Michael and Freddy had spent much of Saturday afternoon in separate parts of their house, but by that evening, they were relaxing in bed together as if nothing wrong had occurred earlier on. Despite Michael’s feelings, he relished in the strong, but gentle embrace of his lover. Though Freddy had spent much of the time thinking about his life, his career and his son, he put those feelings aside, as his stroked his lover’s hair and peppered his forehead with occasional kisses. Even though they didn’t have sex that evening, they felt a temporary state of euphoria from their mutual contact; one that would not last.
By Sunday evening, Evan had returned from his friend’s slumber party, in a seemingly better mood than when he left the day before. When he walked in the front door, he gave Michael a great big hug, but noticeably gave Freddy the cold shoulder. After excusing himself to his room, Michael leaned into Freddy’s ear and whispered.
“You better take Evan to the park to play soccer on Saturday. If you don’t, he’ll never forgive you.”
“I can’t promise that, Michael. You already know this.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Michael went upstairs, as Freddy stood in silence. After a few moments passed by, he retired to his bedroom for the evening and fell asleep embracing Michael.
The week that followed passed by as it usually did. Freddy got up early and spent long days in and out of the office and the court house. Evan went to school and was picked up in the afternoon. Michael ran errands, cleaned up around the house and scheduled doctors appointments for himself, Freddy and Evan. All in all, a relatively normal and uneventful series of weekdays. That was until that Friday night.
Freddy had a lighter load of work than usual that fateful Friday. A few clients to see, some of whom were in desperate straits, but otherwise less than he would have normally expected. By the time five o clock rolled around, he was given the thumbs up by the head of the firm to go home for the weekend. Feeling relieved, Freddy quickly made his way to his car and drove/flew through his commute to make his way home.
Inside the house, Michael was preparing dinner, while Evan struggled with his biology homework.
“Ugh” Evan groaned. “This homework is so hard.”
“If you wait until after dinner” Michael replied “I can look over it with you to see where you might be struggling.”
“Thanks dad. I just wish papa could help me out every once in a while.”
“Trust me, Evan. You wouldn’t want Freddy helping you out with this. He was never that great of a student in school. I was always the better student and I’m sure I could figure this out better than he could.”
Just as Michael finished his thought, he heard the front door open. Turning to it, he could see Freddy hanging up his coat and gently closing the door behind him.
“Hi Michael” Freddy said with a beaming smile. “I got off from work at a normal time today.”
“Oh good” Michael replied, as he continued preparing dinner. “When you’ve settled in, maybe you can help Evan with his homework.”
“But I thought you said…” Evan eked out, before Michael gave him a dirty look.
“He said what?” Freddy asked, as he made his way into the kitchen.
“Nothing” Michael replied, continuing to glare at his son. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Yes you did” Evan interjected. “You said that Freddy wasn’t a very good student and you’d be better at helping me with my homework than he could.”
“Hey!” Freddy exclaimed, feeling insulted by this remark. “For your information, I was a very good student.”
“Later on in life” Michael replied. “Certainly not when we were in high school.”
“I thought you said you didn’t say anything.”
“I didn’t.”
“He’s lying” Evan corrected.
“But even if I had” Michael continued, as his expression towards his son grew stiffer “that was the God honest truth. In terms of science, which is what Evan is struggling with, you were a very bad student.”
“I can hold my own, Michael” Freddy insisted. “Here, let me take a look at it.”
Freddy pulled up a chair and sat beside his son. Glancing over the information on the screen, Freddy already knew that this was way out of his comfort zone. Not wanting to admit this, Freddy decided to pretend he understood what was in front of him.
“So this right here explains about the origin of cells” Freddy continued. “This explains about how the cell protects itself from the elements. It’s surrounded by a shield.”
“The cell membrane” Michael interrupted, as he finished making dinner. “Cells are surrounded by a cell membrane.”
“I knew that.”
“You most certainly did not.”
“I did too.”
“Guys!” Evan shrieked. “Can you stop fighting, please? You’re not helping me understand my homework.”
Michael groaned, as he placed the dinner on a serving plate and set it on the table. Freddy continued to look over Evan’s biology homework.
