14 Chapter 14

“After that first time I went to see Cheryl, I told Gloria I was gay.”

Jake looked shocked. “And?”

“Well, first she cried. Asked me what she had done wrong, how she had failed me. You know, like she felt it was her fault I was gay. I told her that she hadn’t done anything wrong, that she had been a good wife. I was gay, always had been, and had known it all my life. That it had nothing to do with her. Then she got mad. Told me I should have told her, that I had lived a lie all our married life. When she got done ranting, she cried again.”

“That musta been hard,” Jake offered.

“Gets worse,” Kevin gave a mirthless laugh.

Jake leaned forward in his seat.

Kevin continued. “She cried for about a half hour. I didn’t know what to do: whether to comfort her, or just let her cry it out. After a while I got up and sat next to her on the couch. I put my hand on her back and she pulled away.”

“Ouch!”