Rentboy

Pam.”
    “Dear!” Mrs. Atherton spoke in an admonishing tone and pointed at his mouth.
    “Mmmm, sorry, dear,” he mumbled.
    “Didn’t she go to Leeds University?” Edward asked.
    “Yes, but she got herself pregnant. And now she’s back in the village planning to have a baby
    with no father in sight. Her parents are devastated, as they would be.” Mrs. Atherton shook her head
    sadly.
    “That’s astonishing,” Fox said. “A miracle.”
    “Oh, I don’t think so,” Mrs. Atherton said. She took a mouthful of wine as if she needed
    fortifying just to talk about the subject. “What’s miraculous about it?”
    “You said she got herself pregnant. An immaculate conception?”
    Dr. Atherton rumbled with laughter. “You have quite the sense of humor, Fox. Poor old Edward
    has always been lacking in that department, haven’t you, Edward?”
    “Yes, I suppose I have,” he admitted.
    “I find Eddie hilarious,” Fox said.
    “He often is, but only by accident,” Annika said. “He’s an accidental comedian. Aren’t you,
    Edward?”
    “Mmmm,” he agreed. But Fox didn’t seem to find him lacking in humor, or in any other
    department.
    “Nicoletta will be back for dinner. I told her your grandparents are coming at seven and not to
    be later than that,” his mother said. “She’d better not be. She’s always been a rebel.”
    Alder scooped up the last piece of ham on his plate. He took a bite and fed the rest to his sister.
    “Do you want more?” Fox asked them. They shook their heads in unison.
    “I’ve got a nice Victoria sponge cake. Homemade. Would you like that?” Mrs. Atherton rose
    before they could respond and returned with two slices of cake.
    Fox took the plates from in front of the twins and with his knife separated the layers and scraped
    out the cream and raspberry jam from the middle, which he put on one side of the plate and the cake
    on the other. When the operation was complete, he handed them back. The twins set about the cake at
    once. They ate the filling first, sucking it off their fingers, and then the cake.
    Mrs. Atherton watched them for a moment while Edward held his breath, afraid she would say
    something to upset Fox. To his relief he saw her mouth soften and her body release its tension. She
    was not going to get upset over a couple of kids with messy hands and faces. She really had improved
    over the years. Perhaps telling her he was gay wouldn’t be so bad after all. He’d do it quietly
    tomorrow. Get his mum and dad together and announce it as a done deal.
    “The sleeping arrangements,” his mum announced. “Fox, you can sleep with whichever one is
    the boy. The girl can have the small attic bedroom. It’s just lovely. We renovated it quite recently. It
    has its own bathroom.” She looked from one twin to the other, no more able to tell which was which
    than he could.
    “That’s not going to work,” Fox said. “The twins have to sleep together. They’ve always slept
    together. If they’re not in the same bed, neither one will sleep. And I’ll sleep with Eddie.”
    Edward froze. A deathly silence fell around the table. The twins stopped eating, huddling
    together.
    “You can have the attic, and the twins can share,” his mother said firmly.
    “Eat your cake, aliens. Nothing to be upset about,” Fox said gently to the twins. The young man
    looked at Mrs. Atherton. “Eddie’s my boyfriend, so I’d think we should sleep together.”
    Sinking his head into his hands, Edward refused to look at anyone. The heavy silence that
    followed was broken by his mum.
    “Not under my roof. The neighbors!”
    “There aren’t any neighbors. But if you like, we could go to that B and B by the village green,”
    Fox said very calmly as though it was no big deal.
    “No! Then the whole village will know.”
    “We’d better stay here, then.”
    His cheeks burning, Edward emptied his wineglass and poured another. He could kill Fox for
    bringing it up like this. But it was done now, and all he could do was deal with it. “Mum, Dad,” he
    began, but he could think of nothing to say.
    Steepling his fingers, elbows on the table, Dr. Atherton spoke. “Edward, are you saying you are
    a homosexual?”
    “I said it,” Fox piped up.
    “Fox, leave this to me.” He sounded quite authoritative, surprising himself. Fox fell silent. “I
    was going to tell you this weekend anyway. Yes, I’m gay. And Fox is my boyfriend.”
    In the silence that followed, Fox looked