Balancing Acts

Chapter 12: Another Again

            "Your father is dying?" I asked Brandon. "Baby, what are you..."

            "I found out earlier today at work," he explained. "My mother tried to call me but I was busy. My new assistant gave her my cell phone number and she texted me. My dad is on his deathbed. He's been suffering from late stage prostate cancer."

            Tears filled my eyes as I asked, "And they knew he had cancer when your cousin Lily was having Elijah for us?"

            "Yes, and they still came at me and you with hatred and judgment because my cousin served as our surrogate. That's why I didn't even want to talk to you about this. They haven't changed, baby. They're still the same fake Christians they've always been."

            "But your mother is reaching out to you."

            "To ease her own guilt. She's trying to get me to come to Texas to ease all of their guilty consciences. They wanted me out of the family well they got it."

            "Brandon..."

            "I'm not discussing this anymore, Julani. Now let's get out of this cold and go back inside." He stood up and after I stood up, we went back into the house.

            As we rejoined the dinner party, I couldn't help but think of how sad Brandon's family's situation was. Yes, his family was very homophobic and practically kicked him out of the family when he came out, but they were still his family. His father was dying and he could pretend all he wanted that it wasn't bothering him, but I knew it did. He was hurt. As much as I wanted him to stop with the front and let me help him, I knew pushing him would only make him keep the front up longer.

            "So how are things going with you and Derrick?" I asked Myron as me, him and Andre talked amongst each other in my family room.

            "Things have been going pretty good," he replied. "But there has been an issue. Well, it's not really an issue because I'm okay with it. I just haven't told you guys because I wasn't sure how you'd react to it if I told you."

            "Myron, what is it?" Andre asked.

            "You guys have to promise not to freak out or change my opinion on the situation."

            "We promise," I told him. "Now, tell us."

            "Derrick is HIV positive. He told me on Valentine's Day because I started kissing him and he thought I should know in case things went further. He's used to guys running away after telling them about his status, and he actually had a hard time believing I was different."

            "Why would you think we wouldn't support your decision to continue seeing him?" Andre asked. "Myron, I'm a nurse. I deal with patients effected by HIV all the time."

            "I guess I was a little worried because I know for a fact Izzy would've flipped his mind, and I thought maybe you guys had a little Izzy in you after all the years we've been around him."

            "There's a reason why we cut him out of our lives," I said. "As long as you and Derrick are on the same page and will take steps to be careful, I have no problem with it."

            "I'm taking prEP and we'll still use condoms when we decide we're ready for sex, so we're taking the necessary precautions. The old me would have probably stopped talking to him, but I learned a lot from my horrible situation with Lance. I learned that getting into a relationship for the wrong reasons can only turn out bad. With Derrick, I'm starting this relationship for the right reasons. Guys, he's so damn honest with me about everything. And he listens to my every word. All he wants is someone to spend their time with him and believe in the things he wants to do. I wanna be the man he needs because he's more than the man I need in my life right now."