18. Ch 18- Two Down

About twenty minutes later, the Louds were sat around the dinner table once more. Now, Tuesday was normally turkey loaf day, but after a meeting with his staff at the restaurant, he was trying a new recipe for chicken stir fry, using egg noodles fried in sunflower oil, soy sauce and lemon juice, and free range chicken breast with chopped tomatoes and red peppers, coriander and sesame seeds. "Alright, fam!" He announced as he placed the bowls in front of his family. "Let me know what you think of this, 'cause I need to know by tomorrow whether or not I should put this on the menu." After putting the final bowl down in his spot, he sat down and grabbed his fork. "Dig in!"

The family didn't need telling twice, as they instantly took their first mouthfuls, chewing the food to get a sense of the flavour and texture before finally swallowing. Rita, after she had finished her bite, smiled at her husband. "Honey, it's delicious," she happily told him.

"She's literally right, dad," Lori added, "I love it."

After hearing a couple of others say the same, Lana spoke up next. "Can I leave the tomatoes?"

"No, Lana," Rita sternly replied.

"But they're so gross!"

Her twin looked at her with a deadpan expression. "Really? That's what's gross?"

"But you like tomato on pizza," Lucy pointed.

"Tomato sauce, yeah, not tomatoes. The texture is just, ugh."

"I kinda agree, dad," Lincoln spoke next. "I think the peppers work with the chicken, but not the tomatoes."

"Same here, Pop Star," Luna also said, with Luan nodding next to her.

"Really?" Lynn Sr asked, before taking another bite. Chewing it more critically this time, he waited a second after swallowing before shrugging. "I can't see it myself, but I hear you. I'll make a note of that later. But, other than that, it's okay?"

"It's awesome, dad!" Lynn boasted, making her namesake smile.

"Thanks, kids. Now, let's not let this food go cold, right?"

They all agreed and continued to eat. As the family ate, they talked about how their days had been, regarding school and plans for the week break that was coming up. As he neared the last few bites of his food, Lynn Sr turned to Lincoln and said, "oh, Lincoln, I forgot to ask, how was practice today?"

Lincoln gulped down his current mouthful, and sheepishly smiled. "Oh, um, it was good," he replied. "I'm really enjoying it so far."

"That's great!" The father replied, not noticing his son's nervousness. "It's great that you're enjoying it. Bet it doesn't feel like exercise as much, huh?"

He laughed, to which Lincoln nervously chuckled along. "Uh, yeah. Good one, dad."

Rita noticed her son's tension, so she turned to Lori who was sat next to her and leaned towards her. "Gather your sisters in your room after dinner," she whispered to her eldest daughter.

"Emergency meeting?" Lori whispered back, to which her mother nodded. "Okay."

She then turned to Luan and passed on the message, which led to it being passed among the siblings one by one, until they all knew about the emergency meeting. Once dinner was over, everyone got up and began to head upstairs while Lynn made his way into the kitchen to begin washing up. Before Lincoln could follow his sisters, however, Rita stopped him. "Lincoln, why don't you go help your father do the washing up? Maybe that'll give you the chance to talk with him."

He knew straight away what she meant. "Oh, right. But, what about the meeting?"

She smirked and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Why do you think I called for the meeting?" His eyes widened when he got what she meant. "Don't worry, I'll just tell them I'm struggling with getting your father a birthday present, and that you're keeping him distracted."

He gave a small smile. "Thanks, mom."

She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his forehead. "You'll be fine, don't worry. Just tell him what you told me, and he'll understand."

"Okay." She nodded to him before walking away, leaving him by himself. 'You can do this,' he reminded himself as he took a deep breath, then made his way into the kitchen where his dad had already started the washing up? "Hey, dad? You mind if I help you?"

He turned his head and smiled at his son. "Sure, champ! Grab a cloth, and you can dry them for me," he replied. Lincoln walked over to where the washed dishes were piled and grabbed a dish cloth, which he then used to start drying up the dishes. "So, champ, something on your mind?"

