I went to the living room and turned on my laptop.I had to do this alone.My hands started shaking because everything suddenly felt unreal.Like, up till now I’d had this notion that someone else was going to FaceTime my parents and tell them I was bi for me.Then my mom was on my laptop screen with my dad behind her, pulling up a chair.
“Hi, mom, dad.”
“Well,” she said, “it’s nice of you to fit us into your busy schedule.”
Ithadbeen a while since I’d FaceTimed them.I hadn’t wanted to do it while Eddie was home.I’d been emailing them mostly for the past few months, with a few phone calls in between, but not much lately.She hadn’t replied to many of my emails, ever since I’d said I couldn’t make it home for Thanksgiving because of work.
“Um, so,” I said.“You know this guy that’s been living with me—Eddie?”
“Your unemployed friend?”said my mom.
“He’s not...”Actually, hewasunemployed.But the way she said it made it sound like he’d never had a job, and I was hurt on his behalf because when he had a job, he worked his ass off.
“He’s not exactly my friend.He’s...we’re dating.Each other.We’re...he’s my boyfriend.”
My mother blinked.Hard.My dad looked like he just woke up.He didn’t speak, but then he usually let my mom take the lead.
“Actually, he’s not my boyfriend.He’s my fiancé.”
“How long has this been going on?”
I panicked.On the one hand, I wanted them to know he wasn’t just a fling.On the other hand, if I told them how long I’d been in love with him, they might get pissed off that I hadn’t told them sooner.
“He proposed to me tonight,” I said.Which was true.I didn’t want to get accused of “keeping secrets,” which was what my mom did whenever I didn’t tell her every single detail about my life immediately after it happened.
“I see,” said my mom.The way she said it, all calm and quiet, was worse than if she’d yelled at me.For a second, I thought she’d tell me I wasn’t allowed to get married.
My dad kept quiet, as usual.
“Well,” said my mom, like it was a complete sentence.
“I want to bring him home for Christmas,” I blurted out.This wasn’t going the way I’d planned.“He hasn’t got any family to spend it with, and...it would be nice.You know?”I felt like I was betraying him saying that, like my mom would think less of him for not having a family.“Do you...want to meet him?He’s here.”
I waited for them to say something.Was I being an idiot?Are they waiting for me to get him?I think they are.Go get him, Porter.You idiot.
I got up.He was in the bedroom, just sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for me.I took his hand.“Come on.”
I brought him to the living room, and he sat beside me on the couch.
For a second, I saw him through their eyes, and I felt...uncomfortable.
“This is Eddie.Eddie, this is my mom and dad.”
“Hi,” said Eddie.
My parents made sounds that weren’t exactly “hi.”
Things went quiet, so I said, “He bought me a ring, see?”I held up my thumb to show them.
They had to be impressed.It was real gold.
They didn’t say anything.
“So,” I said, “I guess we’ll see you for Christmas?I’m buying our plane tickets for the twentieth.”
“Right,” said my mom.“I suppose we’ll see you then.”
Then she disconnected.
