Authors: Zoe Glez
“And
, you can’t reprimand us for loving each other and not wanting to wait any longer to make it official,” I finish and it seemed to do the trick.
We spend
a few hours explaining everything, almost everything. We still hadn’t mentioned Maddie at all. Things got intense for a while. We went and told them pretty much every single thing that we’ve been through in our relationship, to the benefit of those who didn’t know. We even told them about the miscarriage, which earned us condolences from all of them. My dad was heartbroken to say the least, as much as mom was when I had told her the first time.
When asked why
we had hidden the whole thing, we told them we were afraid of their rejection and reaction. Which was stupid, now that I think about it. If there is one thing that I know for sure about my family, it’s that they are pretty accepting and respectful of each other’s decisions. We also told them about how afraid we were of Kevin and dad’s reaction. Since Kevin’s reaction was worse than we expected, I guess we had good reason to be worried.
After we pou
red our hearts out to them, my dad welcomed Mickey to the family with a hug. Then, we started the wedding shower where everyone gave us gifts we really didn’t need. But, they did fill my house with groceries, which is awesome. I’m not much of a cook, but I appreciated the sentiment. After we were done with the gifts, Mama and Lola went around the room serving us all asopao de pollo, which was really good, like always.
“So, how are you guys doing?” Mario asks
, looking to were Mickey is talking to my brother.
“We are good. Mic
key has forgiven him, so have I,” I say.
“But?” he pushes forward.
“But it’s going to be hard to forget, you know?” I give him a sad side smile.
“Yeah, I know,
” he says, pulling me in for a side hug.
I had a late night that night,
but I got to finish Maddie’s room and it looks just as I had envisioned it would. Mickey helped me as little as he could. He had said he didn’t want to take an eye off of me as I worked with the ladder. He didn’t really want to risk anything else or have to take another trip to the hospital. When we finally got to our room, he made sure to go through with his earlier promise.
It is now the
day before Maddie arrives and Mama and Lola have taken over our kitchen to prepare the dinner so we can celebrate the Three Kings as they come near. Tomorrow is Three Kings Day, a day that is celebrated in all Hispanic families and countries. I would’ve loved to have Maddie with us tonight. It is normally a tradition for kids to gather grass from their patios and place it in shoe boxes under their bed. Then, when the Kings come with their gifts, they can feed the grass to their camels. In the morning the kids find their presents under the bed and the shoe box empty.
I used to love it when I was young. My mom use
d to say it wasn’t the same as on the Isla, since we wouldn’t be able to enjoy our gift until we got back from school, but she still wanted to give us that experience. And, ever since we signed those adoption papers, I’ve wanted to do the same for our baby girl. She wouldn’t get to pick up the grass tonight, but at least she will get her chance to find her presents tomorrow under her castle when she gets here.
I try to help around the kitchen since it is my house
, but Mama and Lola shoo me away. So, I opt to go to the living room were Ari and Mary have taken over our television. All the while the guys are bringing in two more tables since we won’t all fit at our four person dining table.
After a while
, I hear a knock on my door and go to open it, Mickey following right behind me. Lately, he has seemed to become my shadow. But, I think it is because we are hoping it’s John who has suddenly decided to bring us Maddie a day earlier than planned.
“Trey!” I exclaim looking up at the man standing in my front door. If you’ve ever heard of the expression tall, dark
, and handsome, well that’s exactly what describes Trey. Plus, the man is a genius and has a heart almost as huge as Mama’s.
“Hey, Layla
h, Miguel,” he says, shyly smiling while rocking on the balls of his feet, luggage in hand.
“Oh! Where are my manners? Come in,
” I say, moving to the side. Once he’s in, I give him a big hug. “God, I missed you so much.”
Trey works with Luke in Cali. I used to hang out with both of them when I live
d there. They make a great team and he is just as amazing a person on the inside as he is gorgeous on the outside. He’s a mix of Japanese with African American with a bald head and the most gorgeous brown eyes you’ve ever seen. The man could be a model if he wanted and give Denzel Washington a run for his money.
“Trey?” Luke
asks as he comes down the stairs, not believing whom he’s seeing.
“Hey, Luke
,” Trey says with that shy smile of his again.
“Who’s this?” Mama asks. She and the rest of the family are waiting for an introduction of the strange man that the three of us seem to know. I had introduced him to Mickey a while back when I had gone back to Cali to get the rest of my
things.
“Mom…” Luke says
, clearing his throat and walking towards her. “This is Trey, my business partner.”
Trey walks to were Mama is and gre
ets her by planting a kiss on her hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Gonzalez. I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about you.” He smiles at her.
“Well…aren’t yo
u a charming man? I hope you’re not here to take my boy away from me for some job.”
“I wouldn’t
dream of it, ma’am.”
“You’re joining us for dinner,
” she commands. I can see that she has been enthralled by the Trey charm that every other woman on the planet suffers from. “And, you can call me Mama, everyone else does.”
“He’
s actually staying here with us,” I tell her.
“Oh…” she simply says.
Luke introduced Trey to the rest of the family before we settled in for dinner. Dinner was lovely and clear of any drama. Everyone was on their best behavior since Trey had joined us. As soon as everyone left, I told Luke to help Trey get settled in. Before we parted ways, I had to show Trey Maddie’s room. The man is a fan of my work, to say the least.
“Tomorrow, my heaven,
our first baby will be here,” Mickey excitedly says once we are in the comfort of our room.
