He swapped the mug to make his own coffee and took out a water bottle for Josiah. He’d be dehydrated by now. Denny needed to get him a proper water bottle or a few, so he’d remember to drink while at home. At the Hare, there was always something around to remind him to keep hydrated, here, not so much.
He carried the mugs and the water into the living room and handed the bottle to Jo.
“Drink that first.”
Josiah smiled at him and did as told. “Thank you,” he rasped out once he’d finished half of the water. He took the mug next and they sat side by side in that perfect, even if somber, silence.
“You should call Doc. Make an appointment for tomorrow if he has time. Get all of this out before it has time to fester,” Denny said. “The kids will be fine with the Hare.”
“Yeah.” Jo leaned against his shoulder and sighed. “Will you call Sammie for me? I don’t think….”
Sammie, as much as she loved them and understood them—and vice versa—could be a little bit harsh when she felt like she’d been left out on something important. This, what had happened over the weekend, was something she would have trouble processing without snapping at Josiah, and that was the last thing he needed.
“If you call Doc here, I’ll go into my office and call her. I’ll also give my folks a call, I think.”
Maybe it was Denny’s tone, but Jo leaned away and looked at his face searchingly.
“You’re going to tell them, aren’t you?” he asked, ever perceptive.
Denny nodded. “I think I have to. For my own sake. I… it won’t be easy. They don’t even know about the divorce yet. I haven’t told them and Kristin wouldn’t even if Mom called her, which I doubt she has. I need to come out to them and… I don’t know. If the conversation goes okay, I might tell them about us too. If you don’t mind?”
Jo frowned. “Don’t tell them about us. Yet. It’s too soon and we still don’t know if… you know, at the end of the summer….” He shrugged.
“Okay. Sounds good to me.” It reflected his own thoughts, really. Sighing, he got up and handed Josiah his cell off the coffee table. “There you go.”
“I might nap here once I’ve called Doc,” Josiah mused. “I already feel wiped out, so….”
“You can go to bed too, you know. I’ll come find you once I’ve made my calls.”
Jo nodded again and Denny forced himself to walk away with the remnants of his coffee. He picked up his own phone off the end table by the stairs and went to his little office.
He’d felt just fine before. Now, he was… hesitant. He felt as if the butterflies in his stomach had swallowed lead and were flapping about, knocking into one another.
He wanted to call Kristin too, to tell her how things were going, but he didn’t want to put her on the spot again. Instead, he texted to her.
I’m going to call my parents in a bit. Tell them about the divorce. And that I’m bisexual, even though that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the divorce.
It took only minutes for her to reply.I think it has alotto do with your divorces, personally, but that’s not something your parents would understand. If you need me to call your mom after, let me know. I’m backing you up, obviously.
Sighing with relief, he promised to let her know.
He threw back the now cooled coffee like a shot of whiskey and grimaced. The whiskey would’ve been nicer.
He called his mother.
“Well hello, stranger,” she answered sounding surprised, then happy to hear from him.For now, his brain reminded.
He leaned back in his chair and wished himself luck. “Hey Mom. Is Dad around? I’d like to talk to you both. Maybe even video call?”
“He’s in the backyard, I can go get him.” She didn’t seem too worried, which meant she didn’t expect anything to be wrong, which… whoa boy. A few minutes later Denny reminded her how to switch to a video on her iPhone and soon enough, he was looking at his parents’ faces.
They were both just past seventy and still fit and healthy. They went to church because Mom insisted, and well, that was something Denny was afraid of now.
“So there’s something I wanted to talk to you about. Well, two things, really.” He started and took in a deep breath.
“All right,” Dad said in his quiet way. “What’s going on?”
Mom looked worried.
