Page 92 of Together Again

“Thank you, Lucy, that’s really nice of you to make all that. When can we dig in?” I asked.

“Let me clean up a bit of this mess and then we can start.”

“No way, I’m too hungry. We’ll all clean up after dinner.” Isaac went straight for the cupboard where I kept the plates while I made space on the table for us.

The food was to die for. I ate until I couldn’t stomach one more bite, and Isaac looked like he was about to enter a food coma.

“You’re never moving out if you cook like this all the time,” I said before I caught myself.

Lucy’s smile dropped, and she looked down at her hands. I saw Isaac sit up slightly from the corner of my eye.

“Lucy, what was it you wanted to tell me earlier?”

“Before my phone died yesterday, I had a call from Dad. He’s been calling me and leaving messages asking where I am, but I’ve been ignoring them.” She was playing with a napkin and wringing it around her fingers.

“The call came from the school number, so I picked it up, but it wasn’t my teacher. It was Dad.”

“What did he say?”

“I don’t know. I hung up the phone. I was scared he’d tell them lies to make me go back home.”

Tears started running down her face, so I got up to sit next to her. I put my arm around her and she leaned in. I couldn’t believe how easily she trusted me.

“Shh, it’s okay.”

“No, don’t you see? Now I can’t go back to school because they’ll make me go back to him. I can’t go back to him, Max. Please.” She looked up at me with pleading eyes. “Can I stay with you and Isaac? I’ll help out and do all the chores and get good grades at school. Please, Max. Please, Isaac.”

“Oh, honey, I will do everything I can to make that happen, okay? I can promise you that.” I kissed the top of her head and told her to go pick a movie while Isaac and I cleaned the kitchen. She protested, but I pulled the big brother card and she relented.

Despite the mess Lucy had made in the kitchen, it didn’t take us long to clear up. While Isaac finished the dishes, I made a call to Peter, a friend from college who had become a lawyer specializing in family affairs, and set up a meeting for the next day.

I needed to know what challenges I would face from my parents if they were to fight to take Lucy back. Considering they’d near enough neglected her and only provided the bare basics, it surprised me that they’d be looking for her.

Before Lucy came into my life, I’d thought the worst thing my parents ever did was to kick me out for being gay. Now other memories were slowly coming back.

The times when Dad was really stressed about work and would sometimes shout at me and send me to my room for the smallest infraction. He’d always had business trips when he was like that. Now I wondered if what he’d done was to go to Lucy’s mom and use her as a punching bag so he didn’t do it to me or my mom.

I wanted to cry and apologize to Lucy for everything she went through. Her mom suffered so mine didn’t, and she suffered so I didn’t. Except that wasn’t the truth. I had also suffered because I hadn’t been the good straight son they thought they had. Up until that day, I had never even heard my parents express any kind of homophobic opinions.

“How about some ice cream with a slice of cake?” Isaac asked.

“I thought you couldn’t eat anything else?” I approached him to tickle his sides. He moved quickly, but fortunately for me, his move also meant he was trapped between me and the fridge.

“You know there’s always room for dessert.”

“How about you leave that room open, and I’ll give you some dessert later?”

“I think you make a compelling case but, well, ice cream.” He shrugged.

“Let me make it a little more compelling.” I took his mouth, pushing him further against the fridge.

“Guys, I picked the—oh.”

We sprung apart like we’d been electrocuted.

“Sorry, Lucy, we shouldn’t—”

“Hey, I don’t have a problem watching Isaac making out, but you’re my big brother, so ew.” She wrinkled her nose, so I threw a wet dishcloth at her.

“Gross!” She threw the towel back, and I managed to catch it before it hit me square in the face. “I chose the film so you can come watch it or carry on with your, ahem, clearing up the kitchen.” And with that, she left us alone.

“Well, Max James, what’s it going to be?”

“I guess we could get some ice cream,” I said in mock defeat.