Coming Out

Mom smirked at Dad’s story and retaliated, “Let me tell you an even better story about Dad.”
“Jacin was about 16, I think,” she started. “And one night Dad started having chest pains, and as they worsened we decided we should take him to the hospital.”
Immediately Jacin thought discouragingly, “Another time I don’t remember.”
He shifted uncomfortably in his chair as Mom continued the story. She said that the doctor told her that he needed a heart stint as soon as possible. After the surgery, the doctor said it went well, but that Dad should lie still for at least two hours, to move as little as possible. However, this was made more difficult since the remote to the television in his room wasn’t working properly and the channel it was turned on to was fuzzy.
When the doctor finally allowed Jacin and Mom into Dad’s hospital room, after the two-hour period, they had found Dad on his knees on the floor — the opening of his hospital gown revealing his bare butt — wrestling with an octopus of cords, trying to fix the TV.
“After fiddling with all those cords,” Mom continued. “He got up and walked over to the TV, rolling his IV stand with him. “And then, you know Dad’s a fairly short man, and the TV was bolted high on the wall, so he literally started jumping up and down, pushing the channel buttons with his finger.”
Mom and Dad began laughing at the memory, and Mom continued, “And we all just stood there stunned by the fact that two hours ago he had just had heart surgery, and he was jumping around like a 6-year-old.”
Suddenly, a memory from that day vividly illuminated in Jacin’s mind. He turned to George.
“I’m ready to marry you,” he said behind an enormous smile.
“Really?” asked George a little stunned, but mostly with enthusiasm.
“Yes,” replied Jacin. “Completely.”
“Not to sound negative,” George continued. “But why all of sudden?”
Jacin smiled and leaned into George and gave him a peck on the lips. “ There’s something important that I remember about that day in the hospital ... I was scared that Dad was going to die.” Jacin glanced at Dad and quickly averted his eyes in a flash of guilt.
“For a long time I wanted to tell Mom and Dad about who I was, what was going on with me,” he continued. “I’d been fooling around with my best friend Ben for a while and I felt so much guilt about not telling you guys,” Jacin directed to his parents.
His mother, who was sitting on his left, reached over and gently took his hand in hers.
“So once we got Dad back into the hospital bed, I just blurted it out, ‘I’m gay!’ It was kind of funny at first because Dad just sort of giggled, but Mom looked like I had slapped her across the face. She then asked me, rather coldly, did Ben talk you into it?”
He chuckled at the thought and his mother took back her hand.
“You were so young,” she started to explain.
Jacin grabbed her hand back, “Dad didn’t say anything, I don’t think he really even understood what I’d said. But a few days after we took him home from the hospital, I heard them arguing in the bedroom.
“Dad yelled ‘how could you let this happen?’ Then I remember Mom went on a tangent: ‘This isn’t my fault, it’s nobody’s fault; this is who he is and I want him to be happy. I know it’s not the life either of us hoped he’d have, and he probably won’t give us grandchildren, which is a shame because he’d make a great father. But he’ll be happy ... hopefully, and if we support him, that happiness is going to be more likely to happen. I don’t want our son to be alone, I want him to find someone to love and be with, I don’t care with who anymore, do you?’ Then I heard a loud thud. I came to find out later that Dad had punched a hole in the wall.”
A brief moment passed then Mom asked with tears building up, “I didn’t know you had heard all of that.”
Jacin looked at his mother, and their smiles hugged. Jacin said, “It was that moment that I knew I’d be okay.”
Jacin’s father suddenly spoke, “It was many years until I finally let my anger ... my disappointment go.” He hesitated for a second before continuing, “Not until I saw how you look at George, and how he treats you and makes you happy that I realized your mom was right all those years ago. I’m sorry son.”
“It’s OK, Dad,” Jacin cracked a whisper.
“For what it’s worth, you have my blessing,” Dad finished, then promptly stood and strolled off to bed.
The campfire popped and crackled in the sudden cool night’s silence. 
To be continued ...

