Page 34 of Fruit
“It’s nice, ’cause you get to use your fingers too, get your hands all dirty.”
Joshua shrugs again. I let the silence be for a few moments.
“You okay, Joshua?” I ask eventually. He pulls into himself slightly. Even from this angle, I can see the frown on his face.
“You keep asking me that,” he grumbles.
“Well…I guess I just think that maybe there’s something going on today that might be worth talking about.”
Joshua looks at me, eyes narrowed. “Did Hugo say something?”
“No. He just looked a little worried, and you look a little down, so I just put two and two together.”
Joshua shrugs, looking down again. I watch him carefully.
“Did something happen today?” I venture.
Joshua stays silent for a long time. I just wait him out, and it pays off.
“It’s nothing,” he says eventually.
“Okay. But something happened?”
“It’s nothing. Just my dad being a dick. It’s nothing.” Joshua picks at a rip in his jeans.
“Being a dick how?”
“Just—being a dick.”
“About…?”
Joshua shrugs.
“Does he know about you being gay?” I ask. Joshua snorts, shifting against the wall.
“Yeah. Not that I told him, he kind of found out a while ago. Found some of my…stuff. On the computer.”
“Right. How did he react?”
Joshua snorts again, and there’s a distinctly bitter note to it. “Flipped out.”
“Flipped out in what way?”
“Just—flipped out. Mom was there, though, so she…like, calmed him down or whatever.”
“Did your mom already know?”
“No.”
“But her reaction was better?”
“Yeah. I mean, yeah, she was…cool about it. But, like, she’s always working, so…”
“So sometimes she can’t be there when your dad is being a dick about it,” I guess, using his words.
“I don’t need her to protect me. She’s got enough shit to worry about. It’s fine.”
“Joshua, whether you want, or agree with it or not, it’s your mom’s job to take care of you, and part of that is definitely protecting you. That should be your dad’s job, too.”
