by Jay Bell
William, still waiting by the passenger door, raised his eyebrows. “You all right?”
“Yeah,” Kelly said, shaking his head. “I thought I forgot something, that’s all.”
He pushed the button on the keychain to unlock the car, and once buckled up, asked where William lived. He knew the area, and needed little prompting to get headed in the right direction. As they pulled into the neighborhood, lone drops of water splattered against the windshield, followed by a steady patter of rain.
William leaned forward in his seat to consider the sky. “Now I’m glad we bailed on training. Looks like a bad storm blowing in.”
Kelly felt smug. “Anyone still out on the track is going to get soaked.”
“For sure,” William said. “I actually swung by there looking for you. Saw your friend Jared running like a mad man.”
“He’s not my friend,” Kelly said. “Not anymore.”
“Oh.”
The car interior was silent until William pointed out his house. Kelly pulled into the driveway so William wouldn’t have to get too wet. Maybe he was waiting for the rain to stop entirely, because after unbuckling his seatbelt, he didn’t move. Eventually he shifted in his seat to face Kelly.
“I don’t get it,” he said.
“Get what?” Kelly asked.
“You and Jared. Last week you’re ganging up on me in the hall, trying to get me to drop out of the race. Then you show up at the pool this morning, acting friendly. I figured maybe you were doing a little reconnaissance for Jared, but then it turns out that you’re also in the triathlon and you guys aren’t even friends any more. Is that why? Did he get pissed because you entered too?”
“I don’t think he knows yet. But when he does find out, he’s going to freak. And when I win...” Kelly made an evil face.
William shook his head. “You guys are intense. It’s just a race. You know that, right?”
“Then why did you enter?”
“For fun!” William said in exasperation. “Now I feel like I’m caught up in some sort of sports mafia or something.”
“I just really wanted him to win.”
“And now?”
Kelly exhaled. “He doesn’t like who I am. And I like him a little too much.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want to come inside?”
Kelly glanced over. William’s cheeks were red. Was he trying to be nice? Or prove that he wasn’t like Jared? Surely he understood what Kelly had meant. Right?
“It’s okay,” Kelly said. “I should probably—”
“Really,” William insisted. “We can hang out. It’ll be fun.”
Kelly wasn’t sure of that, but it beat going home and moping around the house. He killed the engine, feeling apprehensive as he followed William up the walkway. He didn’t know much about the guy, but he did seem nice. Kelly’s aunt always said that God didn’t take a dump without opening a window. Or something like that. Now he was entering the home of a person who had been his mortal enemy just last week. And it smelled like cookies.
Kelly wasn’t particularly proud of his own house, since he had very little say in its appearance, and not a single dime of his went into its purchase. Regardless, he couldn’t help but compare it to any other home he entered for the first time. His own had high ceilings, large open spaces, and an abundance of natural light. This house was smaller, the rooms stuffed with furniture and shelves filled with knickknacks.
Curtains made of thin fabric covered each window, which would probably be cozy when holding back the glare of summer sun. On a rainy day like today, it made the house too dark for Kelly’s liking. Despite being a little cluttered, the home had a mellow vibe, much like William himself. And not at all like his mother.
“Willy! I didn’t expect you home so soon.” Mrs. Townson was tall and lanky, the same beanpole build that Kelly remembered William having when he was younger. Her hair was blonde, her smile bright as she rubbed her hands together self-consciously. Or maybe she had just applied lotion. Either way, the same nose as William’s sat above a broad smile. “And who’s this?”
“Kelly,” William said. “He’s a new friend of mine.”
“Oh, nice to meet you!” Mrs. Townson walked over and offered her hand, which was indeed soft and moist. Kelly could smell the fragrance from the lotion after they had shaken. Afterwards she hugged her son, who groaned like he was embarrassed but smiled over her shoulder. “Cookies and milk?” she asked.
“I would,” William replied, “but we’re going to hang out upstairs.”
