"Sequel to The Nutcracker
P is for Penne Alla Vodka and Garth Morgan and Tony Luciano are determined not to let the horrors of the Pulse nightclub shootings prevent them from celebrating their eighteen-month anniversary with the next dish on their A-Z list of pasta dishes. Garth knows he’ll be eating ziti on his wedding day, but before then he has one other important question to ask Tony, one that affects not just his life but also that of Adam, Garth’s ten-year-old son.
Will dessert be as sweet as Garth hopes, or will Tony’s answer leave a bad taste in his mouth?
Note: This short story was originally published in the charity collection, Love Is Proud."
Alphabet Pasta By Drew Hunt It was a Friday night and Giuseppe’s Italian restaurant was busy. Opera played on the sound system but was almost entirely drowned out by the hum of conversation, laughter, and the scrape of silverware on plates. The place was full. Waitstaff moved back and forth carrying trays of food. Near the entrance, a knot of people stood at the bar, drinks in hand. Garth Morgan and Tony Luciano were in their favorite booth at the back of the restaurant. It was the first time the two of them had been able to go out on a date since the horrific events at the Pulse nightclub in Florida two weeks before. The morning after the shooting, Adam, Garth’s ten-year-old son, came into their room and crawled into bed between them and cuddled up close—an action that both surprised