“What?”
“The old man smell.”
A startled laugh escaped Tean.He clamped down on it, but Jem’s mouth quickened into a grin that melted away again a moment later.
“I really fucked up,” he said in a small voice.
“Jem.”Tean slid an arm around Jem’s waist and pulled him closer; they were already pressed against each other, but Jem surrendered after a minute and leaned into Tean.“It’s okay.What he did to you, tried to do to you—”
“But I shouldn’t have done it.”
“No more guilt and shame and worrying,” Tean said, voice light, one hand chafing Jem’s side.“That’s my job.I don’t blame you, Jem.I’m so sorry that happened to you.I’m not angry or disappointed.And whatever happens, we’ll figure it out together.”
Neither of them said anything for several minutes, and the only sounds were Scipio gnawing on his ball, occasionally rolling onto his back, then onto his side again, nails scraping the boards of the porch.The dry air tasted faintly like freshly broken earth, mineral, almost metallic, which meant Scipio had been showing off, tearing up the yard as he ran.
“What the hell is going on with Daniel?”Jem asked out of nowhere.
Tean shook his head.
Jem must have sensed the movement because he said, “You saw him, though, right?He was flirting with Wendell.”
“I’m not sure he was flirting.”
“He was laughing at a dumb joke and practically pulling his shirt off.”
“I don’t know.”But a moment later, Tean said, “He’s fighting with Ammon.”
“Again,” Jem said sourly.
Tean laughed quietly.
“I don’t get it,” Jem said.“He lets Daniel go to Rainbow House.He lets him come over and hang out with two convicted homosexuals.And Ammonlovesa dick in his mouth.So, what the fuck are they fighting about?”
Tean almost said again,I don’t know.But instead, he said, “He’s trying, Jem.This is hard for him too.”
“Well, he’s fucking things up with Daniel.”
“It’s not unusual for fathers and sons to argue.Especially when the sons are teenagers and beginning to individuate.”
“I get that,” Jem said.“I saw it on an episode ofGrowing Pains.But you can’t tell me it’s a good thing that Daniel is changing his clothes after he leaves home.Or that he waits until he’s here to put on his makeup.Or the pronoun thing tonight.”
Tean groaned.“Oh my gosh, why did I say, ‘Okay’?”
Jem laughed.“It was cute.”
“It wasn’t cute; it was a disaster.You handled that so much better than I did.”
“Yeah, but that’s why he told you.”
“Huh?”
“He told you because he knew you wouldn’t know what to say.”When Tean didn’t respond right away, Jem continued, “He wanted to see if you’d freak out.And he wanted to push your buttons a little.He doesn’t know how to push my buttons yet, or he’d be doing it all the time.God, Tean, why do you think heinsistedyou come to a drag show?”
“Because it was a community event and I could support him?”
“Because he knows it would make you uncomfortable, and he wanted to see if you’d pass the test.”
“What test?”
