In Mike We Trust Read Online Free PDF

be…Todd.”
    â€œOr Toodles.”
    â€œâ€˜Hello, ROSMY? This is Toodles J. Homosex on the line, and I have a few questions for you.’”
    â€œShut up!” He laughed and threw a nugget of dog food at her.
    â€œAnyway. There it is. Consider it. Anonymity can be a wonderful thing.”
    He pondered the idea for another few days. Then, while his mom was at work, he looked up the number and dialed it from the wall phone in the kitchen.
    A man answered, identifying himself as a counselor. He was halfway through asking how he could help when Garth hung up on him.
    Wimp , he thought. What’s the big deal? It was as if he’d been infected with his mom’s worries, her panic, her fear. The idea infuriated him, so he picked up the phone and dialed again.
    The same voice answered, the same greeting.
    â€œHi, um, my name is…Greg? And I’m just wondering if I can get some advice.” There was a tremble in his voice he couldn’t suppress. He felt as if he’d just realized he was gay five minutes ago.
    But as the person on the other end of the line—calmly, reassuringly—began asking him a few questions and then actually listened to what he had to say, he realized that talking to a stranger had extreme benefits. Lisa was right: anonymity was a wonderful thing. He told the counselor he was gay; he told him about Lisa; he told him about coming out to his mom, and her reaction. Then it dawned on him that in order for any of this to make sense, he would have to talk about his dad. He did. And he surprised himself by not crying. Halfway through his monologue, he noticed that the tremble was gone from his voice. He didn’t even feel nervous anymore.
    â€œSo, Greg,” the man said—and like some soothing, otherworldly entity, he began to offer small bits of advice. A few questions, too, but mostly advice. Suggestions. Options. Nothing drastic and nothing derogatory about his mom and her position. The organization held in-person counseling sessions, the man explained. “Greg” could come in with his mom and speak with someone who could help them understand each other’s points of view more clearly. Did he think his mom would be willing to come in with him for an appointment?
    â€œI doubt it,” Garth said. “But I can ask.”
    He hung up feeling a few notches better.
    But his mom’s reaction to the news that he’d called was worse than ever. She was practically furious. “If you respect me,” she said, “you’ll stick to your promise.”
    If he respected her? Of course he respected her. But did she respect him and who he was becoming? Was she even capable of it, buried under so many blankets of fear and distress? It seemed he could only reach a certain part of her anymore. That basic, functioning-human part: Let’s eat breakfast, See you tonight, What’s for dinner? Love you, Sleep well. Mourning and missing his dad had dominated their lives since the accident; that made sense to him. But did that mean they had to just shut down in their current state?
    Â 
    Lisa was now hanging off the bed, one of her long, sinewy arms stretching to her desk so she could fiddle with her iTunes. Sufjan segued into Belle and Sebastian.
    â€œAny chance this uncle of yours is a member of The Big Duh society?” she asked.
    â€œGod, wouldn’t that flip my mom out? I don’t think he is, though. I mean, he’s not married, but he said he was engaged once and he definitely gives off a straight…vibe.”
    â€œToo bad. It might have been a chance to shake things up. You know—make her face Project Garth.”
    Garth rolled over onto his stomach and folded hishands beneath his chin. “She faces it every time she looks at me,” he said. “Only she doesn’t see it.”
    His mom had apparently endured all the shaking up that she could handle for a while. She clearly didn’t need him