“You’re a big boy now,” Mrs. Townson said, sending a wink in Kelly’s direction. “I think you can handle eating in your room. I’ll bring some up. Just try not to get crumbs all over the place.”
“No promises,” William said, gesturing with his head that Kelly should follow.
He did so, climbing the stairs and glancing at the family photos hanging on the wall. He saw a couple of older guys who looked like doppelgangers of William with slight variations. One had black hair instead of blond and wore the uniform of a Marine. Another shared William’s blond hair but sported a goatee, a woman standing at his side who bore no family resemblance. Finally he saw a full-blown family portrait, this one old enough that all three brothers were still little boys. In the photo, Mrs. Townson’s hair was shoulder-length instead of short, the man next to her sharing William’s build and the dark hair of the oldest boy.
“Coming?” William asked.
“Yeah, sorry,” Kelly said, hurrying to catch up.
William’s room was a couple of doors down a hallway filled with plants and bookshelves. Unlike the rest of the house, things were more orderly here. A twin bed was pushed against one wall, above it a large vintage poster advertising the Coast Guard. In it a sailor seemed to be jerking a thumb at himself while wearing a shit-eating grin; above him in the sky, italic letters asked, Going my way?
Kelly glanced with little interest at a small entertainment center and a flat-screen television. The other walls were taken up by shelves and a dresser. The bed was made and everything seemed to have its rightful place, prompting Kelly to wonder if William kept things so tidy or if his mother took care of it while he was at school. As an experiment, Kelly removed his jacket and tossed it carelessly on the bed before continuing to survey the room. On top of the dresser were a number of medals and ribbons, all of them relating to swimming.
“Now I see why you invited me up here,” Kelly teased. “You’re trying to intimidate me.”
“You’re not far off,” William replied. “Those are usually in a drawer, but when you came up to me last week...”
Kelly spun around, amused to see that William had picked up his jacket and was carefully folding it over the bed frame. “Seriously? I actually got to you?”
William shrugged. “A little. I put those out to remind me that you don’t have a chance.”
“We’ll see.” Kelly turned back around, noticing how many ribbons were for first place. “Would you say you’re the best on your team?”
“Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. I don’t worry about it much. What about you?”
“I worry about it all the time,” Kelly admitted. “I have a very competitive nature.”
“I hadn’t noticed.”
There was a knock at the door. Kelly was closest, so he opened it. Mrs. Townson entered, smiling her appreciation as she carried in a tray. On it was a plateful of cookies and two glasses of milk.
“You’re not lactose intolerant, are you?” she asked.
“No,” Kelly said.
“Most people are to some extent,” she said. “I read an article about it once and switched the family over to soy milk. You wouldn’t believe the gas it gave us all!”
“Thanks, Mom,” William said, his face turning red. “I’ll bring the dishes down when we’re done. No need to come back up here.”
Mrs. Townson rolled her eyes and smiled at Kelly.
He s
miled back, laughing after she’d shut the door. “My mom’s the same way. If you ever come over to my place, it’ll take her two minutes to show you a photo— Well, you’ll have to see for yourself, but my point is that it’s embarrassing. Moms love to humiliate their kids, I swear.”
“I’m glad I’m not the only one,” William said, walking over to take a cookie. “Help yourself.”
Kelly nodded, more interested in further exploring William’s room. He checked the bookshelf, which only held a few volumes, most of them common choices; the complete Harry Potter series, a dictionary that looked like it had never been opened, and some collected editions of Calvin and Hobbes. A selection of DVDs filled out this row and kept the books from toppling over.
The rest of the shelves were filled with the little souvenirs of life. And a large number of plastic animals. A rhino hung out with a gorilla, a rat, and a cheetah. This was a fairly normal gathering compared to the next shelf up, where a tyrannosaurus kept company with a giant spider, an even larger scorpion, and a surprisingly small pterodactyl. The models weren’t at all realistic or in scale. In fact, they appeared to be nothing more than toys. Kelly grabbed a falcon and held it up, turning to William for an explanation.
