Harmless(104)

 

 

"First, let me tell you something about my mother," Seg began, elbows on his knees, hands hanging between them, giving his full attention to Lydia. "She's been my biggest supporter my entire life. No matter what I attempted to do, she stood behind me. And when I came out and informed her that I was in love with a man, she didn't bat an eyelash. That's why she's a mother. There's this thing called unconditional love, and she was blessed with it. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Roan's mother. If she'd possessed it, you and I probably wouldn't be here."

Lydia bristled.

Seg continued, "Because Daniel would still be married to his first wife, and Roan would've long ago found happiness rather than avoiding it in an effort to deal with the bigotry that comes from his family."

"I don't think that's the case at all," Lydia countered.

"Let me ask you something, Lydia." Seg added a hint of frustration when he said her name. "When you and Daniel have sex, is it always missionary?"

"I don't think that's any of your business," she said with a gasp, her face turning a shade lighter than the maroon curtains hanging over the windows.

"No? Then why is my sex life any of your business? Or the media's? Or my teammates', for that matter? Is it not enough that we can look at each other and see that we're happy in our respective relationships? Because I'll be the first one here to tell you that I'm in love with Roan. I fully intend to marry him. And I intend to help him raise Liam."

Seg hadn't wanted to be the one to mention the elephant in the room, but he knew someone had to or this would possibly last all night long. And quite frankly, he was damn tired of this conversation already.

Lydia once again glanced at Daniel, but the man had disappeared in plain sight. He clearly had nothing to contribute to the conversation.

"We think it would be best if Liam is raised by … " Lydia trailed off, her eyes searching the room but never able to land on anyone or anything in particular.

When she finally met Seg's gaze again-evidently she was only having this conversation with him-she didn't say anything.

With a questioning look, Seg waited.

And waited.

When Roan shifted, Seg put his hand on Roan's leg, wanting him to wait. It seemed Lydia and Daniel could talk the talk when it came to harassing Roan over the phone, but they were having a hard time in person.

"From what I've seen, Roan is a great father," Lydia finally stated.

"But … ?" Seg interjected.

"I simply don't think it's wise to raise a child in a gay household." 

"What's different about a gay household from yours?" Seg asked. "I'd really like to understand. There are two people, they both love the child, both have jobs, stability. Plus, Roan has plenty of friends he considers family. They've been there for Liam when it was necessary. In fact, it isn't much different than the house I grew up in. So, please, Lydia, help me understand."

"I just don't think Liam needs to be subjected to that."

"That?"

"Two men being intimate."

"Ahh," Seg said, sitting back, his eyes wide with mock understanding. "I think I see where the confusion is."

"Where's that?"

"See, if that's the way you did things here"-he leaned forward and lowered his voice to a whisper-"being intimate in front of the children  …  I can understand why you'd be worried. But be assured, that's not the way it's done in our house." He masked his expression with concern.

Roan's eyes cut to him and Seg could feel the weight of his stare. Yes, he'd said "our house." And he'd meant it. Because that was where they were headed, and Seg wanted Roan to know, without a doubt, that he was on his side.

Now and forever.





Thirty-Four

SEG HAD A WAY WITH words. No way could anyone dispute that.

While Roan would've gone on the defensive, Seg had played the role perfectly, urging Lydia to explain her reasoning for wanting to raise Liam. So far, Seg had managed to shoot down her every excuse.

And it was kind of amusing. At one point, Roan was pretty sure his dad's lips had twitched, but he'd managed to hold back his smile.

Although nothing had been officially settled, Roan had come to the conclusion that his father played no part in this, other than being the one to deliver the message. For some reason, that made him feel better. Daniel Gregory was a lot of things, but a homophobe he was not.

"And quite frankly, Lydia," Seg continued, "I'm not sure that'd be good for Liam. You know, if you were to raise him. The being intimate in front of him might be more than he can handle."

Lydia's face turned an interesting shade of purple. "That's not what I meant."