Cade #2
“Mhmm,” she said, probably still shooting daggers before her voice was clear again. “Now, that’s wonderful and all, honey, but I thought you said you met someone?”
“I did,” I said, staring at my phone, waiting for the pieces to click into place.
“Well, I’m afraid you’ve lost me,” she said with a chuckle. “I thought that place was full of men.”
It was my father who sighed heavily after more silence. “Candace…c’mon now. I know math wasn’t your best subject, but the numbers you’re tryin’ to add are two and two…four is pretty easy to figure out.”
“I…you…” she began, and I winced. My father’s reaction was…well, it gave little away, because he was just exasperated with her.
“He met a man,” my father added bluntly, again giving away nothing about how he felt.
“But you never…” she said, and I hated how lost she sounded.
I had never had to consider how my parents would deal with the idea that I was anything but straight.
Neither my brother nor I had ever shown any inclination toward anything but women, especially my brother, who had yet to sow his wild oats, apparently.
I wasn’t the type to bring someone home often, not because I didn’t want to commit, but because meeting my family was a huge deal as far as I was concerned.
It was only when I was sure there might be some long-term potential that I brought someone to meet them.
Since I’d never considered it, I had no idea how my parents would handle the thought of one of their children not bringing a woman home, or more than that.
Not that I was going to assume Walker and I were that kind of serious, but things between him and me had been going on long enough for me to say something.
Not that I’d talked to him about telling my parents, which was probably something I should have done.
Then again, I probably should have put more thought into how my parents would react before dropping it in their laps without warning.
My heart was thundering in my chest and sweat was thick on my palms as I had to focus on my breathing.
I suddenly had a whole new appreciation for the people who’d had to have this conversation with their parents.
My mother cleared her throat roughly before speaking. “You…met a man? Romantically?”
I couldn’t say how romantic it was since Walker and I hadn’t talked, but I certainly wasn’t going to tell my parents that right now I was only confident about the sexual side of things. We were close, but we weren’t that close. “Yeah Mama, I did.”
“I-I’m sorry, honey,” she said, taking another breath as I felt mine catch in my throat. “This probably ain’t the reaction you were hoping for. I just…you’ve caught me right off guard.”
“Oh, quit bein’ so dramatic, Candace,” my father said gruffly. “Just means he realized that women ain’t worth the bother is all, and that’s a smart choice if ya ask me.”
“You and me are going to have a friendly talk about what is and isn’t smart,” she said in a low voice. “And, Cade, honey…why didn’t you tell us you were gay?”
“I’m not!” I said quickly, then grimaced. “I mean, I know I’m not. I still like women.”
“But—”
“But I’m currently…interested in a man.”
“Now hold on a second here,” my father said, and his voice sounded closer to the phone. “You’re ‘interested’ in a man? You’re tellin’ me you’re surprising us with this and ya ain’t even with ’em?”
“I…it’s complicated,” I said, still trying to tap dance around the details.
“Ya mean you’re screwin’ but ain’t tryin’ to settle down,” he huffed.
“Dad!” I protested as my mother barked out. “Carl!”
“Oh, call a spade a spade already,” he said, his tone saying he had no time for our indignation. “The boy figures he’s into boys, and that’s when he decides he’s gonna start acting more like his brother.”
“I am not…” I began, realizing it was a bad idea to call my brother a slut over the phone.
“A slut,” my mother said with a sigh, and coughed. “Well, anyway. So you’re not gay?”
“No, Ma,” I said, letting my head fall into my hands. I really didn’t know how I didn’t expect this conversation to spiral out of control when that was exactly the effect my family had on just about anything. “I’m still very much into women. I’m just…also very much into this man.”
“This one? Just this one?”
“Uh, so far. Ain’t bothered tryin’ to figure out if it’s more men,” I said, glaring between my fingers at the phone. “That was for you, Dad.”
“Yeah, yeah, ain’t my fault ya don’t know how to settle down.”
“Jesus Christ, Dad.”
“Now watch your language, Cade Whitmore,” my mother scolded, slapping me back to reality with my middle name. The full name hadn’t come out though, so I was relatively safe.
“Sorry,” I said immediately. “And I’m not…it’s not like that, Dad, okay? This wasn’t exactly somethin’ I was prepared for, alright? It’s new to me and I don’t even know if it’s somethin’ that’s gonna be…somethin’. I’m still figurin’ it out.”
