"Karen, Roy... wow, it's... it's great to see you," Justin said, shifting from leg to leg awkwardly. Karen smiled at him. "How are you all?" she asked. "Good," Justin answered, and Chris and Joey echoed his response.
"Well, uh, we need to go unload those groceries," Chris said, looking at Justin. He nodded and they left the room. "Yeah, I should go set the table," Joey told us with a smile, walking out just as quickly as Justin and Chris had. I turned to follow him but JC's hand on my chest stopped me.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, looking from parent to parent.
"We heard on the news that you were really sick, and the media didn't know what it was. We were worried," Karen told him, and something in her voice made me almost believe her. Almost.
"Yeah, I'm sure you were," JC said harshly.
"Watch your mouth," Roy said, his bellow echoing throughout the room.
"I stopped doing that a long time ago, didn't I Dad?" I tried again to leave, but JC's hand was pressed firmly against my chest.
"I didn't come all the way out here just to be insulted by my own son, and I wont take it!" Roy said, practically yelling, and all I wanted was for JC to let me leave.
"Oh, so you can yell and insult me all you want, but I can't?" JC asked angrily, and I knew he was referring to when he came out to them. It hadn't been a nice affair.
"Are you all right?" Karen asked, and as I studied her, the look on her face, the way her voice had sounded... the more I believed at lest she might be sincere.
"I'm fine," JC said, and the fire that had blazed in his eyes only moments earlier started to die out, replaced by tiredness.
"What's wrong with you?" Roy asked. You could always expect bluntness with Roy.
Before anyone could say anything, I spoke up, "Why don't you stay for dinner? There's plenty, and it's kind of hard to explain."
They agreed and I knew it was going to be a long night.
We walked silent in the kitchen, and I noticed with relief that Joey, Justin, and Chris had already taken what they wanted and gone upstairs. We sat at the table, Roy and Karen on one side, Josh and myself on the other.
After a moment or two, Karen broke the tension thick silence. "This is really good Lance, what exactly is it?"
"It's teriyaki chicken."
"Oh, and... how do you make it?"
I gave her a small smile in spite of myself. At least she was trying. "You pour teriyaki sauce on it." She nodded, an "Ahh" expression on her face.
"So, explain to us this "incurable disease" you have," Roy said, looking at JC.
"It's not incurable. I have what's called PSC, Primary Sclosering Chloringatis. It's a disease of the bile ducts in the liver. It slowly overpowers what my doctor calls the good cells, and replaces them with bad cells. It destroys the liver, so I need a transplant. That, and I also have Cirrhosis."
"The disease you get from drinking?" Roy asked, and JC nodded. "Well, then I guess it's your own damn fault you're sick, isn't it?"
"Roy!" Karen exclaimed. "Are you still... that way?" Roy asked, ignoring his wife.
"What way? You mean am I still gay? Yeah Dad, that doesn't change."
Roy looked down, and I knew he was trying to compose himself. He looked back up, straight into my eyes. "Why are you here?" he asked suddenly. "This is a very private matter, why are you intruding?"
I didn't know how to respond, but I knew what was coming. This is where they would find out about me and JC. Luckily, I didn't have to respond. JC did it for me. "Lance has every right to be here, Dad."
"And why is that?"
JC looked at his father straight in the eye, and suddenly I felt more out of place than before.
"Because I'm in love with him."
The room was dead silent. I couldn't hear anything, not even the sound of breathing.
"What did you just say?" Roy asked, his voice soft and raspy, and I wasn't sure if this new tone scared me more or not.
"You heard me. I love him, he loves me, we're in love with each other. Do you need me to spell it out for you?"
I didn't look at any of them. I couldn't. What would be the point anyways?
"Come on Karen, we're leaving," Roy said, standing up.
"Roy, please-" Karen started, but Roy cut her off. "Now."
JC watching his father's back for a moment, before turning and soon I heard the back door open and close.
"Here," Karen said, pulling a piece of paper out of her purse. "This is where we're staying, and this is the number. Please call us." And then she turned and was gone as well.
I put the paper in my pocket and went out back to find JC. I saw him sitting on the porch swing, swinging back and forth, tears falling down his face.
"Hey, it's okay," I said gently, sitting next to him and rubbing my hand up and down his arm.
"No, it's -not- okay," he replied.
I wrapped my arms around him and continued to stroke his arm. It was the only way I could think to comfort him.
"Why are they here?" JC asked after a moment, wiping the tears from his face.
"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "Maybe they care, maybe they want to be in your life again. They -are- your parents, Josh."
"They don't care," JC muttered.
"You don't know that," I told him. "Josh-"
"I think you should tell your parents about us," he said suddenly, interrupting me.
"What?"
"I think you should call your parents and tell them about you and me. See how they take it. Then maybe you'd get a fucking clue." He got up and stalked off angrily to the back door, opening it forcefully and going inside. The screen door slammed shut loudly, and the porch swing still rocked back and forth with the force of JC getting up so angrily.
I sat there, stunned. I felt the tears coming to my eyes, and this time I didn't really care if I started to cry or not, because the force of JC's words, the way he had said them...
He had sounded just like his father.
*
