Free Saints of Augustine by P. E. Ryan Page A

of them called me a fag. I assumed it was the shirt.”
    Melissa groaned. “People are such assholes.”
    Justin shrugged. “I didn’t care. I felt like saying, ‘How very astute,’ but I didn’t think they’d know what astute meant.”
    He looked down at his yogurt and stirred it with his plastic spoon. Melissa glanced at Sam and mouthed the word Wow .
    Sam felt his hands threaten to knock things over again. He folded his arms across his chest.
    â€œSo,” Melissa said, “you’re an old-movie buff.”
    â€œYou could say that. How did you know?”
    â€œNot many people go around mentioning Montgomery Clift.”
    â€œThey should,” Justin said. “ A Place in the Sun is one of the greatest movies of all time.”
    â€œI just watched The 400 Blows ,” Sam blurted out, wanting to contribute something.
    â€œTruffaut,” Justin said. “It’s a masterpiece. Did you like it?”
    â€œIt was great.”
    â€œI love that last, long shot where you think something awful is about to happen, but nothing does. It’s so powerful.”
    â€œHey,” Melissa said, “you should come over to my house Monday night. I’ve been having this disaster movie fest, and a group of us are going to watch The Poseidon Adventure .”
    â€œI love The Poseidon Adventure !” Justin said. Then, in a gentle voice that sounded like it belonged to someone else, he said, “What’s your name, honey?”
    â€œNonnie,” Melissa said, getting into it.
    â€œNonnie, your brother’s dead.”
    Melissa clapped. “Red Buttons! Very good!”
    Justin looked at Sam. “Will you be there?”
    â€œMe? Oh, I—yeah, I’ll be there.”
    â€œCool,” Justin said, grinning. “We’ll all go down together.”
    Melissa grabbed a napkin from the counter. She wrote down her address and phone number and handed it to Justin, who scribbled on a second napkin. This he tore in half and handed a part to each of them. “That’s my phone, and my e-mail.”
    â€œThanks!” Melissa said, tucking the paper into her pocket.
    Sam just stared down, amazed that he was holding it.
    â€œYou guys are great,” Justin said around a spoonful of yogurt. “I should get going, though. I’ve got to find my mom a birthday present. Something ceramic and nauseatingly cute. So…see you on Monday?”
    â€œDefinitely,” Melissa said. “I’ll send you the info.”
    â€œWell, it was great meeting you both,” Justin said.
    A moment later he was walking away from the Goody-Goody, the words FOLLOW IT receding into the food court and then out into the mall.
    â€œWell,” Melissa said, turning back to Sam, “ that was interesting.”
    â€œYeah,” Sam said. “He’s nice. You two really seemed to hit it off.”
    She laughed and tossed her empty cup into the trash can next to Sam’s hip. “Actually, you two were the ones who were hitting it off. But I can pretend I didn’t notice, if you want me to.”
    Â 
    Wow . Riding his bike home from the mall, Sam could still see Melissa mouthing the word to him, after Justin’s blatant admission that he was gay. It hadn’teven been an admission; he’d offered the information. Sam had never known any one to just come forward with something like that before. And now Justin’s phone number and e-mail address were traveling home in Sam’s pocket. Never mind the fact that he’d probably never get up the nerve to use either one. It was all pretty amazing.
    But another remark Melissa had made had caught him completely off guard—that crack about offering to pretend she didn’t notice what was going on between him and Justin. The implication was that Sam was…or that Sam might be… Man , he thought, you can’t even say it to yourself! Had he ever told her anything