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He let out a dramatic sigh before shrugging like there’d been nothing he could do about it. “They really didn’t understand what was missing in my relationship with Gaylen. Being vague was getting us nowhere and my mother kept lecturing me on vaginas not being the end all be all of sex, so I had to explain.”
Dear God.
My mind just couldn’t grasp the conversation at all.
“Did Master Gaylen die?” I really couldn’t see either of them having that conversation without having a heart attack.
Daddy huffed and looked delightfully offended. “He left me at my parents’ house arguing about vaginas with my mother and went to get a beer with my Uncle Abe. Traitor.”
They’d done it in front of the entire family?
I was still in shock, so I just kind of gaped at him. Not even the pretend Ender in the back of my head had anything productive to say.
The real live Ender was never going to believe it.
“Um, okay.” My comment wasn’t helpful at all but it seemed to make Daddy feel better because his bright smile came back.
Maybe he thought if I wasn’t dumbstruck anymore, that it would be okay?
“But I’m only a tiny bit bitter about that still, so we won’t harp on it.” He seemed to think this was all perfectly reasonable.
I was really starting to understand why Master kept calling them pod people.
“What does Master Gaylen’s family say?” I knew I was walking into something more dramatic simply by the way Master kept not talking about his family but Daddy’s sigh said all I needed to know. “You don’t have to tell me if it’s something I should hear from him.”
Shaking his head, Daddy leaned back in the booth and seemed to be gathering up his thoughts. The area of the little Japanese restaurant we were in was private enough that we hadn’t worried about censoring our conversation, so I knew he wasn’t avoiding the discussion.
“They’re… I don’t know how to politely say this, so I’m going to be very blunt and possibly offensive.” That had me immediately wincing, knowing it was going to be bad, and he nodded before starting the story. “They’re a fucking mess.”
I’d kind of expected that answer, but it still made me wince.
Daddy just slowly nodded his head as he continued explaining. “Half the family is in jail. He’s got one uncle in Wit Sec that nobody’s seen in years. Gaylen was basicallyforcefullyinvitedto move out at eighteen when they found out he wasn’t straight. How he managed to go to college and be so utterly amazing is beyond me.”
Oh wow.
He'd managed to make me stunned silent again.
Somehow Gaylen’s family was worse than mine.
“So I don’t have to worry about meeting them anytime soon?” I was only slightly teasing in a dry kind of way but it got an ironic laugh from Daddy.
“No.” Shaking his head, Daddy took a drink of his water and settled back in his seat again. “I met his mother once and that was when she was on house arrest and wanted to explain in person that she couldn’t come to the wedding.”
Really?
As I just blinked, he continued like it was the most reasonable conversation ever. “The rest of his family pretends I don’t exist. A few keep commenting on social media, asking when he’s going to settle down with a good woman.”
“They pretend you don’t exist?” That was so…
Was that worse than calling him homophobic names or better?
“Yep, so he just pretends they don’t exist. About once or twice a year he’ll track them down online just to make sure there isn’t anything he needs to know but that’s about it.” Daddy’s expression was bouncing between sad and frustrated, and it was obvious he was conflicted about all of it. “I think if it weren’t for a few younger cousins who actually seem to be good people, he’d have walked away from all of them years ago.”
“That’s just…” I still didn’t know what to say but Daddy’s nod said he could relate since he’d probably had his own stunned silent moments already.
“I know. Sometimes I don’t know how to help. Part of me wants to encourage him to just go no contact with them because they make him miserable, but he’s got a few younger cousins who he watches out for, and one in particular that he thinks might be gay.” Daddy looked miserable, like he hated not being able to save Gaylen. “So he stays on the edges of the family and watches mostly.”
To catch the younger ones when their life exploded, more than likely.
