My Hero

His bearded face is alive with excitement.

"Evening, miss," he says with a bob of his head, and then pulls me aside. I wave a confused farewell to the teacher.

"I just talked to a publisher!" Otis almost shouts, positively wiggling with joy. "He was checking out our landscape piece, I told him all about the book you and me are doing, and he's very interested in it. They want to see a draft ASAP, and if they like what they see, they're run a print of it!"

This is huge news. Everyone always says the exhibitions are a great place to find work, but I didn't actually think it was true.

"Do you actually want to publish the book?" I ask, a little wary. My project is of self-healing. I had never really thought about sharing it with anyone else outside the two of us, let alone with the masses.

"It's good, babe. It's better than good. You should have seen how interested he was. I showed him some of our sketches and he loves the artwork."

I can feel my frown turning into an uncertain smile. The thought of publishing a graphic novel honestly has me feeling a little giddy. I remember Otis telling me his dream job growing up was to be a comic book artist, and the thought of working with him settles it for me.

"Yes, let's do it."

My professional future is no longer some obscure, hazy goal. I can see what I want to do now and who I want to do it with, and it is within reach.

"Crap -- it's not even close to being done yet!"

Otis cuts his hours at the bar to help me finish my draft, and every break I take at work is devoted to editing the dialogue and reviewing the panels on my laptop. I turn down freelance work and Matt play-time to get our draft out by the deadline. We get notes on our draft from the editor, and a month of hard work, re-writing and all-nighters later and we officially have a graphic novel published under our names.

It's very well received by the gay geek and bear community, and there's even a modest book signing event. All of the people who show up are gay friendly -- most of them large, boisterous bears -- as well as our friends from Exile. But to my amazement, standing meekly in middle of the crowd and looking lost are my parents.

Both of them.

My mother gives me a timid wave and my breath catches in my throat. I haven't seen or heard from her in months, not since she cut me off from her life.

I wave back uncertainly, and she turns to Dad with a hopeful smile.

I can see what it's costing her to be standing in a room filled with male couples. She's uncomfortable, but she's trying to change her views. With Otis's advice in my mind, I march right up to her and give her a hug.

"I forgive you, Mum," I whisper, and she breaks down into tears. Otis high fives my father.

A few weeks after the launch of our first book, we decide to leave our jobs at Exile to pursue our dreams.

**

I start and complete several other projects with Otis over the years, ranging from major advertisements to starting and completing an original graphic novel series. We form an independent company and work closely with Janet and Kyle on major collaborative projects, and contact the art school when we need more talented artists who want paid industry experience.

Our very first graphic novel launched our careers years ago, but I still find myself thinking about it all the time.

I think about it every morning when I wake up next to my husband, and every night when I'm snuggled and feeling loved in his arms. I think about it every time we pick up Kaylee, our 4-month old daughter, and she smiles and gurgles happily at her dads.

You see, the story captured in those 319 pages are set and done. It's a chapter of my life that I can share with the rest of the world, and hope it inspires love and growth in anyone who reads it. But my story with Otis Sideris is unending, and every day we share together is a new page in our book.