Rhys #3
We all talked some more, and I started to notice that everyone was intentionally avoiding mentioning anything about my divorce and subsequent firing.
On one hand I appreciated it, because it was the last thing I wanted to talk about at the moment, but on the other hand it embarrassed me that there had probably been some kind of family meeting to discuss me and plan out a strategy for conversation.
When the subject of cornhole was brought up, I was strangely relieved that my parents and Benjamin and Josie jumped up to play on the nearby grass, leaving me in the quiet space with Kendall.
The soft lilt of his voice and the way I couldn’t detect a shred of pity from him was oddly soothing.
And he wasn’t technically related to me, so he wasn’t required to be nice to me.
But being friendly and easy to talk to came naturally for him, a trait that had always eluded me.
That was one reason he and my brother got along so swimmingly.
They were both almost too nice for their own good.
With cheers and groans ringing out in the background, punctuated by the sound of the bean bags smacking onto the wooden platforms, I watched Kendall shift in his seat, stretching out his legs.
He’d always been beanpole thin, scrawny and bony, but I wouldn’t have thought to describe him like that now.
He was definitely slim, but his figure was lean and toned.
Again, I couldn’t help but think of him as modelesque.
He’d definitely been a late bloomer, but had eventually grown into his looks. Good for him.
“The cabin won’t be so bad, you know,” he promised. For whatever reason, I was inclined to believe him over my brother. “It’s really quiet. I’m sure Mom will understand if you want to hang back and relax a bit.”
Kendall had called my parents Mom and Dad for as long as I could remember.
I didn’t blame him, since his parents were…
Not great, for lack of a more polite term.
They were conservative and religious, basically the opposite of everything a flamboyant and somewhat effeminate gay kid would need for a healthy and happy upbringing.
They’d made his life a living hell from what I understood, though I’d never actually had a real conversation with him about it.
“And after everything, you definitely deserve a vacation,” he tacked on.
After everything. It was the closest anyone had come to acknowledging what was going on in my life.
Taking in a deep breath, I let my head fall back onto the cushion as I took everything in. The sky was already starting to fade into warm sunset hues, the buzz and chirp of insects flowing into my ears. I’d have to get used to that again.
“Yeah, well.” I wasn’t sure what to say. “I don’t know about that.”
He pursed his lips for a second, before tilting his head. The light caught the jewelry pierced through the cartilage of his ear as he moved, sending a row of sparkle over the cute shapes. A star, a flower, a heart, and a crescent moon.
“You deserve better.” He said it firmly, like I wasn’t allowed to argue or disagree with the statement, even in my own head.
“Of course you’d say that,” I responded, then felt instantly awkward about the implication. The last thing I’d meant to do was hold the giant crush he’d had on me over his head. “I mean, not that… Um. I didn’t mean that how it sounded.”
He snorted, squeezing his eyes closed and wrinkling his nose like he was mildly embarrassed, but shook his head.
“No, it’s okay,” he promised. “I get what you mean. And you’re allowed to bring it up. I’m sure I was very, very annoying.”
“You weren’t.” He had been, occasionally, but not because of the crush. Just because he’d been a loud, dweeby, second version of my younger brother. “You were just a kid.”
“A kid with a very obvious and very pathetic crush, who didn’t know the meaning of the word subtlety, and thought he was being very cute and very clever trying to get your attention all the time.”
Dragging my tongue around my teeth, I tried to suppress any evidence of my amusement as I let out an inquisitive sound.
“I, ah, never noticed,” I lied, and couldn’t hold back the grin once he burst out laughing.
“You were very kind then and now,” he said, still chuckling as he pressed his fingertips to his eyes. I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it, but his skin seemed to have taken on a sweet little flush of pink. It suited his delicate features.
I also wasn’t sure if anyone had ever described me as kind before.
Even if it probably wasn’t true, it felt good to be called something complimentary for once.
I’d spent so long fighting with my ex about all the shit I was always doing wrong I’d almost forgotten words without negative connotations could also apply to me. Maybe.
The rest of the night went off without a hitch, just easy conversation and catching up with my family.
When it was all said and done, and I was finally able to crawl into my childhood bed, staring up at my childhood ceiling where I’d once had a poster of a girl in a bikini plastered.
The last thought I had before falling into a deep, weary sleep was that if Kendall was there, the trip probably wouldn’t be so bad.