Chapter 78

At first, the manager wasn’t much better than the clerk had been, but as soon as Gus uttered the word “discrimination,” the manager became very accommodating. His voice dripped of honey, and he apologized a thousand times.

In the end, he even offered Gus a substantial discount on his purchase. Gus recognized a bribe when it stared him in the face, so he left the store with a warning.

“If I ever hear someone else being treated like this in your store, I’m calling the newspapers. Got it?”

The manager paled but nodded and promised, and Gus walked out with Luca’s ring.

Gus couldn’t wait to slide it on Luca’s finger. To look him in the eyes and say the vows he’d written and memorized by heart a long time ago. He wanted nothing more than to hear the officiant pronounce them husbands, and he yearned for their first kiss as a married couple.

Thirty-two minutes. Gus sighed.