Mary suddenly shifted in her chair, turning toward Dean. “Why are you hanging out with my son?” she asked bluntly.
“Oh!” Dean turned his head to Mary and squinted his eyes slightly, taken aback by her brazenness. Internally, he huffed at the audacity of the question. If Dean were straight, she would never eventhinkto ask that question. He would just be one of Colton’s pals watching the game. But, since he’s gay, he must have some scheme planned for her son.
But he took a beat and answered the question truthfully. “I’m helping Colton with his guitar and teaching him piano. He’s coaching me on my my golf game and helping me with a new fitness regimen. It turns out we have a great deal in common, so we’ve become pretty good friends over the past few months.”
The answer seemed to appease Mary and she curved one side of her lip to crack a slight smile. “I’m just a protective mama bear, don’t mind me.” She swirled the wine in her glass. “Some of the celebrities Sophie introduced to me have left a bad taste in my mouth. But I can tell you’re different. And Colton has been talking about you quite a lot lately. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.” Mary sipped her wine with a shrug.
Dean paused. Colton had been talking to his mother about him 'quite a lot lately'? What the hell did that mean? What had he been saying?
Dean wasn’t sure he bought her rationale, either way. Sure, it was natural for a mother to be protective of her son. Dean couldn’t fault her for that. Still, he hadn’t given her any reason to be suspicious.
Colton hung out with Bryce a lot too. Had Mary questioned Bryce in that manner? Dean guessed probably not. They’d only known one another for about an hour, so why was Mary so leery of Dean?
Maybe she disliked celebrities? Dean could agree with her on that point. He’d met his fair share of asshole celebrities too.
Maybe she had an aversion to DJ’s or musicians? Maybe she just hated music? God, what sort of soulless monster hated music? Or maybe she only loved country music?
Maybe it was the fact that Dean was gay. But Dean wasn’t even sure Colton had told her that. It wouldn’t seem to be something that would come up in casual conversation. ‘Hey Mom, my new friend Dean…he’s cool and fun, and oh yeah, he’s gay too.’
Whatever the reason for Mary’s little inquisition, Dean decided to have some fun with it
“Well, I can be quite charming when I want to be.” Dean grinned with a half wink, turning to Mary.
Mary smiled and clinked her glass to Dean’s bottle. “I’m sure you can. You’ve certainly charmed my husband today.”
Dean chuckled and sipped his drink, but his thoughts returned to her earlier statement. What had Colton been saying about him to his mom? His thought process was broken as Mary began again.
“So, Colton tells me he’s been to some of your shows.”
“Yeah, he and Sophie came to a few shows.” Dean smiled at the memory.
“Has your mother ever come to your show?” Mary asked.
Dean tensed in his seat.
“No, she’s never seen me perform,” he said quickly, lips pursed as he stared out across the football field.
“Well, she must be very proud of your success.” Mary replied and took a sip of wine.
Still reeling from the unfairness of Mary’s earlier questioning, Dean’s lip began to tremble. He turned to Mary with a slight quiver in his voice. “I haven’t spoken to my mother in ten years. When I told her I was gay, she stood up, told me that homosexuality is a sin and threw me out of the house.” Tears began to form in Dean’s eyes as he continued. “I was sixteen years old and she threw me out on the street like a piece of garbage. So I have no idea if she’s proud or not, and frankly…I don’t care.”
Mary slumped in her seat, flabbergasted, wide eyed, her mouth hanging open. “Dean, are you serious?”
“Yes ma’am. I wouldn’t joke about something like that.” Dean glanced over at Mary.
Mary huffed and shook her head. “That’s appalling! How could a mother do that to her own son? It’s reprehensible. I couldn’t imagine a single thing my child could do that would make me throw him out of the house and stop speaking to him.”
Dean shrugged half-heartedly. “Well, I guess you’re a better person than my parents.” He sipped his beer, lip still trembling from reliving the trauma of that moment.
Mary set her glass on the side table. “Colton tells me you’re very involved in the homeless shelters in San Francisco?”
Dean flashed a slight smile. “I am. There are thousands of homeless gay kids in San Francisco alone. I’m very involved in the LGBTQ shelters around the city.”
“I know I’m a little ignorant on this subject, but why are there so many homeless gay kids?”
Dean felt a swell of pride in his chest. Anytime he could educate someone on the obstacles queer kids faced was a win in his book. “Well, what happened to me is not uncommon.” Dean explained to Mary how these kids end up in cities like San Francisco or New York City after being thrown out of their homes or running away from bad situations. “I try to provide as much financial support and volunteer as much of my time as possible to help keep these kids off the streets.”
Mary faced Dean with a concerned look. “That’s horrifying! I had no idea this was happening!”