“Oh,” he said, as if embarrassed. “I’ve had those since forever. They’re actually robots.”
Kelly blinked. “You mean like Transformers?”
“Yeah,” William said, joining him at the shelf. “But not like the crazy movie that came out earlier this year. These are from when we were little. Do you remember Beast Wars?”
Kelly shook his head. “I was into Power Rangers'”
William grimaced as if this was distasteful. “I could never get into that show. Beast Wars was so much better. It was all CGI, which was rare at the time, and the plots were amazing.”
Kelly took in how excited William was getting and smiled. “Wait, do you collect these?”
William made a face, like he was trying to be cool. “Nah, they’re just sort of around. I’ve had them since I was a kid. Don’t know what to do with them now.”
Kelly glanced back at the display. The carefully arranged figures were dust free. And they were numerous. More than most parents would buy their children of any one toy line. “You know,” he said, “my kid brother is still young enough to appreciate these. I’d be happy to take them off your hands for you.”
William’s eyes went wide in panic. Then he realized he’d been caught and his shoulders slumped. “Don’t tell anyone,” he said. “It’s my deepest darkest secret.”
“I can only imagine the scandal this would cause at school,” Kelly teased. “So show me how this one transforms.”
William took it from him and happily demonstrated. “The falcon is actually female. I know what you’re thinking, how can robots be male or female? I don’t know either, but I think it’s cool. In the show she’s actually dating the white tiger over there. It’s sort of romantic, especially what happens to them in season two.”
Kelly raised an eyebrow and tried not to laugh. He failed.
“Don’t judge,” William said. “At least not blindly. We could check out some episodes together. It’s not like there’s anything else to do.”
Kelly glanced over at the cookies and milk, at the toys, then at William himself, who sort of had that big-kid vibe. He found himself matching William’s smile and nodded in agreement. Soon they were sitting side by side on the bed, watching computer-generated animals have serious conversations or do battle. The show wasn’t bad. Some poor writer had surely been hired by a toy company to come up with a reason why a bunch of robots would need to disguise themselves as animals, many of which were already extinct. And somehow the end result was compelling. Maybe a little campy at times, but he soon found himself concerned for the welfare of the characters.
“I can tell you like it,” William said after the third episode. “Go on, admit it!”
“My expectations were low,” Kelly said. “It’s not exactly a Pixar movie.”
“The animation was groundbreaking at the time,” William insisted. “You at least liked the story, right?”
“Yeah,” Kelly said. “I did.”
William beamed. “If you want, we could watch a few together now and again. It doesn’t take long to get through the series. And just wait until you get to a certain episode in the next season! You’ll cry. Not that I did or anything. Um.”
Kelly glanced over at him. Of course he wanted to do this again. William was easy to be around. And kind of cute, which was enough to make Kelly’s smile fade. He wouldn’t put himself through this. Kelly didn’t want to start a new friendship because more likely than not, it would lead to unreciprocated feelings, and that hadn’t been the worst of it. What hurt most was Jared rejecting Kelly as a person. Even if they couldn’t be together, they could have at least remained friends. Maybe William wouldn’t react the same way. Maybe he would. Either way, Kelly needed to know now, before things went too far.
“Did you get what I said earlier?” he blurted out. “When I said that I like Jared too much, did you get what I meant?”
The carefree light left William’s eyes. “What did you mean?”
“I’m gay,” Kelly said.
William searched his face, as if gauging how serious he was. Then he looked away. Maybe that’s how straight guys dealt with what they didn’t approve of. They simply turned their backs. So be it. He and William barely knew each other. The rejection still hurt, but not as bad as it would have months or even years from now.
Kelly stood, grabbed his coat, and headed for the door.
“Wait!” William stood and put a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t have to go.”
Kelly spun around. “Don’t I?”
“Uh.” William glanced past him at the bedroom door. Then, in a quieter voice, he said, “It’s okay. What you said. I’m okay with it.”
