send.”
He swirled his glass, frowning at it, and I wasn’t sure if the look was aimed at what I’d said or the quality of the wine until he asked his next question. “You don’t spend it with your family? I mean, our conversations never revolved around anything personal, but I assumed your family was close.”
I sighed, not sure I wanted to get into it, but the guy seemed genuinely interested. “Well, no,” I admitted. “We have an understanding. That understanding is that I avoid them like the plague and they pretend I don’t exist. It didn’t go well when I came out to them, and they’d rather act like they don’t have a son at all than deal with having a gay son.”
The woman across from us gave me a dirty look and started gathering up her two kids.
“It’s not contagious,” I sniped at her. “I won’t magically turn your kids gay.”
Her face reddened, but I got the feeling it was more from anger than any embarrassment she might have been feeling. She left, her kids in tow, but not before glaring at me again and hissing, “You’re disgusting.”
“Blah, blah, blah,” I sighed as she stormed off. Then I turned my attention back to Howard, who looked amused at my response. “Anyway, I had the foresight to stay firmly in the closet when it came to family until I’d gotten my master’s and found my own place. If they were speaking to me, they’d probably be shrieking about how I owe them every cent they paid for my education.”
“And you haven’t even looked at a closet since, I’m guessing,” Howard chuckled. “I can understand that.”
“What about you?” I asked, figuring if he was going to ask about me, it was only fair that I got to do the same to him. “I know you said this is your holiday celebration, and I’m assuming you’re single, but is there family involved at some point?”
Howard took another sip of wine and shook his head. “No,” he said, sounding a little wistful. “No, I was raised by my grandfather. He’s been gone for a long time, and he was my only family.”
I opened my mouth to apologize for bringing up a painful subject, but he waved me off.
“Death is a part of life,” he said with a somewhat resigned shrug. “Of course, I miss him, but he lived a long, full life, and I know he was happy. And I may not have the family gatherings for the holidays, but having a quiet, relaxing trip is a gift to myself.”
“Still dealing with students at UCSB?” I guessed. If he was, I could definitely see the need for some quiet and relaxation. I wasn’t so long out of college that I didn’t remember how obnoxious we’d all been as students.
“I am,” Howard admitted with a sardonic smile.
“Ah,” I said, quirking an eyebrow. “The students haven’t gotten any less irritating, then, I presume?”
“You presume correctly,” Howard replied with a large, warm smile. It was infectious, and I found myself grinning back. “What do you do that requires you spending your holiday working?”
“Well, it wasn’t work so much as….” I paused, my face screwing up in thought. “Let me try that again from the beginning. I work for a nonprofit that provides music lessons for students from kindergarten to high school. Music has essentially disappeared from public school curriculums, and the nonprofit is seeking to fill that gap.”
“A worthy cause,” Howard said, raising his glass in salute. “Have you been there long?”
I smiled, watching as he touched the glass to his lips. Now that I knew he was single, I didn’t feel bad for enjoying the view. “They hired me before the ink on my bachelor’s degree was even dry. I worked for them part time while I was studying for my master’s in nonprofit management, and when I had it, they made me full time and did everything they could to ensure I stayed on. I’ve been with them ever since.”
“Sounds like they keep you busy,” Howard noted, his brow wrinkling.
I snorted. “Well, it’s not like I
He swirled his glass, frowning at it, and I wasn’t sure if the look was aimed at what I’d said or the quality of the wine until he asked his next question. “You don’t spend it with your family? I mean, our conversations never revolved around anything personal, but I assumed your family was close.”
I sighed, not sure I wanted to get into it, but the guy seemed genuinely interested. “Well, no,” I admitted. “We have an understanding. That understanding is that I avoid them like the plague and they pretend I don’t exist. It didn’t go well when I came out to them, and they’d rather act like they don’t have a son at all than deal with having a gay son.”
The woman across from us gave me a dirty look and started gathering up her two kids.
“It’s not contagious,” I sniped at her. “I won’t magically turn your kids gay.”
Her face reddened, but I got the feeling it was more from anger than any embarrassment she might have been feeling. She left, her kids in tow, but not before glaring at me again and hissing, “You’re disgusting.”
“Blah, blah, blah,” I sighed as she stormed off. Then I turned my attention back to Howard, who looked amused at my response. “Anyway, I had the foresight to stay firmly in the closet when it came to family until I’d gotten my master’s and found my own place. If they were speaking to me, they’d probably be shrieking about how I owe them every cent they paid for my education.”
“And you haven’t even looked at a closet since, I’m guessing,” Howard chuckled. “I can understand that.”
“What about you?” I asked, figuring if he was going to ask about me, it was only fair that I got to do the same to him. “I know you said this is your holiday celebration, and I’m assuming you’re single, but is there family involved at some point?”
Howard took another sip of wine and shook his head. “No,” he said, sounding a little wistful. “No, I was raised by my grandfather. He’s been gone for a long time, and he was my only family.”
I opened my mouth to apologize for bringing up a painful subject, but he waved me off.
“Death is a part of life,” he said with a somewhat resigned shrug. “Of course, I miss him, but he lived a long, full life, and I know he was happy. And I may not have the family gatherings for the holidays, but having a quiet, relaxing trip is a gift to myself.”
“Still dealing with students at UCSB?” I guessed. If he was, I could definitely see the need for some quiet and relaxation. I wasn’t so long out of college that I didn’t remember how obnoxious we’d all been as students.
“I am,” Howard admitted with a sardonic smile.
“Ah,” I said, quirking an eyebrow. “The students haven’t gotten any less irritating, then, I presume?”
“You presume correctly,” Howard replied with a large, warm smile. It was infectious, and I found myself grinning back. “What do you do that requires you spending your holiday working?”
“Well, it wasn’t work so much as….” I paused, my face screwing up in thought. “Let me try that again from the beginning. I work for a nonprofit that provides music lessons for students from kindergarten to high school. Music has essentially disappeared from public school curriculums, and the nonprofit is seeking to fill that gap.”
“A worthy cause,” Howard said, raising his glass in salute. “Have you been there long?”
I smiled, watching as he touched the glass to his lips. Now that I knew he was single, I didn’t feel bad for enjoying the view. “They hired me before the ink on my bachelor’s degree was even dry. I worked for them part time while I was studying for my master’s in nonprofit management, and when I had it, they made me full time and did everything they could to ensure I stayed on. I’ve been with them ever since.”
“Sounds like they keep you busy,” Howard noted, his brow wrinkling.
I snorted. “Well, it’s not like I
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