What About Max?
Written by Brody Levesque
Two
The next thing I know, Max's black Lab, Brutus, is crawling up into my lap and enthusiastically licking my face. Eww, nasty dog slobber is getting all over me and down the front of my hoodie. I angrily shove him off me and look up as my Dad walks in from the garage. He stops and glances down at me.
"Is there a reason you've decided to take up residence on the floor, Megs?"
He looks worried and I really don't want to tell him that I passed out, so I just blow it off.
"Um, nah, Brutus and Lacy were just so happy to see me that I kinda got knocked over."
He shakes his head, picks up the mail from the counter-top next to me and starts to sort through it. My Mom walks in and my Border Collie, Lacy, immediately starts to dance around Mom's feet, her tail going ninety miles an hour as Mom reaches down and pets her. I get up off the floor and head over to the fridge to grab a soda. This all seems so normal for us, everyday stuff, yet there's the fact that I can't hear Max's laughter as he teases me or my Mom and Dad about who-knows-what, like he always does. Even Brutus and Lacy seem to sense that something is really wrong; they won't leave us alone now. Usually it's 'greet me, pet me, feed me, let me out to go potty and then I'll find a place to crash.' Now, they're all tangled up around our feet, going back and forth between us, which is starting to get really annoying.
I grab a Dr. Pepper out of the fridge, open it, take a swig, and as I lean back against the counter watching my parents, I can see out the front dining room window that faces the street. The press parasites haven't left; actually, there's more of them, oh joy. 'Crap, guess I'll have to dip out through the backyard when I go to school if they're still out there in the morning.' I let loose a huge, disgusting belch. Dad looks up from the mail - I'm sure he means to yell at me for being rude - but before he can say anything, I point them out to him.
Mom walks up behind him and hugs him as she leans into him and says to me: "They'll be gone in a while, Megs. Your father and I are going to head upstairs and you ought to head up, too, and get some rest. Don't worry about that nonsense, sweetie; it'll go away, okay?"
I nod my head. Mom lets go of my dad, comes over to me and gives me a hug, then smiles. She reaches up to gently brush my hair back out of my eyes like she always does.
"Meghan, honey, it's going to be difficult for the next few days and you need to know that your father and I love you very much. We love both of you very much. I am going to trust God that he'll take good care of Max until Maxey wants to wake up." She leans into me again and I squeeze her tightly.
'Maxey?! God, he hates it when she calls him that - well, at least he says he does.'
She quickly releases me. "So, Meghan, you just need to trust God, too. Now, do you want to go to school tomorrow or would you rather stay home?"
I look at my Dad and he gives me that gentle smile of his, the one that makes his face all wrinkly. "I agree with your mom, Megs. If you don't want to go, stay home. The staff will understand and I can call the school's office for you in the morning."
I take a swig from my soda and think about it for a minute. 'Nah,' I decide, 'I'd rather have my friends - and Max's, too - around me.'
"No thanks Dad, Mom. I'm gonna go if that's okay with you guys."
Mom looks concerned. "Are you sure, honey?"
"Yeah, Mom, I'll be okay. I'm sure."
"Okay Meghan, you go get some sleep and I'll drive you to school in the morning before I go back to the hospital."
"Thanks Mom, yeah that's cool."
She smiles, then kisses me on my forehead and turns to my Dad. "Troy? I'm going go upstairs now. The dogs need to be let out before we go to bed and don't forget to reset the alarm."
He nods, gives her another hug and then kisses her. He looks at me. "Megs? If you're hurting, sweetie, let's hear it, okay? None of this is anywhere close to normal and I don't expect you to be able to handle it, honey."
I put my soda down on the counter and go over and grab my Dad, hugging him hard. "I just don't understand, Daddy, why anybody would want to kill Max. He never hurt anyone and he is just, so, well, you know, he just..." I don't feel like crying, because now I feel a new sense of anger building up over all of this and I tense up.
"Megs? We'll get through this. Max..." he sighs. "Max is gonna be okay, honey, and let's face it sweetie, he may be small, but your brother is one tough little shit." I snort at his cussing.
He leans me back and looks into my eyes, "Sweetie, it's gonna be tough, but you can do it. You need to be tough for yourself and for Max, too. You can talk to me any time that you need to, Megs. Don't hesitate, please?" He smiles at me again. "I'm gonna let the dogs out for their romp. Why don't you head up to your room. Okay? Oh and close the drapes, we really don't need an audience."
"Okay Dad. Thanks." He grins at me as I head into the front of the house to close the drapes. As I head back through the kitchen to grab my soda, I look out through the sliding glass door to the backyard patio and I can see the dogs running around. Then I notice that my Dad is smoking a cigarette. 'Oh boy, Mom is gonna give him some serious shit when she smells that on him.' It's a major no-no in our house. Of course, nasty or not, I don't blame him. He turns around and sees that I'm staring at him. With a somewhat guilty expression on his face, he shrugs and then makes a pointing gesture which I know means, 'Go to bed now.' I hold up my soda to show him why I was in the kitchen and then cheerfully wave at him, which makes him shake his head, as I head upstairs to my room.
The television in Mom and Dad's room is blaring away as I walk down the hallway. I stop and stick my head in my parent's room, and see that Mom is sitting in front of her vanity, taking off her make-up. She looks up and sees that I'm leaning up against the doorway, staring at her.