Star-Belly Sneetch

May 2007
Jacin’s tongue had loosened up after three mojitos, and what had started out as an intimate party for Jody’s 35th birthday now had turned into a roast.
“I’ve known Jody for like 17 years,” Jacin raised his freshened glass. “I think 17 ... is that right Jody?”
“Something like that,” she answered with a smile.
“And yes, she’s been married a few times,” Jacin continued. “To several girls ... and a few boys. But I’m honestly happy that she has met Kat, someone to look after her when she forgets to take a shower, or leaves the toilet seat up ... no, no just kidding.”
Kat, who was sitting beside Jody, only chuckled while Jody was in hysterics.
Kat had driven down from Pocatello, Idaho just for this party, and well, because she couldn’t stand to be away from Jody for more than a blink of an eye.
The two had met three weekends ago at Charleys, Pocatello’s one-and-only gay bar. That weekend Jody, Eddie and Josh got a wild hair up their butts to go party in Kat’s little town. Unfortunately, the first night at the bar, Kat and Jody had played staring games with each other much too long and by the time they finally spoke words to each other, which were, “You’re new” and “Yeah ... hold on I gotta pee,” the blood in their veins was as thin as Lara Flynn Boyle.
Sufficed to say, they spent the night together; though Jody had kept insisting “no sex” the entire cab ride to Kat’s apartment, but she then immediately tore Kat’s clothes off as soon as the screen door buoyed shut behind them.
The following morning Kat drove Jody back to the hotel to meet Eddie and Josh – plans were made to tube the river in Lava Hot Springs. Jody informed Kat that she’d probably get the third degree from the boys.
“They’re very protective of me,” she warned before sliding the keycard in the lock. “Which I think is pretty fabulous,” she added.
Horrified, Kat said as if her ears were burning, “Fabulous?”
“Sorry, I was raised by gay men.”
“Well I sort of figured since you wear makeup and carry a purse and wear bedazzled sandals.”
They entered the room. Josh and Eddie were in bed together, their bodies snaked around each other – a perk they agreed to anytime they vacationed together.
“Hey guys, you remember ...” Jody felt like melting butter. “Ummm ... Kelly.”
Kat stood silently, watching Jody struggle, a thin smile drawn across her face. A few seconds later Kat finally gave in, “Hi, I’m Kat.”
George stood up from the table and directed at Jacin, “Okay honey, sit down. Let me give the next toast to the birthday girl.”
“I haven’t known Jody as long as Jacin,” he started. “But what I do know about her, because of having her over for dinner as often as we do, is that it’s no wonder she’s as short and thin as she is since she doesn’t like any foods that are green, red, black, yellow or white ... and, well, any fish.”
George looked at the spread on the table, “That is why we’re having plain pork chops with a side of wheat toast for dinner and blue Otter Pops for dessert. Bon appétit!”
“Wait, wait!” Eddie insisted, placing his napkin on the table when he stood. “My turn. I’ll start off by saying something nice about Jody, unlike the rest of you mean old trolls.”
Eddie cleared his throat, “I’m really, truly happy for Jody ... to see that her hair has finally grown back after letting me cut out the roller bush that was tangled in it.”
Eddie raised his mojito to Jody and said, “Stop thinking so hard Jody, your tongue’s hanging out.”
“It’s my turn to say ...”
“No, no Nanette,” Kat interrupted Jody. “My turn to get in on this action.”
“So, Eddie and Josh,” she began. “You remember the night Jody and I met and she went home with me, right?
“Yeah. Sure.”
“Well there’s something I left out,” Kat put her hand on Jody’s shoulder, while Jody bowed her head in shame. “We didn’t even get a chance to turn on the lights when we got inside, she was all over me ... to quote George, ‘like a badger in heat.’” So we were climbing all over each other on my bed and all of sudden Jody just sort of flung off the bed. She was on top of me one second, on the floor the next.
So I turned on the bedside lamp, and there she was, on her back giggling, her stomach beating like a heart, and there were these two Sneetches facing each other and dancing on her stomach. It took me a second but then realized they were tattoos. And then I saw that her bellybutton was pierced with a starred stud – it was right then that I knew I was in love.”
“Oh Lord!” quipped Eddie.
“But wait, there’s more,” Kat said. “The first time I came to Salt Lake to see Jody, she showed me the room that she had turned into a Dr. Seuss shrine. There are Horten slippers laid out on the floor, a huge cardboard cutout of Cat in the Hat, a Star-Belly Sneetches wall clock, posters of biffer-baums and flummox, rows of Dr. Seuss books and dozens of porcelain figurines like Cat in the Hat carrying a tray of green eggs and ham, and goldfish and several Cindy Lou Whos, and there’s even a remote-control car driven by the Grinch ... it’s kind of creepy.”
Stunned, Jody stood up, her head tilted back some so she could look kat in the eyes. “Really?” she asked peevishly, as the red Thing One and Thing Two T-shirt she was wearing screamed at the entire dinner table.
To be continued ...