Please Don't Be So Shy

Mom

"Scott..." the woman whispers, clasping a hand over her mouth. "You... you look so handsome..." She struts around the counter to meet us, her heels clacking on the floor.

Scott drops my hand to hug her, his hand over his mouth as well. I notice her name tag reads 'Evelyn'. A pretty name for a pretty woman.

"Evelyn," He whispers, his voice cracking. "you look beautiful."

A tear falls down Evelyn's cheek, and I clasp my hand over my heart. This is so precious.

"T-thank you, honey..." she steps back, hands on Scott's broad shoulders, smokey hooded eyes scanning his face. "I missed you so much!" She wipes her tear away, eyes scrunched with joy.

"I missed you too... mom..."

Evelyn let's out a tiny sob at the word and she jumps forward to hug him again. Her bright blue eyes land on me and she pulls away again.

"Who's this adorable creature?"

"Oh, this is Mitch! He's my, uh, he's my boyfriend." Boyfriend... Wait. Boyfriend?!?!

I'm freaking out internally for a few seconds until I feel a hand on my arm.

"Awe, come here then!" Evelyn pulls me into a group hug, basically sandwiching me between them. A huge smile breaks out on my face and I giggle.

"Hello!" I laugh, my voice muffled due to the fact of my face being squashed into Scott's shoulder.

She pulls us to a table and we sit, Scott and I next to each other, and then her across from us. She beams at the both of us, eyes switching back and forth between our faces.

"I can't handle how adorable you two are!" She says breathlessly, wiping a long-fallen tear from her cheek.

"You're so sweet!" I giggle, smiling up at her.

"Tell me about you." Scott squeaks eagerly as we squeeze into a two-person booth. "What have you been doing all of these years?"

Evelyn's smile never leaves her face as she let's out a breath. "Let's see... mostly finding myself to be honest. I've been looking for someone, lately. Someone to love me and accept me for who I am. Someone to spend the rest of my life with." She shrugs with a wide smile, cheeks tinted a light shade of pink.

"Oh, that's awesome, Mom! I'm so proud of you!" Scott gushes, a look of pure admiration in his eyes. Evelyn reaches across the table to grab his hand.

"And I'm proud of you, honey! Looks like you caught quite the keeper." She winks over at me.

I giggle, my face heating up as well. Scott gives me an adorable smile, gripping my knee in his free hand.

"I think I have..." He trails off, clearly lost in my eyes.

He flinches when Evelyn snaps her long-nailed fingers in his face, attracting his attention away from me.

"Let's stay in the current world for now, lover boy!" She laughs at his reddening face as he pretends to pout.

I laugh as well, grabbing the hand on my leg and giving it a squeeze. He sticks his toungue out at me, but his face falls, and then it seems as though he thought of something. He suddenly turns to his mother, face serious.

"Why did you leave? When you found out who you were was a woman, why did you run?"

Evelyn's face falls, her eyes unfocused. She let's go of Scott's hand, resting under her chin while she thinks.

"Well, we all know your mother. She's not... not exactly the acceptive type, I guess you could say." Girl, tell me about it. "When- when I came out to her, I was so proud of myself. I felt like myself, finally. But she... she didn't take it so well." Evelyn takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. We both stare at her, waiting for her to continue. "She didn't believe it. She told me I was in some drunk craze. Like I didn't know what I was saying" She lets out a humorless chuckle. "But I was one hundred percent sober. I was for a long time after I realized. I had no reason to drink and forget anymore.

She was so angry. She took you, and she left. She stayed at her parents' place for a few days. She didn't want me around you, too afraid that I would 'rub off on you',  or something like that."

"Yeah, we've heard that a lot." Scott scoffs, rolling his eyes. "She kind of flipped out when she found out I was gay. And hit me... then shoved Mitch..."

Evelyn's mouth drops open in horror, and then she sighs."That woman..." she mumbles, shaking her head.

"So what else happened?"

"I escaped. I had to. I was depressed, and unwanted, and I felt like if she couldn't love me for me, why even stick around. So I left.

I felt horrible. I knew you wouldn't have a father growing up, and I resented myself for leaving. But I couldn't go on with her hating me and constantly tucking my true self under the rug. I-I hope you forgive me..." She whispers, a tear falling as she locks eyes with Scott.

He grabs her hand again, his bottom lip trembling.

"Of course I forgive you, Mom! If you were going through that now, I would make you escape her. You don't deserve that, not in the slightest." Evelyn's face spreads in a wavery smile. "And look how much happier you are! It was for the better."

"I can't thank you enough, Scott. I missed you so much." she brings his fingers up for a chaste kiss, sighing again. "God, I loved that woman.  Even though I knew she would hate me if she knew who I was inside, still I loved her so much.

My gender is who I was, who I am, and who I always will be. No matter how much I loved her or how much she resented me, I had to accept who I am."

My eyes fill with tears at her beautiful words. I put my free hand over their entwined fingers, wanting her to know that I understand. She giggles, placing her other hand over mine, creating a huge hand-mountain. All three of us end up red faced and giggling, gasping for air over absolutely nothing. I absolutely love moments like these.

When our hands start getting a little bit too warm all piled up like this, we pull away. I wipe my eyes as Scott combs his fingers through his hair, letting out tiny giggles every few seconds.

"Okay!" Evelyn claps her hands once. "How about we get some drinks or something? It's on the house!"

~~~

We spend the rest of the afternoon talking and laughing, sipping our coffees, Scott and I sharing a few donuts. Her shift is over before we know it.

"I should probably get going... my stuff is in the back and if we want to beat traffic we should be getting out of here soon." Evelyn says glumly, picking at her acrylic nails.

Both Scott and I nod, sighing softly. We gather up our trash, somehow bumping noses because of how close we are. I giggle and scrunch my face up as he pecks the tip of my nose.

"Ugh, stop it you guys, cuteness overload!!" Shrieks Evelyn from behind the counter. I look up just as she slings a purse over her shoulder, beaming over at us.

I smile back, immense happiness filling my stomach like a swarm of fire flies.

"I will never stop!" Scott yells back triumphantly, kissing my nose again and again until I shove him away playfully.

We walk - well, skip - out of the deserted Starbucks, Scott pulling me by the hand as he gallops a whole step ahead of me due to his incredibly lanky giraffe legs. His giddiness is contagious, and I soon find myself skipping right next to him, our hands swinging in between us like a cheesy romance movie.

We say our dreaded goodbyes to Evelyn, exchanging hugs and a few parting words. Before I know it, she hops into her car and is gone.

Scott pulls me into and impossibly tight hug, lifting me off my feet and spinning me around, causing me to scream and hold onto him for dear life. He sets me down on my untrustworthy feet and yanks me into a passionate kiss, leaving me breathless and even more dizzy than before.

"Mitchy, I'm gonna say something I've never said in my entire life." He exclaims, his arms still wrapped around me.

"And what is that, Scottland?"

"My mom is awesome!!"

~~~

I totally got this idea from American Horror Story. I'm complete trash.