"Are you okay honey? Do you need to talk about it?"
'Wow, she looks so different without her make-up on.'
"Um, nah Mom, it's cool. Ah, goodnight, um, I love you."
"I love you too, Meghan. Get some rest and I'll see you in the morning." She turns back to the mirror and it's so sad to see the way she looks; to me, she seems seriously Grandma-age old right now.
As I walk into my room, my cell vibrates at me. I can see a ton of new texts and missed calls on its screen, but I just don't feel like dealing with all that crap right now. I turn the thing off and plug it into its charger on my desk. As I change for bed, I can hear Dad coming up the stairs and then their TV's volume suddenly seems to get louder. I poke my head out to listen and I can hear the eleven o'clock news coming on.
"Live and in HD, it's ABC7 News at 11 with Leon Harris and Maureen Bunyan. ABC7 News; always on your side."
"Good Evening; Maureen has the night off. Tonight, Montgomery County Maryland Police are searching for the person or persons who shot and seriously wounded a seventeen-year-old Bethesda high school student, who was walking on his way to school early this morning at around seven am. Reporting live from the scene of the shooting is ABC7's Kris Van Cleave."
"Good evening Leon. I'm standing at the corner of Whitter Boulevard and Lenox Roads in Bethesda, approximately a half mile from the victim's home. According to a spokesperson for the Montgomery County Police Department, seventeen year old Maxwell Galloway - a junior at Walt Whitman Senior High, located just three blocks north on Whitter Boulevard behind me - was walking west here along Lenox Road when a small, silver colored sedan pulled up alongside of him and fired at least five shots, critically wounding the teenager.
"According to witnesses, there was some profanity shouted at Galloway from inside the car, prior to shots ringing out, including some slurs that were described as homophobic in nature. As the witnesses, the majority of whom were also Whitman students, dove for cover, one of them managed to get a partial license plate number and a description of the vehicle. The witnesses also described the vehicle as having more than one occupant, besides the driver. For more on that, we go to ABC7's Gail Pennybacker who is standing by live at Montgomery County Police Headquarters in Rockville. Gail?"
"Good evening Kris, Leon. A Montgomery County Police spokesperson, speaking for Chief Thomas Manger's office, told ABC7 News that detectives are searching tonight for either a 2003 or 2004 silver Honda Accord four-door sedan with Maryland tags. Police said that the partial letters and numbers on the license plates were JCR dash 6 and two unknown numbers. Police are asking for the public's help in this case. Anyone who has seen this vehicle or knows anything about this shooting is asked to please contact them or the Montgomery County Crime Stoppers program. Reporting live from Rockville, I'm Gail Pennybacker, ABC7 News. Back to you, Leon."
"Thanks Gail. For more reactions to today's shooting, we now go live to ABC7's Kathy Park, who is standing by in front of the Galloway home in Bethesda. Kathy?"
"Good evening Leon. Tonight, this normally quiet suburban neighborhood is stunned and shocked at the violence that filled its streets earlier today. Residents that we spoke to said that they found this incident frightening, and are alarmed that the shooting happened at a time when so many children were headed for school. We also spoke with the principal of Walt Whitman High School, who told us that extra counselors and crisis intervention teams will be available to assist students and parents tomorrow, and for the rest of this week.
"Earlier this evening, we tried to get a response from the Galloway family as they exited from Bethesda National Naval Hospital Center, but they declined to comment and have not returned phone calls from us. Reporting Live in Bethesda, I'm Kathy Park, ABC7 News. Back to you."
"Thank-you Kathy. According to Bethesda Naval Hospital spokesman Lieutenant Commander Richard Perkins, since time was extremely critical due to the life-threatening injuries sustained, the decision was made to transport Galloway there because of the volume of heavy rush-hour traffic, combined with the ongoing road construction along Old Georgetown Road, which was causing major delays leading to Suburban Hospital's ER. Perkins also said that Galloway underwent six hours of emergency surgery and is tonight recovering in the Intensive Care Unit. This evening, his condition is listed as critical and Perkins said that doctors are not saying what long-term effects the teen faces. Perkins further stated that, citing the family's wishes for privacy, doctors and hospital personnel will not be disclosing any additional information other than to say that his recovery is expected to take some time.
"Now, for our first look at tomorrow's weather, we go live to Doug Hill in the ABC7 News Super Doppler Weather Center. So Doug, can we look forward to more of the..."
The TV is suddenly quiet and I can hear Mom and Dad talking in low voices. My head is pounding from the tension caused by hearing the press parasites discussing what happened to Max. I take a last swig from my now-warm soda - 'yuck' - and undress. As I slip into bed and turn out the light, I ask God to please not let my brother die. 'Shit, I'm not even sure there is a God, but if there is...'
To learn more about what your help can accomplish to continue the work to share the dream of replacing the hate in the world with understanding, compassion, and acceptance please visit MatthewShepard.org
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Creative Commons Copyright License 2009 * U.S. & Canada
Permission is openly granted to copy and distribute this story as long as no changes are made, no derivatives are made, and the author receives mention & credit.
Excerpt from Harvey Milk's "That's What America Is" speech, given on Gay Freedom Day, June 25, 1978 in San Francisco, California used by permission by the estate of Harvey Milk.
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