Chapter Seventy Four
This chapter deals with the discussion of homosexuality. If you are uncomfortable with this topic, please return to the main Next Generation page and select a different chapter.
Riley sipped his hot cocoa, his mind racing. He ignored the Thanksgiving chaos around him. Tim and Logan were wrestling, and Tim had Logan in a headlock. Jim and his children had just arrived, and Sean and Little Regan were petting Dixie, who lay in the bay window, surveying her humans and tolerating the bedlam around her.
Natala was looking out the window anxiously, waiting for Dean. He and Cam were due over soon. Aralyn was explaining something to her parents, gesturing wildly as Tiffany nodded. Dan and Daisy were smooching near the stairs, and the rest of his family were involved in some sort of activity for setting up for the feast.
His twin sister, Rayma, came over to him.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
He nodded absently. “Yeah, just a lot on my mind.”
She slipped one arm around him and rested her head against his shoulder. While they talked several times a week, they hadn’t seen each other in months, with Riley in college on the West Coast, and Rayma modeling and studying locally.
“School keeping you busy?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Someone keeping you busy?” she asked slyly.
He chuckled. That part was true. But he hadn’t wanted to talk about it with anyone yet. And he needed to. His chest constricted every time he thought about telling his family. Especially when Tim, the girl magnet was around.
He sighed.
“You gonna tell me what’s bothering you?” Rayma asked softly.
Riley opened his mouth but Leif and Miles wandered over at that moment.
“Later,” he muttered.
***
Honey Duke leaned against the wall, surveying the scene in front of her. She loved these big family gatherings, when they were all together. With kids going off to college, Olympic training for Dana, and the younger kids becoming more involved in school activities, it seemed like the years had flown by, and getting everyone together was more difficult.
Dan stepped next to her. “Nice scene.” He commented.
She nodded, turning her phone camera on, to slowly zoom it around the room. She paused on the group of the oldest kids. Lyris and Tim were “on” at the moment. Cam and Aralyn were back to their adorable couple self, and Dean and Natala were clearly in love. And there, squished in the middle, with her two best friends flanking her, was her own daughter, Tiffany.
“It is,” Honey replied. “I just wish there were eight.”
“She’ll be all right,” Dan said, slipping one arm around his old friend. “She’s stronger than she looks, just like you.”
“Did you ever feel left out?” Honey asked suddenly. “When we were all semi-coupled off?”
Dan chose his words carefully. “I was used to being on my own,” he said. “It took some time getting used to having friends like you all. But I also had the freedom to date around,” he grinned.
Honey chuckled. “I just worry for her.”
“She’s a good kid, Honey. You and Luke did well with her. Not everyone finds the love of their life at twenty years old. So she’s made a mistake or two along the way. I expect she won’t repeat them. She’s still trying to find her way, decide who she really wants to be and what she wants to do with her life. They’re all at that age when it’s time. Some are just a little more sure than others. ”
Honey nodded. “I know. I just worry she’s lonely.”
“Being alone isn’t the same as being lonely,” he pointed out. “It gives a person time to reflect, think, decide. Really figure out what drives them, and set their standards.”
They were quiet for a moment before Honey spoke again. “Do you think in twenty years we’ll all be here, with another generation? Do you think their bonds will last, like ours?”
“I sure hope so,” Dan said softly. “I expect some future breakups and makeups, but even if they don’t all end up together, I think they’ll still be sitting here in twenty years. But they’ve still got a lot of growing up and exploring of life to do. There’s no guarantee any of them will stay together, but the bonds of friendship are more important. And those, I think, will stand the test of time the way ours have.”
Honey nodded in hopeful agreement. “I think your oldest is plotting something.”
“Nothing new there,” he replied dryly, his eyes focusing on Tim.
The group of older cousins were giggling, and all were watching the tree. There was a sudden, loud, “sonofabitch!” from behind the tree, and the seven on the sofa howled in laughter. Honey snapped the picture of them, tears welling in her eyes as she thought of the old Bob-Whites.
Logan Duke emerged from behind the tree, scowling, holding up his hand with a small mousetrap on it. “Tim!”
