“No, we are not.”
“Fine. You can stay for now. I’m going to bed. We’ll leave in the morning.” Zach’s grandfather said nothing else, and he went inside.
Zach stared at Cael, wondering if he’d done something wrong in his life to deserve this. He’d fallen in love with his best friend and because of it, his grandfather wanted nothing to do with him or his family any longer. It’s not at all what he’d wanted to happen. He could have dealt with his grandfather wanting no part of his life, but he couldn’t handle being responsible for Abuelo disowning the rest of their family.
Cael made his way to Zach, stopping in front of him. Taking one at a time, Cael clasped Zach’s hands, threading their fingers together. “Pook, stop. What happened just now isn’t your fault.”
“Yeah, it fucking is.” Zach closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh. “We shouldn’t have come tonight.”
“Your parents wanted us to come, and as worried as you were about us, I know you wanted to see your grandparents. You hadn’t seen them in years.”
“Still.”
“Pook, you told your dad you were hiding our relationship in order to keep the family together. Your dad made the decision to tell your grandparents because he knew how miserable this whole thing was making you. We all saw it. We should have done a better job of talking you out of it.”
“I hated it. I fucking hated that I couldn’t touch you or kiss you or even look at you like you meant something to me. I didn’t even last ten fucking minutes listening to my grandfather’s bigoted comments about you.”
Zach let his head tilt forward and closed his eyes. Less than a heartbeat passed before Cael pressed his forehead to Zach’s, pulling him closer.
“Hey,” Cael whispered. “I love you.”
Zach’s heart warmed. He lifted his head and pressed his lips to Cael’s in a tender, barely-there kiss. “I love you too.”
Cael smiled. “Come on. Our secret’s out. There’s a table full of food over there and a fridge full of beer inside, and I know you’re starving. Let’s go eat.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Hand in hand, Cael led Zach back to the patio table where only his mom and Taylor remained. Zach figured his grandmother had gone inside after his grandfather and perhaps his dad had followed.
Cael and Zach sat down beside each other. Zach reached for one of the unopened Dos Equis and popped the top. He took a long pull of suds, willing the tension from his body as he sank back into the chair. Staring at the bottle as he held it with both hands, Zach swiped his thumb over the condensation that had formed.
“Zach, honey, you okay?”
Zach hesitated, blowing out a breath. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
He took another drink. As he stared at the food, debating on whether he was in the mood to eat or not, his stomach growled. Giving in, Zach set the bottle on the table, grabbed plate, and piled on a little bit of everything. He took a few taco shells and, breaking them into pieces, began eating as if they were loaded nachos.
One bite settled Zach’s nerves. His dad’s tacos, with the carnitas and homemade pico de gallo, had always been one of his favorite meals growing up, and that hadn’t changed. The food tasted amazing and filled the hole in his stomach, even if it didn’t do anything about the one in his heart.
“You know, your dad really is proud of you, Zach.”
Zach paused and looked at his mom.
“He’s so proud of who you are and the man you’ve become. He didn’t want you to hide any of it.” His mom pressed her lips into a tight smile. “That’s how much he loves you.”
***
Zach slumped alone on the front porch swing, rocking slowly as the eastern sky darkened, the glow from the city lights drowning out all but a few bright stars. He’d left Cael inside with Taylor and his parents to get some fresh air, still shaken from what had happened earlier. Neither of his grandparents had come out of the guest room since disappearing during dinner, and Zach took that to mean they had no intention of speaking to him, probably ever again.
At his parents’ request, Zach and Cael had stuck around instead of leaving after the whole incident. His dad had tried to convince his grandparents to come out and visit, but they didn’t. The very thing Zach had tried to avoid had happened anyway. His grandparents hated him, would probably leave tomorrow to drive home to Texas, and never speak to Zach or his parents again.
The front door swung open and shut. Zach turned his head and looked up. His grandfather, short like Zach and still in good physical health for a man in his eighties, glared over at Zach with a look of utter disgust and disappointment.
Zach looked away, fixing his gaze on the night sky.
His grandfather grunted, turned around, and went back inside.
For the first time all evening, tears stung Zach’s eyes. Having his grandfather silently disown him solely because of who he loved hurt more than he’d expected. He didn’t understand how anybody could do that, especially to family. Zach couldn’t imagine what he would have done if his parents had done the same.
