“Hey, Brent,” he said, pulling back to look at his bandaged forehead. “Sorry about your dad. What happened to your head?”
He reached up and touched the bandage. “Work accident.”
I wanted to correct him, but he turned to me and held out his hand for me to walk into his outstretched arm. “Uncle Pete, this is my husband, Commander John Langdon. John, this is my mom’s brother.”
He graciously held out his hand to shake as the man smiled at me. “Pete Wallace. Nice to meet you, John. Welcome to the family. Sorry, it’s under these circumstances.”
“Nice to meet you, sir.”
He turned back to Brent. “Are you coming with us to make the arrangements?”
“I need him to stay here in case anyone stops by,” his mother said from across the room. “Someone needs to be here.”
“I’ll be happy to stay if Brent wants to go,” the lady replied.
But his mother cut her off. “It needs to be him, but thank you, Jean. Brent will be happy to stay here, won’t you son?”
I cleared my throat, trying to hold my tongue when Brent put his hand on my back. “Sure, Mom. No problem.”
She nodded as Pete looked apologetically at Brent. “We’ll be back soon.”
He curled his lips in, then squeezed his nephew’s shoulder. Turning, he walked over to his sister and opened the door for her and his wife. When they were gone, my husband looked at me.
“Book us a place to stay. Somewhere we can relax and accept dogs.”
Winston barked and came to stand by Brent’s side.
CHAPTER 26
BRENT
I’d had enoughfor one day by the time we’d left my parent’s house. John had stood by me the whole time. We took Winston for a long walk around the neighborhood when people started to drop by. My mother ignored me most of the time, and every time Uncle Pete or Aunt Jean engaged us in conversation, my mother found some way to derail it.
She hadn’t looked twice at Winston all day, and if I hadn’t fed him, who knows when he would have eaten. So when we left for the night, I informed her he wouldn’t be staying the night.
“I’m taking Winston with me. You have enough to worry about,” I said, not taking no for an answer.
“That’s fine,” she said. “Thank you for coming.”
Did she think I wasn’t staying for the funeral?
“John and I will be back in the morning.” I leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Try to get some sleep, Mom.”
She nodded and watched me as I picked up his food and leash. I knew she had something on her mind as she stood there brooding.
“What’s on your mind?”
She released a breath and looked away. “Did youhaveto marry a man?”
“I’m bisexual. You’ve known this about me for years. It’s not new information.”
She clenched her jaw. “Your father would be so disappointed.” Her voice cracked as she ripped away what was remaining of my self-worth.
I looked down at the leash in my hands. “Why is that exactly?”
“First your brother. Now this,” she said, reaching into her pocket for a tissue to wipe her eyes.
“What about Matt?” I asked. “And what exactly is thenow thisthat you’re referring to?”
