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“I got a brand-new pair of Nike rainbow jogging shorts for twelve cents,” Windy added.
“Cool.”
At that moment, Cuppa’s doors flew wide, and a group came out laughing and carrying to-go cups of delicious-smelling coffee. I was getting ready to ask the guys if they wanted to check out Cuppa with me when I recognized Mike, Tina, Allison, and Van from Kingsley.
A hot burst of adrenaline hit. I ducked down on the opposite side of my Volvo, hoping my old friends wouldn’t see me or recognize my car. Minty and Windy stood where they were, looking between me and my high school friends, eyes wide open in surprise at first, and then narrowing tightly.
“You’re safe now,” Minty said coldly.
“They’re in their car. They’re leaving.” Windy ran a hand through his dark hair, his eyes sad and disappointed.
“Ashamed of us, Peter?” Minty asked.
“What? No.” Though maybe I was a little bit. If my old pals had seen me with Minty and Windy, they’d have made assumptions—correct ones—and that would make them ask questions. And if they asked questions, my relationship with Adam might be put under the microscope, and…
“Seemed like maybe you didn’t want to be seen with us,” Windy said.
“No. I’m not ashamed of you. I’m ashamed of me,” I said, clutching my bag of clothes and watching as Mike’s SUV pulled down Mohican toward Kingston Pike.
Minty didn’t thaw immediately, but Windy put his arm around my shoulder. “I thought you were out.”
“To my family.”
“But not to friends?” Minty asked.
“I don’t really have friends.” No matter how nice Mike was, no matter how much Tina professed to like me or Leslie stood by me, the truth was that none of them knew me. If they did, they wouldn’t like me very much. Not because I was gay, but because of what I’d done. What Adam and I had both done.
“C’mon,” Windy said, releasing me and turning to unlock an old Volkswagen Bug. “Let’s put the bags in our cars and get some coffee.”
“And cake,” Minty said. “Chocolate cake.”
“Definitely cake,” Windy agreed, and smiled kindly at me. “What do you say, Peter?”
Robert was right. I needed gay friends. I nodded my head and smiled sadly. “I’m sorry, guys. I didn’t mean anything by—”
“Shut up,” Minty said, grabbing me by the wrist. “We’ve all been there. Let’s eat cake.”
***
No sooner hadI walked into the kitchen than the phone rang. I almost didn’t answer. It was probably a sales call. Then I remembered I’d given my number to Minty and Windy, and they were technically friends now. What if they were calling to arrange meeting up at the Farragut Goodwill like we’d talked about over cake and coffee?
Being back home with Harry’s dog bed still in the corner made me wish for any reason to turn around and go right back out.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Peter? Please don’t hang up!”
Crossing my arms and leaning against the wall, I slid down to the floor, knees up to my chest. I wasn’t the hanging-up type. No—that was all Adam.
Adam’s voice trembled. “Peter, I’m so sorry about Harry. I really am. He was a great dog.”
I closed my eyes, rested my head on my knees, and breathed slowly.
“I remember when I met you. He was there that first day. I can’t believe he’s gone.” His voice dropped to a gentle whisper. “I’m sorry about everything I said before too. I was a dick.”
My breath came fast and hard. I couldn’t speak. I’d ignored my pain all day, but hearing Adam’s voice again brought it all to the surface.
“Talk to me,” Adam pleaded.
