Chapter 223 Laughing to Crying
“I really appreciate your willingness to come out here and talk to me,” Malcolm said, right after he and Andrea entered the woods near her parents’ house.
“No problem,” she said, her hands deep in her coat pockets. It was cold, and she hadn’t realized how wet the snow was. Grandpa Jack was right. There was a layer of ice underneath it, and the colder her feet became, the more numb they were, the more careful she had to be. “What’s going on, Malcolm?” she asked trying to focus on conversation and not falling.
“Well… I’m not exactly sure how to bring this up, but I thought if anyone could help me figure it out, it’s you.”
“You know you can tell me anything, Malcolm,” she said, smiling at him reassuringly.
“Okay, I’ll just say it. I need your help figuring out how to tell my parents about… my boyfriend.”
Andrea was a little surprised to hear that, but only because she’d known Malcolm for so long and it hadn’t occurred to her that he might be gay. They had dated after all. But then… when she thought about some of the things he’d said in the last few days since they’d become reacquainted, he had eluded to it a few times, talking about his “significant other” instead of a girlfriend, for example.
She understood his concerns immediately, though. His parents were very conservative, and she could see why that would make him nervous. “Do you think they have any idea at all?”
“I don’t think so. I’m not sure how they would.”
Andrea smiled. “One of my good friends, Stephon, who is also my makeup artist of choice, has an ultra-conservative mother. He was so nervous to come out to her. One day, he finally decided he needed to tell her, so he did, and she said, ‘Yes, I know. What do you want for lunch?’”
Malcolm’s eyes widened. “She already knew?”
Nodding, Andrea said, “Yeah, she said, ‘How could I miss that, dear? Of course you’re gay. You may as well have told me you’re six foot two and have brown hair I know, honey. I’m your mom. ‘ So… are you sure they don’t already know?”
“I’m pretty sure they don’t,” he said with a shrug. “But my boyfriend, Alexander, called a little while ago and said he can’t stand the thought of spending Christmas apart from one another, especially since this is our first official Christmas as a couple.”
His words made Andrea think of Case. Technically, they’d been together last Christmas, but not really. They were just talking about giving a relationship a try. The fact that something had been bothering him lately made her stomach twist. She didn’t want to spend their first official Christmas apart either, not even emotionally.
Andrea gave it some thought and then said, “Well, just because your parents are conservative, that doesn’t mean that they won’t accept you. I think there are a lot more openminded people in the world now than we are giving people credit for. Besides, it’s one thing to think about something ‘in theory’ but totally different when it’s your kid. I would just sit them down and tell them all about Alexander and how much they’ll love him, and see what they say. Make it about this amazing person that you’ve fallen in love with. They love you and want what’s best for you.” She thought about how accepting everyone had been of Travis when he started dating Andre. That wasn’t expected of the heartthrob who’d previously only dated people assigned female at birth, but no one gave him a hard time about it, at least not anyone who knew him.
“Do you think that’ll work?” Malcolm asked.
“There’s only one way to find out,” she shrugged. “I agree with Alexander, though. If he wants to spend Christmas with you, I wouldn’t let anything stop you from trying.”
Malcolm looked relieved. “Thanks, Andrea. I knew you’d know exactly what to say.”
“Sure. Anytime. I’d love to meet him. The way your face lights up when you talk about him, I’m guessing he must be a heck of a guy.”
With his cheeks ablaze, Malcolm said, “Oh, he is.”
Andrea laughed, which got Malcolm laughing, and she was thinking about how they used to laugh together for hours, which took her mind off of the ice under the snow, and the next thing she knew, she was falling.
Reaching out a hand to grab Malcolm to study herself didn’t help, and then Andrea tumbled to the ground, pulling Malcom down on top of her.
“Andrea, I just told you, you’re not my type!” he said as they both continued to laugh hysterically.
Through her hysterical giggles, Andrea said, “Oh, come on, Malcolm, you know you want me.”
He was still laughing when Andrea realized she heard footsteps. She turned her head in time to see Case running off between the trees. “Oh, crap!”
“Was that your fiancé?” Malcolm asked, sitting up and getting off of her.
“Yeah, it was. And I think he heard what I just said.” Scrambling to her feet, Andrea went after him. “Case! Wait! We were just kidding!”
She ran through the snow, cutting between trees, careful not to lose her footing again, but she kept slipping and had to slow down. By the time she reached the edge of the woods, he was almost back to the house. “Case!” Andrea yelled, but he didn’t stop, didn’t turn back, just kept right on walking away from her.
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