The Closet Chronicles

13. Getting Ready

I entered the library to find a very angry Jennifer.
"Where have you been?" she snarled angrily. "You were gone ten minutes longer than you normally would be!" As I got closer, she saw that I was wet. "Were you outside? What is going on?"
"I kissed Zak," I said quietly.
"You what? Oh, Jamie, honey, I'm sorry for yelling," she said, reaching out as if to hug me, but thinking the better of it because I was soaked. "What was it like?" I explained to her what happened, and she smiled.
"Let's get out of here. We can talk when we get to your place."
When we got to my house, we immediately went to the basement, and Jen and I gossiped until supper time. It took me a long time to convey what I wanted to say, because words were failing me. I was in shock. After supper, we watched Twilight with my family. After the movie was over, my parents made Jennifer promise that she would come over every night to watch one of the movies, until the series was done. When she left, I was happier than I had been in more than a year.
I fell asleep within five minutes that night, which was the fastest I had in months. I dreamt of Zak, of us eating ice cream together, of our wedding, of us growing old together. When I woke up, I was completely and utterly refreshed.
My family and I had decided that I wasn't going to school that day, because I didn't have a final. I would go back tomorrow for the graduation ceremony and banquet.
When I got downstairs, I found the most peculiar thing. My parents were sitting at the table, wearing obviously homemade rainbow masks.
"What's going on?" I asked, confused. My parents didn't allow rainbow in the house.
"Are you still gay?" my mother asked, standing up and walking towards me. "Did we get rid of it?"
"No, mom. It's not something you can just get rid of. I'm going to be gay for the rest of my life."
"Good. Because we want you to find real love, with whoever you choose to love," my dad said, giving me a hug.
"What changed your minds?" I asked, looking up at my parents.
"We were watching the news last night, when a story came on. A gay bar in Dallas was shot up. There was an interview with a man who survived the shooting, but his boyfriend didn't make it. He was crying, and saying how he wished that everyone could just understand that he was in love, and his love was just as valid as anyone else's. We want you to have love like he had, without fear of losing it to a homophobe." For the first time in years, I looked at my parents without anger, fear, or sadness. I hugged them tighter, and a tear rolled down my cheek.
"I'm in love with Zak McGill," I said. "He's coming over later."
"You and your boyfriend can go downstairs," my mom replied.
"He's not my boyfriend yet, mom. It's not official."
"Well, if it becomes official, I want to be the first to know!"
"Thank you, mom. Thank you guys for doing this. I'm sorry for all of the trouble I've put you through."
"It's not the trouble that you've put us through, son," my dad said. "It's the trouble that we've put you through. We were wrong to lock you up and starve you, and isolate you from everyone. We are so sorry. I am so sorry." We stood in a circle, crying. I looked at my parents, their tears making the marker from the masks run, and smiled.
"Now we're all a mess," I said. "I need to get cleaned up before Zak and Jen get here."
"We do too," my mom said. "You can tell Jennifer that you're gay, if you want."
"She's known since grade nine, mom."
"I should have seen that one coming," she replied.