Coming Out. Part 1
I know it's kind of boring and I promise the next section will be better as far as action is concerned. Being perpetually single I get to let my imagination run wild a little bit for the fun parts so stay tuned.
This one was really really hard to write because, well, with the exception of having any sort of boyfriend/friend/relationship to comfort me, the story that my character tells is true. Names have been changed to protect the guilty but the words and feelings are genuine. My mom and I have talked a little bit since this and I would like to say it's going well but it's really just kind of being ignored. My dad is still very closed minded, guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from him.
Well, that didn't go as expected. Not that I really imagined anything good coming out of that meeting, I didn't expect what did. As I slowly made my way from my truck to my apartment I finally broke down at the steps right outside. With a heavy thud I sat on the bottom of the staircase and buried my face in my hands. A few stray tears worked their way out of my eyes and down my cheeks only to be smashed by my palms as I hear the rumble of a familiar truck pull into the parking lot. Shit! I didn't want him to see me like this, not after his first big business trip.
He climbed out of the truck all smile and grabbed his bag and turned towards me. As he got close enough to see my tear stained cheeks he dropped his bag, running towards me. Almost instantly he had his big arms wrapped around me, "What's Wrong?"
Letting myself melt into his body, I started crying again. In between the sobs I managed to sputter, "I...I came out...out to my family."
"Shh, It's OK," he said as he scooped me up, "Let's go inside and you can tell me about it."
I let him carry me inside and then gently place me on the couch. "Give me a second to go get my stuff before someone runs over it; I wouldn't want them to break your present."
With renewed crying I mumbled. "You shouldn't have gotten me anything; I'm obviously not worth it."
"Stop it, stop that attitude right now. You know you mean the world to me, and I don't care what other people say or think. Now give me a second and we'll start from the top."
Moments later he returned with his suitcase. He placed it beside the door, then closed and locked it. He then proceeded to take off his jacket and he also took off his shirt, I didn't know why until he sat down next to me and pulled me into his lap. He wrapped my arms around his fuzzy torso and I buried my face into his soft neck. Since he stood roughly seven feet tall, my furry canine boyfriend towered over me. At just over six feet tall myself, I'm not small, but compared to him and his strong musculature I'm tiny. It worked out perfectly on days like today when I was feeling vulnerable, not so much though when the tables were turned and he wanted to be my "lap dog."
"Now tell me, why did you come out to your parents without me being there?"
"Well to be honest, I didn't exactly plan on it. It just kind of happened."
"I see, so tell me what did happen exactly?"
I took a deep breath and started telling my story. "Well, you know how big mom's side of the family is. It's June so I went over for the June Bash, you know where we have everyone who as a birthday in June's party at one time since that's almost half of them. I drove down to mom and dad's last night so I just rode with them over to Mima's today. Everything was going ok at the beginning; we had dinner then went out on their front lawn to open presents since it was a nice day. Of course Mitch was being his normal overly dramatic self and talking about how he almost never gets three presents. Everyone was laughing about that."
"After everyone had opened their gifts and the kids were off playing Aunt L told everyone that her and Uncle B were planning a cruise for next year. She started by saying that she didn't know exactly when, for how long, or what cruise line but that they knew they were going to the Caribbean. That of course sparked a whole conversation and Mima and Pop's chimed in about not using this cruise line but that this one was good for that kind of trip, where you should go, what you should do and that kind of stuff."
"It didn't take long for the topic to turn towards Uncle B, which you know is about as Redneck as you can get, and his whole cancer situation allowing him to go. After that was discussed dad made a joke about who was going to have the bigger culture shock, Uncle B or the cruise line and passengers? Luke and I both said the Cruise line. Of course dad couldn't leave that line of thought alone and quickly said, 'Just wait until those two guys go strolling across the deck hand in hand.' Aunt L then said 'I know, we saw a pair of them at the mall one time. B kept telling Derrick and Anthony that he would pay them to go over there and beat them up.'"
"That's awful, even for him."
"I know but it gets worse. She said that B urged Derrick and his friend to do that for a good five minutes because 'That's just not right.' Of course Dad and Luke are both over there chiming in with their own bashing, and chiming in with L. Mom was just sitting there quiet looking over at me, I know she saw me visibly shaken by their words but she didn't say anything, nor did she try to stop any of it or change the subject. I sat there with my mouth shut, just shaking my head from time to time at how ridiculous their arguments are. It's probably a good thing Brad wasn't there at the time or I might have exploded right then and there."
"Wow, I'm impressed that you did keep your cool."
"I did, shortly thereafter Luke and his girlfriend got up and left, it was her birthday too so I'm sure he was going to give her a special birthday present when they got home. Anyways as he was pulling away I told mom and dad that we needed to leave too since I needed to change the oil in my Truck."
"We made it back over to mom and dad's and I started to work on the truck, hoping that it would keep my mind off of what was said. I guess I didn't do a good enough job because when I came in after getting finished mom and dad were in the kitchen talking when she asked me what was wrong. I told her nothing and that I didn't want to talk about it but she kept persisting. I finally broke down and told her, 'You want to know what's wrong. I'm one of THEM as Aunt L put it, and I just found out that my family is full of bigots.' I know that wasn't the best thing to say and I probably shouldn't have added the bigot line but I was furious at that point. Of course that also set dad off. 'No son of mine is going to be a faggot.' 'Well then I guess I'm not your son because I didn't chose to be gay, I've never been attracted to girls, that's why I never brought any home. I've been attracted to guys even before puberty. I'm in a committed loving relationship now with the man of my dreams.' 'Who, Drake?!' 'Yes Drake, and now he's making more money than either of you combined.' 'Get out!' 'Don't worry, I'm leaving' and I stormed back to Mat's room, threw my stuff together and stormed out the door. As I was peeling out of the driveway I saw mom come out of the house but I didn't care, I just kept driving."
"She tried calling me a few times while I was on the road but ignored it. I pulled into the parking lot, left my bag and my phone in the truck and started making my way towards the apartment. Where you found me was as far as I got." By this time, try as hard as I might I couldn't keep from starting to cry again.
"Shh, it's ok, you'll see." He kept rubbing my back and just let me cry as he bent his head down and started to kiss my shoulder. "Maybe I should go get your phone and see if your mom left a voicemail. Maybe she wanted to apologize for your dad and make sure you made it home ok. You know how she worries."
"Let her worry, I don't care right now. It can wait until morning." I said as I tightened my grip on my amazing boyfriend. "I'm so lucky, how did I ever find you?" I then kissed him on the neck.
"You've just got a knack for being in the right place at the right time I guess."
"Except for earlier."
"Maybe, maybe not, only time will tell."
"I guess."
I felt him lift my head up and pull my face closer to his. Our lips met and we kissed each other deeply. "I missed you" he said.
"I missed you too."
"Are you going to be ok?"
I kissed him again, passionately. "Yes, with you around, I'll always be ok."
I put my head on his chest and tried to relax listening to the sound of his breathing and I think I dozed off for a little bit.
End of Part 1