Chapter 15
Picking up the books she dropped upon seeing Chad kissing another boy, Maria still could feel the distinct chill slithering down her spine.
No doubt, what she suspected ever since the first day they met was apparently true. Chad was gay.
Yet, is this actually a bad thing? After all, up to now, he’s only been a close friend. Nothing more. And ever since day one, haven’t you suspected his sexuality? … And isn't it also the main reason you decided it was okay to go out with him? … After all, with Chad being gay, up to now José has never had anything to worry about.
“I know what you just saw, and I'm sure it's probably a major shock,” Chad said, disrupting her thoughts as his fingers nervously tapped the walnut tabletop in front of him. “Are you going to be okay?”
Maria momentarily paused before she replied.
“Yes. I think so,” she said, noticing his unexpected glance in Eric’s direction.
Apparently, her gay friend was starting to feel a bit self-conscious about Eric’s arm presently clutching his back.
“The two of you just caught me by surprise. And even though I have had a hunch you might be gay, Chad; I certainly wasn’t expecting to see something like this,”
“Really?” Chad looked sullen, and his lips paled.
“Yes, really.” Maria confirmed as the campus librarian rapidly approached.
Her general demeanor readily reminded Maria of a bulldog whose Milk-Bone was abruptly stolen.
“Students,” Ms. Tucker said, interrupting teen’s conversation. “This evening, I’ve reminded you two boys at least half a dozen times about the necessity of keeping silence inside the library. Now I'm finally going to ask you to leave. You’re being way too disruptive. Not to mention, this public display of unnatural affection you two have decided to exhibit is not only outrageous; it's totally inappropriate. … Now please do me the favor and immediately exit the building. I just can’t believe what you two heathens decided to do here. It’s ungodly.”
Revealing a frown, Chad gave a long, drawn-out sigh, and proceeded to shake his head. “I’m sorry, Ms. Tucker. We truly didn’t mean to offend anyone.”
Ms. Tucker snorted a contemptuous snort – and silently pointed her forefinger toward the entrance’s double glass doors.
Both Chad and Eric nodded that they understood, then gathered their books and papers and stuffed them inside their burgundy backpacks.
As they proceeded toward the glass encased front doors, the librarian’s eagle eyes continued to speak her silent thoughts. No doubt, any creature who would even consider engaging in such an act, especially in public, was something obviously far beneath her upbringing.
“So I guess you’re going to dump me,” Chad matter-of-factly stated as the three of them started down the walkway in the direction of the Student Lounge. “I couldn't really blame you if you did. Most people prefer to stay away from our kind. … We tend to make them feel uncomfortable.”
“No,” Maria said, coming to a near halt. She then turned to stare at the extraordinary large full harvest moon shining above.
Its bright yellow rays were reflecting off the beach and crashing waves below; while a gentle breeze caused nearby palm fronds to softly sway to and fro.
“For quite some time now I’ve had an ongoing suspicion you might be gay. But it did surprise me to catch you doing something like that in public.”
“You’ve suspected I was gay?” Chad looked surprised. “Wow! That’s an eye-opener. Then why are you hanging around me? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Yes, it does,” Maria said, noticing how Eric was repeatedly glancing between the two of them. “I have a compelling reason to. Let’s continue toward the student lounge, and I'll tell you about the beginning of my suspicion. Okay?”
Chad looked at her and nodded, and the three of them resumed walking.
“Chad, do you recall the day I first met you and Mike?” Maria asked, a second later. “The two of you were sitting at a concrete table just outside the student center – and your roommate appeared to be focusing on each of the females as they walked by.”
“Yes, I remember. … And you’re right. Mike was in his prime, taking in the scenery around there. I can even recall him referring to you as a ‘babe’.”
“What, me? A babe?” Maria gave Chad a look as if his words had been in Latin. “I don't look anything like an infant.”
“I know,” Chad said as Eric laughed. “In using the term, ‘babe’, Mike didn’t mean that you looked like a toddler. It’s a bit of slang a boy uses when he sees a girl who's extremely hot … sizzling even.”
“Sizzling?” Question marks rapidly formed inside of Maria’s eyes. “You mean, like a piece of bacon when you cook it? I don’t think I’m following you.”
