Ace clutched a hand to his chest, remembering his own coming-out and how horrible it had been. His father, who’d promised to love him no matter what, had flown into a rage, quoting scripture and damning him to hell. He wanted to burst through the door and tell Rusty to stop, to keep his mouth shut and preserve his relationship with his parents.
“Don’t wanna disappoint you.” Rusty’s voice was hoarse with emotion.
“Oh, sweetheart. You could never disappoint me. Never.”
“You say that, but you don’t know.” Ace couldn’t see Rusty’s face because Rusty had tucked it into his mother’s neck. But he knew Rusty was crying. A lone sympathetic tear streaked hot and slick down his cheek.
“Just say it, Rusty baby.” Sylvia rocked her child gently, giving strength and comfort in the way only a mother could. “I might already know.”
Rusty pulled back, his eyes puffy and bloodshot. “Once I say it, I can’t take it back.”
Sylvia used her thumbs to brush away Rusty’s tears. “Oh, my sweet boy. Don’t you know? The truth will set you free.”
Ace winced at the scripture.
“Mom…” Rusty’s big hands came up to clutch at his mother’s slender shoulders. “I’m gay.”
Ace held his breath as those last two words hung in the air, pulsing like a heartbeat. It was the moment of truth, and he ached, ached for Rusty, hoping and praying Sylvia would come through as all mothers should.
Sylvia’s smile was small and sweet. “Of course you are, sweetheart. Of course you are.”
“I’m s-sorry, Mom,” Rusty sobbed, his big shoulders shaking. Ace could feel his own sobs stuck in the center of his chest, rumbling like an earthquake.
“Don’t be sorry, you big goof,” Sylvia soothed. “There isn’t a thing to be sorry about.”
“But I know you think it’s wrong. I know you think the Bible says—”
“Hush now,” Sylvia cut him off. “The Bible says lots of things, and some of them are contradictory. But the one thing I know is God don’t make mistakes. He certainly didn’t make one when He created you.”
Ace bawled like a baby now. This was how it was supposed to go. This was how a parent was supposed to react.
Sylvia continued to rock Rusty for a while. Then she said, “You know what I’ve prayed for every night since the day you were born? I’ve prayed for you to be happy. For you to find love and build a family of your own. It don’t matter to me what form that family takes.”
“But Dad, he—”
“Shh. Shh.” She patted his shoulder. “Don’t you worry about your father. I’ll bring him around. Not that I think it’ll take much. Up ’til you started dating girls in high school, we both had our suspicions.”
“You did?” Rusty scrubbed his hands down his cheeks. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Wasn’t our place. It was your place to tell us if and when you thought the time was right.”
Rusty dropped his mother’s loving gaze and picked at the hospital sheet crumpled around his waist. “What did Dad think back then when you both suspected?”
“Oh, I mean, he wished it wasn’t so.” Rusty’s face caved in on itself. “Stop that.” Sylvia grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. “He didn’t wish it wasn’t so because he thought it was wrong or wicked or any such thing. He wished it wasn’t so because he didn’t want you to suffer. Not everybody is nice about these things, you know. Your dad didn’t want folks to be mean to you or make you feel like you were less than you are.”
“I once heard him say something once about a fuckin’ fairy.” Rusty’s voice choked on the words. “Why would he say that if he didn’t think being gay was wrong?”
Sylvia sighed. “Blame it on our generation. We weren’t raised in a PC world. We were brought up using ugly words, and we didn’t know how destructive they could be. But tell me, have you heard him use language like that lately?”
“Not since I was little.”
“There you go.” She smiled. “Proof an old dog can be taught new tricks.”
Rusty’s laugh was garbled by his tears, but his smile was made all the sweeter for them. He pulled his mother into a hug so hard Ace feared for the woman’s ribs.
After they drew apart, Sylvia said tentatively, “So? You and Ace?”
Ace stopped breathing, his ears straining toward Rusty’s answer.
