Chapter Twenty-One

Aiden's Mom Is In The Hot Seat

Aiden switched off the engine. All the way from the hotel, his mind had been in constant motion.

None of this makes sense.

"Generally when the truck stops, that means it's time to get out," Will remarked.

"I'm getting to it."

Will squeezed Aiden's knee. "I understand. I'm feeling a little apprehensive myself."

Aiden turned his head to stare at the house. "I thought we'd be doing all the talking. Now? I have no idea what's waiting for us."

"Then let's get in there and find out. We've got a deadline, remember? Becca will be back soon."

Aiden gazed at him. "Kiss me first?"

Will smiled. "I was going to do that anyway." He leaned in, the kiss sweet. "You smell good," he murmured.

"Down, boy. No time for any of that. You're going back to school in less than an hour." Aiden would be crossing the days off on his calendar until Christmas.

"Don't remind me."

They got out of the truck and Aiden walked up the path to the front door. He used his key, and once inside, they removed their boots.

Aiden sniffed. "Mom's baking." He peered into the living room. Dad sat in his armchair, reading a newspaper. He glanced up as they entered the room.

"At last. I was starting to get worried. I've been expecting the phone call."

"What call?" Aiden asked with a frown.

Dad grinned. "The one where you ask me to come to the police precinct with bail money." His gaze went from Aiden to Will, then back to Aiden. He stilled. "Are you boys okay? You look so serious. The party went off without a hitch, didn't it?"

Will cleared his throat. "Actually, sir, there was no party. That's what I've come to talk to you about. To both of you."

Dad folded his paper and placed it on the side table. "Lou? Can you come here a sec?"

A moment later, Mom breezed through the door, bringing with her the aroma of chocolate and sugar. She blinked when she saw Aiden and Will.

"I didn't know you were here."

"Mom?" Aiden pointed to the couch. "Sit down, please."

"What's going on?" Mom perched on the edge of the seat cushion. She glanced at Dad. "Do you know what's going on?"

"No, but if you stop talking and let them speak, maybe we'll find out," Dad said dryly.

Aiden turned to Will. "You'd better go first."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. They need to—"

"Well, one of you go first, or I'm going back to my cookies." Mom's lips twitched.

Will squared his shoulders. "There's something I need to tell you. Becca and I won't be getting married. The engagement's off."

Dad gaped at him. "What happened? Did you have a fight? And when was this? Becca didn't say anything this morning. Did you break up over the phone or something? Because you were certainly still her fiancé when you left here last night."

"That's what I'm talking about. I'm not Becca's fiancé. I have never been Becca's fiancé." Will's voice quavered.

Mom's mouth fell open. "But… she told me…"

"I know, but it wasn't true. She… she was tired of you trying to set her up with guys."

"I never—"

Will held up his hand. "Please. I've known her for three years. I know what's been going on. So when you tried to fix her up with a date for your anniversary party, Becca was desperate to get you off her back." He shrugged. "She figured telling you she'd just gotten engaged would do the trick."

That was only half the truth, of course, but Aiden wasn't about to out his sister. "To be fair, she was going to break it off right after the party," he added.

"But then Hurricane Louise happened," Will concluded.

Dad sighed. "And suddenly there was a wedding on the horizon." He stood and went over to the mantelpiece, where he picked up a framed photo of Becca. He gazed at it fondly. "She could have said something then."

"Yes, she could," Will agreed, "but she didn't want to upset Louise. She was waiting for the right time."

"Which I'm guessing never came." Dad shook his head. "Oh well, at least we know now. Lou, you'd better call the hotel."

Mom said nothing, but plucked an invisible piece of lint from her skirt.

"Lou? You need to get on the phone to them and cancel the wedding."

Aiden stood in front of her. "That would be a little difficult—wouldn't it, Mom?"

She jerked her head up, blinking, her mouth open.

"But why?" Dad demanded. "They get cancellations all the time. Okay, so this one is a little too close to the wire, but—"

"It's hard to cancel something that never existed in the first place." Aiden speared her with a look. "Right, Mom?"

Dad's brow furrowed, his hand on his nape. "Something is going on here and I'm in the dark, so one of you had better start talking."

Aiden laid his hand on his mom's shoulder. "Will you tell him, or will I?"

She stared at him, paling. "I was doing it for her own good!"

"Wait—Aiden's right?" Dad stared at her, openmouthed. "There never was a wedding? Lou?"

Aiden arched his eyebrows. "I think you might need to explain that logic."

Mom sagged against the cushions. "I guess it all started with Yvonne."

Aiden frowned. "Yvonne, who lives down the street?"

She nodded. "Her daughter Trixie—you remember Trixie?"

"Wasn't she a goth? Yeah."

Will blinked. "A goth—called Trixie?"

"I think the whole goth business was her rebelling against her name."

"I think I'd have just changed my name," Will muttered.

"Except the last time I saw her, I don't think she was a goth, so maybe she's happy being Trixie too."