Eric shook his head no as he futilely tried to contain a spontaneous chuckle. “What Chad means is, his roommate found you attractive”
“Really?” Maria unwillingly blushed. “Wow. That’s probably why he kept trying to keep my attention on him, isn't it?”
“Yep,” Chad confirmed with a grin.
“Hmm. That’s interesting.” Maria said, now beaming. “It’s also probably why he made the comment that increased my suspicion about your sexual orientation.”
“Mike actually commented about Chad’s sexual orientation?” Eric's pupils doubled in size. “How inconsiderate. What exactly did he say, and why didn’t you tell me about this, Chad?”
Chad gave his boyfriend a grin, not unlike a Cheshire cat’s. “He told Maria, I didn’t like girls. … And I really didn't think it was all that important.”
Eric frowned. “Oh? That sounds a bit malicious.”
“No. Not really,” Chad said, shaking his head as the three of them climbed up the steps leading to the student lounge. “I don’t believe Mike was deliberately trying to hurt me. He's not that kind of guy. However, it clearly did surprise me that in less than a week that we had known each other at the time; he was able to figure it out.”
Eric gazed at Maria, and then gave her a deliberate wink, before reaching to open the Student Lounge's glass door. “I'm not,” he said, making an intentional, faggot-like motion he had seen his boyfriend do at least a couple of hundred times. “You do have a tendency to involuntarily show your gayness.”
Chad solemnly gazed at his friend, and his lips turned downward. “I do?”
“Indeed you do,” Maria confirmed with a short nod. “After observing certain gestures you tend to make and then hearing Mike's comment, I immediately became suspicious.”
Chad glowered, then came to a halt about a foot and a half away from the front of the campus’s Subway booth.
“Can I help you?” a pimpled-face freshman asked before Chad could vocalize his response.
“Sure. Just wait a sec,” Chad replied with a scowl. “Okay?”
The freshman shrugged his shoulders and nodded, then reached for a clean washcloth and proceeded to wipe the metallic counter between them. “Just give me a yell whenever you guys are ready to order. Okay? Our special this month is the BBQ Chicken sub, and I’m pretty sure you’ll like it.”
Chad silently gestured he understood, then turned and refocused his attention on Maria.
“So if you suspected these past few weeks that I was gay; then answer me. Why have you kept going out with me? I seriously would like to know.”
“Well let’s see.” Maria began as she studied Chad’s yellowish-brown eyes. “I’m not exactly sure where you would like me to begin. Could it be because I like you?”
Chad folded his arms and chuckled. “Yes. That might be true. … However, I’ve got a feeling something else might have come into play.”
Maria smiled, before releasing a betraying laugh. “Chad, you're beginning to know me all too well. There is something else. But it's nothing you're not already aware of.”
“It isn't?”
Eric glanced between the two of them, and wondered what specifically they could be talking about.
“Don’t you remember me telling you about José,” Maria continued, ignoring Eric's response. “He’s my boyfriend in Chile. And if you recall, I told you all about him a few days after we met.”
Chad looked downward, and his eyes meet Maria’s – and he began to shake his head. “No. I honestly don’t remem-ber… Ah. … Wait a minute. … Yes, I do. … Isn’t he the kid you said you starting dating during your freshman year of High School?”
Maria grinned. “Yep. And what a handsome boy he was … even way back then.”
Eric glanced at Maria and chuckled. “Way back then?” he repeated in a sarcastic tone. “We’re only talking about four years ago.”
“I know,” Maria agreed. “But believe it or not, it seems like forever. And can you believe that ever since I met José, this girl named Michelle has been trying to steal him from me?”
“Really?” Chad gazed upward and expressed a semi-verbal Ah – Ha. “Now that explains everything. … I’ve been trying to figure out why you got so upset soon after you got your mail yesterday. You must have received some bad news from Arica?”
Maria nodded her affirmation. “Yeah, I did. And not only was the news extremely bad, I cannot imagine how it possibly could have happened. According to what José wrote in his letter– his father, Carlos, is currently forcing him to take Michelle to some Halloween party this weekend.”