Eddy couldnt stop his laughter. It was punched right out of him, jerked straight out of his gut and he had a stop a moment and just wonder how he got here. The irony was downright vicious.<br/><br/>"Yeah, I know it," Eddy said once the laughing fit subsided.<br/><br/>It was Instagram famous, his statue, controversial in some circles, labeled insipid and pandering by the critiques. Loved by the LGBT community and hated by bigots. The Avenging Gay Angel.<br/><br/>It was a bronze statue of an angel in flight, the model androgynous, with wings made out of nearly a thousand shards of stained glass. He had purposely used the colors of all the flags, gay, lesbian, trans, asexual, bisexual, pansexual, demisexual, all the variations of love. The representation was blatant and unmistakable.<br/><br/>The angel was poised at a downward angle, its winds spread out to the fullest in flight while its arms came down in a semi-circle, hands held out invitingly. It was poised so that people could stand in the circle of its arms to look like they were being embraced by the angel, its face tilted so a person of average height could kiss its lips.<br/><br/>Those not tall enough could still touch the angel's hands. There were countless pictures of people in wheel chairs grasping their hands as if the angel was ready to lift them out of the chair and fly away with them. It was inspiring and inclusive.<br/><br/>The angel's lips and hands were already burnished gold by so many people touching them.<br/><br/>Eddy had named it<i>Hold Them, Sweetly. </i>It was something his mimaw used to say. '<i>When someone is in pain Eddy, sometimes the only way to show them they're not alone is to hold them sweetly.' <br/>
</i><br/>It was a dedication to her. A celebration of her perfect love because she was the kind of rare person that could look at anyone and find something good in them. She would have been delighted to know that the Pride Parade ended at her statue. She would have cherished every single person that found solace in her spirit.<br/><br/>Eddy was glad to know that Luke liked it.<br/><br/>Then the boy said Eddy smelled nice, and he laughed again, a much gentler sound. Eddy probably smelled of whiskey and old spice deodorant, but if the boy liked it Eddy wasnt going to brush aside the compliment.<br/><br/>"Thanks," he said, "we almost there?"