It hurt to see the visible pain on his face, so I hitched my chair a little closer and tried to reason with him. “I know you don’t. But we need to settle this.”
“We?” He blinked but kept his gaze fixed on the tablecloth, and his mouth trembled on that one word. Despite their recent difficulties, Ezra was close to his parents, and this rift hurt him deeply. He could pretend with other people but not with me.
“Yeah. I’m part of this equation now. Being together doesn’t only mean for fun and games. It’s for the hard times as well.”
“Games?” Emerald green sparks flared in his amber gaze. “I didn’t know you were into that. We need to talk.” He waggled his brows.
“Idiot.” I slid my hand on his muscular thigh and let it rest there for comfort. “Going off on a tangent isn’t solving the problem. You need to talk to them.”
“Parents can either help us or hurt us the most.” Amy leaned forward. “If you need an ear, I’m available. It took my family years to accept me—not only being a lesbian but marrying Carmen.”
“And now?” Ezra gave Amy his full attention.
Carmen took Amy’s hand. “Now we’re okay. They respect us. Once Amy’s brothers and sisters all married and started having kids, it took some of the pressure off her.”
Ezra said, “I know they’d like me to get married and have children. And it’s okay for other people to be gay, just not their son.”
I rubbed his leg for reassurance. “But they know the truth.”
“I may have dated girls, but it never went anywhere. It couldn’t. I’m ashamed I used them as a way to try and forget Roe.”
Perplexed, Carmen cocked her head. “If they’re okay with you being gay, what’s the problem? If you don’t mind talking about it, of course,” she added hastily. “I don’t want you to think we’re prying.”
“Even though we are,” Amy said, and Ezra chuckled. “Hey. Just keeping it real.”
“I appreciate that. You remind me of my friend Ross. He won’t let go until I spill my guts.”
“That’s a high compliment, just so you know.” I leaned into Ezra. “You don’t have to tell them, but it might be good to get the perspective of someone who doesn’t know you at all.”
“You may be right,” he murmured.
At that moment, the waiter came by, and we ordered our food. Perhaps steeling himself for the difficult conversation ahead, Ezra took several gulps of hot tea before launching into his family’s betrayal, and though I knew the story, it hurt me all over again as if it were a fresh wound. I could still hear his mother’s voice basically telling me I wasn’t good enough for her son and that he’d met someone new.
“So,” Carmen stated, leaning on her elbows, her face troubled, “your mother not only didn’t tell you Roe called, she deliberately destroyed his letters and the ones you wrote to him. Do I have that right?”
“Exactly.” Ezra sat coiled tight, ready to shatter.
“I don’t know if I could ever forgive that. Wow.” She shook her head.
The waiter put down our food and left, but none of us picked up our chopsticks to eat.
“And her reason,” Carmen continued, “was that Roe didn’t fit into your lifestyle? That’s some major bullshit.”
“But nothing we haven’t dealt with, right?” Amy met Carmen’s eyes with a mixture of love and consternation. “Your family didn’t think I was good enough for you. I was only an artist. You were the brilliant student. What did we have in common?”
“That’s how I feel with Roe. He’s got everything…looks, brains…while all I have is money and an invite to the best parties in town. I’m the one lacking.”
“Oh, honey, you think that? Let me tell you how wrong you are.” Impulsively, Carmen reached across the table to grab Ezra’s hand before I could make my own move to comfort him. And from how hard Ezra held on to her, I backed off, seeing this was exactly the validation he needed.
“First of all, you’ve got the hustle and that spark. People want to be your friend and be close to you, and that’s a gift. You deal with contracts and figures all day, which would make my head spin. And Roe’s told us about the young people you’ve helped. You have a heart, something too many others lack.” Her brown eyes twinkled. “Plus, as I told Roe, you are the best-looking man I’ve ever seen. You two are gorgeous together.”
“You’re good for my ego, Carmen.” Ezra remained unconvinced, judging by the strain in his face.
“She doesn’t bullshit, Ezra,” Amy said. “I felt like you did in the beginning, but I learned to embrace my strengths and make them work for our relationship. The main thing is, you have a man like Roe to stand by your side when facing your parents. Let me ask you something. If they don’t accept you and Roe, are you going to break up with him?”
Startled, Ezra dropped Carmen’s hand, and I waited, hardly breathing.
“Of course not. I’m in love with him. No one is going to tell me what I can or can’t do. Or who I can love.”
