Mom, I'm Gay

by Rebecca Flannery

Chapter 21

  Gabby stayed home for a week before we put her on a plane back to Toronto. Her time home passed much too quickly, but she packed a lot into the week. Besides spending some time with me, she visited a few friends from high school, did a little shopping, and was so kind to Andrea and Ginny. She even helped them with the move into their new apartment on Tuesday. She and Jonathan worked very hard that day, and after work, I took all four of them out to dinner, but not at Our Place this time. Since Jonathan was starting work there the very next day, we decided we should choose another restaurant. While we were having dinner, Jonathan critiqued the service and told us that R.J. had told him all the right things to say to get a job at Our Place. The way he mentioned R.J. so casually made me want to ask more, but I heeded Patrick’s advice and didn’t. He and Andrea seemed to be on good terms and with Gabby’s help, they did some reminiscing about when they were younger.

  “Remember the time,” Gabby got them started, “you two found the stray kitten?” They had hidden it from both families for a few days until Ginny couldn’t find the tuna she knew was in her cupboard. Each of them took turns with a memory. Andrea reminded them of the time she and Jonathan had spied on Gabby and her boyfriend, and they had gotten so bored that they fell asleep behind the couch. Jonathan recalled walking to the store with Andrea to buy some candy. While they were in the store, they had seen another kid steal some gum. The kid had made it look so easy, they talked about trying it, too. Then, they thought better of it and decided to tell the clerk what they saw. Neither of them could remember what happened exactly, but they both recalled that they were thrown out of the store without getting anything at all.

  It was fun sitting as two families and reminiscing about years gone by. Our situations were both much different from when we had met so many years ago, but I think both Ginny and I loved seeing our children like this.

  After dinner, Andrea and Ginny went to spend the night in their new home, and Gabby finally got to sleep in her own room, having refused to take it back from Andrea since she knew they were moving.

  Wednesday night, after I had worked all day and came home to a delicious home-cooked dinner prepared by Gabby, she and I decided to go for a walk on the beach. Jonathan was working at Our Place for the very first time. I hoped it would turn out to be a good summer job for him. He said tonight, he would help bus tables and observe the other waiters, followed by an interview with Dage and Keyonna to find out what to expect the next shift.

  It was more difficult to find a parking place near the beach now that school was out, but the time between dinner and dusk wasn’t as bad as midday, when families were there, or after dark, when it was often crowded with the high school and college students. As we walked, both of us took off our sandals to walk barefoot. I passed the same two young men holding hands as the last time I had walked with Andrea. I gave them a little nod of recognition, and one of them waved back to me.

  “Do you know them?” Gabby asked me.

  “No, but I’ve seen them here recently,” I explained.

  “You’re going to do all right with this, aren’t you, Mom?” I

  I knew she meant ‘this’ as Jonathan’s coming out, and I nodded. I was having a few bumps, but I thought I was doing all right. I nodded, and said, “But I’m having some trouble figuring out what’s okay to say to Jonathan, and what’s not…”

  It was her turn to nod. “I know. He’s having a hard time knowing what he wants to tell you. I had the same feelings when I was his age. We’re a close family, but some things just aren’t right to discuss with mothers.”

  I knew she was right, and as I thought about it, there had been plenty of similar problems with her. That was comforting to me to recall. “I was also very worried about Andrea finding out…”

  “I don’t think you’re supposed to worry about that,” she said, and I didn’t get the feeling Jonathan had told her how angry he had been with me. “It’s likely she’ll figure it out on her own, or he’ll find a way to tell her. Let it go.” She spoke gently, and she changed the subject. “Tell me about these new clients/friends of yours. Jonathan mentioned someone named Marshall.”

  I told her about meeting them, gave her a brief summary of the dinner party, and then I mentioned about the possibility of trading residences with them. She surprised me with her reaction.

  “Really? You might sell the house?” She was clearly less than enthusiastic than Jonathan had been.

  “Would you really be upset?” We stopped walking and plopped down on the soft sand. It was not hot or cool, just a bit warm from the day’s sun, as evening approached, and there was something luxurious about feeling it with both my hands and feet as she considered my situation. I had known that selling the house might be hard for Gabby.

  “Thinking only of myself, it would be so weird not to come home to the house I grew up in,” she began. She paused, thinking about it and looking out at the waves. “But thinking about you, it might be a great move. Our house is so filled with memories; some are happy times before Daddy died, and sad times as we got used to life without him. We’ve had good times since then, too, but I bet it would be a good way for you to build a life for yourself with Jonathan going to college.”

  Again, I nodded. I had thought about it a lot, and the truth was, I was ready for a life. I finally could think of that possibility. I loved their condominium and their idea was very appealing to me. I had looked at some other places, but the idea of trading houses and staying in each other’s lives was very important to me.

  We talked a little longer before heading back to the car. I could tell Gabby was warming up to the idea because she asked me to drive by their condo, which I did. She became more enthused as she saw the neighborhood and the outside of the building.

  “We can ring the doorbell and see if they’re home,” I suggested.

  Gabby looked shocked at the idea. “Do you really know them well enough to appear at their doorstep with your daughter unexpectedly?”

  “Actually, yes, I do! They have come to our house several times impromptu.”

  So we parked the car and walked up the steps to ring the bell, just as Bob opened the door.

  “Mara!! How great to see you!” He gave me a little hug. Then he looked at Gabby and said, “Hi, Gabby! Have you come to check out your mom’s new home?” He said that with a hopeful gleam in his eye as he winked at me and continued, “It’s so nice to meet you!”

  Gabby was speechless for a moment, shook his outstretched hand, and looked at me for some help. I looked at Bob and said, “Actually, I was hoping to show this place to Gabby! Am I coming at a bad time?”

  He told us he had been about to run to the store but it could definitely wait. We followed him in as he called out to Marshall, who walked out from the kitchen. He gave me the same warm welcome, and also greeted Gabby by name.

  When she finally found her voice, she said, “How did you both know who I was?”

  Bob answered as Marshall snickered, “We’ve seen your picture – make that several pictures - at your mom’s house, silly girl! Plus, you realize there is a resemblance, don’t you? Now come and let us show you around your mom’s new place.”

  Gabby’s reaction was similar to mine. She seemed to fall in love with it, and as we left, nearly an hour later after having some iced tea with them, I gave them the answer they were hoping for. I told them I’d work on figuring out prices for both and a legal, and hopefully economical way to swap homes.

  The rest of the time with Gabby was great, but she was ready to go back to Toronto when it was time to take her to the airport. She waited until the week was nearly over before mentioning she had begun dating someone new. His name was Sam, he was a graduate student, too, and she had a twinkle in her eye that told me it could get serious pretty quickly. She was ready to get back to Toronto, and he was picking her up at the airport. I was sad when she left but I was used to it, and I knew as a graduate assistant, she had plent
y of work to do in the summer. She said she might bring Sam home with her later in the summer when she came home to drive Jonathan to college with me.