“The thing is,” Jason said when they
all had coffees in front of them, “I've got something to tell you. I didn't
want to say anything before, because I was … I was ashamed. Because of my
money, because of my arrogance I didn't help Brent until too late. It was my
fault he died. And I blamed my money for
making me arrogant. So what I decided was
that I would do without my money, it could rot, as far as I was concerned. And so could my so-called friends in England.
They always despised Brent, not because—not just
because he was gay—but even more because he was working class. And I did nothing about it. He was worth ten
of them.” He stopped and stared
away. When he looked back at them he had
tears in his eyes. He swallowed, and
produced an unconvincing grin. “Anyway,
I've decided to stay here in Australia. I'm going to found a home for gay kids who've
been thrown out of their homes by their parent.
So they won't have to go on the streets. Like you had to, Keith.”
“Cool!”—“Genius!”—“Wonderful!” His
three friends were enthusiastic. Cody
didn’t speak, but he nodded, unwilling to be a wowser.
Jason held up his hand. “Wait.
The thing is”—he looked away as he said this—“the thing is that I haven't
been honest with you all. Nobody knows this. It's … kind of embarrassing
The others watched him. “We won't
judge you, said Esmé gently. “We're your friends.”
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