“Hey, you snoop, you get caught!” Tim grinned at him. Logan threw a piece of popcorn at his smirking cousin.
“I can’t believe you set me up,” Logan complained.
“I just dropped a few hints about which present might be yours. I didn’t tell you to go digging.”
Logan grumbled as he removed the trap.
“What’s going on?” Bo appeared next to Honey and Dan.
“My son pranked yours,” Dan chuckled.
“Dang, I missed it?” Bo asked.
Riley barely heard the good natured ribbing between his cousins. He wished Adrian was here. If Adrian had come home with him, he wouldn’t need to explain anything. Riley didn’t like being the center of attention, unless it was Adrian’s attention. Adrian with those beautiful dark eyes that made him feel like the most important person in the world. Adrian who always understood his inner conflict in coming out to his family. But Adrian had encouraged him, pointing out that from the stories Riley had told him, Riley’s family would be fine with it.
“You look like you’re constipated.” His younger sister, Mabon came over and handed him a cookie.
He made a face at her. “Just got a lot on my mind.”
“Wanna talk?” she asked.
Riley almost said yes. Mabon was one of the more sensitive teens, more aware of other people’s moods and feelings, though not nearly as intuitive as Natala. But he really didn’t know Natala all that well, and Mabon was his baby sister. She had always known when he was bothered by something, sometimes before Rayma did.
He exhaled. “Just something I’m working out,” he murmured.
Mabon hugged him and whispered, “Just tell them. It’ll be all right.”
Startled, he looked at her. She winked. “It’s good for the soul.” Then she sauntered off, stepping over Byron and his new tablet.
But dinner came and went, and when everyone was relaxing, he stood up. He glanced at Mabon, who nodded encouragingly.
“I have an announcement,” he blurted. “Well, something I need to tell you guys.”
“You fail out of school already?” his brother Miles asked. That earned him a head slap from Rayma.
“You show up naked to class and get suspended?” Tim asked. Lyris nudged him to be quiet.
Riley shook his head. “No, it’s uh, it’s, well, it’ a little more serious than that.”
“Riley, what’s wrong?” Diana asked, her smile gone. “Are you having trouble in school?”
“It’s something I need to say. Something you don’t know.”
Tim opened his mouth for a smartass remark and got an elbow to the ribs from Aralyn.
The room went quiet, and Riley felt his stomach churn. Adrian had encouraged him. But Adrian wasn’t here now, in case this all went wrong.
He licked his lips nervously.
“My pie’s getting cold, cousin, spit it out already,” Tim said.
He wasn’t being mean, he was encouraging him, Riley knew. Tim didn’t show sentiment easily, and rough teasing was his way of showing affection.
His eyes roamed the room, searching for the most important pair of eyes. The blue eyes were concerned, worried.
Riley looked away from his father, afraid of Mart’s reaction.
“I’m gay,” he blurted out.
There was a silence for a few seconds when Tim spoke first.
“Well, Hell, I thought you were going to tell us something we didn’t know. Disappointing us like that, cousin, for shame.” His green eyes twinkled at his cousin in amusement as he took a bit of pie, holding the plate away from Logan.
Riley blinked twice and looked at his older cousin. “You-you know? All of you?”
“We’ve known for years,” Tiffany said gently.
“We were waiting for you to be comfortable enough to tell us,” Rayma jumped to her feet and hugged her brother.
Riley exhaled, feeling weak. His finally met his father’s gaze. “You’re not mad?”
“Why would we be mad?” Diana came to her oldest child, hugging him tightly. “You’re finally in a place where you feel you can be yourself. Not everyone gets that.”
“But—no one else, I mean, you’re all…straight. I probably won’t be having kids to carry on the family name,” he looked anxiously at his mother but it was his father who answered.
"You're our son," Mart said simply. "Your happiness is what matters to us."
He pulled his oldest child to him and hugged him tightly.
"I was so worried you'd be mad at me," Riley murmured.
“Your happiness is what's important,” Mart replied warmly. “And yes, we’ve known for a long time. We just weren’t going to pressure you into confronting it. Besides, there are plenty of ways to have children if you want them. And I hope you find someone someday who makes you happy enough to want them.”
