“It’s good to see you,” she told him.

“It’s good to see you, too.” And it was. Maybe that’s what made it so hard.

Lunch was already on the table when he got there. Mason walked with his parents into the second dining room. They used the first for when they had company. It was more for show, while the second was more intimate.

The table only sat six. It was marble, with fresh flowers in the middle. They were replaced every few days. It had been like that as long as Mason could remember.

“I made salmon. I hope that’s okay.” His father pulled out the chair for his mom as she spoke.

And just saying “salmon” was an understatement. They had fish, rice, and asparagus, her butter cream sauce on the side. They also had raspberry walnut salad, as well as a bottle of wine.

For lunch. Mason liked to keep healthy, and he always paid attention to what he put in his body, but he couldn’t comprehend going through this much trouble for lunch. “You didn’t have to do all of this, Mom.” She must have spent half the morning preparing their food.

“Doing all of what?”

“Never mind.” He kissed her cheek and sat down.

They dug into their meal, mostly in silence. Mason couldn’t stop his eyes from studying them both. He used to think he looked like his dad, but now he knew that couldn’t be true.

It was a shock to his system—to always know where he came from only to find out he never really had. Only to find out that he had someone’s genes inside him, had a family he didn’t know.

What would they think of Mason? Would they enjoy sitting down in his bar for a beer, or would they not be able to accept who he was? Did he look like his mom or his dad? Have siblings who wondered about him?

He’d wanted that so bad as a kid, wanted brothers and sisters, and now he possibly had them.

“What do you have going on the rest of the day?” his mom asked about halfway through their meal.

“Nothing, really. Why?”

“It’s just…we miss having you around. Your father has to run an errand for the restaurant, and we thought you guys could spend some time together. You can help him take care of some business and then come back here, for dinner.”

It was then he realized they cornered him. Maybe that wasn’t the right word, but they had a very specific plan for today, only they hadn’t let Mason in on it until now. “Mom, I—”

“Please, Mason. I just…” She wiped her eyes and guilt immediately swam through him. Damn it. No matter what, he didn’t want to hurt them. What harm could one day make?

“Yeah, sure. That sounds like a nice day.” He felt like an asshole, because it didn’t at all.

***

“I have a surprise for you.” Gavin’s mom beamed at him from where she sat in her chair, knitting.”

“Oh yeah? What is it?” He set her mug of hot tea on the table beside her. Gavin had no idea how she could drink hot tea in the summer, but she always did. Sunshine, rain, snow, heat wave, it didn’t matter to her. She liked to drink her hot tea, and that’s just the way it was.

It’s one of the things he remembered so fondly from his childhood. Hot tea was her cure for everything. Any time Gavin was sick she made him drink tea, with honey and lemon.

“I spoke with Dennis from church. I explained to him that you’d left your job and have been looking for another one.”

Ice injected into his veins. Gavin hadn’t lost his job; he’d had no choice in leaving (though he could have fought it). And he wasn’t looking for a job. Not here, and not at her church. “I have a job, Mom. It probably won’t be what I do forever, but it works for now. I’m happy at Creekside.”

He sat in the chair across from her even though he knew this couldn’t possibly go well.

She set her knitting on her lap. “Gavin…you’re promoting sin. Pushing alcohol…it’s not…it’s not how we raised you.”

They hadn’t raised him to be gay, either, but he was.

“I know things are difficult right now, but I believe they’ll get better. You just need help getting on the right track. Move home. Come work at the church. You can start attending again with me, and see how things go. I—”

“That would never work. It’s important that I come home and help you more. I’m sure it’s a struggle, but I can’t move back. I can’t go to work at the church. I’m happy where I am. You should come see the house sometime. It’s a great little place, and Braden’s letting me rent it for cheap. There are a few things that need a little work, but Mason and I are going to start fixing it up a little so—”