"Will one of you please get to the part where you tell me what the hell is going on?" Dad's voice rose.

Mom glanced at him. "Carl. Remember your blood pressure."

"Which is exactly why I take medication… dear."

Aiden adored his parents.

Mom returned her attention to Aiden. "Yvonne and I got chatting over coffee a while back. We were talking about our kids. Trixie goes to school in the Twin Cities too, did you know?"

Aiden squinted. "No I didn't. Becca has never mentioned it either." Then her words sank in. "Wait a minute…"

I think I know where this is going.

Will hadn't moved from beside him.

"Well, Yvonne asked me if I'd met Becca's girlfriend yet. I told her Becca must have lots of girlfriends at school, and Yvonne coughed and said, ‘not that kinda girlfriend.' Then she told me Trixie had seen Becca with this same girl on numerous occasions. Her name's Kristen, apparently."

Will frowned. "When did this conversation take place?"

Mom coughed. "A while ago. I told Yvonne Trixie had gotten it wrong and that she must be confused. So… Yvonne messaged Trixie, who sent this." She picked up her phone from the table, scrolled, then handed it to Aiden.

He and Will peered at the screen. It showed Becca and another girl, kissing.

Aiden lowered the phone and replaced it on the table. "Why didn't you say something to her about this?"

Mom widened her eyes. "Because that would have been wrong . I figured Becca just wanted to tell us in her own time. But when I told Yvonne about Will and the engagement, she got all confused and surprised. So she talked to Trixie, who just confirmed what she'd been telling me for two years."

Will's breathing caught.

Aiden gaped. "You knew two years ago that Becca was a lesbian?"

Mom wrung her hands. "I wanted to let her come out on her own terms."

"So what was the idea behind telling her you'd booked a room for the wedding?" Dad demanded.

She sighed. "I thought once I told her what I'd done, she'd say ‘Mom, you know what? I'm not really gonna marry Will. It was a joke, because I'm in love with Kristen.'"

"Except she never did." Aiden shook his head. "And then you were locked into the lie."

Mom merely nodded, twisting her hands in her lap.

Dad was pacing. "But a wedding ? You organized the flowers, the dress, the food—is that not taking things a bit too far?"

She gave him a defiant look. "Oh, this is all down to you."

Dad's shocked expression was almost comical. "Me? Where do I fit in all this?"

Mom put her hands on her hips. "You've been telling me for years that I needed to let loose once in a while, so I took a page from your book. I figured this would be the perfect prank, but also might be a way to get Becca to finally come out to us." She bit her lip. "Surprise?"

"You have got to be kidding." Dad's jaw was scraping the floor. "This is a bit more than chocolate poop and a meatloaf cake, don't you think?"

Mom managed a shrug. "I figured I had to go big. Isn't that what people say nowadays?"

Will stifled a chuckle, and for the first time during that whole surreal conversation, Aiden saw there might be a funny side to this. "Mom, you take ‘go big or go home' to a whole new level."

Dad sat beside her on the couch. "You do realize Becca doesn't have to come out if she doesn't want to, don't you? You can't force her."

"If she's serious about this Kristen, then eventually we'll have to know. I just wanted to give her a helping hand. She shouldn't have to hide her love, especially from her family."

Dad chuckled. "I do understand, but your method of doing it was a little… extreme, don't you think?" He shook his head. "This whole thing is like one of those really bad comedies you see on TV. Right now the only thing that would make this whole situation even weirder is if you boys suddenly announced you were gay and into each other." He chuckled.

What the hell? Aiden snuck a glance at Will, who gazed back at him with wide eyes, his lips twitching.

It looks as if my parents are in for another shock.

Mom cleared her throat. "Funny you should say that."

Aiden's stomach tightened. Or maybe not as big a shock as I thought. Then he reconsidered. She can't know anything . Aiden had been so careful around his parents.

She addressed Will. "The night we met? I knew you and Becca didn't belong together. Oh, don't get me wrong. I really liked you, but two things stuck in my mind. One, of course, was knowing Becca had a girlfriend. And the second was something that became more obvious as the evening wore on."

"And what was that?" Will spoke in a low voice.

Another shrug. "I don't know. Maybe it was all the glances you kept sneaking at my son." Her eyes twinkled. "Then again, he was doing enough glancing of his own." She gazed at Aiden, chuckling. "You're not exactly subtle, you know. Neither of you."

What the—

Aiden hadn't been as careful as he'd imagined.

For the umpteenth time that weekend, he gaped. "You… You know I'm gay?"

Mom rolled her eyes. "Please. I'm your mom." Then she gave Will a knowing glance. "If you ever have kids, and you worry about the kind of magazines they're reading? Don't look beneath the mattress. They'll probably be there, right next to an oddly crunchy sock."

Holy shit. Mom really did know something.

Dad made a strangled noise. "Wait—Aiden's gay? He really is gay? … And Will too?"

Mom gave him an affectionate glance. "Aw. You are so sweet."

