“You have two very excited gay men here,” I say. “It would be great to see her more.”
“What about me?”
“I’m seeing you right now.”
“What about in person?”
I cock my head at Trudy and position the cell next to my face.
“Close enough now?”
“I mean, in person.”
I pull the cell away.
“I actually listened to your advice and have been looking at real estate listings in Palm Springs,” Trudy says. “I could never have something like you have, but I’d like to live closer to family as well.”
I look at Barry, who acts as if he is wiping away a tear.So sweet, he mouths.
“What do you think?” Trudy asks. “I would never move if you didn’t want me closer to you.”
“What about your son?”
“He’ll be fine,” she says. “They’re the ones who ran away from me, and I don’t blame them. But they have their own lives. I want to spend the time I have left with my little brother.”
“That would be amazing,” I say. “You’ll be a hit at all the gay bars. Everyone will think you’re a lesbian.”
“I’m hoping to come out this summer to visit some colleges with Ava. She actually asked me to come with her,” Trudy says. “I can look at some homes then and see how hot it gets.”
“You’ll want to move in October,” I say with a smile. “When things stop melting. Just save up for AC.”
“I’ll give you a call later,” Trudy says. “It was good to talk to you.”
“Thanks for calling, sis.”
I begin to hang up, but Trudy says, “Wait, Teddy?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too, sis. Bye.”
Just as Trudy hangs up, I see—over her shoulder, hanging on her living room wall—the cheap Biblical oil painting Mama won at the church raffle.
She did go home one last time to say goodbye.
I look out the window.
Candy-color clouds like the ones in the painting, as orange as Mama’s Bakelite bracelet, are hugging the mountains at sunrise.
Ron
“Haircut?”
I nod to the barber as I enter his shop.
“You’re up next.”
