Page 173 of The Holy Grail
Evan nodded. Wendy had been next-level crazy, and he’d actually taken a third year of French because of her, even though only two years of a foreign language were required to graduate. Looking back, he probably could have spent his time better, because when was he going to use French anyway?
“Oui, elle était un peu folle,” he said, deciding to use some of it right then.
Evangeline blinked at him. “What?”
“I just said, yes, she was a little crazy, in French.”
Shaking her head, she mused, “You always did like the crazy ones.”
“I know.”
“Is Jules a little crazy?”
“A little, but in a good way. I think you’ll like her.”
“What about Malcom?”
“He’s a little on the shy side, actually.”
Evangeline searched his face, this son of hers who shared part of her name, whom she’d watched over, worried about, been proud of, been aggravated with, and adored from the moment he’d come into the world ahead of schedule. “You really love them both? And they love you?”
“Yes, and yes.”
There was a long moment of silence, and then she said, “Okay.”
“Okay?”
She nodded.
“So, you can accept this?” Evan asked.
She put a hand over his, which was still holding hers. “I won’t know for sure until I meet them.”
Chapter 57
Everyone’s happiness looks different
“Thanks for coming over,” Malcom told his mom, as he ushered her into the foyer.
“Of course.”
After hanging up her coat and getting comfortable in the living room, Beverly asked, “So what did you need to talk to me about?”
He paused, trying to find the words to start, when she spoke again.
“Is it about an engagement?” she wanted to know, her expression carefully neutral.
Shit.This might be harder than he’d anticipated, if his mom was hoping for an engagement announcement—and he could tell she was even if she looked like she was asking what the weather forecast for tomorrow was. “No, it’s not about an engagement. Itisrelationship related, though, but before I can get into that, there are a few things you need to know first,” he told her, then began filling her in on many things she’d had no knowledge of, beginning with a very watered-down version of his and Gwen’s experimentation with other people, specifically Evan. Malcom told Beverly about the attraction he’d felt for Evan, at which point, she asked if that had been Malcom’s first attraction for another man.
“No. There was a boy in high school I was attracted to, but I kept those feelings buried like Jimmy Hoffa.”
She tilted her head. “Because of your father … and the pink shirt?”
“Yes.”
Beverly’s expression became pensive. “You know, I had a talk with him after you left for school that day, and told him he shouldn’t have said what he said to you, and if it turned out youweregay, then he would have to keep his opinions to himself and be a supportive, loving parent. I said you were our son, no matter what your sexual orientation was, and your father seemed to come to understand how he’d behaved was wrong, what he’d said was wrong, and told me it wouldn’t happen again.” She paused, then said, “Not long after that, you started dating and the question of whether or not you might be attracted to boys seemed to be answered … but you were obviously just doing a really good job of hiding it, weren’t you?”
“Yes, I was. I didn’t realize it at the time, because everything was really confusing for me, but even though you’d told me my being gay wouldn’t matter to you, I still steered away from it because I knew Dad’s intolerance was more powerful than your tolerance. So, I learned to hide it, and essentially deny half of myself.”
