Page 139 of In Plain Sight

“Was he okay with it?” I croaked.

One of my biggest regrets was that I never had the chance to tell my dad the truth. I’d gone over it in my head thousands of times over the years, and while I was almost positive he would have been okay with it, a small part of me was terrified that he wouldn’t have.

She nodded. “Yes. Your dad only wanted you to be happy. To find someone who treats you well, respects you, and makes you happy. That’s it. The same as me.”

I dropped my eyes, my vision going blurry. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” She slid across the couch and pulled me into one of her Mom hugs. “You have nothing to be sorry about. You told me when you were ready.”

“I’ve just been holding it in for so long, and I didn’t have to.” I pressed my face against her soft sweater. “Jade is fine with it. You are. Dad was. Even Dean is totally fine with it. I spent so long freaking out and lying to everyone for no reason.”

“You didn’t lie to us, sweetheart. Not telling us isn’t the same as lying. I’m just sorry that I didn’t make it easier for you to tell me sooner.”

“We’ll be here forever if we both start apologizing,” I said, soaking in the comfort that you could only get from a Mom hug. “You know how we are.”

She laughed, giving me a little squeeze, then sat back. “Would you like to tell me about your boyfriend?”

I let out a little laugh, not because anything was funny, but because I couldn’t believe I was sitting in my childhood home telling my mom about my boyfriend.

“His name is Zander. We met at work.”

Her eyes widened. “At work? Is he a mechanic too?”

I nodded. “Yeah. We started talking a few weeks after I started, and we’ve been together for just over a month now.”

“I’d love to meet him.” She brightened, like an idea had just popped into her head. “Does he have plans for Christmas? He should come to dinner if he’s free.”

“Um, yeah, actually. He is. His mom always goes to a friend's house for dinner.”

Mom’s smile fell. “She doesn’t do Christmas with her son? Or her family?”

“It’s just the two of them. They’re not close.” I didn’t want to tell her too much about Zander’s relationship with his mom, but I wanted her to understand what he dealt with when he was young. “She’s religious, and she wasn’t a great mom to him when he was growing up.”

Her confused expression was replaced with a stony one. “She doesn’t accept his sexuality?”

“She doesn’t know. He said he’s going to tell her soon, but he’s pretty much resigned to her not being okay with it.” I paused. “He’s gay. I’m bi. I mean, you obviously know that, but I just…” I shrugged. “My brain is kind of going rogue right now.”

Mom smiled. “I understand. I imagine this was very difficult for you.”

“Way more difficult than it should have been.”

“I’d love to meet him, either at Christmas or whenever you have some time off.”

“Thanks. I’ll let him know and get back to you.” I paused again. This was the perfect segue for the second part of the conversation. “There’s something else I need to talk to you about.”

“What is it?”

“Again, I have no idea how to say it, so I’m just going to say it.” I drew in a breath and forced myself to keep talking. “I’ve noticed that things between you and Eddie seem to be getting serious.”

Her cheeks flushed bright pink, but she held my gaze.

“And I just wanted to let you know that if that’s the case, then I’m happy for you.”

She blinked rapidly. Whether she was clearing tears or trying not to react to my words, I couldn’t tell.

“Eddie’s a great guy,” I continued before I could lose my nerve. “And I think Dad would be really happy that you have him.”

She made a sound that was a cross between a sob and a cough. “Thank you, sweetheart. That…that means a lot.”

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