Page 77 of Out of the Storm

“What?! No, I’m sorry, but vanilla is exotic. It’s exciting.”

“Vanilla is not exciting.”

“Somepeople find it exciting. Me included.”

“Weird.”

Gary stuck his tongue out at Mel, who only laughed in response.

After Gary was finished folding in the chocolate chips, they scooped out heaping tablespoons onto a baking sheet and then went to the living room while the cookies baked in the oven. Over the next few minutes, Gary finally told Mel about the situation with his family—the will, the fact that he had this unshakable suspicion that his mother had been lying for years, the way that they had made him feel so small when he had visited. When he was through, Mel pulled him in for a hug.

“What reason would your mom have had to keep your dad from you?” Mel asked gently.

“Well, I have to hope that it was because she thought it was for the best. Maybe he was a horrible person. I mean, from my memories, he wasn’t, but I was a kid, and kids sometimes put their parents up on pedestals, right?” Gary pulled back from her hug. “Also, he left us, so he couldn’t have been a saint.”

“That’s true.”

“Ugh, the worst part of this is that it makes me feel extra... extra.”

Mel snickered. “Read all about it?”

“Shut up.” Gary shoved her with his elbow. “I feel like I’m extrameright now. Just, you know, clingy. Worried that everything in my life is about to crumble.”

“It won’t.”

“You can’t know that.”

“Well, I know thatI’mnot going anywhere,” Mel reassured him. “And I know that your silly radio station isn’t either.”

“And Jeff?”

“Can’t say. I’ve only met him once.” Mel sat back. Looking pensive, she crossed her arms over her chest and brought one of her legs up to rest her ankle atop her opposite knee. She hummed a bit. “What if we have a movie night tomorrow?”

“Why?”

“Bring Jeff. Maybe I can feel him out. I’ll either be able to offer you some reassurance or—”

“—break it to me that I’ve been a clingy monster and warn me that he’s about to run for the hills?”

“Yeah.”

While Gary was thinking it over, the oven timer beeped. Mel went to take the cookies out, leaving Gary with his thoughts. He loathed how his most recent visit home coupled with these lingering worries in his head were stirring up his insecurities like this. Jeff needed Gary to keep his head on straight while he worked through whatever it was he was trying to work through.

As he thought back on the previous day, Gary’s face prickled with shame. He really hadn’t meant to push Jeff into trying to somehowprovehow much he liked him. Of course not. But everything with his family was... well, it was really, really messing with him. God, yesterday, once he and Jeff had finished their fight or whatever it was, Gary had barely been able to let Jeff stray from his arms. No wonder the poor man hadn’t slept much. Ugh. He had to be better. He needed to try to trust that Jeff liked him, that Jeff wasn’t someone who would leave.

“Mel?” Gary hollered.

She called from the kitchen, “Yeah?”

“Let’s have the movie night,” he called out. “But forget pestering Jeff, okay?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

Gary closed his eyes and promised himself that he’d be better.

He’d be the man Jeff needed him to be.

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