"How did you know?" Lincoln asked, which made his dad chuckle.

"Lincoln, I've been a father for close to eighteen years. The only time you and your sisters ask to help me with this is if you want something, or you want to talk about something, and whenever you want something, you have a whole presentation prepared." Lincoln felt his cheeks heat up a tinge at how obvious he seemed. "So, what's up?"

"Well… when mom picked me up from practice, I told her something, and I need to tell you too."

"Sounds important. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm… I'm fine, but the truth is… I've been lying to you... about practice."

Lynn stopped what he was doing for a second and looked at his son. "What did you lie about? Are you not actually enjoying it?"

"No, no, I am! I really am, I promise! It's just… well… it's not actually dodgeball that I'm doing."

"Well, if it's not dodgeball, then what is it?" He saw that his son had become more nervous. "Lincoln, you can tell me."

"… it's… gymnastics."

To say Lynn wasn't surprised would be a lie. However, the reaction that he gave was not even remotely close to what Lincoln had expected. "Wait, that's it?" He gave a couple of chuckles. "I thought you were going to say you were bullfighting, or involved in a street fighting ring!"

Lincoln had to blink to make sure he was hearing it right. "Wait… so, you're okay with it?"

"Of course I am, Lincoln! What made you think I wouldn't be okay with it?"

"Well… it was mostly that I think the girls will tease me when they find out, but… at the same time I… I was worried that you would… think less of me."

Lynn Sr saw that Lincoln was looking to the side, ashamed, and it told him just how serious this talk was. Putting down the brush in his hand, he took the dish cloth from Lincoln and put it back on the hook, then looked him in the eyes. "Lincoln, I could never think less of you," he wholeheartedly told his son. "Why would you think that?"

"Well… I remember hearing Mrs Rosato talk about how her husband's friends would've laughed at the idea, and Artie told me that his dad wasn't too happy when he eventually found out." Lincoln looked away again, feeling like he was close tearing up. "I don't know, I just… I was afraid that… that you would…"

"Lincoln… look at me." The white haired child obliged, and while Lynn wasn't smiling, the look he gave his son didn't make him feel worried about what he was about to say. "I don't know what your mother said when she told you, so you may or may not have heard what I'm about to say already, but I'm going to ask you one question, and I need you to be absolutely, one hundred percent honest with me, from the bottom of your heart. Do you enjoy doing gymnastics?"

Lincoln didn't hesitate in nodding. "Absolutely. I don't know how to explain it, but I just feel such… energy, and it makes me feel… alive, I guess."

Lynn smiled. "Then that's all I ever need to hear. Seriously, Lincoln, I'm not going to think less of you for something like this."

"Really? Even if it's… well… not typical for a guy?"

"Lincoln, you're in a family with a six year old who's into plumbing, a four year old PhD, an eight year old who holds funerals for pets, and your old man likes to bake cupcakes in a pink apron. When is anything we do typical?"

Lincoln couldn't help but chuckle, his lips cracking a smile. "I guess."

"Seriously, Lincoln, you should be proud about this. I know you're scared about what your sisters will think, so I won't bust your chops about it, but don't let them stop you from being happy about this."

The white haired child nodded, before giving his dad a hug. "Thanks, dad."

"Anytime, son. Now, go on, I'll finish up here."

"You sure? I don't mind helping with the rest of the dishes."

"Nah, I'm about done, actually. Besides, I'm sure you've got some homework to be getting on with."

Lincoln had completely forgotten about that, so he grinned sheepishly. "Right, yeah. I'll, uh, get right on that."

Lynn smirked, shaking his head softly as his son walked off, before turning back to the sink to finish the washing up. Not long after, Rita made her way into the kitchen, with the sounds of the girls' typical antics building up in the background. "Everything okay in here?" She asked her husband.

"Yeah, everything's good here," he said to his wife as he put down the last wet plate, grabbing the dish cloth to dry his hands.

