Page 119 of Love It or List It
“Exactly!Neither should anyone else!So why are you lettingsocietyhave a say?”
Alex opened their mouth, shut it, opened it, then shut it again.A tense silence bubbled around them, and Austin wondered if now was the time to cut in.Or maybe he and Joe should make a run for it.This felt like not the kind of conversation to be hashed out around parents.
“You thought you might be pregnant?”Everyone turned to Gavin, who was pale and staring wide-eyed at Alex, all wounded puppy.“Why didn’t you tell me?”
The table swiveled back to Alex.At least Austin wasn’t the only one watching this play out like he’d scored front-row seats to the taping of a soap opera.Will looked like he wanted popcorn.
“I—I—because Schrödinger’s pregnancy!Not knowing was less terrifying and I was already stressed, which is why I skipped my period in the first place.”Alex hugged themselves, but now that the dam was broken, they couldn’t seem to stop.“I was stressed about school and exams and what’ll happen next year and fighting with Meg and whether or not you liking me means you think I’m a girl and—”
“Wait, I’ve been banging you for months and you still think I’mstraight?”
“Banging,” Will whispered, almost gleeful.Joe groaned softly and glanced longingly at his glass like he wanted something harder to drink than fizzy water.
“What?”Alex looked poleaxed.
Gavin shrugged.“I don’t have, like, a label or anything.Maybe I’m just Alex-sexual.”
“Alex-sexual,” Alex said.“That sounds dumb.”
“What?I’ve been in love with you since I was eight, so the question’s kind of, like, mote, or whatever.”
“Moot,” Joe said quietly.
“Yeah, that.”Gavin snapped his fingers and pointed at Joe.
Silence reigned as everyone took all that in.Austin spent several agonizing heartbeats achingly, furiously jealous that Gavin could say that so easily.Like it was so obvious that he wasn’t telling anyone anything they didn’t already know.Unconcerned with whether it was too soon (how could it be?), sure Alex would want to hear it.
Then Joe picked up his glass and eyed his water and Austin reminded himself this was not about him.“I understand why people exploit their families for money on YouTube now.”
Will snorted, still looking gleeful, probably because today he was in no way part of the drama.
Giving up, apparently, Joe reached back for a bottle of wine on the sideboard.“Christ, does anyone else want a drink?”
“Not the red,” Austin said, because that was the last thing they needed.
Joe grunted and stood, heading for the white in the fridge, Austin assumed.
Meanwhile, Gavin and Alex were sort of just making eyes at each other.Alex hadn’t acknowledged Gavin’s confession, but Austin suspected that had more to do with the audience than a lack of reciprocation.
Joe returned with a bottle of white, as predicted, and two glasses.
“So, now that Gavin’s acknowledged that liking you doesn’t make you a girl,” Meg said—Austin winced, but Alex just rolled their eyes, so maybe that wasn’t too harsh—“can we talk about how you’re totally still allowed to like what you want and shit?”
Joe handed Austin a healthy glass, and he drank deeply and braced himself for what came next.
Alex frowned.“You might have a point about the knitting.And still being able to like it.Just.You get why it’s hard going to feminist stuff that’s all aboutwomen, right?”
Meg frowned back.“I mean, I know some of it is women-based, but.like, men and enbies can be feminists too.And,” she said, picking up steam, “you thought you were pregnant—which is why intersectional feminist issues like abortion rights should still matter to you.”
Alex frowned deeper and pushed their food around their plate.Everyone else at the table held their breath.“Okay, so maybe I was having a bit of a dysphoric freak-out,” they admitted.“I’m allowed to say no to stuff and it not be, like, a total rejection of you.But also, I could try to be better about, you know, talking to you about my feelings and not saying no to everything.”
Meg burst into tears.Alex stumbled over themself getting out of the chair and getting to Meg, and then the kids were hugging and crying together.It hit Austin suddenly thatthiswas who Meg and Alex were as friends, and that he’d never actually seen them being their true selves, at least with regards to their friendship.
He glanced at Joe and caught him trying to covertly wipe tears from his eyes.How much stress had Joe been carrying around, worrying about two of his children not getting on?
“Time for dessert?”Austin asked in an undertone.Joe nodded and stood, but as he walked to the kitchen, tension crept back into his shoulders.Austin had no idea what could possibly be bothering him now, but maybe he could lighten the mood and bring a bit of humor back.“Teenagers.All that drama.Glad we’re too old for that shit.”He chuckled and bumped their hips together.
Next to him, Joe went rigid.
