Page 71 of Inevitable

His parents nodded in unison. More silence ensued. Drew didn’t know what to say.

“I’m glad we’re here,” his mom repeated, smiling almost maniacally now. “Really glad. We’ve wanted to reach out over the years, but we weren’t sure. Well, I suppose it’s all water under the bridge now. We all could have made different choices back then. It’s important to acknowledge that in order to move on from this blip in our family history.”

Drew’s body was so stiff he felt like he was made of granite and not flesh and bone.

“A blip,” he repeated.

His mom nodded.

“We have all made mistakes. And we have all been stubborn about fixing them, but I think it’s time for us to put it behind us. A clean slate, as Ellie has been telling us for years now.”

Drew took a deep breath. Priorities, he reminded himself. They were all here. His parents were willing to work on their relationship. Did it really matter whether or not they assigned blame?

It doesn’t. It doesn’t. It doesn’t.

If he repeated it enough, it was true.

If he repeated it enough, he could convince himself he didn’t need an apology.

There was something he needed to say, though.

“I’m gay.”

Both of his parents stared at him without saying anything. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting. They didn’t talk about uncomfortable topics in this family. Never had. Issues were swept under the rug whenever possible, and hurt feelings were generally not addressed. It was the Holloway way.

His dad looked around the room as if afraid somebody might have overheard before he caught himself and concentrated on Drew again. He looked mildly uncomfortable, which was a step up from thoroughly horrified, so there was that.

“We know. After everything, it’s not something we’ll just forget.” He sounded surprisingly calm about the whole thing.

Drew leaned back and eyed his dad.

“It’s not going to change. If we’re going to do this, I need to know if you can accept me the way I am. Otherwise, what’s the point of this?”

His dad regarded him seriously.

“It’s not something I understand. I’m not going to lie about that.”

“Then why even contact me?” Drew asked.

The look his dad sent him was a familiar one. The don’t-interrupt-me-while-I’m-still-speaking look.

“I redid my will last year.”

Drew leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Okay?” he said, not sure where his dad was going with it.

The man stared at a point somewhere above Drew’s shoulder with an unseeing gaze.

“It made me think. About life. Death. Whether there was something I regretted.” His dad glanced at him. “I want to say there’s nothing, but lying to yourself isn’t nearly as easy as lying to other people.”

Drew stayed quiet while his mom kept wiping invisible specks of dust away from his dad’s shoulder. His dad didn’t even seem to notice.

“I don’t like unsolved disagreements.”

“I don’t understand what you’re doing here,” Drew said. “Are you dying? Is this you tying off loose ends?” He knew he sounded harsh, but he couldn’t help himself.

For the first time that day, his dad looked amused.