“Well, it sounds like you’ve got some things figured out,” she said gently. “Otherwise, why would you bother telling us? If it was just…well, a bit of fun, then you wouldn’t need to tell us, right?”
“I guess,” I said, a little uncomfortable. It was one thing for my father to be his normal blunt self. It was something else entirely for my mother to express, in her delicate and careful way, that she understood that what was going on between Walker and me was definitely sexual.
“Well, then maybe you should consider that it’s important enough for you to bring up to us,” she continued. “And if that means it’s a big deal for you, then you need to talk to him about it too. Is it…Walker?”
“Yes,” I said with a sigh. “It’s Walker.”
“Did you…know back then?”
“Um, no?”
“Now, why was that a question?”
“Because…” I began, and then sighed. “Because I knew somethin’ was weird about how I felt about ’em back then, but I didn’t really—”
“Think too much of it at the time and because it didn’t seem like a big deal, you decided not to dig too deep into figuring it out.”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Why must I be cursed with two of your clones?” she asked, and I knew that question was directed at my father.
“Don’t go blamin’ me for this!” he complained, but it wasn’t like he had much of a defense.
My brother, Dylan, and me were as stubborn as he was, not the type to talk about how we’re feeling, and while he had got more of my father’s wilder side, I had taken over in other ways.
We even resembled our father, having got his green eyes, pale skin, and red hair, although my mother’s dark hair and eyes should have beaten his genetics. “I didn’t make the boy gay.”
“I’m not gay!” I exclaimed just in time for the door to open, and I found not just Walker standing there with a plate of steaming food, but Reggie as well. “Oh, perfect.”
“Should I come back?” Walker asked, glancing at the phone and then up at me with only a towel wrapped around my waist.
“I’ll definitely come back,” Reggie said with a snort, turning away. “I won’t be far.”
“Thanks,” Walker told him, stepping into the room. “Are you yelling at Clay?”
“Ooh, I recognize that smooth voice now,” my mother exclaimed, and I felt a lot better about what was happening when I saw Walker freeze like he’d just been told there was a sniper. “Walker, hello!”
“So you’re the one who made my boy gay?” my father asked, and I was right back to being exasperated and over this conversation.
“Hello again, Mr. and Mrs. Wilcom,” Walker said, his voice absurdly formal. “It’s lovely to speak to you both again.”
“Oh, I forgot how polite this one is,” she said, apparently thrilled to be talking to Walker. “Please ignore my husband. He was raised by animals and despite forty years married to me, he ain’t been taught proper manners.”
“I’m not gay!” I insisted again, though I suspected my dad was just saying it to get a rise out of me. That it was working just made it more annoying.
Walker was staring at me, and I couldn’t tell if it was confusion or accusation I could sense in his eyes. “As far as I know, he remains mostly heterosexual.”
“Gay enough,” my father grumbled. “Now, do me a favor and pin this one down? I’ve given up on the other one, dunno if anyone is gonna make that one behave, but Cade’s alright enough. Ya think you two could stop screwin’ around and just—”
“Alright, that’s enough,” I said, reaching for the button on the phone. “I love you both, bye!”
“Now hold on,” my mother protested, and I heard something sharp in the background, followed by a muffled curse from my father, making me wince. “Cayden, don’t you hit that button before I’ve said my piece. Your father’s said enough. Let me speak.”
My finger hovered over the button, but I didn’t press it. “Okay.”
“I’m still tryin’ to absorb what you told me; it’s gonna take a minute.
But don’t you dare for a minute think that means I think badly of you…
or Walker, or…whatever’s going on between you.
What me and your father both want is for you to be happy, so while your father might be an absolute ass…
he’s right about part of it. You two need to have a little talk, I think. ”
“Mom, he’s literally right here.”
“I know,” she said, and I sighed. “Now I love you, honey, and Walker?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Oh, ma’am and everything, raised right. Whatever happens between you two, you’re always welcome at this house, you hear me? All of you boys were always welcome, and that’s still true for you, ya hear?”
“I do indeed.”
“Good, then you end this call right now, Cade. Your father and me have gotta have a nice talk,” she said. “Love you.”
“I love you both,” I said and hit the button, but not quickly enough for me not to hear that sharp sound again and my father’s grunt. “I’m pretty sure that was a wooden spoon or a spatula.”