Mulligans

13. Veggie Burgers

Tyler sat on the kitchen counter eating a carrot, watching his mom and Birdy prepare salads for the barbecue. When his mother had guests over it was never a simple affair, although she always made it seem like one. There would be an abundance of food.

Birdy stood at the kitchen island mixing one of the salads, but her mind was obviously elsewhere. "Can I get my ears pierced like Jenna's? She has three holes in each ear."

"Birdy, focus on mixing that salad, our guests will be here shortly," their mother instructed, sliding a pile of chopped celery off her cutting board and into Birdy's bowl. "We still need to make up the hamburger patties."

"Mom! I can't eat hamburger!" Birdy looked at her mother incredulously.

"Tyler, will you please go to the store and get some veggie burgers for Birdy? She's decided not to eat meat anymore. And if you see your dad, ask him to light the barbecue," his mom asked, expertly carving into a pineapple.

Tyler jumped off the counter and headed to the garage, yelling, "Dad! You need to light the barbecue!"

Tyler walked into the garage and saw his father sitting in his car, hands on the wheel. "Dreaming of the autobahn?"

"Oh, hey. Yeah, just hanging out." His dad turned and smiled.

"I need to get some veggie burgers for Birdy. You wanna come with?" Tyler asked.

"Sure. Whose car?"

"If you let me drive, let's take yours," Tyler suggested, and his father tossed him the keys.

It was a short drive to the Red Barn, the local grocery store. Tyler was preoccupied, but his father seemed to be too, so the radio was a comfort, preventing any awkward silence. Tyler was still reeling from Chase's revelation this afternoon. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel; he knew he was confused and a little hurt. He felt lied to. Why didn't Chase just tell him in the first place? If he liked guys, fine, no big deal, but now Tyler was feeling like an idiot. Bits of memories were floating in and out of his mind from their past year together, plenty of opportunities for Chase to have come out to him. It cheapened what he had thought they had somehow. Tyler had envisioned them as true best buddies who had fun and shared everything. In light of today's information, the friendship was feeling a little one-sided. He'd always been open with Chase, answered any and every question honestly.

As Tyler pulled into the parking lot of the Red Barn, he decided that was the issue. He was hurt that Chase hadn't trusted him enough to tell him the truth a long time ago. Tyler parked the car, and he and his dad walked into the grocery store. Tyler grabbed a basket by the door.

"Soy or mixed vegetable matter?" his father asked, pointing at the options in the cooler with a grimace on his face.

"Let's take the soy, it looks a little safer. Vegetable matter? What's that?" Tyler took two of the soy and placed them in his basket. "So, no more meat for Birdy.... She's so weird sometimes."

His dad continued walking down the vegetable aisle, selecting some tomatoes and placing them in a bag. "Maybe she just needs a change."

"But she's always eaten meat. Why decide today?"

"Maybe she never really liked it," his dad suggested, placing the bag of tomatoes in their basket.

"Do you think after she gets a taste of it, she'll go back?" Tyler asked, following his father as he selected heads of lettuce.

"Don't know. Maybe she'll be a veggie for life. Maybe you should try it. You might surprise yourself."

"Nope, don't need to try it," Tyler decided, picking up the soy burgers again for inspection. "Look at that. How could anybody eat that?"

"Quit playing with your sister's food. Are we done here?"

"Dad, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Chase... he, um... he came out to me today. And I'm okay with it. I mean, I was surprised, but the whole time I was just thinking to myself, 'Say the right thing, say the right thing.' And I have no idea if I did. It doesn't change anything between us, but it kind of changes everything. You know what I mean?" Tyler looked up at his father, hoping for some kind of advice, any kind of advice. "What do you think I should do? I mean, what am I supposed to do now?"

His dad looked at him for a second as if considering his options before answering, "Same thing you did yesterday."

"What do you mean?"

"Chase is your best friend, right? Just keep being that for him."