Reed froze, caught off guard, but Zane was there to ease him into it.
“Hey, Dad. This is Reed. I told him about you,” he said, gently nudging Reed toward the entrance.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Guyer. We’re sorry, traffic was a killer.” Reed squeezed Dad’s hand, but nerves were sparking off him so hard it bordered on physical pain.
“Maybe consider a car next time you come here,” Dad said in his I-told-you-so voice.
Zane rolled his eyes to let Roach know he should just ignore such comments, but it wasn’t working, and when they stepped straight into the large living room, where the entirety of Zane’s closest family was already crammed around the table filled with food, their eyes wide as saucers. This was the first time Zane hadn’t come on his own.
Mom rose from her chair, looking cozy in a flared skirt and purple sweater, and pulled him into her arms the moment she was close enough. “There you are! You really should move closer to home.”
Reed smiled under the scrutiny of dozens of eyes. All six of Zane’s siblings were there, most with partners, and at least ten kids made noise at the children’s table in the kitchen.
“Oh.” Reed froze when Mom pulled out of Zane’s hug to greet him. “We brought pie. I have it on the bike.”
“That’s all right. You can fetch it later. The food is getting cold,” Mom said, offering Reed a handshake as if he were only Zane’s acquaintance. Zane didn’t need to ask to know all the adults sitting at the table had been informed about the nature of their relationship, yet they all were intent on pretending it remained a secret. Just like they always had when it came to Zane’s sexual orientation.
Fair enough. Zane wasn’t even sure which of the kids belonged to whom. They changed too fast to follow, and he was never around.
“Who’s your friend, Zane?” Karlie, the older of his two sisters, teased after she whispered something to the younger one, who was still a teen, and the one single woman at the table. There would be none of that.
“My husband, Reed,” Zane said, taking a seat between Mom and Reed. He was not in the closet in Grit, Ohio, and he would not be crawling back there, not even for his Mom.
The silence engulfing the table was like a spell that had fallen over them all, and even the kids stopped their chatter, craning their necks from the other room to see what was going on.
Reed became still as a sculpture. “You… um… want to marry?” he muttered without breathing.
Typical Roachie. Too honest for his own good.
Zane caught his hand under the table, growing hot in the fire of confusion surrounding them on all sides. He refused to acknowledge any of it. “I told you I’m from a conservative family. Of course I do.”
Mike, one of Zane’s brothers, broke into a cackle. “Dad, your face says it all.”
Karlie winked at Reed though. “Not married yeeet!”
“But I guess we’re gonna be. Married, I mean,” Reed said, tripping over words. Bless his heart.
Dad hummed, and this time Zane did look up, meeting his gaze across the table. It was as if everyone held their breath at the same time. Dad’s face was flushed beneath his graying hair, but he didn’t explode with rage for once, and instead cleared his throat. “Good. Maybe when you actually commit to someone, you’ll be able to learn responsibility and do something with your life, Zane.”
That was… unexpected.
Reed’s painfully dead expression relaxed a little, and he even dared half a smile. “Don’t worry, Mr. Guyer. I’ll make an honest man out of him.”
Zane’s siblings roared with annoying laughter, but he was happy to see Reed being accepted.
“He’s the only one who could ever tie me down,” he said and picked up the sweet potato casserole to place some on Reed’s plate. Mom made the best he’d ever tried, and Zane needed to keep his future husband strong and healthy after all.
The end
(Really this time J Thank you for reading!)