She nods. “His mother and your father were inseparable in their teens. They grew up together. Maggie lived a few houses away from ours.”
Oh wow. This explains the way he was looking at Cole’s mom on the day we arrived. It doesn’t answer why he hates Cole though, a thought that makes my head hurt every time I think about it.
“What happened? Why did they break up?”
She shrugs. “I’m not entirely sure. Maggie came to see me before she went off to college. She wanted to talk. She told me that she couldn’t handle Stephen’s ‘obsessive ways’. Her words, not mine. Your father can be quite intense.”
Don’t I know it.
She inhales deeply as though she is about to let me in on a secret. “Cole is a good boy. Very hardworking. He reminds me of my Thomas.”
I stare at her, confused.
“My son.”
Wait, what? My father has a brother? How come I’ve never met him? And no one talks about him?
My grandmother blinks, her eyes filling with tears. “He was my first born child, your father’s older brother. I got very sick when I was pregnant with Thomas, which affected his hearing. He was born deaf. He passed away a few years ago. I don’t talk about it, it’s a very difficult topic for me. I’ve held onto it for so long. Seeing the Holloway boy brought back those memories.
“Your father and Thomas never got along very well, because of Thomas’s. . .um. . .lifestyle.” She wipes her cheeks and tries to smile, but fails miserably when a sob escapes her lips. “He was gay, something my husband and later on, Stephen, didn’t approve of.”
My mind is reeling with this information. “Does Mom know?”
She shakes her head. “I have no idea if Stephen ever told her. Every family has a secret and this was ours, mainly because of the way he died.”
I scoot around the table, drop on my knees in front of her, and wrap my arms around her. I had a relative, an uncle, who I never even knew existed. Does my father ever have any positive feelings for anyone? This is just. . .insane.
I pull back and rest my bottom on my heels. “How did he die?”
She rolls her head back and stares at the ceiling, tears running down the side of her face now. I climb to my feet and rush to the counter where the cash register sits, grab the box of tissues, and hurry back to her. I pluck one out and press it into her hand. She dabs her cheeks and eyes with the tissue, before focusing on me again. I want to tell her that she doesn’t need to talk about it, but the need to know is overpowering.
“He. . .um. . .he killed himself right after he broke up with his boyfriend.”
Oh my God.
I lean forward and pull her into my arms, as my own tears roll down my cheeks, joining her in mourning someone I never had the pleasure of meeting.
I’m not even sure how this day turned from one filled with swoon-worthy kisses, walking-on-sunshine moments to one of confessions. Seeing Cole must have triggered Grandma’s memories, ripping open barely healed wounds.
“Have you ever talked to someone about this?” I ask, pulling back and walking around the desk. I lift the chair and set it on the floor next to hers so our knees are touching.
She nods. “The psychologist at work. It took me a long time to accept the consequences of not standing up for my baby. For Thomas.”
We continue chatting about the past. Customers come in, buy what they need and leave. I can’t help but think that my family is really messed up.
Eventually, we get on to the orientation. Grandma explains to me what requires urgent attention, which is arranging the carnations in various buckets in the corner. The owner will pick up their order before closing time. I end up texting Cole to inform him that I need more time. Grandma orders us Chinese for lunch from the restaurant next door. I’m not hungry despite not having breakfast this morning.
Six hours later, Cole pops in to pick me up and drive me home. I’m not even surprised when my grandmother converses with him in sign language after the introductions are over.
“Where did your grandmother learn how to sign like that?” he asks, on the way to his car.
I tell him about Thomas, his father, and how he died. I leave out the part where my father hated his own brother. I need to mull over that information first, and if I’m being honest with myself, I’m a little bit scared that Cole will look at me differently. Surely, Dad’s prejudices wouldn’t be clouding his mind, judging Cole, would he?
As soon as Cole drops me home and he kisses me senseless, we agree to meet at our usual place, and I walk toward my house. There is so much I don’t know about my dad, and the more I discover about him, the more I realize he is practically a stranger. I can’t shake off this uneasiness creeping down my spine.