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Alec’s heart sank. His father obviously had nothing to say to him.
But then his father spoke again, his voice gruff and awkward, as though the words were dragged out of him. “I owe you an apology.”
Blindsided, Alec could only clutch the phone and wait.
“I shouldn’t have let you leave yesterday without some resolution. Your revelation was a shock. I think that was obvious.” He sighed. “Alec, I wish I could say I’m completely accepting, but that wouldn’t be truthful. However, I do understand it’s not something you’ve chosen. It’s the way you are, and you can’t change it.”
Alec felt begrudging respect for his father’s honesty, even though his words stung and poked at the anger and resentment Alec had been carrying for years. He supposed this partial acceptance was a start, at least. His father might not be joining him to wave flags in any pride parades soon, but at least they were talking.
“I don’t want to change,” he said. “I’m happy as I am.” And for the first time in as long as he could remember, it was true.
“I’ll get used to it,” his father said.
“I hope so.”
There was the sound of muffled voices at his father’s end, and then, “Your mother wants to talk to you,” his father told him. “Bye for now.”
“Alec.” His mother sounded relieved when she came on the line. “Thank you for calling. We were worried earlier when you didn’t answer.”
“I’m fine, Mother. I was staying with a friend and my phone was off. But I heard your message when I got home. Thank you.”
“I’ve been thinking about it ever since you left, and after what you told us, so many things make sense now. Like why you were so one-track with your work and why you never seemed interested in settling down with a nice girl.”
“I think I’ll always be focused on my job, but maybe now I’ll settle down with a nice boy,” Alec suggested, his tone light as he tried to make it into a joke. He gripped the arm of the sofa as he waited for her to react.
“Maybe,” she said, her voice soft. “I just want you to be happy, Alec.” There was a pause, and then she asked cautiously, “Is there someone? A boy… well, a man?”
“Yes.” Alec smiled to himself as he thought of Ed. Saying it out loud made it real again. “Yes, there is.”
“I’m glad. I’d like to meet him. The three of us could go out for lunch next time I’m in London, perhaps?”
“Perhaps.” It was hard to imagine sitting with Ed and making polite conversation with his mother over lunch, but she was offering an olive branch, and Alec wasn’t going to throw it back at her. “Yes. That would be nice. Maybe in a few weeks.” He wanted a little more time to get used to his new reality first. “Okay, Mother. I’d better go. I have work emails to catch up on and unpacking to do. I’ll call again soon.”
“All right. Goodbye, Alec.”
“Bye.”
He ended the call and tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling. All in all, things were working out much better than he’d expected. He hoped things would go equally smoothly when he came out at work.
On Monday morning, Alec went in early as usual. James was the second person to show up. Looking unusually bright-eyed for a Monday, he greeted Alec with a sheepish smile.
“I’m so sorry about Friday night. I don’t actually remember much about the last part, but I made it home in one piece, and I’m guessing you and Ed had something to do with that?”
“Yes. We poured you through your front door and hoped for the best.”
“I must have made it as far as the sofa, because I woke up at half six in the morning with CBeebies blasting out of the telly and Charlotte marching a My Little Pony up and down my spine.”
Alec laughed. “Ouch.”
“Yeah.” James grimaced. “Emily wasn’t too impressed. But, angel that she is, she let me go back to bed and sleep it off.” He sat down in his desk chair and stretched. “So, how was your weekend?”
“It was, um….” God, where to begin? It had been the most intense emotional roller coaster of Alec’s life. A simple “good, thanks,” would move the conversation on, but James had become a friend as well as a colleague, and it seemed like a good time to start being more honest. “It was a bit of a mixed bag,” Alec finally replied, and he didn’t try to suppress the smile that spread across his features as he added, “But it turned out pretty well in the end.”
“Oh?” James raised his eyebrows. “Sounds interesting. Are you going to leave me hanging with that evasive answer? Or are you planning on filling in some blanks?”
