I glance at Adam again and back to his moms, who arewhispering to each other, and then back to Adam. Adam—perfectly good, nice, respectful Adam—has no idea how good he has it. Sure, having gay parents in Mississippi isn’t a total breeze, but his parents love each other and they’ve built this whole incredible life for him and his sister.
“Adam, son,” Pam finally says, “are you going to introduce us to your friends?”
“Oh, yeah.” He nods to Freddie. “Y’all know Freddie from the car wash.” He turns to Pam. “Mom, he spent the night after Julia’s party, remember?”
His little sister’s birthday party. The night we snuck into that pool. I cringe at the memory.
“Ah,” Pam says, “yes, but he was in too much of a hurry to stick around for my French toast.”
Freddie laughs nervously. “Yes, ma’am. My gram needed me home early that day. Not only will I make it up to you in the future, but I’ll make you the egg dish of your choosing.”
I ignore the way my body sings with affection for him.
Pam smiles, and I see that it’s her smile that Cindy probably fell in love with. She has the kind of smile that’s wide and dazzling and defines her entire face when she aims it in your direction.
“And this is Ramona,” Adam continues, “and Ruth.”
Cindy’s eyebrows pop up. “Well, this is the first time Adam’s ever brought ladies home.”
Adam’s cheeks turn beet red. “We’re watchingStar Wars,” he says.
“Well, you’d better leave the door open to that movieroom, mister,” Pam tells him.
A movie room? An entireroomdedicated to watching movies?
“Mom,” he says, “they’re lesbians. And not even with each other.”
Cindy’s lips twitch for a moment, like there’s something she wants to say to us. For a moment, I wonder if she has some weird yet wonderful bit of middle-aged-lesbian advice to impart to us. But instead she just treats us like we’re totally normal, which is somehow even better. “Leave the door open like your mother asked.”
Beside me, Ruth smiles.
Freddie steps forward in his usual charming way. “Thank you,” he says, “for having us over on a school night.”
“Manners, eggs, and girls who don’t even want to sleep with our son,” says Cindy. “Y’all are welcome here anytime.”
“Anytime,” Pam echoes, her smile warm and genuine.
I nod. Some part of me feels tender and exposed, but not in a bad way. It’s a small gesture, but it has big meaning.
The three of us follow Adam up the stairs as he and Freddie take turns swatting each other with lightsabers.
The movie room is a dark, windowless space with three deep-brown leather love seats. Ruth and Adam each claim their own love seat, so Freddie and I are left to share the one in the middle.
Before sitting, I hesitate for a moment as I realize how close together we’ll be. But it doesn’t matter, because we’re friends. Just friends. And besides! We’re in a room withAdam and Ruth. How much more unromantic could it get?
“Hey,” says Ruth in a voice that’s a cross between a whisper and a shout. “When exactly were you going to tell us that you have two moms?”
Adam shrugs. “They’re my parents. When were you going to tell me you have a mom and a dad?”
Ruth shakes her head. “No, that is not the same thing.”
I swallow back a laugh. “I mean, Adam, we’re lesbians. You having two moms would’ve given you major gay street cred with us.”
He throws up his arms. “I don’t know! They’re my moms. I didn’t really know how to be like, hey, P.S. my moms are super gay for each other. It’s not like I’m ashamed of them. But they’re my parents. I don’t know.”
“And you didn’t tell us either!” Ruth says to Freddie.
Freddie shrugs. “It’s not a big deal.”
