Page 23 of In the Name of the Father

Malcolm smiled. “Excellent. Cranberry it is.”

Once Malcolm had placed their order, they chatted a bit. Of course, Malcolm steered the conversation, but Seth could tell he was trying to stay away from anything about Seth’s father, the church or his upbringing. Instead, Malcolm had quizzed him on what places he’d always dreamed of visiting. The beach, any beach, had been on his list. But so had Disneyland—a no brainer—and Alaska, since he loved the outdoors so much.

After the food began arriving, he’d discovered that the clam chowder hadn’t been all that bad. The soup part had tasted really good, like a regular potato soup but with a hint of bacon. The chewy clam hadn’t been his favorite, but not gross the way he’d thought it would be. However, the steak and meatloaf had been the best things he’d ever eaten. None of the meat dishes they’d prepared back home had been that flavorful. And as it turned out, gorgonzola cream sauce might be his new favorite thing.

Once they’d finished, Seth laid a hand on his stomach. He couldn’t remember ever being so full before. His father made a big deal out of gluttony—the way he’d always done with all the deadly sins.

Malcolm regarded him with fond eyes. “I know. I’m stuffed too. But we can’t skip the dark chocolate cake.”

“Oh, I couldn’t. I want to, but I really couldn’t.”

Malcolm tipped back his head and laughed. “I figured we’d order it to go. I honestly couldn’t either. But how about some coffee while we watch the sun set over the water?”

Seth gave him a shy smile. “That sounds nice.”

The server brought them their coffee—or rather his coffee, since Malcolm was having espresso in a teeny-tiny cup. He thought that maybe he’d try it another time, but it seemed like it might be too strong and bitter.

They watched the gold reflection off the water gradually deepen to a rusty orange with streaks of red while they sipped their drinks. Seth became lost in the beauty of the moment. Not just the scene before him, but how Malcolm had quickly become someone he looked up to and cared about. While he’d love to explore something more romantic with the older man, he realized it would never happen. Malcolm was much too worldly.

But he wanted to know more about Malcolm anyway. Almost the entire day had passed, and Seth hadn’t once thought about the fact that Malcolm was gay. It hadn’t mattered. Every moment they’d shared had been magical. In addition, Seth had discovered that Malcolm was regarded with respect at the Silver Chalice winery that he owned. Everyone had been so happy to see him.

Those people don’t care if he’s gay.

Seth almost laughed out loud. Not because the situation was particularly funny, but at the irony of how his father would get worked up into such a fit over gay people. While he realized that there were plenty of people who still didn’t accept you if you were gay, the whole world didn’t hate gay men the way his father had insisted.

That’s because he’s a damn liar.

Seth almost choked on his coffee at the inner curse. But it was true. His father had no love in his heart, yet here was Malcolm, one of the sinful gay men his father had insisted was so evil and incapable of love, and Seth had experienced nothing but care and kindness from him. Which made him wonder something else.

The man who died, the one who he’d said would’ve been his husband.

“Can I ask you something?”

Malcolm set down the tiny white cup in its saucer. “Always. I can’t guarantee I’ll answer, but you are always welcome to ask.”

Seth fiddled with the small stirring spoon. “Well…the man you said was your partner. What was he like? Were you together a long time? How did you meet? When did you know you were in love?”

Malcolm let out a small snort. “Those were a lot of questions.”

He could barely believe it himself. They’d burst out of him before he’d had the chance to think. “I’m being too nosy, aren’t I? And if it makes you too sad to talk about him, that’s okay, It’s none of my business anyway.”

“No. It’s fine.” Malcolm drained the little cup, set it down then pushed it away. “I think it would be good for you to hear about a positive gay relationship firsthand.” Malcolm folded his hands as he gazed off in the distance. After a few moments, he regarded Seth. “Let’s see. I met Everett at a social club I used to attend many years ago. I was quite young, younger than you are right now.”

Seth sat up straighter. “Really?”

“Yup. He was a big muscle hunk, but also gentle as a kitten. He was twelve years older than me, but we took to each other right away. We continued to meet up at the club for a few weeks, then started seeing each other on a regular basis outside of that, uh…” Malcolm rubbed the back of his neck. “…social setting. Anyway, it didn’t take long before we knew we belonged together and that was it. We became inseparable, I moved in with him and we were together for ten years until he passed.”

“I’m so sorry again that you lost him.” Seth hated that he’d made Malcolm talk about such a painful memory, but he’d said it was okay. Plus, Seth needed to understand how men committed themselves to each other, how it all worked. “Who made the first move?”

Malcolm furrowed his brow as he rubbed his chin. “Hmm. That’s a good question. I can’t say for sure.” He chuckled. “All I remember was I saw this gorgeous man across the room, and we made eye contact. As dark as it was, I was certain he was staring at me with the same intent as I was staring at him. The DJ began playing one of my favorite songs, and I took that as a sign. Next thing I knew, I was moving across the dance floor to ask him to dance, but he was already making his way to me. So, I guess we both did.”

Seth’s jaw dropped. “You guys danced? Together?”

Malcolm regarded him with a twinkle in his eye. “Yes, Seth. We danced with each other.”

“And no one stared or got mad?”

“It was the type of club where men dance together all the time.” Malcolm arched his eyebrows.

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