A few days after the naming ceremony, Tyler needed to pick the boys up from school since his mother had an appointment.
As they were driving along, Jack asked, “What’s a fag?”
Tyler looked up into the rear view mirror. “What?”
“A fag. What is it?” Jack repeated.
Tyler felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle.
“It’s a bad word,” Eddie said. “It’s like the ‘N’ word.”
“But Daddy and Ward ain’t black people,” Jack said.
“You dufus. Course they ain’t black people. It don’t mean the same as the ‘N’ word, It means something different, but just as bad,” Eddie said.
Tyler’s heart sank. “Where did you hear that word?” he asked, trying to keep his voice casual.
“Tommy Erlich says his dad says that’s what you and Ward are.”
Tommy was the son of Hank Erlich, who worked at the mill and h
