“—and that you’re unstable. And honestly, Mr. Sharp, you’re demanding that your church welcome a gay couple to their congregation. In a county where the court clerk is refusing to give marriage licenses to gay couples. In a state that believes traditional religion is under attack.” Fisher seemed amused by the whole situation. She stifled her laugh and pulled at the lapels of her blazer and leaned forward on her desk. “I’m not laughing at you, Mr. Sharp, but at how ridiculous all of that is. And remember that we’re in a county where both the family court judges ran on”—she thrust both hands into the air to make air quotes—“ ‘family values’ campaigns and used Bible verses on their posters. Not to mention that there are actually people around here who honestly believe the flood was God’s response to the Supreme Court decision.” The attorney let out a big breath and ran a hand over her face. Asher noticed that she didn’t wear a single ring. Her nails had been painted with a clear polish that caught the light from the window. “I mean—good Lord. Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying, you know?” She shook her head. “You have seen the video, haven’t you?”

Asher shook his head, no.

“Well, everybody else has,” Fisher said, turning the screen toward him. “It’s gone viral.”

There he was, face contorted, tears in his eyes. The lawyer had the video muted but Asher could read his own lips when he yelled out “We’ve got to quit this judgement!” Even without the sound he could see how bad it would look in court, out of context. Then Fisher tapped her finger on the bottom right corner of the screen. “Look at that. It’s gone from fifty-some thousand this morning to a million views. In less than five hours. That’s not good for our case.”

“Why would it go up so much in one day?”

“Some celebrity probably tweeted the link,” Fisher said, shrugging. “Who knows? I don’t even try to understand how the world works today.”

Asher put his face in his hands for only a second, then locked his eyes on the lawyer’s. “I can’t lose my little boy.” He searched for the right words and could land only on a cliché. “He’s my whole world.”