“Look, your mother and I, well...we’re very proud of you.Of everything you’ve accomplished.Even if sometimes we might be...slow, to catch up with you, perhaps.”
Flynn sighed.“You don’t need to ‘catch up’ with me, dad.I’m gay, Oli and I are dating, we’re going to live together.It’s not a negotiation, or a topic up for discussion.It’s just the facts, and you can either accept that, or...”
The unspoken alternative hung in the air.Filling the car, and I figured doing the same at the other end of the line.A threat and a prediction, all in one.
“Indeed,” Flynn’s dad said.
There was a scraping sound, a loud rustling.And then a change of voice.
“Do Oliver’s parents know?”His mom’s question.
“They do, Mrs Cunningham,” I answered.“Though only as of this week, too.”
“I’m sure they were surprised.”
“I think so,” I agreed.“Plus the news that I was moving out.”
A noise.It was, I thought, the sound of her sucking her teeth.
“That’ll certainly be a shock for them, yes.I mean, Flynn’s father and I, we’ve been through all that before, of course.But your parents haven’t had that experience.”
I glanced at Flynn, who rolled his eyes.If there was one thing almost guaranteed to drag his mother out of a funk, it was the potential for her to lord how much better she was handling it over someone else.
My parents would, I figured, take one for the team if it made life easier for Flynn and me.
“I’m sure they’d appreciate any support you could give them, Mrs Cunningham.”
She tutted to herself, as though ‘reassuring poor Oliver’s poor family’ was being added to the long list of good deeds that filled her days.
“You can’t change this, mom,” Flynn said.“This is just the situation, the way it is.I told you because I want you to know, I want both of you to know.And I’d like you to be happy, for Oli and I.”
I could imagine them both at the other end, the phone tilted between them.Flynn’s dad undoubtedly waiting to hear what his wife’s verdict might be.
“You know we only ever want you to be happy,” she said, finally.
Flynn nodded, even though they couldn’t see him.“And I am happy.Oli makes me happy.”
A beat.
“Well, we’ll see you boys this weekend, then.I hope you’re driving safely.”
It was an astonishing rally, I decided: a masterclass in reading the situation, weighing your priorities, and then pivoting as though this had all been your intention in the first place.Flynn’s mom was genuinely terrifying.
“I am, mom, don’t worry.But I’m gonna focus on the road, now.I love you guys, okay?”
“We love you, too.And Oliver?”
“Yes, Mrs Cunningham?”
“We’ll look forward to catching up with you properly at the weekend.I’m sure there’s a lot to hear about.”
Somehow, that prospect felt even more terrifying than Flynn’s parents disapproving of us being together.My mouth was oddly dry.
“Uh, I’d like that, Mrs Cunningham.See you soon.”
“Bye,” Flynn added, and then clicked off the call.
I deflated in the chair.
