Chapter 5: Not So Happy Holidays
Family gatherings, especially during the holidays, have never been my favorite thing. Since Jonah and I have been escorting we have had a volatile relationship with extended family, our aunt and uncle, our grandparents. They have all assumed we do everything from porn to selling drugs for a living. We let them think what they want.
This year's Thanksgiving dinner has me tied in knots. I am not prepared to answer the million questions about what I am doing for work and I am not in the mood to be asked why I have not found a nice young lady to settle down with. My sexuality is a thing of mystery to them. I have been known to answer the question with snarky remarks like "he doesn't exist" or, "I am still undecided on which gender I prefer having sex with," hoping that will shut them down. But every year they try again.
We are at our parents house. I am in the kitchen with mom, helping her finish cooking the last few dishes and get them ready to be put on the table. I feel bad that I have left Jonah in the middle of the fray of family, but he is better at handling them than I will ever be. I am hoping mom has gotten over her curiosity about our business dealings though. There is no telling how many dishes I will break today.
Dinner is served and for the time being everyone is lost in the tastiness of the meal. Mom is an amazing cook. We are sitting around the large wood dining room table getting eating turkey with all the fixings and no one is really talking much. But by the time we have had our fill the chit chat begins and I am on edge. The questions begin. "How's work? What is it you do again? Have you met any nice girls yet?" Jonah answers each one himself. Good. Shrug. No.
"And you, Jake?" my grandmother turns her attention to me.
I take a deep breath. I am going to do it. I am going to answer honestly. I look at Jonah and give him a smile that I hope he understands. "Work is good, we're making good money, lots of clients. Escorting is a lucrative business. I'm not really looking to settle down just yet." I lie about that one thing. I'm frustrated with the questioning, but I am not stupid.
"So you are in porn," my aunt says after a brief silence has come over the room.
"We are escorts," Jonah answers her, I know this isn't a good enough explanation.
"So you're prostitutes?" my uncle chimes in. "You know about this?" he turns his attention to our parents who just nod.
"No wonder you haven't found anyone to settle down with," grandmother, still concerned with our love lives.
I want to scream at her. Tell her that she will never get the grandkids she's hoping for, not from us anyway. I know Rich is not going to be any help to us in the conversation so I don't even deflect to him. I just seethe in my seat for a few minutes and then I bolt out of the room.
Jonah finds me in our childhood bedroom. I am sitting on top of the small desk under a window that looks into the backyard where we played a lot of football and got a lot of bruises. He approaches and looks past me out the window. "Sorry, I just couldn't sit there anymore," I tell him.
"They're yelling at mom and dad now," Jonah says.
I feel guilty. "Damn, I'll go rescue them," I move to stand up but Jonah stops me. He wraps his arms around me and holds me there.
"They are going to ask more questions," Jonah says as he lets go of me.
"We do what we've always done, we say as little as possible, and if they ask us about having sex with each other we lie," I answer him.
"Agreed," he holds out his hand to pull me off the desk. As I am moving to stand up Rich comes into the room. His face is red and his eyes are dark.
"How long," he says trying to hold down his voice.
Jonah and I look at him with confusion. He's known about our work, so that's not what he's asking about. What is he asking about?
"How long have you been," he pauses, "having sex with each other?"
I feel like I have been hit in the gut. All the wind has been knocked out of me and I can't speak. "Two weeks," Jonah answers him.
Rich is running his fingers through his hair and pacing the room. He cannot look at either one of us. "Is it just a work thing?"
We don't answer. I know the smart thing to do is say yes. It is only for work and only for our clients. But I don't have the energy.
"You know that is illegal right?" Rich says. "Jesus. Don't ever tell mom and dad. Dad will have you thrown in jail and mom will be heartbroken," he adds. "Why?"
I am still speechless. Jonah looks at him, directly, and answers "Love."