Fallen Woman(27)

“Boredom.” He paused and I laughed. “My family does this stupid picnic once a year, and it’s mandatory according to my mother. If I didn’t love her, I’d tell her to shove it, but I’m a mama’s boy so that’s not really an option.”

“So if you do this every year, why did you need me with you?”

He raked his hand through his bangs before he spoke. “My parents are trying to arrange an engagement for me.”

I was horrified and in total disbelief. “What? Does that even happen anymore?”

“It does in my family. Men are expected to marry, and much sooner than I have. For me to show up without a date would’ve been bad. The list of potential mates, all of whom will be here, is a mile long—and so is my list of reasons for not wanting to date any of them.”

“So what might they be?” I found his irritation with his parents wanting to marry him off humorous.

“The number one reason?” He looked serious, but his tone was light.

“Sure.”

“I’m gay.”

If I’d had anything in my mouth, I would've spit it all over the windshield. “Seriously?”

“Yep, and I’ve been in a relationship with Kip since college.” He smiled when he mentioned his boyfriend’s name.

“Do your friends know?” I was stunned, not judgmental.

“Of course they do.” He laughed.

“So why don’t you tell your parents?” I was confused.

“They know,” he said matter-of-factly.

“What am I missing?”

“They know. They don’t care. They’re fine with me carrying on with my ‘thing.’” He used air quotes to describe his relationship. “But I need to marry properly for appearances. There are lots of women out there who are more than happy to accommodate my need for an outside relationship.”

“Your parents don’t really believe that, do they?”

“Every word.”

Instantly, I felt sorry for Max. I didn’t know what it was like for anyone else to have expectations for me, only for me to have them of myself. I never had to compromise who I was to make someone else happy. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. No offense.”

“None taken. But please, don’t take offense when the only time I need your help is to ward off my family. Other than being friendly, there’s no need to pretend we’re anything else.”

“Wait. So you want your family to believe I’m one of those women?” I asked horrified. “No way!”

“Oh, come on, Gianna. This is common where I come from. My mother married my father under similar circumstances.”

“Your father’s gay, too?”

He snickered under his breath. “No. My father has another family. He was in love with a woman my grandparents didn’t approve of, so he kept her on the side. My mom has always known about her. I have half siblings I’ve never met. It’s not a secret, but we don’t sit around and talk about it at family dinners or anything.”

I guess everyone had a little bit of weird in their lives they were trying to hide. For me, it was my past, and Max had this. I had too many of my own skeletons to cast judgment on anyone else.

“You’ll love my mom. And I promise she’ll love you.”

He was right. I could have put his mom in my pocket and taken her home with me. She was infectious. The moment she laid eyes on me, she knew I wasn’t legit and spent the next four hours telling me how much she appreciated what I was doing for Max’s image, even if we never got married. When I told her about the kids, she shocked the snot out of me, pulling out her phone to look them up on Facebook. She didn’t understand how a woman my age didn’t have social media but decided she loved that about me as much as she loved my ready-made family.

I was dragged around to meet everyone in the family, who all fawned over me like I was the newest thing since chocolate. I had more fun than I could’ve imagined and promised Ivy, Max’s mother, I’d call her to do lunch in the near future. I hadn’t figured out how I’d explain to her I didn’t have a car to drive the forty-five minutes to meet her, or ever tell her where I lived, but I figured that was a conversation for another day.

“You ready to go?” Max put his arm around me in a group of his family members. They all followed his hand with their eyes as it snaked around my waist. I wondered if they thought he was going to strip me down in front of them and make love to me on a picnic table.

“Whenever you are.”

“I need to get back, and Jase is expecting us for dinner.” The way he said it implied his friend was anticipating us as a couple, not me to gather my children, but I didn’t out him.

I hugged his mom and promised her we’d get together soon. Max held my hand to the car, and then opened the door for me. When I climbed in, I realized they were all standing there, gawking at our departure, so I waved as we pulled off.

~~~

I scowled at all the little red bodies bee bopping toward me as I stood outside talking to Miss Pearl. I had hoped the fresh air would do her good. After I got home, I’d gone to her apartment to check on her; she was having quite the coughing fit. But standing here, watching my children run toward me totally sunburned, had me upset. Emmy didn’t need sun poisoning on top of coinfections.