a potential threat under the right circumstances.
The dark-haired boy was bigger than Matthew, but I wasn’t sure he was older. The man was asking him, “What happened? You know the rules on fighting, Cyrus.”
“He’s gay,” Cyrus said, and his face was hateful as he said it.
The man looked embarrassed. “Cyrus, apologize.”
Matthew raised a tear-stained face from my shoulder. “Gay isn’t bad,” he said, his lower lip still quivering, tears still trailing down his face.
The father asked, “What did you say?”
Micah said, “We’ve taught Matthew that no sexual orientation is bad, it’s just the way that people come into this world.”
The man stared at Micah. “Why would you . . .” Then he looked from Micah to Nathaniel and me. “Oh, yeah, I forgot.”
“Forgot what?” I asked, and my tone was enough to make Micah touch my shoulder.
“That everyone says your boyfriends are . . .” He stopped as if not sure how to finish the sentence.
“My boyfriends are what?” I asked.
“Let’s not do this in front of the kids,” he said.
I said, “We’re teaching Matthew that no sexual orientation is bad, and that love between consenting adults is always precious and should be valued. What are you teaching little Cyrus?”
The man’s face clouded up, the beginnings of anger, or maybe I’d hit a sore spot.
Kevin Appleton was holding a napkin to his little girl’s nose. “Your kid bloodied my little girl. What kind of boy kicks a girl in the face?”
“Cyrus, did you kick her?”
“No, Daddy, I don’t hit girls.”
“He did, too,” Becky said, pushing her father’s hand away, so she could point a dramatic finger. “He kicked me, in the face!”
Zerbrowski and Katie were there now, trying to figure out what to do with their guests, but it was their son, Greg, who said, “Excuse me, excuse me, everybody.”
Zerbrowski had to use his cop voice to say, “Everybody shut up for a minute.”
We all looked at him.
Greg looked a little uncomfortable with everyone staring at him. He had his father’s dark curls, but Katie’s delicate bone structure, so he was a pretty kid, and looked even younger than twelve. “I know what started the fight.”
“Tell us?” Zerbrowski said, his hand on his son’s shoulder.
“Cyrus here told Matthew that only gay boys played with girls. Matthew said that he liked to play with girls and boys. He totally didn’t get that he was being insulted. Cyrus asked, ‘What does that mean?’ The little blonde girl told Cyrus that he was being boring just like at school and kissed Matthew on the cheek, that’s when Cyrus tried to hit him.”
Cyrus’s father looked at his son. “Is that true?”
Cyrus wouldn’t look at his dad, or anyone else. It was hard to look tough when you’re being held in someone’s arms, but he did his best to pull it off, even crossing beefy arms across his chest.
“Cyrus, I asked you a question, don’t make me ask twice.”
“Yes,” he finally said, very sullen.
“I don’t know what got into him, but I’m sorry.”
Kevin Appleton said, “When Becky does something wrong she does her own apologizing.”
Cyrus’s father glared at Appleton, but he said, “Apologize to the little girl, Cyrus.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt her. I wanted to hurt him!” He pointed his own dramatic finger at Matthew.
“Matthew didn’t start the fight, Cyrus, you did. Apologize to both of them, now.”
He turned a pouting face to Becky. “I’m sorry I hurt you, I didn’t mean to.”
“I don’t accept!” Becky said. Her eyes were dark and furious. I liked her.
“Now, apologize to Matthew.”
“Won’t,” Cyrus said. It was a very firm word, he meant it.
“Cyrus, apologize, now.”
“Won’t.”
“Maybe if you told him what he’s apologizing for,” Nathaniel said.
The father looked puzzled. “He knows what he’s apologizing for.”
“Is he apologizing for the fight, trying to call Matthew bad names, or being jealous?” Nathaniel asked.
“I don’t even understand that,” the man said.
“Are you sorry you called Matthew names?” Nathaniel asked.
Cyrus looked daggers at him, but finally said, “I’m sorry I called you names.”
“Do you accept his apology?” I asked, Matthew softly.
