Page 72 of Daily Grind
Food always brought them together.
“Dad in the basement?”
As if the question had summoning powers, the stairs from the basement creaked and his father appeared through the door. He brandished two wine bottles. “No meat in these!” He set the bottles down, and clapped Brian on the back. “Great to see you.”
His father looked good, which was a relief. He’d had a bout of bronchitis the previous month that had left him looking far older than Brian wanted to think about. The telltale signs that the years were rolling by were there, though. His father’s hair was thinner and not the near-black it had been. Both his parents had more lines on their faces than Brian wanted to acknowledge.
But right now, both were healthy and happy. Even though he had his issues with God, he sent up a silentthank-youanyway.
Couldn’t hurt.
His father sat down at the kitchen table. “How’s life treating you?”
There was the flutter of nervousness.I met a guy dad. I think I’m in love.Was that even something he could say? “Oh, the usual ups and downs. Shop’s been busy and I’ve been there a lot. Lost some baristas. Replacing them has been hard, but I just hired three new people, so hopefully things will ease up.” He grabbed a chair and joined his father at the table. “Life’s good, otherwise.” Really good. Robert Ancroft good. Heat touched his cheeks.
Shit, this was going to be hard.
The blush must not have been visible, since his father didn’t react. “Good help’s hard to get. Hope the new folks work out for you.”
“Me too.” He leaned against the table. “I can’t keep working the hours I’ve been working. I’ve been… short with people. That doesn’t help.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, hon.” His mother slid the pan into the oven. “You’re human.”
Couldn’t help the smile. That was a common refrain, one he’d heard throughout his childhood. “I know.”
His mom dusted her hands together. “Now that dinner is in the oven…”
She didn’t have to say more than that. Both he and his father rose and headed toward the sink. His mom would wash, he’d dry and his dad would put everything away.
Helping with the dishes now meant he could beach his overstuffed ass on the couch after dinner while his brother and sister took care of clearing the table. They’d grouse about howunfairthat was, but it wasn’t his fault he was the clever one.
“How was the ride down?” His mother filled the basin. “I always worry about you and that bike of yours. Too many accidents in the news.”
“The ride was beautiful. This spring’s been good for biking. Did a bunch of trail riding the other weekend.” He paused. “And I stick to the quieter streets and the bike lanes, Mom.”
“Don’t hassle him, Alice. Exercise is good for stress.”
She rolled her eyes and threw the utensils that couldn’t go into the dishwasher into the sink. “I don’t hassle.”
Brian laughed. “Hey, I worry about the cars, too.” He took a wooden spoon from his mom, dried it, and twirled it in his hands before turning it over to his dad.
“Hmm.” His mother eyed him and handed over a large plate to dry. “Who’s the woman?”
He nearly dropped the thing. “What?”
“You have that glow about you, hon. The one you get when you’ve started seeing someone. So, who is she?”
He dried the plate carefully, his hands shaky and his face red hot.
“Um.” This wassonot the way he intended to come out to his parents. Holy shit. He handed the plate over to his dad and braced himself against the kitchen counter for support, heart ramming against his ribs. Both his mom and his dad had confused expressions. “It’s… he. A guy. I’m dating a guy.”
His parents looked at him, and then at each other.
“You’re gay?” his mom said.
Good God, his legs were shaking. “No… I’m bi. Bisexual. I… like women and men.”
“Well, that explains it.” His dad walked over to the cabinet and put the plate away.