“And this is the nucleus” Freddy pressed on. “It is surrounded by the membrane. This is the case for all cells in existence.”
“That’s not true” Michael replied, as he set down dinner plates and silverware on the table. “Not all cells have nucleuses in the membrane. Only eukaryote cells have nucleuses in the membrane. Prokaryotes cells do not.”
“You know what” Freddy said, as he got up from the dinner table. “I don’t need you correcting me and undermining me in front of my own child.”
“Papa, sit down” Evan said. “Dad stop. Let him help.”
“He’s not helping you if he’s giving you false information” Michael replied.
“I don’t need to hear this” Freddy said with an exasperated tone. “I came home earlier today and this is the treatment I get? I’m out.”
“Papa wait” Evan said, as he watched his father storm out the kitchen. “Come back.”
“Let him go” Michael replied dismissively, as he served himself some roasted ham on a plate. “He wasn’t supposed to be back this early anyway. Let him get whatever is up his ass out of his system and then he’ll come home when he’s ready to act like an adult.”
Freddy slammed the front door behind him, while Evan looked at Michael angrily.
“Dad, you don’t get it" Evan scowled. "I know papa isn’t the smartest person in the world, but I just wanted to spend time with him for once. Why did you have to go and ruin that for me?”
“He’ll spend time with you tomorrow doing something that’s more productive" Michael responded. "Not polluting your mind with misinformation.”
“Well, what if he doesn’t come through tomorrow?”
Michael paused his eating for a moment, as he looked at his son. Evan had a tear rolling down his cheek, which caused Michael to feel guilty for embarrassing Freddy in front of his son.
“He’ll be back” Michael said, trying to reassure his son. “Just give him some time. He’ll be back soon.”
“I hope so” Evan replied with a reluctant tone.
While Michael and Evan quietly ate dinner, Freddy took a long stroll around the neighborhood. He didn’t do it very often, as his work kept him very busy and he would work out at a nearby gym during his lunch hour. In moments like these, under immense pressure and stress, it was nice to breathe in some fresh air and let off some steam. Freddy certainly needed it, considering the tough situation he was currently dealing with.
He wanted to get closer to his son, Evan, but it was very tough for him. Being as Evan wasn’t his own flesh and blood, it was tough to bond with him the way he would with a child of his own. Freddy admired how easily Michael had bonded with him, in spite of knowing who his biological father was. He admired how Michael put aside his own feelings and reservations to support him. Freddy was proud that his husband had such strong character in that way.
Freddy would have felt better if Michael didn’t always have to control everything in regards to their child, though. Part of the reason Freddy had such a hard time bonding with Evan was because Michael had a way of domineering over every and all parenting decisions. Whether it was where he was going to school, who he could be friends with, what kind of food he ate or what kind of punishment he’d get for doing something bad, Michael had the final say over everything regarding the rearing of Evan.
“If he wants me to be more involved in parenting” Freddy thought to himself “then he needs to start letting me parent for once. He can’t make all of these decisions on his own.”
Just as Freddy finished this thought, he heard a commotion a short distance away. Running over to it, he spotted a young black teenager having an argument with three white cops.
“Yo man!” the kid exclaimed. “I didn’t do anything wrong! Why do ya’ll pigs gotta be on my jock all the time!”
“Put your hands behind your back” one of the officers said in a dismissive and nasty tone. “You’re under arrest for petty larceny and theft.”
“But I didn’t do it! You’re falsely arresting me and violating my civil liberties and constitutional rights!”
The town that Freddy and Michael grew up in became increasingly racist and with a firmer police footprint over the years. It started when they were teenagers with the crackdown on drug use in the park. Over time, it expanded to every type of low level offense you could possibly imagine. Soon, just being a kid who wasn’t white was enough to have police officers chasing after you and harassing you non stop.
This type of environment drove most of the minority families who lived in their town away over a short period of time. Twenty years from when they were seniors in high school and their alma mater was 99.9% white, save for the one token black kid. The boy being harassed by the police was that token black kid.
“Hands behind your back” the officer said again.
