Reap What You Sow 🌈

Chapter 42

Rory told himself he was overreacting, but the fact remained that there was still a nervous knot in his stomach as he closed the car door behind him and stepped onto the sidewalk. Meeting Adam's parents... It suddenly felt so... serious. Like he had really chosen Adam now, instead of Emilio. He still felt uneasy, not only because of the meeting but also because Emilio hadn't sent anything back while he'd read the text. Shouldn't he have sent it?

Adam's hand slipped into his. Rory looked aside and was greeted by a sweet smile. Who cares about Emilio... He decided to get the boy out of his head for the rest of the evening.

Hand in hand, they walked toward the middle of the row of houses. There was no tension on Adam's face; he seemed happy to be able to introduce Rory to his family. That's why I'm doing this, he reminded himself. To please my boyfriend. Because of the whole Emilio thing, he definitely owed him that.

Adam put the key in the lock. Before he could turn it around, the door opened and a small, cheerful woman greeted them. She took Adam's face between her hands and kissed him on one cheek, then pulled him into an embrace.

Rory stood there a little uncomfortable, not used to so much warmth.

"Hello, how nice to meet you, Rory!" He too received a kiss on the cheek. She was as tall—or short—as he was. "Welcome! Welcome!"

Her black hair was a little spiky as if she had been busy. She wore a cheerful dress with flowers, and somehow he found it hard to believe that this cheerful, spontaneous woman was Adam's mother, while he was so timid himself.

"Come in, dinner is already in the oven! My name is Martina."

She had a melodious voice with a slight accent; he liked the sound of it.

Together with Adam, he walked into the living room. A boy was lying on the couch reading on an e-reader. He looked up as they entered and sat up straight. It was abundantly clear that the two were brothers, they had the same smile and dark eyes, although the boy's hair was a little shorter.

"Hey," Adam's little brother said. "I'm Silvio."

Adam told him that, but Rory still nodded to the boy and shook his hand. "Rory."

"Is Dad still busy?" Adam asked. His voice sounded soft—tense, all of a sudden.

Silvio looked at him and nodded. "He's all caught up in his new project."

Adam didn't have his creativity from a stranger—his father was a painter. He'd mentioned that he'd changed the attic into a studio and could be found there almost all day.

The house was warmly decorated; there was a real homey atmosphere. It almost made Rory jealous—was this how a family was supposed to be? At Maddie's house, it was cozy too, but he always felt that someone was missing. Sometimes, it felt like her parents had been so helpful and kind because they hoped he could fill the void after the death of their son.

However, Rory soon discovered that this was not a perfect family either. They went to the table, but Adam's father's seat remained empty and no one said anything about it. Rory sensed that his boyfriend didn't like it; it must feel like his father would rather stay busy with a painting than meet his son's boyfriend. Had it often been that way? Had Adam's father been absent from other important moments in his life? Rory felt embarrassed that they'd talked about his home situation a lot while he'd never really asked many questions about Adam's family.

Under the table, he reached for Adam's hand and gave a squeeze. His boyfriend looked aside, but the look in his eyes was full of disappointment. Rory didn't know what to say. He was willing to suggest walking to the studio themselves, but Adam hated confrontations and Rory now wondered if the situation at home was the cause. Had there been so many arguments that he'd taught himself to resign himself to unwanted behavior?

Marina's voice pulled him out of his thoughts when she asked about his studies, and he realized that she felt the tension as well and wanted to clear the air with a light conversation. Rory smiled at her and then willingly submitted to her burning questions. 

. . .

Adam didn't know how to give words to his disappointment when his father didn't show up during dinner. For an incredibly long time, he hadn't touched a brush because of a lack of inspiration, and right when Adam wanted to introduce his boyfriend, he was consumed by it.

"Can we peek around the corner?" Rory asked after they cleared the table.

Adam hesitated. He was ashamed of his father at times like this. However, Rory could write a whole book about disappointing parents, and Adam felt like he shouldn't complain. Apparently, his father didn't care that his son had a boyfriend. That was still better than him being disgusted, like Rory's parents.

"We can see if we can get his attention."

Together, they went up two flights of stairs until they reached the attic room. It was hard to predict how his father would react to them disturbing him. Sometimes he became furious, sometimes he did not acknowledge their presence at all and sometimes he responded kindly. The latter was the least common, so everyone tried to bother him as little as possible.

He knocked on the door and opened it a little.

His father's dark hair was tangled and there were splotches of paint everywhere. The painting he was working on had bright colors. That was good—that was much better than his somber or aggressive paintings.

"Hi Dad," he said softly. "I um—I wanted to introduce you to my boyfriend."

His father turned, staring at him with glassy eyes. Adam swallowed, seeking Rory's hand for support.

Rory took a step forward and pulled him along. "Hi, sir. I'm Rory."

The unfamiliar voice seemed to wake him up from whatever dream state he was in, and he shook his head for a moment, looking confused. Then he smiled. "Ah, of course! Is it that late already? Have I forgotten the time again?"

Adam's shoulders relaxed slightly. His father shook Rory's hand and introduced himself, then Rory walked around the studio and talked to his father. Something warm welled up inside him when he saw his father and his boyfriend like this, and he glowed with pride when Rory returned to him, laid an arm around him and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Adam doesn't have his creativity from a stranger, I see. He showed me his soap sculptures. So cool!"

His father smiled. "It's been a while since he showed me his work. I'll be right out—let me just clean up the mess here."

Cleaning up the place... that meant he really wanted to make time for him! Adam suddenly felt incredibly happy, and with a wide smile, they headed back downstairs.

"I didn't expect him to come," Adam said softly. There had been so many times when he'd hoped that his father had changed that he didn't dare to hope for it now, but he thought this was a step forward.

"Of course he's coming. I'm awesome," Rory teased, sticking out his tongue.

Adam laughed quietly. He really was. Before they entered the living room, Adam pulled him toward him and kissed him so intimately that it made his cheeks turn red.

He loved Rory so much—he hoped this would last forever.