Misunderstanding

Truth 2

Max stayed near the bay till nightfall. He knew he couldn't escape his father since he wasn't foolish enough to stay somewhere for the night. He just wanted to cool off and have his thoughts for himself. Today was an eventful day for Max, meeting his father after he abandoned him and his mom, knowing the truth about the love letter, and finally telling Roan that he hated the idea of being with him. Max sighs and lowered his head. He wanted to simply disappear, acting like everything is back to normal right after tomorrow. The thought of confronting his father bothered Max a lot, he didn't want nor did he plan on forgetting and forgiving his father for leaving them and not showing up after all those years. What Max was scared of was turning soft on his father after knowing the reason his reasons as to why he had left them or rather knowing the whole picture, and he didn't want that.

As Max was about to go back home someone called him, this time it wasn't Roan.

"Max... so you were here all this time." His mother called in a soft voice. Max turned to her with a look of defeat. Slowly his mother approached him and hugged Max.

"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner Max. I thought you were ready, but it seems like my little baby is still angry." His mom whispered in a soft tone while jokingly making a remark. It wasn't the time for jokes and both mother and child knew that well however, his mother couldn't resist teasing her beloved son.

After the long embrace, they both sat down along the bay. His mother was the one to break the ice...

"Back then at first, your father and I were friends. I knew from the very beginning that your father was never interested in women but it didn't stop me from falling in love with my best friend. As our families began to establish each of their own business empires, our parents united us through marriage to strengthen the relationship between the two families." She told the story looking afar as recounting the memories they had together in the past.

She continued on and explained that deep down even if she knew he would be miserable after getting married she felt happy. At some point in their relationship they ended up sleeping together by accident and the result of that one-night stand was Max. She didn't want to make Max's father's life even more miserable and so she suggested divorce and he accepted. She regretted everything that had happened between her and Max's father, she regretted offering him the divorce, and most of all she regretted her greediness in wanting something more from a man she knew was gay. Max's mother stopped for a while and then continued on but this time facing her child and holding his hand.

"From all the mistakes and regrets I had in my life, having you my sweet child is the only thing that I would never regret." Both Max and his mother started to cry with her having tears based on being grateful and Max shedding at least a tear from receiving the love his mother was showing him.

Max was speechless from his mother's accounts of the past and truth. Now he knew the reason as to why his father had left him, it was all because of his mother. However, even after knowing everything Max still indubitably hated his father. Max didn't have the strength to get mad or angry at his mother, in truth his mother is as much to blame as his father, both bearing responsibilities.

Max made his choice, He chooses to forgive his mother, and he chose to accept that he never had and never will have a father. Some people will think that Max is being unfair to his father and that he didn't even try to understand him but honestly, who cares? This is what Max chose and that was it.

Evidently, Max's views toward his father worsened after he knew the truth. He thought that his father is a person who lacks will, control of his own life, and lacked character. If his father refused the marriage then both his mom and himself would have avoided unnecessary pain and misery. If his father owned up to his mistake after the night with his mother then they would have been a complete family, after all, it takes two to make a baby not one. If his father accepted his responsibility of having a child and refused to leave his mom then she would have had a better life because she had a partner in raising and providing for the child. In the end, his father chose to be a coward, be selfish, and pleasure his needs more than his duty as a father, a husband, or even at the very least a friend. In Max's eyes, his father was now even more of a scum than he ever was in the past. Being gay or a homosexual was not enough of a reason/ justification for Max and everything that he did to Max and his mom. On the contrary, his father is and always will be a cancer to society even if he were straight, it just so happened that a scum like him was gay.

Max's mother told him how his father was waiting for them in the car, he followed her and went back home. Max along the way ignored his father but it was an improvement over the total rejection Max had shown earlier that day. After arriving, his mom went ahead inside the house leaving Max and his dad.

"Thank you, Max, for letting me be in your life." His father exhaled softly

"And who told you that? just because my mom welcomed you back into her life doesn't mean I also welcome you back to mine. You disgust me and will continue to do so for as long as you are with me." Max told him in a very straightforward manner. After that, Max left the car and followed along with his mom into the house.

Before going back to bed, Max went to his mom and asked how they had found him. His mother told him that his friends visited and informed them of his location.