The Hero Next Time: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 4)

Chapter Sixty-One: Lauren, Monday

"Don't joke about that, Joe. I was so fucking scared she did just that. What's to stop someone else from doing something to him after we're gone from here?"

"I doubt you would have been able to stop them in your condition, but I have a feeling they're done with us. Naira... I mean Jasminder... told us they were following you guys because they just wanted to know if you knew anything about the device. Honestly, they couldn't even prove we had it at all."

"Scant comfort," she said, but his words made her feel better all the same.

The curtain parted, and there was Tej with Harpreet and Ajit. "Homecoming day!" she chirped. "How are you doing, girl?"

"Exhausted," she said. "I couldn't sleep all night worrying about our husbands doing something stupid."

"Well, mine certainly did, but I'm going to get his side of the story before I come down with a verdict. Naira told me hers, and it's almost too fantastic to believe."

Lauren smiled. "He got to be the hero, didn't he."

Tej nodded, her eyes filling with tears. "The stupid bastard took a bullet for Birinder's wife, if you can believe it. I could have lost him, and I bet he's on top of the world because he got the privilege of saving the day."

"I can't argue with you there. This one nearly got himself killed twice."

She nodded in commiseration. "And the third husband? Any change?"

"No," Lauren said. "I wish there was."

"Where's Tosh, Auntie Lauren?" Ajit asked.

Lauren gestured with her good hand at the bed next to her. "He's probably still sleeping, but he needs to wake up if we're going to be discharged soon."

Joe opened the curtain and gently woke their son. She heard him rouse and say, "Dad! You're here!"

"Of course I am, buddy. I'm here to take you home."

"You didn't go to work?"

"Nah, I took the day off. I had quite a night, and I'm in no condition to go to work today. I let Zio Johnny know, it's all good."

"Hey, buddy," Ajit said, going over to him. "How are you doing?"

"Good. Want to sign my cast?"

"Yeah!"

"Harpreet can too, if she wants."

"Okay," Harpreet said. "Do you have a pen, Mom?"

As they busied themselves signing the cast, Tosh said, "Ajit, I'm glad you're here too. I have something to tell you."

Lauren blinked in surprise. She wished she could have looked at her son right now, saw the look on his face. "What is it, buddy?"

"I was on the verge of telling you and Dad when we were at Playland that day, Ajit, but you guys walked away before I could go on, and then I couldn't work up the courage to do it after, because Mom and Dad weren't in a good place, and then Dad moved away..."

"Oh, sorry, buddy, I didn't know," Joe said. "What is it?"

Tosh took a deep breath and let it out before answering. "You know when I said girls don't interest me? And you said give it time? I didn't mean they don't interest me yet."

Lauren's eyes filled with tears. Oh, the courage of her sweet boy, to let his father and his best friend know, here, where he was at his most vulnerable. 

Joe was taking too long to respond. Was he just not getting it, or was he trying to figure out what he felt about it? What he said in the next few seconds could make or break Tosh, who looked up to his dad and only wanted him to be proud of him, even if he wasn't interested in construction like he was, or the Vancouver Canucks, and even if he loved art and sculpture and reading. Lauren never prayed, not traditionally, but she wished with all her heart Joe made the right response, and that was kind of like praying.

"Tosh," he said. "I understand, and I'm one hundred percent behind you. Whoever you choose to love is all right with me, as long as they make you happy."

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Oh, thank goodness! "Baby," she called. "I wish I could see you right now and tell you I feel the same way, okay?"

"What about Nonno and Nonna?" Tosh asked.

"They'll just have to accept it if they want to keep being in your life," Joe said. "I know they're traditional, but they love you more than anything, and just want you to be happy. We'll deal with anything as it comes."

"Okay," Tosh said, voice cracking with emotion. "Thanks, Dad."

"I'm cool with it too," Ajit said, "as long as it's not me you're into. I like girls, especially older ones."

Tej burst out laughing, and the sound of her unrestrained mirth made them all laugh, and it broke the tension immediately.

"Don't worry, buddy," Tosh said, "you're fine and all, but I have someone else in mind."

Lauren squealed in delight and said, "Does my baby have a crush on someone?"

"Mom," Tosh groaned in embarrassment. "Don't get ahead of yourself. I don't even know if he's like that, and it's hard to ask when you're in Catholic school."

"It'll get easier when you go to Burnaby North," Joe said, and that, more than anything, told Lauren he didn't agree with his own religion's stance on sexuality. "Or, if you'd rather change schools now--"

"No, it's okay, really. I can survive another year or two, knowing you support me."

"Always, buddy, always."

Thanks for reading this far! This one was a short one, but I wanted to close the little subplot I opened with Sunny's last flashback scene, where the issue of Tosh's sexuality was first introduced. Only a little more to go before this story is done. If you liked what you just read, hit "Vote" and send this title up the ranks. Leave a comment and let me know what you think! 

To see how Sunny is doing with his own recovery, and how he and Tej deal with duelling confessions, click on "Continue reading."