Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
He and his sister entered the kitchen where their mother was putting together the salad for Sunday lunch. Their dad sat at the table sipping water, instead of his usual beer, and doing the crossword puzzle.
“Meg, can you set the dining room table? The lasagna just needs a few minutes to heat up.”
“Sure, Ma.”
“I’ll help,” Fitch offered.
“No, honey, why don’t you sit? You’ve been smiling all morning, did you find a solution to the problem we discussed?”
All right, it looked like he would be doing his confessions in the kitchen. He sat at the table and wiped his palms on the denim over his thighs.
“Yes. We talked, and—” he paused to suck air into his lungs “—he and I have worked things out.”
His father looked over the top of the glasses perched on his nose. His mother didn’t turn to face him, but she stopped tossing the salad. The sudden stillness freaked him out so he cleared his throat.
“He?” his dad finally asked. At this, his mother dropped her tongs and crossed to stand behind her husband.
“Yes, Pop. I’m dating a man.” A quick glance showed his mom resting a hand over her heart.
“Oh, Fitch.”
“I don’t understand,” his dad said, his confusion clear by the look on his face.
“I know it’s completely out of the blue—”
“But, you’re straight. Don’t tell me you’ve been lying to us your whole life.”
“No. I am straight...mostly. It’s hard to explain.”
“What about giving me grandbabies, Fitch? Don’t you want a family?” At his mother’s words he made the mistake of looking up into her eyes and his throat closed at the disappointment he saw there.
“I’m sorry, Ma,” was all he could say.
She shook her head as her cheeks reddened. “But...but, you can’t be gay too.”
“It’s okay, Margie, he’s not gay. This is just a phase.”
“It’s not.”
“You’ve upset your mother. Knock it off.”
“Pop—”
“Don’t Pop me. You don’t get to come in here, after church for Christ’s sake, and tell us—I don’t even know what you’re telling us. It’s not like you’re some inexperienced virgin, son. You shouldn’t be this confused.”
“It’s not like that. I’m not confused. It’s not a phase. I’m not going through any kind of midlife crisis. That isn’t what this is.”
“What is it then? Explain it to us. Because it doesn’t make any goddamn sense. How can a grown man sleep with women one day and choose men the next? Eh? Tell me that.”
“Not men, Pop. Man. Just one. And it didn’t happen overnight. Ansel and I have been dating for a few weeks.”
The gasp at the doorway brought his gaze up to Meg’s wide eyes.
“Is that his name, Ansel?” His mother’s voice was soft and sad.
Keeping his eyes locked to his sisters’, he said, “Yeah, Ma, Ansel Becke.”
Meg mouthed Oh my God! before shooting him a huge grin and quietly leaving the kitchen. Figures she’d know Ansel’s name—apparently she and her friends were huge fans of the Sassy Boyz. Now, she’d probably try to take credit for hooking them up like she were a matchmaker or something.
“Meg is gay, this isn’t any different—”
“It’s a hell of a lot different and you know it.” His father scratched his beard, squinting across the table at him. “You want me to give you control of the business, but how can I do that now? What about the crew? You expect them to follow orders knowing you’re a fruit?”
“That’s not fair. I’m great at my job. Maybe it will take some time for them to get used to it, but most will stick around out of loyalty.” He hoped.
“Like hell they will! And what about our clients?” His voice rose until he was shouting and his cheeks turned a ruddy shade of red. “I’ve had enough of this. No. You’re not gay. I won’t accept it. I won’t.”
“Honey, calm down.”
“No, Margie. He can’t expect us to be okay with this.”
“I know it won’t be easy for you to accept. Maybe you never will, but Ansel makes me happy and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure he’s happy too. Hopefully, that means we’ll be together for a long time. I hope you can come to terms with that. I really do.” Without another word, Fitch rose from the table and left. His heart ached and his stomach twisted in knots. He’d known it would be a hard thing to explain, but he’d never imagined that his parents wouldn’t be on his side.
* * *
Ansel wrapped another piece of newspaper around the glass vase he’d picked up at a flea market and added it to the box of junk on the counter. Somehow he’d accumulated a ton of worthless junk since settling down. It was hard to believe he’d once been able to carry everything he owned in a small backpack. Maybe if he hadn’t wasted all his money on these trinkets he could have afforded a better place. Ange came up behind him and rested a comforting hand on his shoulder.