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We all dug in. There was chicken, potato salad, and grilled corn on the cob.
“How’s the shop?” Mom asked. Typically, Dad didn’t even try. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, but it wasn’t something he would ever think about. With him and Orlando, they were into the same things, so it was automatic. Yeah, there were things all three of us did together—we grew up camping and fishing and building things—but when it came to those everyday conversations, Dad and Orlando had always had more to talk about than Dad and I did.
“It’s going well. Business is steady enough. It could be better, but I’m getting by.”
“Yeah, it’ll be tough—a tattoo parlor on the island. The good thing is, even though we’re not a major vacation destination, we do get some tourists, and I’m sure that helps,” Dad said.
“It does.”
“I’m not sure how sustainable it is in the long run, but—”
“Lando,” Mom said, using his nickname to differentiate him from my brother, and I silently thanked her. I wasn’t in the mood to hear how my business would likely fail. We’d talked that to death if you asked me.
“You’re right, dear. I’m sure it will be fine,” Dad replied. “Oh, Orlando, remind me to talk to you later about a client. I’d like your advice.”
My brother nodded. I busied myself by taking a bite of my food.
“Your brother tells us you’ve made friends with Wilma’s grandson. I can’t believe we never knew that Beverly was her daughter. I’m sure that was so difficult for her.” Mom shook her head as if to reinforce what a tragedy that was.
“Yeah, definitely. Milo’s working through understanding it himself.”
“And,” Mom started—well, shit. I knew this was coming and wasn’t even sure why I hadn’t told them about Milo—“I had to hear through the Little Beach Gossip Line that he’s living with you. Gideon, why wouldn’t you tell us that?” Mom turned to Orlando. “You too.”
My brother held his hands up. “Don’t look at me. It’s not my business to tell.”
Mom gave her attention to Kris next, who said, “I plead the fifth. Gid is my best friend. I can’t incriminate him.”
“In what, you jackass?” Orlando asked.
“Hey, I’m sticking up for Gideon, unlike you, who can’t keep your mouth shut. You’re the one who cornered Milo,” Kris teased.
“Cornered? What does that mean?” Dad asked.
“Nothing,” I said. Was it time to go home yet? I took a bite of potato salad to stall. “Just like I told everyone else, it’s his apartment. He has more of a right to it than I do. But yeah, we’re friends. He’s a good guy.”
“I heard he’s also…homosexual. Are the two of you…?” Mom asked tentatively.
I sighed. “You can say gay, and you don’t have to let the words drag out before you say it. Yeah, he’s gay, but we’re just like the straights; we don’t all have to want each other because we share the same orientation.”
My words must have come out sharper than I’d intended because Orlando nudged me and Dad said, “Hey, you know she didn’t mean anything by it. We love and support you and treat you no differently from your brother. If he didn’t have Heather and suddenly lived with a woman, your mom would ask the same thing.”
He was right; she would. I mumbled an apology, and Mom added, “I just want you to be happy. I want you to have someone. And even though the two of you are just friends, you could have invited him today.”
I nodded without telling her that I had and Milo hadn’t wanted to come.
It was quiet for a moment, slightly awkward while everyone ate. It was Megan who broke the silence. “We have news. Kris and I are going to have a baby.”
“Oh my God!” Mom shrieked. “Two little ones to love on?” She hugged Megan while Heather, Orlando, and I got up to do the same. The conversation steered from me to the babies while we finished eating.
I was happy for Kris, for Meg too, of course, but it also made me feel stagnant. Like everyone was moving forward without me.
After our stomachs settled, I tilted my head toward the ocean. “Race you there,” I told Orlando and Kris.
My brother started running before we were ready, Kris and I right behind, calling him a cheater.
We stumbled into the ocean when a thought hit me out of the blue—I wondered if Milo liked to swim.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Milo
I stood on the porch of Gene’s house, the house he’d shared with Wilma Allen, my biological grandmother. My toes hit the doorstep, and I wondered how Gideon’s feet were doing. He hadn’t worn the flip-flops in weeks, but he had today when he went to his parents’ house. He might have to get used to wearing them again. I should make sure to tell him that he didn’t have to do that, that he didn’t have to worry about me, because him skipping them for my benefit could make having the annoying thing between his toes even worse.
