Page 90 of For Butter or Worse
Leo crossed his arms and sunk farther into the couch. He felt more than a little reprimanded. “You’re very mean.”
“You made me take my clip-on earrings off.” Gavin mimed removing earrings. “You can’t change what you did to Nina. You called her a sexist name on live TV. That’s shitty, bro.”
“I know.”
“Good. But you aren’t a bad person. You’ve taken care of me and Ma and made sure we didn’t run Dad’s business into the ground. You’ve given us enough money that I could retire tomorrow if I wanted to. We wouldn’t be what we are today without you. And you’ve been so busy worrying about everyone else, that you haven’t stopped to worry about yourself. I know you’re sad to lose Nina. I’m sad, too. She would’ve been a great sister-in-law for me to brag to people about. But maybe this is a gift. To quote RuPaul, ‘If you don’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?’”
“You watchDrag Race?” His brother mainly kept to dramas, sci-fi and fantasy, or so Leo thought.
“The guy I’m seeing is crazy about theAll Starsspin-off. I’m watching for him.”
“Excuse me, the guy you’re seeing?” Leo placed his feet up on the couch. This was news to him.
“It’s not a big deal. We’ve just been on a couple of dates.” Gavin popped a fistful of popcorn into his mouth.
“When did this start?”
Gavin swallowed. “Three months ago.”
Leo paused. “What?”
“Calm down. I didn’t want to tell you until I knew it was serious. And now it is. I’ve asked him to be exclusive.”
“Three months is serious, Gavin. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Leo snagged the bowl of popcorn from his brother, a small and childish punishment, but he did it nonetheless.
“Says the dude who can’t keep a fake girlfriend.” Gavin cupped his hand around his mouth and made anohhhhhnoise. Then paused. “Too soon?”
“Just a bit, yeah.” He felt like at any moment a record would scratch to a halt, and the dramatic movie voice-over of his life would start.I bet you’re wondering how I got here...Because he’d been on a TV show with someone who hated him, only to then fall in love with that person, and subsequently push them away. And now? He was in a onesie, about to binge-eat malt balls and cry his eyes out toBridget Jones’s Diary.
“I’m not sure watching this movie will actually help you get over Nina.” Gavin had paused the movie on the opening credits, which Leo knew all too well.
The movie may not help him forget Nina, but watching it would tap into the emotions he kept carefully locked away. He’d definitely cry when Bridget caught Daniel Cleaver cheating on her, and then at the sappy happily-ever-after.
He needed this movie. And his brother. And all the snacks and beer. He realized that even though he’d lost Nina, at least he had his family, and they were extraordinary.
“Just hit Play,” he finally said.
And so Gavin did. Leo settled into the couch next to him. Happy to have his womb-mate by his side to get him through the heartache. But with each romantic gesture they watched—big and small—Leo wondered if there might ever be a world where he’d get a second chance, too, the way Mark and Bridget had.
NINA’S TEXTS
Nina:Thank you for the Instagram post.
Leo:Can we please talk? There’s been a misunderstanding.
Nina:I think everything we need to say has been said, right?
Leo:No, it hasn’t.
Nina:It’s gotten too complicated. And I don’t have the energy to handle the restaurant and try to navigate...whatever this is.
Leo:Okay
Nina:Okay?
Leo:Yes, I’ll respect whatever you want.
Leo:Nina?
