*******
“How goes the job search?” Dad asked as we loaded up his rented truck with more stuff to bring to the junk yard. I just shook my head.
After Wes and I had left them at my Grandparent’s house to finish the cleaning, my mother said it was too hard for her. Grandma had been like another mother to her. Mom had gotten pregnant with Wes at sixteen, and when her father found out he kicked her right to the street. Her mother, all the while, was calling her a dirty slut. Grandma took Mom in, making her and Dad sleep in separate rooms till they got married three weeks later.
“It hadn’t been a shoot gun wedding or anything,” Grandma always said when telling me the story. “I asked your father what he wanted to do and he told me “I want to marry her” so I let them do it. They lived with us till he finished college, got a job, and could deal with having to pay for everything. Wes was such a good boy back then.”
After I quit working with Seth, Dad and I got Mom to come back to finish the job. The load we were taking to the junk yard would be the last. The only things left in the house was it’s furniture and the boxes of stuff Mom wanted to bring home with her. Which contained pretty much everything my grandparents owned.
“You aren’t going to sell the house right?” It had been in our family for three generations now; it would break my heart to see it go to someone else.
“Mom doesn’t want to, but I don’t really feel like commuting three hours a day for work. Maybe we should rent it out while we decided what to do.” This is the perfect time to ask. I knew that it was risky but I had to try.
“Dad, do you think, I can have it?” I said after gathering all my courage.
“Have what?” He was driving. He and Wes are alike in that sense, when you try talking to them while driving. They mumble, ignore, or are really slow on the up take.
“The house Dad, can I have it?” He looked over at me before returning his eyes to the road.
“Reed, it’s a really big house. There was still too much room when your grandparent’s, your mom and I, Wes, and all our crap was living there.”
“I know, but I love that house so much, and I don’t have anything but you guys and Wes keeping me in the City. It’s not like I’m going to get lonely, I already know people in this town. Plus, you know Wes; he’ll be out here every other day to check on me. I think it would be a good change for me.” That sounded believable. It was all true, mostly.
“Is this because of Seth?” Dad had never been too comfortable with my homosexuality but I knew that he loved me no matter what. Mom had been kicked out of her family’s life, she knew the pain that came along with it, so she made it clear from day one that I would always be her son no matter what I did. Dad hadn’t gone through it, but he’d been there when she would cry about missing her parents and siblings, and promised her he wouldn’t ever do something like that to their children. I don’t think they ever expected me to turn out gay, but their rule was still there.
“No,” I said and focused on the trees moving by outside.
“You know, I had always hoped that you would end up with him,” Dad said surprising me. We never talked about my love life. “He’s a good man, and I knew he could have made you happy. But it’s his loss you know? Someday, you are going to find someone that sees how special you are, and they will love you for it.” He took his hand off the steering wheel, something I’ve never seen him do before, and patting my check. “If moving out here is what you want to do, then I’ll let you,” he smile at me then eclipsed into comfortable silence.
*******
The first morning that I woke up in the house, everything was bathed in a beautiful yellow tint. Remembering the last time I had seen this color I made my way out to the huge wooden porch, over looking the backyard. I sat down in that same plastic white chair and leaned my arms against the railing. I felt happy for the first time in months.
This yellow tint felt like a sign, from God maybe, that everything was going to turn out okay.
I stood and stretched, getting all the kinks out of my muscles. I patted the railing twice.
“Thanks, I needed that.”
*******
“So Camble, how you feeling buddy?” Rhonda asked me early one morning.
“Well, thank you.” She’d always called me buddy, a fact that I loved, it made me feel like I was really her kid rather then a random person living in her and Mac’s house. “How are you?” I sat down at the kitchen table with a mug of coffee.
“Fine, just fine dear… Speaking of fine did you know Emily and Peter’s grandson moved into their home?” Emily and Peter Timmy had gone to gone to high school with Mac and Rhonda. They’d stayed friends over the years, and later became mine also. Even now, months after their passing I had urges to go mow their lawn or bring the Sunday paper by.
“What does that have to do with being fine?” I asked and shook my head.
“Everything, he’s a nice piece of ass.” I gasped at her and started laughing, shaking the whole table along with me.
“Rhonda, you’re sixty-five years old, you aren’t aloud to say that,” I said and rubbed a hand across my face, though hearing that from her wasn’t that big of a surprise. She and Emily used to have cussing battles at every gathering we had.
“I think you should go by and see him, I’m sure he’s lonely,” she said ignoring my comment on her age.
“And I think you should stop trying to set me up,” I said standing. She reached over and hugged me tightly to her small frame.
“You haven’t had sex in a while buddy, it’s time to get back in the game,” she said patting my cheek and handing me the keys to my truck. How the hell did she know that?
“I’m never telling Mac about my love life again,” I mumbled walking out the back door, he had a big mouth.
Rhonda had tried setting me up with ever man that passed through our city since before Rick was arrested, not even taking the time to stop and find out if they were even gay. I doubt this guy she’s taking about was gay, just like all the others.
So what if I hadn’t had sex in a year? It was by choose, I wanted something real, sex wasn’t as important to me as most people thought. That’s what I told people at least. I did miss it though, it was human nature to want sex, and lets just say my right had was one of my best friends as of late.
I drove my old truck into town, needing to pick up a few things for Mac before heading to work. I stopped off at the gas station; we only had the one, and filled up before going inside to grab the paper.
“Camble, good to see you, how are things?” John asked. He’d worked at the gas station so long; the last owner had left it to him in his will, something that John was mighty proud of.
“Good and yourself?” I asked placing the paper on the counter.
“Fine, hey, Rhonda called here a few minutes ago, asking me to remind you that the Timmy boy lived at the end of this street, whatever that means.” I had been reaching for my wallet, about to hand over some change, but what John said stopped me cold.
“Are you serious?” I asked, not being able to help the blush that came over my face.