Aiden was still trying to get his head around this. "But you never said a word. Why would you keep—wait." He scraped his fingers through his hair. "It's that whole ‘letting you come out on your own terms' business again, isn't it?"

Her smile faded. "I was a little upset you didn't feel able to tell me. I have to be honest here. That hurt."

Aiden knelt in front of her. "I didn't know how you'd react." He paused. "Except that's a lie. I knew exactly how you'd react. I've seen it every time you see something LGBTQ+ on TV, or hear it on the news. Becca has too."

Mom froze. "What?"

He took her hand in his. "Oh, come on. You've been doing it for as long as I can remember. So when I knew I was gay, you were the last people I was going to tell."

"You… you think I'm homophobic?" Mom swallowed. "Oh my God. I had no idea."

Dad put his arm around her shoulder, and she leaned into him. "I know why she does it. I don't agree with it, but it's your mom's grudge, after all."

Aiden rose. "Grudge? What grudge?"

"I do not hold grudges," Mom retorted. "I just happen to have a very good memory, that's all."

"Seriously?" Dad stared at her. "I have never met anyone who can bear a grudge the way you can. You turn it into an Olympic event. What about that time your brother stabbed you with a pen? You still talk about that."

"Because it hurt!"

"But you were six!"

"For God's sake, will you two stop bickering and tell us what on earth you're talking about," Aiden yelled.

Mom blinked. "You're not too old to get a smack, you know."

"But in this case, he's right." Dad kissed Mom's cheek. "Over to you, honey. Tell your story."

Mom clasped her hands. "When I was seventeen—before I met your dad—I was dating this boy, Greg. He was… he was special, okay? So special, I was hearing wedding bells. And right before I was due to leave for college, I was waiting for him to tell me that the distance didn't matter, I was still his sweetheart, we'd visit each other, maybe even propose." Her face fell. "Only, he didn't." She narrowed her gaze. "What he did tell me was he was gay. That being with me had convinced him he wasn't into girls." Her eyes flashed. "What made it worse? Well, for me at least. I'd told all my friends how happy we were, how sweet and romantic he was, how he was too good to be true. And then I knew why. I mean, the nerve! I was so embarrassed and hurt."

"And ever since that day," Dad added, "whenever she sees anything remotely LGBTQ? It pisses her off."

Mom smacked him on the arm. "Hey, language."

"But it does ," he insisted. "And when Becca gets back here, you're going to have to explain this all over again. You know that, right?"

She sighed. "If that's what she's been thinking all these years, then yes, I guess I have some explaining to do. But all either of them had to do was say something."

Dad chuckled. "Sure, but that would be the logical thing to do. Whoever said people were logical?"

Will's phone pinged, cutting off the conversation. He pulled it from his pocket and glanced at the screen. "Becca is on her way back."

"Does she know the wedding's off?" Mom asked.

"I gave her an ultimatum," Will said in a low voice. "If she wouldn't end it, I would. So it isn't exactly going to be a shock."

"Mom? Are you going to let her know that you know that…" Aiden waved a hand. "You get the picture."

Mom shook her head. "If she wants to tell me, that's her choice. I won't put her on the spot."

"Then it's decided. I'll do my the-wedding-is-off speech, you two act all surprised, and we take it from there."

Mom frowned. "But what reason are you going to give for breaking off the engagement?"

Aiden smiled. "I can think of one big reason." He gazed at Will and held out a hand to him. Will took it and moved closer to him.

Mom gasped. "Oh. Oh . You and Will?? Oh my God! We could have a double wedding. I get to see both my kids happily married."

Will's gasp was the equal of hers.

Aiden laughed. "Whoa there, Mom. We only just met, remember?"

Dad joined in the laughter. "See what I've had to put up with for the last twenty-seven years? No wonder I'm losing my hair." Mom glared at him, and he kissed her. "And I wouldn't have you any other way. But don't be in such a rush to marry off our kids. Don't you remember all the stuff we got up to before we got married?"

Mom flushed. "Yes, I do, and you'd better stop right there."

Aiden's mind boggled.

Dad smiled. "That whole getting-to-know-you phase? I loved every minute of it."

Mom fixed him with a hard stare. "And when did you know you wanted to marry me?"

He gave her a sheepish glance. "Okay, you got me. About a month after we started dating. I knew I wasn't going to let you get away."

Mom's smile was positively smug.

"But what am I thinking?" Dad sprang to his feet and seized Will in a fierce hug. "I am so happy. In the space of less than half an hour, I've gone from heartache at the thought of not having you around, to utter confusion, then joy that you might be around a while yet." He released Will, and Aiden was on the receiving end of a similar hug. "I'm so happy for you, son. By the way, I like Will."

Aiden grinned. "Yeah, I kinda picked up on that."

"Can we just stop for a minute and discuss what we're going to do about Becca? Because we're about to drop a bombshell."

Will smiled. "Let's see how she deals. She may surprise us all."

Aiden snorted. "Yes, she might—and we might also need something to revive her when she faints."