Coda 01 - Promises

that? Have you thought about what people are going to say about you?”

    Lizzy stood up now. “Mr. Richards, I think I’m going to have to ask you to leave now.”
    “No! I’m not going anywhere! I want to know why my son is still hanging around with a fucking faggot. Don’t you care what people will say?”
    “Joseph.” My mother stood up, and her voice was sharp enough to cut glass. “That is my son you are talking about, and—” “I don’t give a rat’s ass!”
    Mom turned around and slammed her way through the swinging door into the living room hard enough to rattle the pictures hanging on the wall. Joseph was standing up now, swaying a little on his feet. Matt hadn’t moved an inch. His hands were clenched in front of him, and he was staring straight ahead, which put his gaze somewhere over his mother’s head. Lucy had her hands over her face. Brian had the classic deer-in-the-headlights look. Lizzy was still standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at Joseph with murder in her eyes.
    Joseph still wasn’t done. “You should be ashamed to be seen with him! Don’t you know what that could do to your career? Are you so fucking stupid that you can’t figure out what people will say?”
    “I know what people say, Dad.” His voice wasn’t as quiet now. He didn’t sound angry anymore at all. Just resigned.

    “So you know that they’re going to assume you’re a faggot too?”
    “Yes, Dad, I know that.”
“They’re going to assume you’re his boyfriend.”
“I know that too.”
    “They’re going to assume that the two of you are fucking each other.”
    His voice was stronger this time. “I don’t care.”
“How can you not care?”
And I saw him make the decision. I saw his hands unclench,
    his shoulders relax. I reached out to grab him, to tell him to stop, I even started to say, “Don’t,” but he shook me off. He sat up straight, squared his shoulder, looked right at his dad and said, “Because it’s true.”
    “Oh no.” Lucy’s voice was a whisper behind her hands, and she put her head down on the table.

    Nobody else moved. Nobody else spoke. The silence seemed to go on forever.

    Joseph finally said, his voice low and deadly, “Are you telling me—”
    “Yes.” Matt stood up now, back straight and head up. I couldn’t believe how calm and sure he looked, as if, having now set his feet on the path, he had no reason to look back. “I’m telling you that I’m gay. That apartment you saw? The day I took you there was the first time I had been there in weeks. I live with Jared.” I would like to say that I was holding my head up, as proud as he seemed to be, but the truth is, I was doing my best to stare straight through the dining room table in case there was a hole underneath it I could climb into.
    Another deathly silence, and then Joseph said, “You are not my son.”
    And Matt actually smiled at that, just a bit. “I don’t remember the last time I agreed with you more.” Lucy was really crying now. Nobody moved to comfort her. “Here.” Matt tossed a set of car keys on the table. “Take your rental car and go home. I’ll be going home—to my home —with Jared.”
    Joseph looked like he was about to say something, but he never got the chance.

    Suddenly, Mom burst back into the room. “Matt, you need to come. There’s something going on.”
    Matt, Mom, and Brian went first. Joseph and Lucy followed. Lizzy was still standing in the same position, hands on hips, staring at the empty place where Joseph had been standing. I was in shock. I felt like the whole world had been turned upside down. I was waiting for somebody to jump out and yell, “Surprise, you’re on candid camera!” But instead, Lizzy turned to me and said, “Well, that went better than I expected.”
    And just like that, I was laughing. She came and pulled me out of my chair. “Come on. Let’s go see what’s going on.”
    When we got into the living room, nobody was there. The front door was open, and there were people all over the front lawn. At the curb were several police cars with lights flashing. It was dark outside, and the only light came from the red and blue strobes on top of the cars. Matt was talking to Grant, Tyson, and one other cop I didn’t know.
    “What’s going on?” I asked Matt.
“We need to talk.”
“Do you have your weapon?” Grant asked him.
“No.”
    “There must be a spare in one of the trunks.” Grant headed off to the cars.
    Matt led me