“Tomorrow,” I confirm,
planting a kiss on his lips.
Today’s the day
and I’m a nervousness wreck.
Not only is Maddie coming home today but Luke had told me earlier that he was coming clean today at the family lunch we had planned. I love my uncle, I’ll always love him, but I just wish he would have chosen another night to do this. It’s just that I have no freaking clue how my family will react to his news.
I find myself pacing every single seco
nd I’m left with nothing to do. My family has once again taken over our house. This time it was actually with our consent since we wanted to introduce them to Maddie in our actual home.
John is bringing her here and I actually have more control over what happens here than in the main house.
It’s lunch time and there is still no sign of John. Waiting is the worse par. It’s killing me. Then, there is also the fact that Luke is about to come clean. I am a nervous mess to say the least. We had decided to have lunch outside in our backyard and joined all four picnic tables so we can all sit together. I am sitting next to Luke and next to him, in the corner, is Trey. I look over to them and give them a nervous smile.
“Calm down, it’ll be fine,
” Mickey whispers in my ear as he takes a seat next to me. I give him a weak smile, which makes him throw an arm around my shoulders and pull me towards him, kissing me on the top of my head. I feel myself calm a little bit.
We had already finished lunch and there is still no sign of John
and Luke hasn’t said a word. As soon as the thought comes to mind, I hear Luke clear his throat. Guess we’re getting one thing out of the way.
“
Since everyone is here, I want to take this moment to tell you all something,” he announces. I instantly reach for his hand. As I do, I see that Trey is holding his other hand. This makes me smile.
“What is it, mi niño?” Mama asks looking at him sweetly.
He looks nervous so I tighten my grip on his hand. “Well…you know how I introduced Trey as my business partner? The thing is…he’s more than that. Trey, is also my partner in life,” he finally admits.
“What does that even mean, Lucas?” Mama asks
, clearly confused. The rest of the family also starts questioning him, asking him to further explain. I can tell he’s reluctant, but I also see he’s determined to do this, to finally put it out in the open. I couldn’t be more proud of him.
He takes a deep b
reath. “It means that I’m gay, Mom,” Luke finally confesses, not sugarcoating it one bit.
Chapter Nineteen
I
f someone would’ve told me years ago that this was all it took for my entire family to be in complete and utter silence, I would’ve pushed Luke into coming clean sooner. I swear, if a pin needle were to drop, you’d hear it.
I was eighteen and had just moved to Cali
fornia where I would start college. My second week there, my apartment had suffered a minor flooding. A pipe had broken and I woke up to an apartment full of water that could give the Nile River a run for its money. Due to the current homeless situation I had found myself in, I had called Luke to see if I could stay with him until it got fixed. He didn’t think twice, just told me I could stay as long as I wanted.
I met Trey the same way my family did, as my uncle’s business partner. I could tell from that first meeting that they were
really close. I just didn’t know how close they really were. Trey came over almost every night for dinner and I instantly liked him. He was smart, funny, and gave the greatest advice.
Over a week
had passed and my apartment still wasn’t fixed. One night, I was planning to be at the library late with one of my study groups and I told my uncle so he wouldn’t wait for me for dinner. We ended up finishing quicker than I thought, so I went straight to Luke’s from there. As soon as I pulled in, I noticed Trey’s car was there. I didn’t pay much attention to it since he was normally there, but when I opened the door I felt like the air was pulled right out of me. My uncle and Trey were in a full-on, steamy make out session on the couch.
Luckily for my eyes and my mental health, they were still fully clothed. No one should ever go through the trauma of seeing a relative have sex.
“Oh my God!” I screeched out.
“Laylah, oh God, oh God. I can explain.” Luke says, jumping off of the couch and coming over to where I am standing, still in shock.
“I don’t think there
’s really much to explain,” I tell him, still gaping. For the first time ever I feel like am truly seeing my uncle for the first time, the person he really is. He isn’t hiding from me, that shadow he always has whenever I’ve seen him back at home is gone.
“Oh Go
d, Lai, it’s not what you think,” he says, running his hand through his hair and I could see that he was scared of my reaction. He was afraid he would be rejected by me, by our whole family.
“So you’re gay, big whoop,
” I tell him with a smile on my face as I move to the chair opposite of where they were. “Sit down, my children, we need to have a talk about boundaries and doors,” I tell them pointing to the couch they were occupying before I came in.
That night we had a very long talk. My uncle was amazed by my acceptance, not that I was. Love is love. It knows no boundaries, age or sex. Love is blind. Plus, like Mickey had said, you can’t choose the person you fall in love with, it just happens. Looking back now that I know what it means to love someone, I can tell you that they have what Mickey and I have: true love. They had told me they had been together for almost a year and they’re still going strong. Trey was my uncle’s first boyfriend, although he had gone on a couple of dates before.
From that day
forward, my relationship with my uncle had grown pretty strong. I had promised him that I wouldn’t tell anyone about his relationship until he was ready to do so, a promise I have faithfully kept. I know this was a hard decision for him to make, but I’m so proud of him for facing his greatest fear. No matter what the outcome is, I’ll always be there for him.
I’ve been trying to gauge Mama’s reaction but I really can’t tell what’s on her mind
. I just hope that whatever it is, it turns out to be for the good. She tends to live on old values, but sometimes she can be unpredictable. I hope to God she doesn’t make Luke’s fears a reality. It will completely break his heart and mine.