Ezra had been surprised too, but he figured a parent would know better. “The latest statistics show that roughly 11 percent of adults in the U.S. report same-sex attraction, and the numbers are vastly underreported, which means it’s really not that uncommon.”
“I think it was more that my dad had an idea of who I was, and for a long time I tried to live up to that expectation, but it got to a point where I couldn’t pretend anymore. Then, he tried to convince me I was mistaken.”
“That seems highly unlikely,” Ezra said. The idea of convincing someone they were wrong about their sexuality bordered on absurd.
“Yeah, and he was also pretty concerned about my football career. The NFL isn’t very accepting of homosexuality. At least, they weren’t when I played.”
“Did you keep it a secret?” Ezra asked.
“Yes, I did, for quite a few years. But I don’t anymore.”
The thought of Roman having to hide who he was to anyone, for whatever reason, was terribly upsetting to Ezra who had already decided Roman was pretty much perfect in every way. “If I were planning a Pride Parade, I’d want you to be at the front of the line,” Ezra said. “You’d be the one waving the rainbow flag.”
“Aw, thanks, cutie.” Roman nudged his cheek with his knuckle. “It took a couple of years for my dad to come around, but we’re are all good now.”
“That’s good because family is important.” Ezra would be lost without his mother’s good guidance and support.
“I agree. You know, your mother can stay here with us if she wants,” he said, which was something Ezra hadn’t really considered because she’d always stayed at a hotel when he’d lived in the dorms. But having her stay with them would save money and allow them to spend more time together.
“It would be three days and two nights,” Ezra said.
“That’s fine. We have the room.”
“Which guest bedroom would you prefer?”
Roman shrugged. “Whichever one you think she’ll like best.”
Ezra ruled out what had become the gaming room because there was a standing Risk game in there and for once, Jay was winning. He’d even taken a picture of the board to make sure none of his soldiers “went AWOL” in his absence. Ezra would tidy up the other two rooms tomorrow and give his mother the choice between them. He was looking forward to her visit, but he was also a little bit nervous. Wendy Powell and Roman Reynolds were his two favorite people in the universe. Like two stars colliding, they might merge into a new, more massive star or they might crash and evaporate into hydrogen gas spread out all over interstellar space. Hopefully no one got sucked into a black hole. Ezra refused to contemplate black holes.
* * *
Ezra’s motherarrived on a Saturday afternoon after a five-hour drive from Shreveport. Ezra had turned down Roman’s invitation to work out with him and Jay at the gym so that he could be ready for when she got there. It was no great hardship. Ezra only went to Flex to watch Roman pump iron anyway. Not that he’d tell him that!
After setting her luggage in one of the guest bedrooms and offering her a cold beverage from the immaculate refrigerator, Ezra showed her pictures of what the house had looked like when he’d started as Roman’s housekeeper five months ago. She only needed to look around to see for herself the improvements he’d made. He showed her the kitchen pantry, one of his proudest achievements, with everything shelved according to food type, sealed in labeled canisters, and arranged in the tidiest of manners. He showed her the pool, which was too cold now for swimming and the hot tub, which was not.
“Do you guys use the hot tub often?” his mother asked.
“Yes. Roman has a bad shoulder from playing football and I rub it out for him sometimes.” Ezra enjoyed massaging Roman’s hearty muscles, hearing all of his murmurs of gratitude and praise. And Roman always reciprocated, applying hard touches in all the right places. If Ezra happened to have a biological response, it was okay because the jets made it impossible for anyone to see.
Ezra showed her his room and all the gifts Roman had given him, including the Mars snow globe, which he kept on his desk and shook for inspiration when he was stuck on a thorny logic problem.
“Did he give you this too?” his mother asked, pointing to one of his jerseys lying on his bed, freshly laundered.
“Yes, that’s my uniform.”
“Your uniform?”
“I wear it when I keep house.”
“It’s very small.”
Ezra smiled. “You should see the shorts.”
Wendy crossed her arms and pivoted in her son’s direction. “Ezra, is Roman interested in men?”
“Yes.”
“He’s gay?”
