Pizza Boy at the Door Ch. 18

As soon as his mouth had emptied the second time of the most succulent roast he had ever tasted, Kyle looked to Josh's Mom and complimented her with, "Absolutely delicious, Mrs. Thomas. Could I get the recipe from you later?"

Josh was about to put a forkful of seasoned mashed potatoes in his mouth when his Mom muttered just loud enough to be heard. "Why does that question not surprise me at all?" The tone and inflection was unable to be mistaken.

"What's that 'spose to mean?" Josh demanded as he dropped his fork noisily to his plate.

His Mom only shook her head as she mumbled, "Nothing, Joshua. Nothing at all." The look on her face said otherwise.

Before Kyle could kick him under the table to let it go, Josh went on the attack. "No Mom. That DID mean something and it wasn't very nice. Kyle is an excellent cook and all he wanted was to be able to do a roast as good as you and grandma."

"This isn't the time or place to discuss it, Joshua," was her dismissive reply.

"Well I think it is the perfect time since you decided to make a snaky, stereotype comment like that." Before she had a chance to come back, he looked her straight in the eyes and added, "You obviously already know anyway, don't you? So why don't we let everyone else that matters to me in on the big secret?" The following silence hung in the air like a thick morning fog as Josh glared at her.

"We will not discuss such things in my house...or in front of my parents." The slowly stated words were said in a manner meant to be taken as law.

As another uneasy quiet engulfed the table, Kyle looked around and could see nothing but confusion on the other faces. 'Oh damn...' he thought, '...she knows but no one else does.'

"Can I buy a clue, please?" finally came from Josh's Dad. He looked first at his son, and then to his wife.

"No Jim. Leave it alone for now," was her response.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kyle saw Josh inhale deeply before injecting, "How about instead of a clue, I just come out and say what Mom is so afraid of everyone hearing?"

"JOSHUA JAMES! You will NOT say another word!" His Mom's voice was shrill.

Josh was gritting his teeth as his Grandfather jumped in with, "What has you two so riled up?"

"Go ahead and answer him, Mom." He reached below the table cloth and interlaced his fingers with Kyle's for strength and support. "We saw the little hints you left up in the bedroom, so I know you know. You can either tell them or I will."

Kyle couldn't hold back any longer and softly said, "Stay calm, Josh," as he squeezed his hand and gave him a comforting look.

Mrs. Thomas' face formed into a sneer and her next words dripped with contempt. "Since it is obvious that you are the one responsible for all this, you can keep your mouth shut."

"Pamela Jean!" exploded from Josh's Grandmother. "I didn't raise you to be like that with a guest in your home."

"And I didn't invest eighteen years in raising a son to be seduced into a choice like he has made, either." She paused only long enough to move her eyes to Kyle's. "I sure didn't raise him to send off to college and meet something like our so-called guest."

Josh's Dad rejoined the verbal brawl with, "What in blue blazes are you talking about? Are you saying Kyle has Josh using drugs?"

Mrs. Thomas lowered her voice and very calmly said, "I only wish it were drugs. It would probably be easier to fix that problem."

"I do not have a problem," Josh quickly inserted. "You do though. You are a bigot. Even towards your own flesh and blood."

There was hate in his Mom's eyes when she chastised him with, "Smart mouthing the woman who gave you life! Is that something else your faggot friend there taught you?"

Suddenly the room was quiet enough to hear the proverbial pin drop and remained that way almost too long. Finally; remembering the last time he had heard that term used by his dorm roommate and how it had hurt so much; Josh looked at his Mom and through tears whimpered, "Please tell me I didn't hear you say that about the man I love and am going to marry."

Once the initial shock of the words wore off, the conversation suddenly became both heated and jumbled as everyone began injecting opinions all at the same time. It quickly became obvious to Kyle that Josh had the support of all but his mother. As soon as there was a momentary lull in the combined babel, he chanced speaking up. "Mrs. Thomas," he began calmly, "you should be proud of Josh for the courage it took for him to be honest with the people he loves the most. Coming out to your family isn't easy to do."

She fired back immediately with, "I'm anything but proud right now. Ashamed is a more correct term."

"What the hell do you have to be ashamed about?" rocketed from Josh's tongue.

His mom drilled her eyes into his and uttered in a commanding tone, "You know I disapprove of swearing in my presence." She paused and then added even more forcefully, "In fact that is the most perfect word for this entire perversion you have chosen: I DISAPPROVE!"

Kyle lowered his eyes as Josh squeezed his hand even tighter before speaking again. "Then, Mother...I guess we have nothing else to discuss since I wasn't asking for your approval...only your acceptance so I knew you still loved me." More tears followed the words and then he slid his chair back and turned to Kyle. "She disapproves. I believe that also means neither of us is welcome any longer in her home. So I think it is time for us to go back to ours."

* * * * *

In spite of the pleas of both grandparents and his father, Josh had remained steadfast in his refusal to stay another moment in the house he had grown up in. Without saying so, it was obvious to Kyle that Josh had taken his mom's words as the line in the sand and he felt he had to be man enough to step over it.

A little over an hour later, Kyle was staring through the windshield of the Hummer as it continued to tick off the miles on I-10 back to Pensacola. He occasionally glanced over at Josh who had finally succumbed to the emotional toll the day had taken on him and fallen asleep in the passenger seat. They had only traded a few words between them since pulling out of the driveway. Josh had told him he probably wouldn't be good company on the trip back, and Kyle had simply taken his hand and answered that he understood. As he listened to the fitful snores coming from the other side of the truck, he looked up to the dark sky and begged, 'Please God...let them both find the healing they each need so much.'