Freddy had dealt with these types of cases before in Sacramento, where there was more oversight towards abuses of this nature. He knew in almost all of the cases that the police were simply being racist and harassing the kids for no apparent reason. One of the things Freddy had always advised inner city kids to do was record all interactions with police to have their side of the story told. In this particular moment, he was about to take his own advice.
Keeping a relatively safe distance away from the arrest in progress, Freddy pulled out his communication device and set it to his chest. He set it to video mode, before recording the interaction before him.
“Hands behind your back” the officer said, before the cadre of police piled on top of the black kid and began to beat him senselessly.
Freddy would normally want to intervene to try to stop the violence. This would be his natural instinct, especially if it were his son being attacked. However, he knew how the law worked and knew that interfering could lead to a serious charge. Even though he was following protocol by the book, it wasn’t enough to avoid getting himself in trouble for the “crime” of filming abusive cops.
As the battered and bruised kid was lifted up and put into the police vehicle, another officer came towards Freddy.
“Hand over the communication device” the officer said sternly, as he approached Freddy with hand cuffs in one hand.
“Officer” Freddy replied “I’m allowed to record all interactions you have with the public under free speech and public recording rights law.”
“I don’t care what you think the law is. I’m in charge and you are interfering with a lawful arrest. Hand over the communication device.”
“I did not interfere with your arrest. I was simply recording the interaction.”
“You intend to use the footage to make us look bad, which can be construed as an attempt to undermine our authority and prevent us from making lawful arrests in the future. Hand over the communication device now or I will place you under arrest.”
“I’m not handing over my communication device.”
“Then you are under arrest. Hands behind your back.”
Quickly, Freddy placed his communication device on lock down mode, placed it in his pocket and then willingly placed his hands behind his back. Infuriated, the officer kicked Freddy in the groin, which caused him to moan and fall to his knees. Another officer came forward and proceeded to kick Freddy on the ground and cause him to be bruised all over his body.
When they felt he was weak, they placed cuffs on his wrists, lifted him up and then moved him to the police vehicle.
“Officers” Freddy quietly squeaked out. “I need to go to the hospital. I may have damaged something.”
“Save it for the judge” one of the officers responded, as they threw him in to the back of the vehicle.
Closing the door behind him, the officers sat in the front and drove over to the nearby precinct. Once there, Freddy was aggressively lifted up from the back of the vehicle and dragged into the cell. Freddy thought to mention that he was not placed in a seatbelt or protected in any way during the drive over, but decided it was best not to agitate them further.
After being thrown into the cell, Freddy struggled to stand up on his own. Watching him was the black kid from the neighborhood, who looked down on him with pity.
“What are you doing here?” the black kid asked. “White people usually don’t get put into this cell.”
“I was recording the interaction you had with the police” Freddy replied, as he finally got himself up and sat next to the boy on the bench in the cell.
“Oh shit, you serious? If that video quality is clear, then I can clear my name and even potentially get a few bucks.”
Before Freddy could respond, a different police officer opened the door and entered the cell.
“Stand up” the officer commanded to Freddy.
Slowly standing up, the police officer patted down Freddy until he found the communication device in his back pocket.
“I’m taking this into police custody as evidence” the officer said, before he left the cell and locked it behind him.
“Guess that footage is going in the trash now” the black kid said.
Freddy sat down and looked at the boy with a smile on his face. At first, the black kid was confused by this. However, after Freddy gave a few winks, it seemed the subtle body language was made very clear.
“Ah good” the black kid said. “Anyways, my name is Devon. I’ve seen you and your kid around from time to time. Evan, right?”
“That’s my son’s name, yes” Freddy replied. “I’m Freddy, Evan’s father. I’m a public defender and protect kids like you for a living.”
“That’s awesome man” Devon replied. “You don’t know how hard it is around here with the pigs constantly up my ass. I’m a good kid and I don’t do anything wrong, yet I constantly get arrested. Most of the time, the charges just get dismissed by the judge, but sometimes me and my parents have to plea bargain to get the DA to drop them. The only reason the DA even goes through with these bogus arrest charges is because she’s beholden to the mayor.”
“The mayor?”
“Yeah, man. The mayor.”
