“Well, it’s not surprise.Diego is a little flamboyant,” Mom said, like she was making an allowance for something.
It set my back up.Made me think of Dad bitching about Johnny Weir commentating for the Olympics when I was a kid.Why’s he have to be so flamboyant all the time?
Oof.Talk about dams breaking…
I shrugged it off, though, not wanting to drag the conversation back there.“He’s hard to look away from, for sure.”
“His father is trying, Annie says.But Diego could make it a little easier.”
A flush rose in my neck, then my ears.I’d given her an off-ramp, but she was still blindly driving down that same highway, huh?I shot her a look, not trusting myself to speak.
Fuck.And this had been going so well.
She must have noticed something was off, because she rushed to say, “I mean, just for his father’s sake.When he’s in town, just tone it down a little.”
“Why?”I asked flatly.
She blinked, startled.
“Sorry.”I shook my head, trying to get past the reflexive anger and into the right words.“But that’s really—it’s not okay.”
“I’m sorry, sweetie.I just meant, sometimes older people have a hard time changing their worldviews.It’s hard when it’s thrown in their face like that.”
I could hear my dad bitching again:Okay, so you’re gay.Don’t throw it in my face all the time.
“If he’s doing it to make a point—” she tried.
But I cut her off with, “Doing what?”
Now she was the one turning red.
I hated this.I hated making her uncomfortable on purpose.I hated not smoothing things over, I hated confronting her like this, I hated everything about it.But I knew from twenty-six fucking years of experience that the only thing I hated more wasnotcalling this shit out.That was what I would regret tomorrow, if I let it slide today.
“You have no idea the kind of bravery it takes for Diego to be who he is all day every day,” I said after another long, tense silence.“I mean, especially in high school, when he was surrounded by guys who’d beat the crap out of him as soon as look at him.Do you know how often guys like him don’t survive towns like ours?”
She flushed even harder.“It’s true—I know it’s true, honey.You’re right.That was thoughtless of me.”
“You wouldn’t ask me to walk and talk differently if it tapped into some rando’s fragile masculinity.”
“Never.”
“Right.”I took a deep breath.“This weird boomer myth that anyone wouldact gayjust for attention is—it’s crazy.”
And it hadn’t done me any big favors, that was for damn sure, but I couldn’t bring myself to point that out to her.
“I’m sorry,” she said, reaching for my hand again.“I clearly need to educate myself better.”
I took her hand and sighed.“You and me both.”
“I’ll do better.”
“Me too.”For her, for Diego, but especially for myself.
Chapter 7: DIEGO
Iexpectedtodwellhappily on the hours of wildly athletic and entertaining sex Taran and I engaged in all Saturday afternoon.And I did, I guess, but I also kept thinking of the sincerity of his big, blue eyes when he said, “I want to be your boyfriend.”
That bratty little teenage Diego inside me had jumped for fucking joy.
