Page 27 of Love Hollow at Last
Noah sighed.One shot of whiskey shouldn’t have been enough to make him spill all kinds of secrets, but he would have to give Grace something.There had really been one incontrovertible sign, but he had come up with his own explanation.
“Gay porn downloaded onto our computer.I thought it was mine, though.”
Grace’s eyebrows could have hit the ceiling.“I’m sorry.What?”
“I thought it was mine.So I thought I was gay.You know, like, subconsciously.”
She laughed.“I assume you figured things out?”
“Yes.Eventually.I mean, it was a weird time.”
“Okay, sure.So you didn’t know Nobu was gay, but this porn was on the computer.And you thought maybe it was yours?”
“Like I’d downloaded it in my sleep,” said Noah quickly.“Anyway, the point is that Nobu wasn’t out to us in high school.So I didn’t know, not at the time.But he did give me advice about some things.”
“Right,” said Grace.“He came out shortly after, right?Sometime in college?”
“Yes,” said Noah, remembering that day.It had been strange to see his mother so emotional, terrified for the country and the world that her son was going to be facing.But Grace blazed past it.
“I heard it all from your parents and from Nobu himself,” she said, which didn’t surprise Noah.
“Nobu had a bunch of weird phases,” Grace continued.“He was angry at everyone.Then he was just sad.He never had a romantic relationship that lasted more than a few weeks, but he managed to still have awfully dramatic breakups, and he switched jobs just as frequently.”
“That’s a little harsh,” said Noah.“I switched jobs a lot during those years too.”
Grace gave him a pitying look.“Yes, but you were working toward something.If I’ve read between the lines correctly, Nobu wasn’t.”
Noah held out his hands.“Look, sure.That’s fair.”
“So what changed?”
Noah smiled.“Weirdly, it was getting the job he has now.Turns out Nobu just needs to be a dictator.”
Grace grinned.“Well, a middle school principal has to be a dictator.So he ended up being a miniature version of your dad?”
“Yep.Turns out they were similar all along.My mom was the only one who really figured that out, though.”
Grace clapped her hands.“Excellent.So remember, when we’re talking about the Nobu who gave you that advice, the advice about Aya not wanting to date you?”
“Yes.That guy was my brother.”
“Your brother.He wasn’t exactly a reliable narrator.So maybe that wasn’t advice you could take to the bank.”
“Meaning?”
Grace shrugged.“Meaning maybe you and Aya actually liked each other then.Maybe things would have worked out if you’d dated.Maybe Nobu was wrong.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter now.If anything, we’re even more different.She’s all but finished her doctorate, and I worked a bunch of random jobs instead of finishing college.”
Grace nodded.“She is, however, single.”
He paused.Grace was never someone to interfere in his love life, not actively, anyway.But sometimes, after he mentioned going on a date that really hadn’t worked out, she dropped a comment that had her own opinion hidden in there.He usually chose not to hear.
“You’re not serious, right?She doesn’t even want to talk to me.”
Grace grinned.“Well, you’re going to have to talk to someone.Because I just got a call from the president of the museum’s board, and they’re threatening to blow up our festival.”
When Noah started, Grace clarified.“Not literally.But my guess is that, figuratively speaking, the person I spoke to could do some real damage.”
