Spark Read Free Page B

something was different about him, but to lose control of his body in such a public place where his secret could’ve so easily been discovered was terrifying, especially when he considered he had to shower after gym again and again with these boys for years to come. When he’d arrived at home, he uncharacteristically mouthed off to his sister, telling her to stay out of his life when she simply asked about his day as usual.
    He was vile to her for weeks, but Charisse didn’t take it personally. Instead, she showed him she still loved him with gentle touches to his shoulders or a soft smile over the dinner table after making him his favorite meal, Tater Tot hotdish. Everyone was on edge at the time, but somehow, his sister had found a way to let Hugo’s shitty attitude roll of her back.
    When they finally found out their father’s diagnosis was Stage I pancreatic cancer and that the prognosis was grim even though it was discovered early, Hugo broke down and finally let his sister back in. Being gay seemed like nothing compared to the near-certainty of losing his dad. He told her he was gay that night while they lay together in their parents’ bed waiting for them to come home.
    “I know, baby,” she’d said, soothing him with broad strokes of her palm over his forehead and hair. “I know.”
    Charisse.
    Summer and Charisse were the two most important people in his life. They were the only ones that he ever shared how his father’s death made Hugo wonder who was going to show him what being a man was really about. He was gay and already a bit on the femme side if he didn’t watch himself too closely—especially on the femme side for a rural town like Austin. He had no uncles, no close male friends, so he worried.
    When Hugo was sixteen, his father finally succumbed to the cancer. Rather than grieving, Hugo decided he would put his energy into being the man of the family, putting others’ needs before his own, working hard at school and his job, doing what he could despite being the youngest. He was very thankful for the help his dad had provided the previous summer by talking to the laboratory manager about finding Hugo a job. Even though Hugo wasn’t sixteen until the middle of August, he was able to work the summer between his sophomore and junior years in high school at Hormel, well-known in southern Minnesota and the world for making SPAM.
     
     
    “H EY .” Summer’s breath washed across Hugo’s ear as she spoke. “What’s going on? You look a million miles away.”
    Hugo bit his lower lip then brought his wine glass back to his mouth and took a lazy sip before shaking his head and resting his forearms on his bent knees again. “Just thinking.”
    “About?”
    Hugo shrugged and wrinkled his nose, embarrassed to admit where his mind had gone.
    “Come on, Hugo. If you can’t tell me, who can you tell?”
    By that point, several pairs of eyes were directed at the night-and-day pair as if attempting to eavesdrop, probably to see if there was more to their relationship than the mere friendship Summer had touted. Summer seemed to notice and pulled on Hugo’s arm as she rose and walked toward the water’s edge. He followed, not really interested in having their conversation overheard, let alone speculated about.
    After he kicked off his shoes and submerged his toes in the cool water, Hugo looked to Summer, the friend who knew almost all his secrets. He took a deep breath and gave her a crooked smile, which spoke volumes about how reticent he was to share his thoughts.
    “I guess…. It’s embarrassing to say, but I think I’m jealous you still talk to people from your hometown. I don’t talk to anyone. It makes me sad, actually.”
    Summer reached for Hugo’s hand and threaded her fingers through his as she rested her temple on his arm. “I’m sorry. I thought you stopped talking with people from Austin because of what you’d experienced there, how you couldn’t really be yourself.”
    “Yeah,