The Damage Of Denial

Chapter 12

Summer came and went quickly, as did the first part of the fall semester. Before both boys knew it, Thanksgiving Break had arrived again. It was always a special time for Ryan and Brendon, because it was when their anniversary fell. They were celebrating four years together just as the break period began.

  Ryan and Brendon would go out to dinner alone and have a special date to celebrate their anniversary on their own, but their parents all knew it was their anniversary too, so they invited the boys out to dinner. They tried to protest and tell them it wasn't necessary, but all three parents insisted. So that's where they were going to go this evening.

  Ryan just couldn't believe how things had changed with his father. George was like a different man. Over the 6 months he'd been back in their lives, he hadn't once made Ryan regret giving him another chance. He was much kinder, and was definitely accepting of Ryan's relationship with Brendon. In fact, he treated Brendon much like another son. They tried to spend time with him regularly, as George got to know Ryan for who he really was.

  One weekend, Brendon was incredibly busy grading some papers for the music theory class that he was a TA for, so Ryan decided to pay his dad a visit solo. He hadn't let George know he was coming, intent on surprising him. George was surprised, but very happy to see Ryan. They sat around on the back patio, having a drink and just chatting.

  "So Ry, how are classes going?" George enquired.

  "Pretty good," Ryan said. "I'm finding the graduate level course work interesting, and the classes I'm teaching are going as well as can be expected for teaching a general studies class to a bunch of freshmen who have very little interest in the subject," he laughed. "Brendon has it a little easier because even though his classes he teaches are lower level, they're at least related to those students' major."

  "And how does he like his grad classes?" George asked.

  "He's loving them. But he lives for all things music, so that's no surprise."

  George smiled and nodded. "Can I ask you something, Ry?"

  Ryan shrugged and nodded. "Sure Dad, go ahead."

  George paused for a second. "How serious are you and Brendon? I mean, obviously you're long term, and I know you don't have any plans of breaking up, but...do you think you'll make it permanent?"

  Ryan looked at George in confusion. "Do you mean...are you asking if I plan on us getting married?"

  George nodded. "Yeah, that's what I mean."

  Ryan was quiet for a minute. "Well, I maybe hadn't gotten that far yet. Does that make sense? Like, I knew I never want to let him go, and I know he feels the same, but we've honestly never discussed it. I know that must sound crazy after almost 4 years, but we've been so focused on school, and have been happy operating as is, that it has just never come up," Ryan chuckled.

  George nodded. "I'm guessing that's because both of you feel secure in what you have now, and don't need that to feel like you're tied to each other. I honestly was just curious. It's not like it's some kind of requirement."

  "Yeah, but...now you've got me thinking about it," Ryan laughed.

  "I'm sorry, son. I don't mean to make you feel like that's something you need to do!"

  "No, it's fine, actually. It makes me wonder if he's thinking about it and hasn't said. It's definitely something I would want, especially if he did. I definitely have planned on being with him forever for a long time now," Ryan explained.

  "Well," George said, "I support you guys whatever you do. But if you did get married, I can't imagine a better son-in-law. You really hit the jackpot with him, Ryan."