Like Sugar | Chapter Twenty-three

When Jared had agreed to meet up with Darnell's father, he hadn't known what to expect. All he knew was that he wanted to meet him and maybe talk for a bit. Darnell had accompanied him to the small Ethiopian coffee on the other side of town. It was around ten in the morning on a Saturday. They both waited for his dad as they ate pastries and drank coffee, and when Darnell's father got to the cafe Darnell got up on autopilot, offering his father his sea before wandering off to another free table.

Darnell had left them.

Alone.

Jared couldn't hide how nervous he was. He greeted the older man under his breath as he stared down at the wooden table. He had two of his fingers laced within the handle of the coffee cup in his hand. He kept nibbling his bottom lip, trying to stay calm. He couldn't look up, a little afraid of the gaze Darnell's father might be throwing at him.

"Jared?" The sound of the older man calling him made Jared look up from the table. The older man had a smile on his face. It was so wide that his eyes were almost closed shut because of it. Jared spotted a gold tooth, and he also noticed that the older man shared Darnell's gummy smile. He also had Darnell's dark hair with its distinctive shine. The only difference was that his hair was straight as straight could be and Darnell's was a curly tangling mess. It was okay, spending time loosening the knots Darnell's hair formed was a sort of bonding moment Jared wouldn't trade for anything.

"Nervous?" the man asked, and Jared let out a relieved laugh, nodding his head as Darnell's father kept smiling. If Jared had to guess the man wasn't up to ten years older than him, and he hoped they shared some things in common that could ease the awkwardness of their first meeting together.

"Coffee," Darnell's father started, making Jared's eyes fall to the brown ceramic cup the man had in his hand. "Tastes good," the older man said, finishing his sentence. Jared hummed, nodding in agreement. Darnell did tell him that his father's English would be missing her and there since articles weren't something that Thai had. Jared didn't mind though. Being a university professor, he was used to knowing many people that spoke English as a second language. There was even a Finnish colleague of his that called everyone he since Finnish had only one gender pronoun and remembering more than one was complicated for her.

"So, about Darnell—" Jared paused what he was saying, not knowing where to go with it. He wanted to move the conversation to the man's son, but on the other hand, he was afraid of saying anything that might be inappropriate or might piss his father off. "I..." Jared trailed off, still not knowing where to go with his words.

"I really like Darnell," he ended up saying, before forcing himself to bring his gaze to the older man. "He's a wonderful person," Jared muttered, feeling his face get hot. Darnell's father just stared at him, before raising one of his fingers.

"Age difference," he said. "Okay, but school first," he added, relieving one of Jared's worries. Oh. He thought, staring at the man with wide eyes. It seemed that he didn't mind the age difference and was just worried about Darnell staying in school. Jared smiled, nodding his head.

"I help him with school work," Jared said, running his fingers through his hair. Was that boosting? Did that come out wrong? He couldn't help worrying if he was making missteps. With all his worrying he couldn't spot that the older man was grinning at him. Darnell's dad, Narong, had to chuckle to stop Jared from stuttering and apologizing.

"I like you," the older man said, nodding to himself before taking a hold of his cup of coffee and bringing it to his lips. "My name? Narong," he said, nodding to himself as Jared looked at him, smiling at the man. He could see that the man was putting in a lot of effort to sound coherent.

"How old are you?" Jared sucked in his bottom lip. He had been expecting that question, but he had prepared for it and decided he wasn't going to freak out about it.

"Forty-five," he said, being honest. Darnell's father seemed a little taken aback, and Jared wondered why. He looked his age, or maybe it was because he wasn't standing at an impressive height. Being 5'8 and not having much muscle mass did make him look a little small.

"My age, yours plus five," Darnell's father said, raising all the fingers on his right hand for emphasis.

"Oh," Jared said, blinking. He had expected it, but It did feel weird only being five years younger than Darnell's dad.

"Your job?"

Jared chuckled as his hands formed fists on the table. This really was starting to sound like an interview, but he didn't mind. If he had a child that was dating someone more than two times their age, he would be a little nosey too. The coffee shop was starting to get a little rowdy. People kept walking past them, and the whole place was buzzing with noise. Jared wondered if Darnell was watching them.

"I'm a professor and the state university," Jared explained, and Darnell's dad had that wide grin that reached his eyes on his face again. The man paused, furrowing his brows as if he was trying to think of what he still wanted to know. Jared watched him, being patient.

"Your parents?" Darnell's dad asked after a while of thinking. Jared blinked, a little shocked about the question. Sure, the made sense to ask about family, but he hadn't expected a question about his parents. He itched the back of his neck, shrugging.

"We don't talk anymore," he said plainly. Even though it has been years since the incident, there was still a sting that hit him whenever he mentioned his parents. Darnell's dad seemed to notice, and he just stared at his son's boyfriend with an apologetic look. "I haven't called them in a long time. I wasn't kicked out or anything if that's what you're thinking..." Jared trailed when he saw the older man's feature twist to show sadness.