"So, did you and Lincoln talk?"

"Yeah, we talked. Honestly, I'm surprised he thought that."

"Same here, but I can kind of understand. You and I have both had our share of things we want to keep secret, especially with our families, so I can see why he wouldn't want his sisters to know."

"True, true. Though, do you honestly think the girls will make fun of him for this?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure. I know they tend to laugh whenever he wears his superhero outfit, but I always thought that was just a bit of a sibling joke."

"Might be something that we need to talk to them about some time."

"Maybe. Still, I'm thankful that he told us the truth."

"Me too. Plus, that explains why he's going three times a week." Lynn chuckled at his joke, though Rita just rolled her eyes. "So, how is Lincoln doing in practice?"

"Well, Chris said that he's doing good. He's getting on with the others, and he's struggling in certain places, but Chris said that's to be expected, and that he's just settling into the groove of things. I didn't see much myself, but Lincoln was definitely having fun."

"Well, when it comes down to it, that's all that matters, right?"

She nodded. "Right."

At about eight o'clock, Lincoln was finishing up his homework for the next day. While he'd be lying if he said that maths was his best subject, he wasn't a slouch either, so he was able to finish off the last set of problems in his book. "And… done!" He announced to himself, leaning back in his chair after closing the book. Wiping his brow, he exhaled. "Phew. That's one less thing to deal with, and I've got time to relax for a bit." He reached for the issue of Muscle Fish that he bought at the mall on Saturday. "And I can think of no better way than with a new comic while in my undies."

He was quick to make sure his door was shut, but before he could get undressed, he heard his phone vibrate. Picking it up, he saw he had received a message from Jordan, reading:

Jordan: how'd it go with your mom?

He slapped his forehead, mentally scolding himself for forgetting that she had asked him to let her know. He put the comic back down for the moment, so he could text her back.

Lincoln: it went well, actually. She was disappointed that I'd lied about it being dodgeball, but she was okay with, and is more focused that I'm happy with it.

He didn't have to wait long before a reply was sent to him.

Jordan: that's great! How do you feel now?

Lincoln: better, actually. I also told my dad after dinner, so that's two less people to hide it from.

Jordan: you did?! Well done! How did he react?

Lincoln: a lot more positively than I was expecting, to be honest. He seemed pretty cool about it, and he was the same as my mom about me being happy above everything else. Thanks for talking to me before you left, by the way.

Jordan: I really think you're overestimating how much I've done.

Lincoln: Seriously. You made me feel a lot better about talking to my mom, so I really think you helped earlier.

Jordan: Aww, Lincoln! That's sweet of you to say.

He couldn't help but smile at the response, but before he could text her back, she sent another one.

Jordan: So, now that your parents know, when do you think you'll tell your sisters?

And just like that, his smile became a frown as he typed out his response.

Lincoln: I… I don't know. My parents are one thing, but my sisters… it's gonna be tough.

Jordan: But you guys sound close from everything you've said about them.

Lincoln: we are, but at the same time, there's things that they've picked on me for and laughed at, and sometimes it's just good humour, but others… I don't think they get that I don't like it when they do that.

He noticed that there was a small delay after that, but Jordan eventually replied again.

Jordan: Wow… I didn't know you felt that way about this. Sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up.

Lincoln: it's okay, you didn't know. You were just trying to help me.

Jordan: Thanks. So, do you think you will tell them?

Lincoln: at the moment, I'm not sure. I know I probably will have to at some point, but at the moment… I'm not ready. I bet this probably sounds dumb, huh?

Jordan: it doesn't sound dumb. I'll admit that I don't fully get it, but that's because it's your family, so you'll get it better than I do. I won't bring this up again.

Lincoln: Thanks.

Jordan: I'd better go, my mom's calling for me. See you at school?

Lincoln: see you at school.

After that, he put his phone down on his desk, then with a smile on his face once more, he grabbed his comic book, laid down on his bed and began to read.