Page 23 of Lorcan
Gross.
“My apartment looks out over the back alley and the dumpster.”
“Oof.” He contemplated his sandwich. “Thank you, Aunt Genessa.”
“Yeah?” I soaked some fries in the gravy.
“Yes, my father’s sister. She never married and worked as a schoolteacher for forty-five years. Needless to say, a lot changed in that time. She’s…progressive. She changed with the times, so to speak. Well, her best friend was a lesbian, so she witnessed hostile discrimination from an early age.”
“Is your aunt a lesbian? Or is that too personal a question to ask?” I eyed my food.Probably a bad question.
“I’d say she more falls under the ace or aromantic part of the continuum. She gave me the birds-and-the-bees talk—well, birds-and-the-birds talk. Or would it be bees and bees?” He shrugged. “She realized I was gay almost before I did. And she saw disaster looming. She wanted me to know she’d always be in my corner. She hasn’t spoken to my family since the day I left home.” He poked at his wrap. “She saved all her money from teaching. She has a condo near Heritage Park and just tucked all that money away. With the help of some very savvy investments, she’s, uh, well off.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.” He toyed with a fry from his side order. “I used to feel guilty about her helping me out so much. But she told me about her lesbian friend and how she always wished she’d done more—but she hadn’t wanted to risk her job with the school board. Now she’s free, however, she’s decided she can say whatever she wants and support whomever she chooses. She’s attended every Pride Day in Mission City and wears a rainbow bracelet. She also volunteers with a queer group in town. She’s the grandmother everyone wishes they had—especially the kids who’ve been rejected by their families.”
“Sounds like you were lucky to have her.”
“I am. Truly. I volunteer with the kids myself—leading a therapy group on Wednesday nights. Man, some of what those kids have gone through…it’s pretty brutal. My family rejected me, but they didn’t kick me out of the house. They just made itclear that if I was going tochooseto be gay, then I wouldn’t be welcome. I stayed so I could get my high school diploma. Then Ichoseto walk away.”
My fries were a little droopy as I put them in my mouth. As I chewed, I contemplated. “In my case, I didn’t come out until after I left home. I just didn’t see the point. My parents…well, they were really self-absorbed. I’m not even certain they noticed I moved out. They definitely never put in any effort to tracking me down. Apparently, my mom died five years ago, and my dad died last summer. The executor of their small estate tracked me down. Neither had a will, so I inherited. Can’t say there was much. I took the photos, donated the rest of the stuff, and sold the house. Despite them having lived there fifty years, they still had a mortgage. No clue except obviously they’d refinanced. Probably more than once. I only got a couple thousand from the sale. By that point, I was about to start my trial. I’ve used the money for living expenses. Let’s just say, it didn’t go far.”
“Photos?” He took another bite of his wrap.
“Yeah. The least-sentimental people I ever knew kept a couple of scrapbooks of family photos. Hell, I don’t even remember them being taken. I also found some family genealogy stuff that I’ve kept. It’s in a lockbox under my bed. Maybe one day I’ll go through it. Best as I understand, both my parents were only children. I don’t remember either set of grandparents. We were always just a unit of three. Although, really, they were a pair, and I was the odd man out.”
Cody frowned. “That’s kind of sad.”
“I accepted it a long time ago. That’s why I felt like I’d hit the jackpot with Stephen. He loved me. He really loved me. And he wanted to spend time with me, have me move in with him, and start a business together. I’d never known such love. And if he was playing me for all these years, then that was the longest con ever.”
“True. So you suspect it might’ve been a more-recent plan?”
“I honestly don’t know. He didn’t just empty everything overnight, though. Arnav figures the heist, so to speak, was more than a year in the planning and execution.”
Cody whistled.
“Right. And I don’t want to talk about my ex-husband anymore.” I pointed to Mount Baker. “I just want to sit and stare at a dormant volcano and guess when it might erupt again.”
“Well, that’s a choice. I think I read something about that—let me look it up.”
I waved him off. “Nah. More fun to speculate than to have some scientific something or other. I say—” I bit my lip in concentration. “—thirty years or fewer.”
He chuckled. “I sure hope not. I like my view.”
“I watched a documentary once. About—” I snapped my fingers. “—Krakatoa. I think that was the name. How it erupted and spewed ash and, like, didn’t the world temperature drop the next year because of all the crap in the air?”
His eyes widened. “I haven’t ever heard of that. Although, admittedly, geology wasn’t my field.”
“You always knew you wanted to be a psychologist?”
“Yep. Well, I thought maybe an MD when I was younger. When I discovered both biology and chemistry were necessary, I took a hard pass. I did well in my math classes, though. Especially statistics.”
I sighed. “I did okay in high school. I was always good with my hands, and had a strong body, so construction always made sense. That’s partly why I left the business stuff up to my ex.” I grimaced. “And I swear to God, that’s the last time I’m going to talk about him.” To emphasize the point, I shoved the last piece of meatloaf in my mouth.
The delicacy melted on my tongue, and I savored it. I had a few fries left, so I enjoyed them slathered in the leftover gravy.
He grinned. “Here’s to happier topics today.” He cocked his head. “You can always talk to me. About anything. I honestly do my best not to judge.”
