Love Means Courage - Andrew Grey

honest with himself, he wasn’t sure what he’d expected.
    “I can’t speak for Ruby, but I can tell you that a mother knows her children.” She yawned and got up. “I’m going to bed.” She bent down and kissed him on the forehead before leaving the room. “I’ll see you in the morning, and we’ll talk.” Len sat on the sofa, thinking. He’d had his deepest, darkest secret opened to two people, and they hadn’t rejected him. He knew it wouldn’t always be so easy, but it gave him hope. Getting up, he turned off the light and went to bed.
19

    Love Means Courage
ALMOST to Len’s surprise, Ruby did call him a few weeks later.
    Len was just finishing up spring semester classes, so they agreed to meet in the college cafeteria for lunch. After getting their food, they sat at one of the corner tables overlooking the ravine and creek behind the building.
    “So, I’m dying to know, are you seeing anyone?” She took a bite of her salad, eyes wide with excitement.
“No. I was seeing someone casually, but he left town.” Len began eating, watching for her reaction.
“I’m sorry.”
    He could see the empathy in her eyes. “It wasn’t like that. I’m going to miss his friendship more than anything.” He took another bite and swallowed. “He’s the first person I met who understood how I feel.” She nodded and remained quiet. “I told my mother when I got home from the wedding,” he added.
    20
Andrew Grey
Ruby’s smile faded. “How’d she take it?”
    “Really well. She said she already knew, kissed me, and then went to bed. We had a good talk the next afternoon. I don’t think she fully understands, but she’s being supportive, and that’s all I can ask for.” He took a drink of his soda. “Enough about me, tell me about you. How’s married life? How did you and Cliff meet?” She smiled a huge, happy smile that warmed Len’s heart. Ruby had always been someone special, and he’d regretted not staying in touch after graduation. It was his fault; he’d never kept in touch with anyone. He’d become so insular. The need to protect his secret seemed to overtake everything else, leaving him afraid to get close to anyone. “After graduation, I met Cliff again at my sister’s wedding reception. He’s a friend of my brother-in-law. Neither of us was seeing anyone at the time, and I’d always thought he was handsome. After spending most of the evening talking, he asked me out, and as they say, the rest is history. He’s really wonderful.” Len watched as her face lit with happiness. “Where are you living?”
    “For now, we’re staying with his parents. The farmhouse is so huge, but we’re saving for our own house.” She pulled a face. “His father’s okay but so controlling. No wonder his mother left years ago. I don’t think I could take being married to that man either. He’s so old fashioned.” Ruby smiled wickedly. “He actually expects me to do all the cooking because I’m a woman.” She leaned forward.
    “When we got home from our honeymoon, we went to dinner at my parents’, and he actually asked me what I was cooking for him.” She started laughing. “I told him I hadn’t married him, and that Steve’s Bar was open until midnight, and then I threw his keys at him. He was still sputtering when we left the house.” Len couldn’t help joining in her laughter; it was so infectious.
    He’d missed this—missed her energy and her sense of humor. She 21
Love Means Courage
    was still the same person he remembered, but now more confident and sure of herself, without all the teenage angst and worry. He also found it surprisingly comfortable to have someone he could be himself with, someone he didn’t need to hide from.

    Their laughter subsided, and she leaned forward, looking around to make sure no one was nearby. “So tell me about this guy you were seeing. Was he nice?”
    “Yes, he was. His name was Tim, and he was…” he hesitated.
“Older than me.”
That wicked smirk was back. “How much older?”
“He was almost forty.”
Her reaction was not at all what Len was expecting. “Was he hot?”
Now it was Len’s turn to laugh. “Are you getting a thrill out of this?”
    “Of course. Two men together is sexy. Now spill it.” He could not believe he was sitting in the college cafeteria with one of his high school friends talking about his love life. “He was hot, if you must know, but he was also kind. More than anything, he showed me that I wasn’t