My father had been one of those men, the kind who firmly believed boys don’t cry. He’d also been a proponent of corporal punishment, which I could attest to from personal experience. He’d always stayed on the right side of outright abuse, if barely, but that hadn’t made it okay. It hadn’t made me respect him, as had been his intention, but hate him and later on, judge him for being such a shitty parent.
My father hitting me hadn’t even been the worst, though his disciplinary moments held nothing but bad memories for me. He’d had even stronger opinions on homosexuality, and not from a religious point of view, like Bean’s family. My parents had gone to church, but they hadn’t been strict about it. But being gay was unmanly, my father had told me, and he would have no sissy for a son. When I’d told him I couldn’t change who I was, they’d kicked me out.
Honestly, they’d done me a favor. My grandparents, my mom’s parents, had immediately taken me in, and my grandfather had had some strong words for his daughter on choosing her husband over her son. It hadn’t made a difference in her decision, but his defending me made a massive impact on me. I’d never forgotten it.
They’d been there for me ever since in every way. Without their unconditional love and support, who knew what would have become of me? They had accepted me wholly and had always encouraged me to be myself, including all my emotions. I was the man I was today because of them, not my parents.
Hopefully, I could model some of that attitude to Forest, who clearly had some baggage of his own in that aspect. If he needed to cry, he should. I was convinced many a problem could’ve been avoided if more people blew off steam with a good crying fit.
My phone rang, interrupting my thoughts. How had we even functioned without caller ID? I wondered that sometimes. It sure as fuck made it easy to know which calls to let go to voicemail and which to answer. Luckily, I had all my coworkers’ numbers programmed into my phone so I could see when they called.
“What’s up, Kaelan?” I answered.
“Hey, just wanted to give you a heads-up that you’ll be working with a sub tomorrow because I’m not coming in.”
I frowned. In all the months I’d worked with him, he’d never missed a shift. “You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, no worries. I just have…an obligation that came up.”
Well, that sounded mysterious, but if he didn’t want to tell me, that was fine. “Any idea who will be your sub?” As soon as I asked the question, I knew the answer. If it had been anyone else, Kaelan would’ve just texted me. “Please don’t tell me it’s Franco…”
Kaelan sighed. “Hence the phone call.”
Franco was one of our substitutes, and he was what could charitably be described as an acquired taste. One I hadn’t gotten used to yet and most likely never would. “He’s a lunatic with a death wish… In twenty years of service, I’ve never been as scared as when he’s driving the rig. And he won’t fucking stop talking.The last time I was on a shift with him, he talked about his koi pond for an hour straight. An hour! Fuck, I’m half-tempted to call in sick tomorrow.”
“You’re telling me. I was once treated to a two-hour lecture on fly-fishing, something I literally couldn’t possibly care less about. Hell, I don’t even eat fish.”
“I do, but that doesn’t mean I wanna hear all about fishing.” I groaned. “Just when I thought this week couldn’t get any worse.”
I hadn’t meant to blurt that out, but any hope that Kaelan would ignore that remark vanished instantly when he asked, “What happened?”
“It’s…” I didn’t even know where to begin. If I should begin. “It’s not me. It’s a friend. My roommate. He’s…dealing with some health issues.”
“Your roommate. You mean Forest.”
“Yes, Forest. My roommate.”
“He’s a little more than that, bro, but whatever you say.”
I frowned. “What do you mean? Yeah, we’re friends, but…he’s still my roommate.”
“Friends? Is that what your generation calls it?”
“My generation? You’re making me sound ancient.”
“Well, you’re Gen X, aren’t you?”
“Gen X?” I sputtered. “What the fuck? I’m a Millennial, dude. Not even close to being Gen X.”
It took a second before he burst out in laughter, and I realized he’d been baiting me, the fucker. “Very funny,” I said. “Hilarious.”
“I thought so too, but thanks.”
“Glad I could provide some amusement.” I waited until he was done laughing. “What did you mean by that remark? About Forest and me being something other than friends?”
“Dude, you talk about him all the time.”
“He’s got a lot going on in his life, and I’m worried about him.”
