Page 17 of The Spirit Key
Oh fuck no.“Uh-uh, you can stop that right now. I didn’t run away because I was gay. I ran because…. Because I thought I needed to get help from a professional. My leaving had zero to do with you and nothing at all to do with being gay and…. How did you know?”
She chuckled. “The first place moms look for porn magazines is under the mattress. Boys have been hiding them there for a very long time. Though your brother was a little bit different. He used to hide his in a plastic bag that he velcroed to the underside of the lid of the toilet tank.”
My cheeks heated. “So you found…?”
“Yeah, I saw them. You have good taste in guys. I thought Simon Rex was a cutie. And, damn, that boy’s hung.”
I held up my hands to ward off the evil woman who had taken over my mother. “Oh my God, Mom! Never, ever say that to me again.”
We stared at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing together, and it was cathartic. By the time we got ourselves under control, it was later than I’d thought.
The doorbell rang, and she got up to answer it. I leaned forward so I could see who it was. When she opened the door, there stood Tim, a smile on his face. He leaned in, hugged her, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Is he still here?”
“Yeah. Did you know?”
He held up his hands. “He just showed up yesterday. I didn’t know he was coming, and believe me, if I had, you would have been the first person I’d told.”
They came walking in together, holding hands. Not a twinge of jealousy did I feel. In fact, I was relieved that she had someone while I was off being a prick. He took a seat next to me, and Mom sat on the chair opposite us.
“Have you talked to your brother yet?”
“No. I went to see Tim, then came over here. How’s he doing? I looked him up on Facebook. His kids are adorable.”
“So is Karen. She’s been good for him. He was angry for a long time, especially after you went away.”
It couldn’t have hurt more if she had punched me in the stomach. “Mom, I—”
“Did what you had to. If anyone understands that, it’s me. Ryan and I were estranged for a time too. Between you being gone and him staying away, it made me look hard at myself and got me to take steps to fix the problem.” She stood up and blew out a breath. “I want tea. Would anyone else like some?”
“Sure, I’ll have some.”
I shook my head. “No, but thank you.”
“I can make coffee, or I have some soda in the fridge. How about a glass of water?”
“He’ll have water.”
I twisted toward Tim. “I will?”
“Yes, you will. You need to drink something.”
And I knew he was right. The last twenty-four hours had taken a lot more out of me than I thought. “Okay. I’ll take a glass of water, if you don’t mind.”
She smiled at Tim, then mouthed “thank you” before saying, “Coming right up.” She hustled into the kitchen, leaving me and Tim alone.
“So?”
“She doesn’t hate me.”
“I told you.”
Smug bastard. But I guess he had a reason to be. He wasn’t wrong. At least not this time.
When Mom came back, the three of us sat around and talked about old times. I had a twinge of sorrow, knowing Tim’s mom wasn’t with us in body or in spirit. I’d never believed in an afterlife until I saw Jeff. Well, okay, to be fair, I hadn’t thought about it until that ghost in class slashed me across the chest. That guy I wanted crushed into a paste and dumped down the nearest garbage disposal.
“What about Ryan?”
