Page 18 of Innocent

I’m a little shocked, because he’s never spoken to her like that before.

Mimi stares forward, through the windshield and out over the sunny parking lot. “He made it here safely, Alfred.”

“I told you, you’d better put him on a plane and send his ass back hererightnow. Our pastor got us the info for that camp. He’sgoing. No son of ours is going to be gay.”

She looks at me, eyebrow arched, and I tearfully shake my head.

“That’snotwhat’s going to happen, Alfred,” she tells him. The calm chill in her voice could freeze the whole damn airport, even in the hot Florida sun.

I’m fully aware she’s using “Mom” voice on him and not the sweet “Mimi” voice she uses on me. “There’snothingwrong with Jordan,” she adds.

“We’renothaving a queer for a son! I’d rather he bedead!”

Her lips purse. “Then my lawyer will send you forms overnight. Take them to the bank, sign them where indicated while infrontof a notary, and send them back in the pre-paid envelope I’ll include.”

“What?”

“You havetwooptions here, Alfred. I know you and Melissa are barely surviving it as it is. Either I can file charges against you two for abandoning your son,andfight you in court in a long and extremely expensive custody battle that will probably make you lose your house, as well as all your churchy friends will learn your son is gay.Or,you can give me custody of Jordan and quietly walk away without a look back. Your choice, asshole.”

My eyes widen as I realizethisis the woman who, for nearly thirty years, worked for the state of New York as an investigator for their child welfare division, checking out reports of child abuse called in to their hotline.

Definitely not a woman I’d want to fuck with.

Certainly a side to her that my sweet, cuddly Mimi had never shown me before.

“Is he there?” Mom asks.

“Yes,” Mimi says. “Jordan, do you want to speak to them?”

I was going to shake my head no, but I find words spilling out of my mouth. “You’d rather me bedeadthan gay?Really?”

There’s another moment of silence from them before Mom speaks. “We’ve worked our whole lives for you, Jordan. How can youdothis to us?Thisis how you repay us? Of course I’d rather you be alive, but not if you’re gay. You’re damned to Hell! If you die now, maybe you’ll still go to Heaven. If you repent and forget this…thisnonsense, our pastor said he can get you into that camp and they cansaveyour soul!”

Mimi’s slowly shaking her head, and I know it’s at my parents, not at me.

An eerie calm descends over me. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Mom,” I manage, my voice trembling. “I’m gay. Even if I came home, I’d never go to a camp. I’d run away and keep running away. You don’t want me, and I don’t want to be there. Give me to Mimi. If you try to make me return, I’ll run away and come back here anyway.”

Mimi takes over. “Well? What’s it going to be?”

My father starts to say something, but Mom interrupts him.

Her cold, hard tone chills me. “Send the damn papers, Miriam. Iknewletting him go visit you all those times was a mistake. This is allyourfault. You never did like me, and you’ve stolen our son from us and damned his soul in the process. I hope you’re happy with yourself.”

Mimi coldly smiles. “Papers will arrive first thing in the morning. You both have to sign them. I’ll be tracking them, too. Take them to the bank as soon as they open tomorrow, sign them infrontof a notary, put them in the pre-paid overnight envelope, and return them. If I don’t have those papers in my hands by the close of business the day after tomorrow, I’ll file an emergency order here in Florida to seek custody and cite child abuse. You force me to do that, I won’t stop until I have full custody of him. He’s old enough to testify and tell a judge where he wants to live and why.

“Donotfuck with me or this boy, and you can tell everyone I got him a scholarship at a high school for the arts in Tallahassee, that the weather’s better for his health here, and you can still protect your precious reputation. Everyone will think you’re perfect parents, and I won’t tell anyone up there any different. If you fight me, you’ll wish you hadn’t.” Mimi punches the button and hangs up on them.

She takes a deep breath and smiles. “You all right, baby boy?”

Not really but I nod anyway. “Are we going to see your lawyer now?”

She laughs as she drops her phone into her purse. “Sweetie, he drew up the papers for me three weeks ago. As soon as your father called me this morning to scream at me, I went to the UPS Store and sent them overnight. Early morning delivery.”

My eyes widen. “You saw your lawyerweeksago?”

“When you asked to ship me stuff, I figured you’d drop it on them right before you got on the plane. I had him date them for today.” She sighs. “Buckle up. We need to get home. We’ve got a houseful of company coming over for dinner in less than two hours, and I need your help getting everything ready.”

“C-company?”