"It's just — I haven't called," Jared mumbled, not knowing how to explain things. It was true that he and his family members had never fought. No one condemned him, but his anxiety had made him feel not getting a call back was a silent rejection of his sexuality. His family was very religious and strict. The strict way his family had functioned had contributed to his social anxiety a bit because he wasn't able to make casual friends.

Jared had a lot of reasons to assume they didn't want anything to do with him anymore, but even with that, a small voice in his head was telling him otherwise. He did change his number a year or two after calling, and even though two years was a lot of time to get a callback, Jared couldn't help wondering if someone — anyone, even if they were his extended family — had tried calling him after that.

"Advice for you," the man said, making Jared stare at him before blinking. "Call them. You never know," the man said, making a gesture of putting a phone to his ear and Jared beamed at the man, jealous of his positivity. With a small sigh, he rested his elbows on the table. He wished it was as easy as Narong made it seem — as easy as calling. But it wasn't just calling. It's been fifteen years since Jared picked up a phone and called home, and the last time he did so he told them a secret he a had been holding on to for years. They never called him back after he hung up, so he never called them back. He wasn't even sure if the home phone still worked or if they still lived where they used to.

He let out a small sigh, realizing how long he's been on his own. "Thanks for the advice," Jared said, smiling. "But I don't think that will help."

Narong nodded, not wanting to push Jared. At least he had planted the thought in the man's head, and maybe later in the future, he would randomly dial their number and call.

"Think about it," the older man said for good measure, before looking towards the table his son had been sitting on. Darnell was reading a book, but it was obvious he would peek at them from time to time because he looked up immediately his father waved, gesturing for him to come and sit with him and Jared.

Darnell grinned, closing his book before picking the paper cup of coffee he had ordered before walking over to sit with his dad and Jared. Things didn't look awkward, and both men were smiling. Darnell was relieved.

"Are you two done talking?" Darnell asked, and they both nodded. Darnell's father tapped his shoulder, making his son look to him. They spoke in a way that Jared couldn't pick the words up, but he was eased by the warm expressions they had on their faces. He didn't know what he would have done if he felt they were bad mouthing him.

They stopped after a while, and Darnell switched seats, moving to the one beside Jared. Jared watched him, his face turning red when the man reached under the table to hold his hand before giving it a squeeze.

"I wanted to ask you two something," Darnell said, poking his cheek with his tongue as he looked from his father to Jared. "What do you think of coming to one of my shows? I have one next week," he said, his voice becoming small. Jared watching him perform was not a problem, but he didn't know what his father would think. His father knew he had gotten into drag, but just knowing wasn't enough to determine if he minded seeing Darnell in it or not.

Jared nodded, and Darrell watched his father for a response as his lips formed a faint smile. After a while the older man shrugged, muttering a yes. Darnell grinned, happy that his father had agreed to it.

Jared and Darnell both talked to Darnell's father for the next hour, ordering pastries and more coffee along the way. Jared and Narong talked and hit it off when they realized they had the same taste in music. Darnell just observed them, happy to see them excited about speaking to each other. When they were done eating Jared and Narong exchanged numbers, and the old man took out time to hug his son, and then Jared. After that, they both waved him before heading to Jared's care. Darnell hummed, looking at Jared as the man started the car and drove out of the parking lot and into the main road. Darnell smiled again before resting back on the seat's headrest and looking out into the road.

"How was it?" he asked, watching as Jared nibbled his lip from the corner of his eyes.

"It was great to meet your dad," Jared said, making Darnell grin before looking away.

"I was worried he was going to be too invasive. I hope nothing he asked made you feel uncomfortable," Darnell muttered, turning to face Jared. He rose a brow, confused as to why Jared had gone pale all of a sudden. "Did he ask you something that you didn't like?" Darnell asked, getting a bit worried. Jared bit his bottom lip, shaking his head before letting out a sigh.

"Not really. He asked about my parents, and it has me thinking," Jared said, and Darnell didn't say anything in reply making the car quiet. "I haven't called in fifteen years..." Jared trailed, talking to no one in particular. "Your dad said I should try calling home, that I'll never know what they think if I don't talk to them," Jared went on, making Darnell stare at him. Darnell wished he had some sort of advice for Jared, but he felt his father had already covered that.

"That's good advice," Darnell said, licking his lips as he played with his fingers. "At least if you call now and no one picks up you know it's intentional," Darnell added, folding his hands over his chest. It was a little cold now, and he was wearing one of his turtleneck sweaters while Jared was wearing a cardigan and a pair of jean trousers. Jared thought about that. Yes, calling would give him peace of mind if anything. Also, it would be nice knowing if his parents were still alive or not. He was the fifth and last child and had been born when his parents were in their mid-thirties.

The ride was silent after that, and then Jared spoke up, breaking it. "I'll call them," he said, startling Darnell a bit. The younger man sat up in his seat, looking over at Jared who now had a small smile on his face. "I'll call them. It's worth a try," he said, his voice higher and enthusiastic and that made Darnell happy for him. He reached forward when they came to a red light, giving Jared a peck on the cheeks before pulling away.

"I'm sure things will work out," he whispered as Jared nodded.

Yes, things would work out.

Hopefully.