Family Camp (Daddy Dearest, #1)(62)

“Yes.” Travis’s throat bobbed as he swallowed nervously.

“You’re a counselor at that camp.”

Travis nodded. “The camp belongs to my mom and dad, and I grew up there. So I love going back. It’s fun to work with the kids.”

“Uh-huh. Because you, yourself were adopted. How old were you when that happened?” Teresa seemed so sincere and interested.

“Twelve. I’d been in foster care since I was born. Had some not great experiences. But my mom and dad, the Mayhews, they had two of their own kids and adopted eight more. All ages. So we had a big family. The Mayhews are the most amazing couple I’ve ever met.”

A photo came up on the screen of the entire Mayhew clan. There were at least twenty people in the photo, significant others and a few babies included.

“Beautiful,” Teresa commented. And the audience clapped again. “So just two days ago, TMZ published pictures of you from this year’s camp…”

“Yes.” Travis licked his lips nervously.

“And these photos… Can we put one up?”

The photo they put up was the one of Travis with Geo and Lucy when Lucy had been hurt. That was Geo’s favorite. It was so “family” it made his gut hurt and his eyes sting. He was glad they hadn’t chosen the kiss.

The show had blurred out his face and Lucy’s, which was good.

“Right. So the photos they published were all of you and this other man. And there were kids in the photos too. The implication was—is—that you’re gay. In fact, in one of the photos the two of you are kissing. So I guess the big question is—are you gay, Travis? And if so, what does that mean for a major league ball player?”

Travis took a deep, audible breath. He ran a nervous hand through his thick, dark hair. “You know, Teresa, there’s never been an openly gay baseball player in the major leagues. There are two who came out after retirement. And there is a player in the minors who’s been out for a few years.”

“That’s right.” Teresa nodded.

“Well, there’s a reason for that,” Travis continued, his shaky voice calming a little. “It’s just damn hard. Any ball player who gets to the major leagues—that’s a privileged position to be in. Obviously, the money is very good. And we’re in the public eye. I didn’t want to cause a fuss about my private life. I wanted my games to be about baseball and nothing else. Cheer me if I do well. Boo me if I stink. You know? That’s what it should be about.”

“I can understand that.” Teresa nodded sincerely. “Because, frankly, even in 2019, or maybe especially in 2019, there’s bullying, there’s homophobia. It feels like everyone’s chosen a side and they’re willing to be very vocal, or even violent, about defending it.”

Travis nodded. “It’s definitely gotten more fraught in the past few years. I really didn’t want to make our ball games about that. The Padres are a fantastic team. I respect the players. I respect the owners. I just wanted to be one of the guys.”

“And then these photos came out.”

Travis licked his lips again and said nothing.

“So. Can I ask you again, Travis? Are you gay?”

Travis hesitated just a moment, his blue eyes troubled, his jaw clenched. And Geo wanted so badly to hold him, give him courage. But Travis had to do this on his own.

“I am. I’m gay. I’ve always been gay. But I was honestly hoping not to make that public until after I retired.”

It had been so quiet in the TV studio. Geo hadn’t even noticed until a burst of applause startled him. The audience was applauding Travis. That was weird. Good but weird.

Teresa nodded at the audience, clapped a moment herself, and then reached over and put her hand on Travis’s knee. “Thank you. That takes a lot of courage. It shouldn’t, right?” She looked at the audience, who made signs of agreement. “But in professional sports, it absolutely does. Now, you talked about people looking up to you. Have you ever felt any pressure to be out, as a gay man? As you said, you are now the first major league baseball player to come out while he’s still playing. Don’t you think it’s important to set an example?”

Travis settled back against the couch, looking more relaxed or maybe just tired. “I do think it’s important, but I honestly thought it would be more useful to talk about it after I retired. So maybe people could see I had been a good player. There’d been no problems. It hadn’t affected my career one way or the other.”

“Um-hmm.” Teresa looked thoughtful. “Well, what’s next for you? Do you think you’ll retire early?”

Travis rubbed his thumb over his knee. “I think that’s gonna be up to the team and the fans, if they can accept me for who I am. Baseball is still my passion. I want to just play ball and be a positive contributor to the team. So I guess we’ll find out.”

Geo’s head was buzzing, and he realized it was because he’d forgotten to breathe. He gasped and fell back against the couch, trying to restart his heart.

Jayden clutched his hand. “Damn, Travis is really on TV! How come they’re acting like it’s such a big deal to be gay?”

“I don’t know, Jay. Good question.”

Jayden sounded excited though. And Geo was so glad that Travis hadn’t said anything to upset him.