ONE LESS CHAIR PULLED UP TO THE TABLE.

Leonardo carried a secret that felt heavier than the midday heat: he was gay, a truth he had known with absolute certainty since he was nine years old. In the town of Bethel, who he was was considered a horrid, unpardonable sin, forcing Leonardo to use oversized flannels, buried glances, and heavy silences as a shield against the hostile eyes in the town square and the crushing judgment of the church pews.
For six years, Julian was Leonardo's only lifeline, the one person who helped him cope with the terror of his own skin and the suffocating prejudice of the town.
But when Julian tragically dies, the fragile ecosystem of their home completely collapses.