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I’d been excited to meet them but worried how things would go. Would they like me? Would I like them? But the truth was, they reminded me a lot of my family, which let me relax and enjoy the rest of the lunch.
Nash had been right. The food was fantastic, and his mom seemed thrilled I was there. She asked me about a hundred questions about my family, my work, and my hobbies. When I told her I was trying to learn to knit, she confessed that she’d tried years before, but never really took to it, but that her grandmother had been a knitter.
His father was quieter than his mother, but he watched everyone, pride evident on his face as his kids teased each other and talked about what was going on with their lives. There was a calm sense of confidence from him, like you just knew he was someone who would have your back if necessary. Nash said his sister was the most like their dad, but he reminded me a lot of Nash.
By the time lunch was over, I didn’t feel like a stranger at all. And I was perfectly comfortable when his mother came around the table to give me a hug goodbye. She gave me an extra tight squeeze and whispered in my ear, “Take care of him for me?”
“I will,” I assured her.
Then she turned to Nash. “So y’all are staying at Keith’s, right?”
“We are,” he confirmed. “But we’ll be headed back to River Gorge tomorrow.”
“Okay, we’re planning to have a big get-together July Fourth. I’m giving you plenty of warning, and I expect to see you both. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said fondly, giving her a hug before we said the rest of our goodbyes and left.
“So, what did you think?” he asked on the way out to the truck.
“I thought they were all really nice.”
“They liked you, too.”
I’d gotten that impression, as well, but it was nice to hear him say so.
“Now, do you need to do any shopping, or are you ready to go on over to Keith’s house?”
“Don’t we need to wait for him?”
“Nah, I have a key. He’ll probably be a while.”
“Let’s just go straight there then.” I felt like we’d been rushing all day, and just chilling for a bit before we headed over to the club sounded perfect.
I don’t know what kind of house I expected Keith to live in, but it wasn’t a well-kept two-story house in an older neighborhood. It didn’t look like the kind of house a single guy would live in, and I said as much to Nash.
“Well, he wasn’t single when he bought it. He and Russ were together for years. Not that either of them were out. You’ve heard the old jokes about they were good friends, roommates? Well, that was them. They were both firefighters, and back when they were together, the fire station wasn’t very LGBT-friendly. Plus, it wasn’t like they could get married.
“Then, when Obergefell v. Hodges happened, Keith was ready to come out, but Russ wasn’t. Things kind of went south for them after that.”
“That’s sad. How long were they together?”
“About five years, I think. Russ transferred to a station in Houston. Keith’s been single ever since.”
“But he came out?”
“He did.”
“And things at the firehouse?” I knew enough with my pops being a paramedic to know that emergency services as a whole could be a rough environment for queer people.
He chuckled. “That took some time. It was hard for him at first, but he wasn’t the only gay firefighter in Vesper, and my dad knew it, so when he was promoted to chief and got his own station, he made sure it was inclusive. Station Sixty-nine is a mix of gender, race, and sexual orientation. My dad wouldn’t have it any other way. Before you knew it, other firefighters were requesting transfers to my dad’s house because it was a safe place to work where you didn’t have to worry about people having your back.”
I knew I’d liked his father this morning, but hearing that, I had so much more respect for him. That had to have taken guts. “Wow, I think it’s awesome that your dad did that.”
“My dad has always supported us. He lived and worked in a very macho world, in a part of the country that wasn’t very supportive of people who don’t walk the red line. But still, he was never anything but proud of us, and he never hid that two of his four kids were gay.”
“So what happened to the station when your dad retired. How are things now?”
“One of my dad’s best friends is the chief now, and he’s made sure everything has stayed the same.”
