Chapter 3

Three-Liam
The next day at school I felt like the night before might have been a dream. I walked up to June outside of school and asked her if she was feeling better. I had seen her at the store and all of the sudden she was crying. She didn’t tell me why, but I had a feeling it had to do with her father. She looked at me like she had no clue what I was talking about.
“I’m fine, thanks. I’ve got to go,” she said suddenly and was walking away. I didn’t understand. She was perfectly fine talking to me yesterday with her sister, Jillian, then she broke down at the store, and now she acted like she didn’t know me.
I was totally confused as I walked over to Paul and Diana. Paul looked at me when I leaned against the wall next to him.
“Dude, you look absolutely confused. Having problems with your girl?” He asked. I shook my head.
“June’s not my girl, she’s a friend. Maybe, she’s a friend, I’m not sure right now,” I said. Paul shook his head.
“That’s why I’m lucky to have this one. She tells me right away what she’s thinking. Don’t you, Diana,” he said. Paul had left me this long message the night before about how he’d asked Diana out. Now they apparently know “everything” about each other.
“You bet your sweet ass I do. I don’t play around. Well, maybe sometimes I do,” she said with a sneaky smile. I rolled my eyes and excused myself from their company. I walked to the art room and stopped at the doorway. June was standing in front of a blank easel, hands shaking. I didn’t know she painted. I watched her contemplate the easel until I was sure she wasn’t going to do anything. I walked up behind her.
“Need advice?” I asked her. She jumped. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. Just thought you’d want some help,” I said. She turned to look at me.
“I’m fine, thanks. I don’t need your help,” June told me coolly. I nodded and walked to a different easel wondering why she was being so cold.
“No worries, I’ve got my own stuff to work on. How’s Jillian?” I asked mixing some paint with my brush. I started painting a bit and she finally spoke up.
“She’s fine. My dad took her out for dinner last night.” I looked over to see how this made her feel. She had her back towards me.
“Well, that’s good. Right? You thought she wouldn’t like spending time with him,” I said, trying to open up a conversation.
“I guess,” she replied, closing down the idea right away. I looked back at my easel and continued to draw the flower that had blossomed in the middle of the page. The bell rang and I put my supplies away before heading to homeroom. Today was going to be interesting to say the least what with Diana and Paul hooking up and June acting odd. Even with that thought, the first half passed by like any other day, nothing special.
At lunch I saw June eating alone and sat down next to her. She didn’t look up, but I knew she could tell I was there. I ate in silence for a few minutes before I realized she wasn’t eating. I nonchalantly slid a bag of pretzel sticks in front of her. She didn’t look at them, just simply slid them back. I pushed them toward her again. This time instead of returning them she took one out of the bag and ate it. I smiled and we continued to eat in silence.
Elaine sat down next to us and looked at me questioningly. I shrugged and she turned to June. June became engrossed in her copy of The Collector, which had been sitting next to her, and didn’t look up. I giggled slightly at June’s concentration abilities. Elaine shot me a puzzled look again.
“What? Can’t a guy sit next to a friend?” I asked. She raised her eyebrow.
“I didn’t know you two were friends,” she said. I nodded and June looked up.
“Didn’t know who were friends?” June asked. I chuckled.
“You and me are friends,” I told her. She shrugged this time.
“Yeah, I guess we are,” she said. What a vote of confidence that was. Elaine stuck her hand towards me.
“Well if you two are friends, I guess I have to be your friend as well,” Elaine said. I nodded and shook her hand.
“It appears to be so,” I said. June shrugged again and went back to her book. One thing I was beginning to notice was June could be absorbed in a book in a matter of seconds. Elaine and I carried on a polite conversation the rest of lunch period. June only looked up once and it was to interject that we were being ridiculous. We were talking about wizard rock; I told her I’d make her a CD so she’d understand.
After school I met with Elaine and June outside of the childcare room and asked if they would like to join me for ice cream. Jillian really wanted to and June said they really couldn’t. This got Jillian crying and I felt like an idiot for bringing it up in front of her.
“Sorry, I should have talked to you beforehand,” I said. She nodded.
“Yes, this will be a treat to take care of,” she said. Jillian took her hand and they walked out to her car together. Elaine stood next to me for a moment. I looked down at her sad face.
“Don’t worry, Jillie, another time,” I told her as they started to walk away.
“She’s just had a rough night, she doesn’t mean to be snide,” Elaine said nodding in June’s direction. I nodded.
“It’s cool, people have rough nights, and I totally get that.” And I did. I had actually seen part of her rough night. Elaine nodded and trailed behind June and her sister.
Paul was waiting for me at the car again, this time Diana was with him. I looked at them.
“Do I have to take her home too?” I asked. I knew I sounded whiny, but I really didn’t want to do that much driving. Diana laughed and Paul shook his head.
“Nah, man, she’s hanging out at my place,” Paul said. I smirked.
“Remember, kids, use protection,” I fake lectured. Paul laughed.
“Oh, we do,” Diana said with a sly look in her eye. Paul nodded and I just got into the car. I knew they were both joking, but still, awkward. I drove them to Paul’s house, the two of them in the back, and went back to my own thinking about how I never wanted to do that again.
Mom’s car was in the garage and that was not a usual thing. Mom usually was at work until five. I walked inside and she was sitting at the counter, looking down at her hands. I walked over to her.
“Mom? Are you okay?” I asked. She seemed startled at my voice.
“Yeah, I’m fine. There’s just something I want to discuss with you,” Mom said. I sat down next to her.
“Sure, what is it?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know. She took in a deep breath.
“You know Louise and I have been dating a long time,” yeah, a year, which was good for mom, “well, I invited her to live with us.” I was only slightly stunned. Louise was Mom’s longest relationship since Dad and only the second one of her girlfriends that I had met. She had never asked anyone to move in before, that’s what shocked me.
“Mom, that’s great. I’m happy for you,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure I was. I kept thinking how weird it was going to be with another woman in the house another anyone in the house would be weird. Mom smiled so wide and grabbed me into a huge hug.
“Thank you! I was so worried you weren’t going to be okay with this. I mean, if that would have happened, I would understand, I would seriously rethink it, but I’m glad that you are!” Mom told me.
I wasn’t really okay with it, well I was trying to be, but I wasn’t one hundred percent. I knew it was hypocritical to say I supported my mom fully in her homosexuality and then think it was wrong for her girlfriend to move in, but that was how I felt. I knew I’d probably feel the same if it had been a man moving in, but I still felt bad about not really wanting Louise and my mom to have a happy home together.
I called up Paul after attempting to call Owen, one of my best friends since I was little. Owen’s parents were good friends with mine while they were still together and we moved into the subdivision around the same time. Owen and I practically knew each other since birth, but since he went to private school, it was harder to keep in touch. I knew he was busy after the third call, and I didn’t leave a message. Paul knew my parents were divorced, but not that my mom was gay. He picked up on the second ring.
“Hey, dude. What’s going on?” he answered. I let out a breath.
“My mom’s girlfriend is moving in, and I’m freaking out,” I told him. He was silent for a minute.
“That seems reasonable to me, freaking out. I mean if my mom told me someone she was seeing was going to be moving in, I’d be a little upset too,” Paul said. I wondered if he hadn’t heard me say girlfriend.
“Dude, it’s a woman though,” I said. Paul chuckled a little.
“Yeah, I heard that part. What does that matter though? It’s the person your mom loves. All you have to is be as supportive as you can,” he told me. I knew he was right. When had Paul become so smart?
“Thanks, man, really,” I said.
“Don’t even worry about it. You’re a good friend; I’m just trying to do the same.”