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brought it. He let out a frustrated huff, then shot Cliff a hopeful look. Would you mind
if I borrowed your phone? I must ve left mine at Luke s in all the confusion.
Another thought hit Marshall then, bringing with it a sense of dread. You think
this made the nightly news? Mama must think the worst.
Not sure if a shooting without a fatality will make the news these days, sadly, but
you should check in with your mom either way. Listen, how about I drive you home?
You can use my phone on the way. Cliff held out his phone, then gave Marshall a
quick pat on his back as he started them toward the exit. Not much I can do here but
get worried and drink bad coffee anyway. It ll be a good detour, give me something to
do so I don t feel so helpless.
Celibacy NOW 135
Marshall followed Cliff, seeing in the father much of the tender heart and will to
do good that made the son so amazing. It made Marshall ache to think that he d never
had a father like Cliff to pat his back or look out for him, but he shoved the thought
aside as he punched in his mama s number. She answered on the third ring.
Hello? Mama sounded exhausted, nervous.
Mama, it s me. I borrowed a phone.
Oh, my baby, why you callin so late? Are you okay?
Marshall s eyes stung. He kept his gaze on the ground as they crossed the parking
lot to Cliff s car. Yeah, was just a rough night, Mama. I m okay. Just needed to hear
your voice.
I love you, baby, but your mama needs her sleep. I got work in the mornin . She
paused. You sure you re okay, Marshall?
Marshall nodded before he remembered she couldn t see him. I m fine, Mama.
I ll call you tomorrow. Love you too.
She made a soft kissing sound at the phone before hanging up, and Marshall took
a deep breath and let go of the tension. He passed Cliff his phone. Thank you.
Cliff nodded as he guided Marshall to a rather nice Lexus hybrid apparently
something else that ran in the family. It made Marshall smile.
Cliff punched a button on his key fob to open the doors and climbed behind the
wheel. So, where am I headed?
Marshall gave Cliff the address as he climbed in, smiling wider as Cliff entered it
into the GPS.
Shaking his head, Marshall muttered, Like father, like son, they say.
Marshall settled into the comfy seat and watched Cliff as he backed out of the
space. As they started for the road, Marshall closed his eyes and relaxed. I thought this
would be different. Meeting the folks, I mean, assuming Luke ever wanted me to. This
136 Clancy Nacht & Thursday Euclid
is nice, though. I can tell you re a good psych; you re easy to talk to. Remind me a lot of
your boy.
Yeah? How long have you been wondering what it s like to meet us? He doesn t
tell us a whole lot about his life. I guess he learned to ice out a psychologist early in
life. Cliff chuckled. He s never brought anyone to meet us. Not in that context,
anyway.
Marshall flushed and peeked at Cliff, both amused and embarrassed. I guess I
just wanted to be part of his life, to know him. That includes his parents. Marshall
sighed. I only wish I d met him before all that shit went down. I m not sure it even
makes sense for him to be dating anybody anymore, whether I m good for him or not.
And with Luke finding out just how deep that betrayal ran, I don t know if he ll want
to.
Marshall shook his head. The movement was enough to make him feel like it was
spinning, so he closed his eyes again as the ache in his heart made his chest tight.
Maybe it ll never happen for us now, but I m gonna be there for him anyway. He
needs someone to watch his back. It s hittin me how fucked-up he s gonna feel about
all this just waves and waves of oh hell no. Like it wasn t bad enough. He s resilient,
and I m amazed all the time by how well-adjusted that boy is, but&
Marshall glanced over to see Cliff nodding slowly.
Cliff cleared his throat. He s never felt like someone needed to watch his back.
He s always been so independent and so reserved. I think it has to do with his feeling
like he needed to keep being gay a secret. Cliff paused, then looked over at Marshall,
meeting his eyes before looking back at the road.
You know he didn t even come out to us until college? We knew, of course. I
mean, suspected, anyway. Cliff turned onto the freeway. He came to me when he was
fifteen my child who had been more into video games than going outside and asked
to join the baseball team. I almost didn t let him. I knew his inclination better than he
seemed to. I was so afraid of what would happen to him in that situation, but Cara said
Celibacy NOW 137
we had to let him try. He flourished. In spite of who he d been up until then, against
everything that could ve worked against him. He turned it all into a positive. He s very
strong.
Cliff glanced again at Marshall. But I think he needs more than a friend right
now, don t you?
Marshall s heart swelled at the words, at that look. But he tried to focus on what
he knew the truth might be. I don t know what he needs, sir. I ve been tryin to figure
him out, but I m not sure he s
Inhaling sharply through his nose to keep back the rising emotions, Marshall
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