Ashers POV
Six days before the exhibition I did something I hadn't done in months. I called my parents. Not because I was avoiding them but mostly because I didn't know how to explain where I'd been or what I'd been doing. Those conversations needed more than a phone call. Couldn't wait for an in-person visit, which was complicated with France and a border between worlds.
I called my mum first. She picked up on the ring like she always did, with the phone nearby just for me.
"Asher " she said. Just my name, in her voice that had been saying it since before I knew it was mine.
"Hi Mum " I said.
There was a pause. She was deciding whether to lead with relief or a gentle version of "where have you been". She chose relief.
"You sound different " she said.
"I am different " I said. "A bi
