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It was true. She was waving a big silver knife in the air, her friendly smile and short, curly hair working as polar opposites to the glinting blade.
“Jesus Chr— Mom! Put the butcher knife down!” Jonah called as we stepped out of the car.
She looked up, appearing to only just realize what she was doing. She smiled, laughed, and ran back inside as we wound through the parked cars toward Jonah’s father, who was standing by the door, knifeless and smiling.
I could see the resemblance in father and son. Jonah and his dad were built the same way: slim and youthful-looking, with bright blue eyes and dark hair that made those eyes pop all the more. He was wearing a soft blue polo shirt and jeans, almost matching Jonah’s look except he was wearing khaki shorts.
“Hey, Dad.”
They took each other in a tight embrace. Just then, Jonah’s mom came back, wearing that warm smile of hers but no longer holding the knife.
That must have been where Jonah got his. And they had the same nose, the same lips. In fact, Jonah may have looked more like his mom than his dad, beside his mom’s light brown eyes and dark blonde hair.
“Jonah,” his mom said, hugging him next.
I stood a step behind Jonah. Suddenly, my nerves were shooting up toward the cloudless blue sky above. I was about to officially be introduced to Jonah’s family, and I would either be welcomed or shunned. Jonah had assured me it would be the former, but the fear of the latter started to take hold. The importance of this meeting was not lost on me.
“Mom, Dad.” Jonah turned to me, his blue eyes locked on mine. I could sense the nerves in him. His hands, which were starting to tremble, were shoved into the pockets of his shorts. “This is… well, Fox. He’s my boyfriend.” He turned his eyes down before looking back up. “I’m gay.”
Without missing a single beat, Jonah’s mom turned to me, smiling wide, and said, “Great to finally meet you in person. The phone did you zero justice.”
“You remember?” I asked, surprised as she opened her arms and came in for a tight hug.
“Of course I remember you. If Jonah wasn’t going to lock you down, I was about to go find you and set you up on a date with Olly, my other gay son.” She looked to Jonah, clapped her hands. “I have two now! Double the rainbows.”
“So, you’re not… upset or anything?”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. Of course I’m not upset. I’m ecstatic.” She took her son into another hug, kissed the side of his head. “I love you, Jonah. And I’m so, so proud of you for having the courage to be who you really are. I love you so much.” Another kiss. She separated from Jonah, holding him by the elbows. Her big brown eyes grew wider. “Oh, and I’m an airhead! Have to go take the turkey out of the oven. Your aunts and uncles are inside, cousins out in the pool. Come in after you’re done, you know, coming out.” She laughed at her own joke, the warm smile still on as she walked back inside the house, her hand moving up to her face to brush something off.
I looked to Jonah’s dad, worried that his silence meant his disapproval.
He was smiling, almost wider than his wife.
“Nice to meet you, sir.” I held a hand out. “Gabriel, but everyone calls me Fox.”
Jonah’s dad looked down at my extended hand. “Bring it in, Fox.” He clapped his hand on mine and closed, pulling me in for a hug.
“I’m Eduardo,” he said, still smiling as we separated. “Friends and family call me, Ed.”
“Nice to meet you, Ed.”
“You as well, Fox.” He looked to Jonah, his blue eyes holding the same glow I saw in his son. “Every single day, Jojo, every single day you make me and your mother so damn proud. Come here.”
They embraced, this one longer than the others. Jonah sniffled as they separated.
“All right, let’s get inside, then,” Jonah said, clapping his hands. “I’m starving, and judging by mom’s knife wielding, I’m guessing the food’s almost done.”
“Nah, your mom’s just heavily into knife juggling lately.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Of course not,” he said, chuckling. “It’s fire breathing she’s trying, I forgot.”
Jonah playfully slapped his dad’s chest. “Yeah, okay, why are you trying to ship her off to a circus so bad?”
So the entire family’s got a sense of humor.
We laughed as we entered the house, walking into the living room. Oliver was standing there, looking like an excited kid on Christmas morning taking stock of all his wrapped presents. He looked from me, to Jonah, to their dad, and he saw the smiles on all our faces.
