Chapter 26 #2
“No, Jesse’s great,” I assure him quickly, then take a breath to brace myself. “His recovery is rock steady so far. I’m really proud of him. But the news is about him. And me. Me and him.”
I feel my cheeks heating up as Adam’s eyes go wide.
“You and him,” he says slowly. I nod. “I knew it!” He punches the air and grins at me. In the background, I hear his dog bark at him.
Okay. That wasn’t what I was expecting.
“You knew…what exactly?” I ask tentatively.
He laughs and shakes his head. “That you’re together, yeah?”
“Um…yeah,” I admit.
He smirks in triumph. “You were both being so cagey, it crossed my mind that might be what was going on. And you know that Jesse had the biggest crush on you back in the day, right? He thought he was so subtle, but I figured it out pretty much immediately.”
“Okay,” I say, feeling totally thrown. “And you’re cool with it? Because this has kind of been eating away at me.”
Adam puffs his cheeks out and looks like he’s thinking about what to say. “I love you both and I know how responsible you are, Rico. So I’d hope you’d never do anything to jeopardize his sobriety if he’s really doing it this time.”
I laugh, partly in relief and partly from simple joy. “Believe me, I wrestled with that for a long time before anything happened. I would never, ever have taken advantage of him while he was vulnerable, man.”
“Yeah, I know,” he says, a smile creeping back on his face. “So this is serious?”
“Very.” I nod and drop into my armchair, feeling like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders. “I…I love him, Adam. We’re in love.”
“Fucking hell,” he says, shaking his head and grinning. “Don’t get me wrong, this is going to be pretty weird for me. But I’m thrilled for you guys. Is my brother there? I want to give him shit for keeping this a secret from me.”
I laugh, incredibly grateful to have such an awesome best friend. “He’s at work right now, but I’ll get him to call you tomorrow while I’m out. Then you two can bitch about me all you like.”
Adam chews on his lower lip a second. “Now I know the truth about this, am I allowed to finally hear what this new job is as well? Because the evening hours have been worrying me.”
“Nah, you’ve got nothing to fret over,” I assure him.
“He is dancing at a club, but it’s not like the places in LA.
It’s actually really wholesome and the people he works with have his back a thousand percent.
I’m sure he’ll tell you all about that, too.
” I sigh and scrub my hand over my jaw. “We were going to tell you this news together, so I hope he forgives me. But my parents were…”
“Cruel?” Adam guesses. I nod sadly. “Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me.
I’m sorry, dude. Give them space. They might get their heads out of their asses someday.
In the meantime, though, I’m fucking jazzed about this bizarre turn of events.
” His face goes slack. “Oy vey. Wait. If you two get married, whose best man would I be?”
I chuckle weakly and crook an eyebrow at him. “Um, funny you should mention that. So, you know I was vague about affording Jesse’s rehab stay?”
“No,” Adam says, his jaw dropping. “You did not get married for the insurance?”
“We did,” I tell him apologetically. “It was all a little crazy. But it worked out in the end! Even if we did go about things a bit unconventionally.”
“That is an understatement,” Adam says sardonically. “I take it my folks don’t know yet. Because I’m calling shotgun right now on not being the one to break that news.”
I laugh and sigh. “No, not yet. Jesse hasn’t spoken to them in so long, I don’t think he’d even know what to say. But…I think he’d like to try. Do you reckon they’d be at least open to listening?”
Adam plops down on a park bench and his dog’s fluffy head appears in his lap for a rub.
“They never stopped loving him, Rico. They just didn’t know how to handle him.
Which isn’t fair on Jesse, but it is what it is.
I think if he’s got his shit together like you say, they’d love to work on reconnecting.
Besides, you know my mom is going to lose her mind when she finds out you’re her new son-in-law.
She always wanted to adopt you anyway, and now she’s gotten her wish. ”
Hearing him say that makes my heart soar. “Yeah, she was always kind to me. I’d really love it if they could see Jesse thriving. I think there’s a part of him that’s still that little kid, just doing all he can to get their attention. If he knew they cared, I’m certain it would be so healing.”
Adam nods thoughtfully. “That’s something we can work toward, I’m sure. I’ll chat with Jesse tomorrow about it. You know, now that I’m allowed to talk to you guys again.”
I wince. “How long are you going to lord that over us?”
“Probably forever,” he says with a wink.
“That’s fair,” I admit.
“It’s kind of wild.” he says thoughtfully. “I was beside myself that I couldn’t be there for Jesse that night. Turns out, asking you to check in on him was the best thing that could have happened, right?”
“Damn right,” I agree wholeheartedly.
“Alice had the measure of it all along,” Adam continues. “I wasn’t doing my brother any favors by coddling him. I should have sent you to him years ago.”
I shake my head. “This was the right time, trust me. But I think Jesse would love the chance to win Alice over at some point. He knows he put a lot of pressure on your marriage and he hates that.”
Adam waves me off. “Water under the bridge. But, yeah. I think she’ll be really happy to hear about all this. Thank you, Rico. Really. Our family might finally come back together because of you.”
“And Jesse,” I say firmly. “He knows he caused a lot of problems, but he’s worked so hard at his recovery. My good intentions wouldn’t mean anything if he didn’t really want this.”
Adam nods and stands back up to carry on walking.
“I can’t wait to hear his side of all this.
But I’m glad you called today, man. Don’t let your parents ruin this for you.
We’ve always been brothers in spirit, but now we are in law, too.
So know that you’ve got all the family you need already, whether or not they come around. ”
“Thanks, Adam,” I say warmly. “That means a lot. Speak soon?”
“Yeah, now you’re not hiding gigantic secrets,” he says teasingly, and I groan. “Love you, brother. Take care.”
“Love you, too,” I say, then close the call.
I wish the conversation with my folks had gone better.
But Adam’s right. Sometimes, family is what you make it, not blood.
Now that he knows everything and so does the One-Thirteen, it feels like Jesse and I can start our journey as a real couple.
Especially as the insurance company is off our backs.
My parents can disapprove all they want. Jesse is the one for me, and I dare anyone to prove me wrong.