Max
I’d heardplenty of times friends saying that a certain look from their parents could take them right back to when they were five years old and were caught drawing stick figures with their favorite crayons on the living room wall.
I now knew what they meant.
Salvatore and Veronica Moretti had in some ways not aged a day, and in others looked so different from what I remembered as a child.
The courage I’d borrowed from Isaac in the briefmoment we’d had in the bathroom seeped right out of me when we faced my parents.
My mom still looked as made up as I remembered even if the layers of makeup had multiplied to hide her true age. Her long, blonde hair I’d always thought looked like fairy hair was pinned up in a complicated do that made her face look too severe. It matched her true nature as much as the expensive-looking clothes she was wearing.
My dad had lost his mustache, but his hair was still as thick and dark as before. He’d put on a few pounds that were well disguised by the striped tailored suit. I wondered where they’d got the money for it all.
Things had been tough growing up and money had been scarce. I’d known from an early age we didn’t have as much money as other kids at school, but my mom never dropped me off looking less than her Sunday best.
The pain I felt at seeing them again was like a knife through my heart, with the look of hatred in their eyes an extra twist for measure.
How had I not seen it all those years ago? The answer was that I’d been a child and loved my parents unconditionally.
I’d thought they’d been great parents because they’d given me the freedom to do whatever I liked as long as I turned up for dinner on time, attended church on Sunday with them, and, more than anything, took part in all the school events. I’d always seen it as a sign that my parents were modern and open-minded. How wrong I’d been.
I saw the surprise in their eyes, too. Not that they weren’t expecting to see me, because if they were here, they knew we would be in the same space. No, their surprise was at seeing me holding another man’s hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.
There was one thing I regretted in that moment and that was that they had seen me coming out of the bathroom with Isaac because I was afraid they’d use this against us later.
I didn’t, however, regret holding his hand, so when he tried to let go I held him tighter.
No words were exchanged, but so much was said in that briefmoment. There was the “I love you” I was saying to Isaac through my touch, and the “fuck you” I was saying to my parents with my challenge.
I carried on and walked past them, bringing Isaac along with me toward the meeting room. When we closed the door behind us, I knew my legs were going to give in, so I let myself fall all the way downto the carpeted floor. My hands were shaking and my vision was becoming blurry.
“Isaac.” My voice was trapped in my throat.
He held a glass of water up to my mouth,and I took a few sips. It was cool, and it felt good. I breathed in, trying to get my heart to resume its regular beating pattern.
“You did well, Max. I am so proud of you.” Isaac knelt next to me and pulled my head to his chest. He kept praising me, so I focused on his steady voice and let the tears fall.
When I found my breath again, I looked around the room to see that all eyes were on me and Isaac. Micah and Peter looked worried, and Lucy looked terrified.
“I’m okay. I promise. I’m okay.”
“What happened?” Peter said.
“We bumped into my parents.”
“They’re here?” Lucy shrieked and stepped back until she hit the wall and slid down to sit on the floor.
I took a deep breath and got up. Then I went to Lucy and picked her up. I needed to give her some confidence in her big brother. Once again, I looked toward Isaac to steal some of it for myself. He was my guiding light in this moment of darkness when I wasn’t sure I could see the path ahead. He was there.
“Lucy,” I said, wiping the tears from her face with my hands, “I’m sorry for breaking down just now. It’s been a long time since I last saw them, and I wasn’t prepared for it.”
“Did he hit you, too?” she asked.
“No, sweetie, he didn’t. I thought he was the best dad because he never told me off or cared about what I was doing. Which I have to say was never anything bad. That was why it was a shock when I confessed to them I liked boys and they kicked me out. Seeing them brought back all those memories. But you know what? I’m glad I’ve already seen them because now I’m ready to go out there and fight them with all I have.”
I pulled Lucy into my arms. “You are the most important thing in the world to me,and I will fight as hard as I can. We both will.” I looked at Isaac, who was nodding fiercely and wiping his own tears.
Peter looked at his watch.
