My dad is like a dog with a bone. “Any details you want to share?”
What happened in one night there has overshadowed the entire trip, so I tell them about the first few days. I detail the excursions, the color of the water, and the glass-bottom boat tour and how I threw up over the side of the boat.
I have no desire to tell them about Gabriel. I don’t want to worry them, and more than anything, I don’t want their view of him to change. I also don’t want their view ofmeto change.
Turns out, Avery and Gabriel’s storied romance isn’t so magical after all.
“What about you?” I turn the tables on Camryn. “What’s up?” Using my fork, I gesture from me to my dad. “You asked us to lunch.”
Camryn pushes away her half-eaten plate. “Well,” she starts, folding her hands on the tabletop. “You know Danielle?”
I stare at Camryn. “Your roommate Danielle who has been your best friend for years and is about to graduate from dental school? Yes, we know her.”
Cam clears her throat. “Danielle prefers to be called Dani.”
“Noted.” I nod.
Cam takes a deep breath. “And she’s my girlfriend, not my best friend.”
Dad’s fork pauses in mid-air. “You’re gay?”
“Lesbian,” Cam clarifies.
“Since when?”
Camryn’s gaze flicks to me, then back to our dad. “I don’t think you want me to answer that.”
He blinks twice, long and slow, then looks away. “Jesus.”
“He’s not here right now,” Cam says.
I bite back a laugh. “Actually, He’s everywhere all the time. Omniscient.”
Camryn sends me a grateful look, and I wink at her.
Dad gazes across the booth at me. “Did you already know?”
I shake my head. “No, but the writing was on the wall. They’re always together, and neither of them has had a boyfriend in years.”
Dad holds up a finger. “Cam had a boyfriend last year. Damon?”
Guilt shadows Cam’s eyes.
“Did you ever meet Damon?” I ask my dad gently.
“No.” Understanding lights his eyes. “Damon wasn’t real?”
“I’m sure he’s real to somebody,” Camryn says around her straw.
I deliver a kick to her ankle. She laughs.
“Are you mad, Dad?” Camryn acts nonchalant and makes a lot of jokes, but deep down she cares about what our dad thinks of her. About what I think of her.
Dad puts an arm around her shoulders. “Nah. Kind of relieved, actually. I was starting to think you were going to be single forever.”
“Happily attached,” Camryn announces.
“Does this mean you’re going to have kids? Or not?”
