REV. TOM POV
 

I’m about to re-enter the church when I see Gus, Brian, Justin, Melanie, and Lindsay’s little boy run towards me with a very distraught look on his face.  Once he reaches me, he hands me a cell phone and yells, “Call 911!  Some lady hit and shot my Daddy!”

 

My eyes go wide, but rather than waste time asking questions I tell Gus to take me to his Daddy as I’m dialing.

 

As I’m talking to the dispatcher, I see Justin lying on the ground and give the dispatcher his approximate location.  I’m off the phone by the time Gus and I reach Justin.

 

“Justin, what happened?”  I ask him.

 

“Joan hit me in the head with her wine bottle then she shot me.”

 

I’m shocked.  I know how Joan feels about homosexuals.  Truth be told that is not the only reason I really can’t stand the woman, but I never thought she could reach such a low.  From the stories I’ve heard of not only Brian’s childhood, but his relationship with his mother throughout his adulthood, the amount of physical as well as mental and emotional abuse he endured from the hands of both his parents is still unfathomable to me; and even though she may have been emotionally and mentally abusive to Brian, I can’t believe she would be violent against Justin!  That just proves how little she knows her son, because anyone who knows both of them knows that if you hurt one of them in any way, the other will tear you apart.

 

Justin tells me to call Brian, but a second later an ambulance arrives.  One of the EMTs tells me that I can’t go since I’m not family and Gus can’t either because he’s too young.  I don’t try to argue.  I just tell Gus we’re going to meet his Daddy and the emergency people at the hospital.  Once we’re in the waiting room, I go through Justin’s cell phone’s address book and find Brian’s cell phone number.  As I press ‘Send’ I prepare for what I know will be the hardest thing I will ever have to do in my life:  Tell a man that his mother has attempted to kill his husband, who is now in a hospital fighting for his life.