“That I’m gay?” Kelly asked.
William winced at the volume of his voice, responding in a whisper. “Yes.”
“Then why are you—” Kelly lowered his voice. “Are your parents homophobic or something?”
“I don’t know,” William replied. His green eyes seemed to be pleading with Kelly, like he wanted him to fill in the blanks.
Kelly immediately jumped to one conclusion, but he didn’t have much faith in it, because he’d been so wrong when it came to Jared. “Look,” he said. “There’s one more thing I’d like to get out of the way, because it’ll make things easier on me. And don’t get all offended, because this doesn’t mean I’m hoping that you are, or that I’m even interested. But I’ve told you what I am. So now it’s your turn.”
William glanced at the bedroom door again. Then he moved his mouth without saying anything. Finally, he managed one short sentence. “I don’t know.”
Kelly stared at him. “You don’t know?”
William swallowed, eyes darting to the door. “This probably isn’t the best time.”
“Okay,” Kelly said quickly. “I get it. I think. Do you want to go for a drive?”
William shook his head. “Dinner will be ready soon.”
“Yeah, it is getting late,” Kelly said, unsure if he was being sent away. His head was spinning. Instinct told him he needed to retreat, that any more pressure now would be detrimental to... well, whatever. “Maybe we can get together tomorrow?”
William nodded. When he spoke again, he no longer sounded like he was choking on his own words. “When do I get to see you run? I’m starting to think you’re all talk.”
“I’ll prove I’m not. After school. Tomorrow.” He thought briefly of a happy face behind pink glasses. “Let’s go somewhere else. I’m sick of the track. I know a good park with jogging paths. Meet me by my car?”
“Yeah,” William said. “Okay.”
They eyed each other for an awkward moment. Then William insisted on seeing him out. They were on the front walkway, struggling to find parting words, when a cherry-red sports car roared
into the driveway, music blaring. The windows were up, so Kelly couldn’t make out what song it was, but the beat sounded contemporary. The man who stepped out of the car wasn’t quite so fresh. Kelly recognized him from the family portrait, except now his hair was thinning, his features lined. He had a nice build though, and a friendly smile when he pumped Kelly’s hand.
William seemed a little embarrassed. “Dad, this is Kelly. Kelly, this is my dad.”
“Hey man, how’s it going?” Mr. Townson said. “What do you think of the car?”
“Very sexy,” Kelly said. “Is it new?”
“Just got it last week,” Mr. Townson grinned. “Not sure what the point is, because now I’m working overtime every night.”
“Then you should let me have it,” William said.
Mr. Townson feinted like he was boxing with his son and laughed. “Not a chance. You staying for dinner, Kelly?”
“No, I better get home.”
“Maybe next time.” Mr. Townson threw an arm around William’s shoulders and dragged him toward the house, in his wake a whiff of cologne that smelled more fruity than musky.
Kelly watched them go for a second before he got in his car. William’s parents seemed really nice. Not at all starchy or conservative. If William was gay, why would he worry about his parents not accepting him? Or maybe that’s not what he was trying to tell Kelly at all. Either way, he wouldn’t find out until after school tomorrow.
“He’s gay,” Bonnie said firmly.
When she noticed that Kelly still had his doubts, she crossed her arms and leaned against his car, despite it still being slick from the recent rain. After leaving William’s house, he had driven straight over to her place, sending only a quick text that simply read CALAMITY, their code word for a dramatic emergency. She had met him in the driveway so they could have privacy, because when it came to Bonnie’s sister, not only did the walls have ears, but the ceilings and floors did too.
“He could just be questioning,” Kelly said.
Bonnie smirked. “He needs to be answering, because it’s obvious. It reminds me of all those closeted celebrities who, when asked about their sexuality, respond with ‘I want to keep my personal life private.’ Straight people never say things like that. Or at least they have no problem admitting they like the opposite sex, even if they don’t want the world to know who they’re dating. So when someone gets all coy about their sexuality, it’s a total giveaway.”