Miles made an exaggerated sigh of relief. “Yeah, don’t put all that pressure on me, bro!”
“You guys are really okay with this?” Riley asked, his eyes searching face to face, looking for disapproval. He kept going back to Mart, the one Whose disappointment or rejection he couldn’t haven’t handled.
Tim laughed. “Are you kidding? One more male not to compete with for the ladies. I’m good, cuz.”
Lyris head slapped him lightly.
“How long have you been a part of this family?” Daisy asked with a smile. “When have any of us ever given you reason to think we wouldn’t be okay with you being gay?”
“Hey, now we can discuss shoes with you!” Mabon exclaimed.
“So does this mean you’ll tell me about your boyfriend?” Rayma demanded. “Because I know there’s someone in your life!”
“Did you meet someone?” Diana’s eyes lit up.
Riley, still flummoxed, looked around the room, and he saw nothing but smiling faces, acceptance.
“I don’t know anything about shoes, Mabon, other than you girls wear ridiculous and painful looking heels. And, uh, his name is Adrian,” he started, his face coloring red.
***
As the family was packing up to depart late that evening, Riley found himself standing with Tim, who had managed to grab the last piece of pie before Logan could. It was big enough for two, but Tim wasn’t sharing and was making a big deal out of relishing each bite in front of a scowling Logan.
“You’re not mad?” Riley asked Tim.
Tim snorted. “Why would I be? Like I said, more women for me.” He smiled broadly, before turning serious. “Listen though, Ry, seriously, I don’t care. It’s about you and you being happy. I live with all men. I know more than a few of them bat for our team. But what matters, is when we’re in battle, when we’re out in the field, they’ve got my back and I’ve got theirs. And hey, if they want to check out my ass afterwards, I’m flattered. I don’t care who they sleep with as long as they’re covering me when I’m running into danger. We all deserve to be happy, Ry. Not everyone is programmed the same way. But I’m proud of you, for finally being comfortable enough with yourself to tell us. That takes guts, man.”
“When did you figure it out?” Riley asked.
Tim snorted. “When you got all grossed out by the Playboys I smuggled in. I’ve never seen a thirteen year old boy be so repulsed by the naked female form. It was a pretty big clue.”
Riley chuckled. “I guess that would be a hint, huh? It’s just…the men in this family are really masculine, you know? Guys’ guys. Dan, and Bo, and Luke. All of you are women magnets; they practically fall at your feet. I know how much you like them, but I never felt that way. You’ve had so many,” he said softly. “All the guys in our family like girls and I…don’t.”
Tim’s eyes grew serious as he looked across the room at Lyris. “I may have had a lot,” he said softly, “but I’d give them all up for one.”
“Why don’t you?” Riley asked.
Tim sighed. “It’s not that easy. We’re apart for months at a time and I…don’t handle that well. I need constant female companionship, and when I don’t have hers…”
Riley nodded in understanding.
Tim shifted gears, not wanting to get into it. He didn’t like deep, personal conversations. “So, Adrian, huh? Is he good to you?”
Blushing, Riley nodded. “Yeah, he’s great. He makes me happy.”
Tim nodded and clapped his hand on his cousin’s shoulder. “Good. That’s all we want for you, Ry, is to be happy. And you tell Mr. Adrian if that if he breaks his heart, your badass Navy cousin will track him down and dismember him.”
Riley laughed.
“I’m totally serious. That’s what I tell all of our girls, and it goes for you, too.” Tim ruffled Riley’s hair. “I’m glad you finally told us. I’ve been saving up my jokes for years.”
Riley rolled his eyes, still smiling. All was right in his world.
Meet the cast in full & see the family tree!
***
Author’s Notes
- A huge yeee-haa to Ronda, my lovely editor who helps keep me on track, and always come through for me. I meant to post this back around Thanksgiving too, but got sidetracked.
- The picture Honey takes is the picture Tim references in Christmas Ghosts of the Past , which takes place about a month after this.
- Word Count, 2,388
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