“Thank you.”
“I’m going to go grab some vodka so we can doctor up the fruit juice,” Bo said. “We’re on holidays so I think we deserve a cocktail.”
He watched Bo head back into the house, grateful he had so much support.
His stomach turned over at the idea of talking to his parents, especially when he thought back to how his first big discussion with them had turned out.
10 years ago
Ravi swiped away the tear that tracked down his face and took a deep breath. The sound of the slamming door still echoed in his ears. The disappointment on his parents’ faces had torn at his heart. They’d been surprised—no, shocked was more like it—and tried to tell him he was wrong, that it was a phase and he’d grow out of it. Like that would fucking happen! He’d been gay as long as he could remember and there was no chance of that changing.
He took off down the road towards the only place he wanted to be.
As he ran, he replayed the conversation he’d just had with his mum and dad in his mind, wondering if he could have done things differently. However, he couldn’t see any other approach than being honest and at least they hadn’t tossed him out. He hadn’t thought they would have asked him to leave, and he hadn’t been expecting them to be happy, but he’d hoped for something a bit better than the argument that had followed his revelation. Anyway, he hadn’t had a choice really, not if he was to follow his heart.
Now he needed to be with people who accepted him exactly as he was—he needed his friends.
Parker lived a block or so away and Harvey had moved back into his parents’ house. Rav wasn’t sure who he wanted to see more.
Rav knocked on the door of the house that had been his second home in recent years, ever since he and Parker had started high school together.
Mrs Shaw answered the door. “Hi, Rav. Parker’s not home.”
“Oh.” Disappointment laced his tone. “Is Harvey here?” he asked hopefully.
“I’m afraid not. I’m not sure when either of them will be back.”
Ravi sagged.
“Oh, sweetheart, are you okay?” She stepped forward and placed a hand on his arm.
For a moment he wanted to fall into her arms and confess how his own mother had failed to meet his eyes when he’d shared one of the most personal parts of himself, but he took a deep breath and shook his head. “I’m fine.”
“Do you want to come inside? You can just wait for the boys, or we can talk.”
“No, that’s okay, but thanks, Mrs Shaw. I’ll send Parker a message and maybe we can catch up later.”
“All right. But feel free to come back if you change your mind.”
“Thank you.” He turned and headed up the pathway, stopping at the letterbox. He looked right then left, planning his next move. Bo lived diagonally opposite but Rav knew he wasn’t home as he’d gone away for the week, so eventually, head down, he started backtracking towards home. He’d made it a few houses down the road when a quick toot of a horn caused him to look up. He felt as if a weight had been lifted at the sight of Harvey’s car.
Harvey put the passenger window down. “Hey, Rav, where’re you going?”
He crossed to the car and leaned on the door to talk through the passenger side window. “Back home. I went to your place but only your mum was there.”
“I just dropped Parker at the uni library. He won’t be back for a couple of hours. I’m heading home now though if you want to come hang. Jump in.”
“Sure.” Rav opened the door and got in the car, even though they only had a short distance to drive.
Harvey pulled over and parked at the curb. They climbed from the sedan and made their way to the garage. The familiar smell of the converted garage reminded him of all the hours he’d spent there. A few years back, the free-standing building had been lined with paneling and the tilt door replaced with glass sliders. It became the boys’ hangout and more recently, the place where Harvey practiced his guitar. He’d started a band with some mates, and they played at various pubs around Perth. The band was okay, but Harvey was amazing. The things he could do with his guitar never ceased to impress, whether it was belting out a rock song or quietly strumming a ballad. Listening to him play was one of Rav’s favourite things to do and he could do it for hours.
“Do you want a drink? I think there’s some Coke in the bar fridge.”
“Sure,” Rav said although he wasn’t positive he’d be able to stomach the cola. He took the can and settled on the old couch.
“What’ve you been up to today?” Harvey asked as he turned on some music. Classic Aussie rock filled the space, but not loud enough to make conversation difficult.
“Nothing much,” Ravi said.
