When Love is Wrong

33. Lying is Required

There had been a few knocks on the door during the rest of the day delivering trays of snacks, enough for me and Scott and some meds. We lounged and just snuggled, gently kissing, living, breathing with each other.

At around 5:00, a delivery of clothes were sent for me. Scott finally managed to leave me to go to his room to shower and dress while I did the same.

Scott returned to escort me down to the dining room.

The house was a dream. It was filled with light in every corner, flowers and plants everywhere. It felt like we were in some Mediterranian villa. I could see from the numerous floor length windows amazing views of the city and the Pacific. It was breathtaking.

When we walked into the dining room. Dr. Chen, or Thomas, stood and introduced me to his family. "Mitch, this is my partner Andrew and our children Sadie and Jack. Andrew was in his mid-30s I guessed after we started talking but looked younger. Sadie was 9 and Jack was 5." They were both adopted and were of mixed races. They were beautiful, very smart and delightfully funny.

I felt completely inferior in every way. But the food was wonderful and I enjoyed just listening to this beautiful family talk about their day. After a delicious dessert, the children left for their rooms and we walked to Thomas' den.

Scott and I sat on a very comfortable leather sofa while Thomas stood facing us and Andrew was perched on a seat by the window. 

"So Mitch, I presume you are feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you for everything."

"Of course, my pleasure. Now, I hope you don't mind but Scott explained a great deal about your situation to me. I do have significant resources that may be able to assist you in your annual and your career.

So first, your annual. I understand you have misgivings about your ability to pass a lie detector. So, with your permission, I would like to give you a short presentation. Is that agreeable?"

I didn't have a clue what he was talking about so I agreed.

Andrew, who I found out was a very successful photographer and videographer, turned off the lights and a video was displayed on a wall. It was paused on a picture of Senator Guston. I had seen and heard of him. He was a staunch critic of the "gay problem."

"Do you recognize this man?"

I nodded.

The screen changed to a rather attractive man. "This is his lover of over 10 years."

My jaw dropped.

Thomas pressed a button on a remote and the screen changed.

This man, is Reverend Hilder. Another famous staunch anti-gay proponent. Screen changed to a very young looking man, "This is his latest lover. His lovers change rather rapidly."

Screen change. "This woman," a famous talk show host, 'is a lesbian." Screen change. "This is her secret lover," a beautiful and famous actress.

And on and on and on it went. When Andrew turned on the lights, my head was spinning.

"The point of this presentation Mitch is that all of these people are liars. Some are hypocrites believing the more they protest, the better they protect themselves. Others are just playing the game, protecting themselves and those they love. But they all lie.

I believe understanding that truth, will help you understand that lying is not something wrong, but something required.

We have developed training on how to lie to pass the lie detectors and interviews. It can be learned. But first you need to accept that it is not wrong, but required. Do you understand?"

I hated just nodding at everything Thomas asked, but I was floored. So I just nodded.

"Good. Now we will take this slow because first, you are still recovering and second, this is a lot to take in."

"Now, about your career," he started saying when someone entered the room.

"Ah, perfect timing! Scott, Mitch, this is Candace Lambert, an LGBT ally, an incredible stylist and the person who will take Pentatonix to the next level."