“But he’s been pretty critical of the police. I’m surprised he’d be sanctioning them to go after you like this.”
“That’s only because the newspapers around here are all owned by the same, right wing guy who is a grade A asshole. He thinks that anyone who isn’t a total bootlicker is an anti-police communist. It’s why all the members of the town council are so fascist on this issue, in spite of the fact that they claim to be ‘liberal minded’ people.”
“I had no idea. They really made it seem like he was someone who hated the police and stabbed them in the back non stop.”
“Please. He may say he's 'concerned' or 'troubled' by some of the things going on, but he doesn't actually do anything to stop it. If you look at his actual policies, how he gives the pig unions millions of dollars each year, how he’s let them get away with murder, literally, how he will hardly ever fire a pig, unless he’s literally forced to, you’ll see he just condones all of this, both with his actions and his words.”
“I honestly never knew all of that. I’ve been so busy in Sacramento that I really never paid attention to what was happening where I live. This has to change. It can’t go on like this anymore.”
“Yeah, it sucks, but I’ve given up on thinking that it’s ever gonna change. When I graduate high school in a few years, I’m planning to get the fuck out of this town and never come back. This country is pretty racist overall, but this is the worst place I’ve ever had the misfortune of being in. It’s non stop harassment 24/7, day in and day out. At a certain point, you just become numb to it.”
“I don’t think it has to be this way. I know I deal with these kinds of cases all the time and…”
“And where does that get us, exactly? Where does it get black people? We’ve been dealing with this shit now for over 300 years now and nothing’s ever changed.”
“I’m sympathetic to what you’re going through.”
“What do you know about what I’m going through?”
Freddy paused for a moment, as Devon stared at him intensely. After a brief silence, Freddy spoke up.
“I had a friend in high school…”
“Oh, so because you knew a black guy in high school, you know all about our shit? Get the fuck out of here, man!”
“No, Devon! I know about your shit because my best friend was killed by the police!”
Devon stared silently, as Freddy began to weep.
“You serious, man?” Devon asked a moment later.
“Yes” Freddy replied coldly. “My best friend in high school, Duane, was killed by the police.”
“Jesus fucking christ. What the hell happened?”
“Duane went to college in Indiana and one night, he and a bunch of other guys from college got drunk and were walking the streets. Instead of being irresponsible assholes by driving home drunk, they walked home from a house party. On their way back, a police car pulled up behind them and an angry officer got out of the car. Most of the other guys scattered, but Duane did what he had been told his whole life and put his hands up in the air. The officer came towards him and Duane must have made a sudden jerk, because the next thing he knew, the officer shot him in the back of the head.”
“Holy fucking shit, man. I’ve heard some bad stories, but that might be one of the worst ones ever.”
Freddy let out some tears, as Devon continued to look at him. Despite feeling the desire to put a hand on his shoulder, Devon could not, as he was still in handcuffs.
“The worst part was” Freddy continued “when the case went to trial, those racist assholes found the officer not guilty of murder or any misconduct. They said Duane had jerked and hence he deserved to die. His hands were up in the air, he had no weapon on him, but because he was underage, had too much to drink and jerked at the wrong moment, his life deserved to end.”
“Man, see this is why America is so fucked up. This shit happens all the time and nothing ever changes.”
Freddy grew quiet and shed a few tears. During this time, another police officer passed by the cell.
“Yo pig!” Devon yelled. “Are we getting out of here anytime soon?”
“Not tonight, punk” the officer replied. “Not until you and that commie are seen by a judge.”
“Oh great” Freddy thought to himself. “Michael is going to be so mad at me when he finds out about this.”
“Man, fuck you pig” Devon replied.
The officer ignored the comment, as he shut off the light and walked past the cell. In the quiet moment of the night, Devon tried to sleep, while Freddy looked up at the ceiling and pondered his fate. What happened to Devon was horrific and the attempts by the police to cover it up compounded the problem. Freddy knew this was wrong and was determined to make this right. In that moment, he came to a life changing decision.
“I’m going to run for mayor” Freddy thought to himself, before he began to doze off. “I’ll make sure what happened to Devon tonight will never happen to anyone else in this town ever again.”
The next day…..