Read Online Gate Wide Open by M. T. Pope - Free Book Online Page A

to neatness and organization, he was just like his father. Everything had its place, and his bed never went unmade. I marveled at the décor and color scheme that he put together so well. Even as a woman, I couldn’t get the rest of the house coordinated as well as he had his little habitat in the basement.
    I proceeded on to the back of the basement and removed the clothes from the dryer so I could fold them and put them away. “Let me hurry up and get this done,” I said to myself. “I need to get dinner started.”
    Since I was already down in Alex’s room, I decided to put his clothes away for him. I went to his dresser, which was labeled for shirts, underwear, pants, etc., and began placing the items in the appropriate drawers. As I got to the last drawer to place his underwear away, I got the shock of my life.
    I placed my hands over my mouth to muffle my whimpers of shock. “What in the hell!” I mouthed as tears flooded my eyes and ran down my face. I picked up the thick, veined dildo and slowly sat down on his bed. Thoughts of Shawn’s demons and his past that involved him sleeping with men flooded my mind.
    I balled up on Alex’s bed and sobbed. “Not my baby, Lord! No! Not Alex!” I cried uncontrollably as I clutched the plastic toy. I couldn’t take the thought of my only son being gay. It couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t.
    I heard the noise of footsteps above me and assumed it was Alex coming home from football practice. I scrambled to get myself together and quickly placed the dildo back where I’d found it. Then I removed the clothes I had previously placed in his drawers and made my way back to the laundry room to pretend like I was there the whole time.
    As he came down the basement steps, I dried my tears and made my way through his room. I don’t know what most parents would’ve done in this situation, but I didn’t plan on forcing him to come out to me. If I’d done that, he might have rejected me and even run away. I couldn’t have my baby running the streets, so I decided to just keep this to myself. I wasn’t even going to tell Shawn. That would’ve definitely sent him back to counseling.
    â€œHey, Ma.” Alex greeted me with a kiss on the cheek as he walked into the laundry room.
    I fumbled with the clothes a little longer, just to distract him and myself from my nervousness. “Your clothes are over there.” I pointed away from myself, trying not to make eye contact with him. “I didn’t want to invade your privacy, so I just folded them. All you have to do is put them away.” I brushed past him and made my way toward the steps in a faster pace than normal.
    â€œHey, Ma,” he slightly yelled.
    â€œYeah, baby?” I turned around to see what he wanted.
    â€œYou thought I wouldn’t notice, didn’t you?” He had a serious look on his face.
    â€œAh. Notice what?” I said, afraid that he’d noticed that someone had been through his things. My palms began to sweat as he walked toward me. I wanted to run and leave him standing there.
    My eyes quickly darted around the room, making sure I had placed everything back as I’d found it. In my haste, I could have left a drawer open or something. To my relief, I left no evidence of my previous invasion. Whew! I sighed mentally.
    â€œYou thought I was just going to let you walk away from me without giving me a hug?”
    â€œOh. Ha-ha.” I laughed nervously and placed the laundry basket on the floor, preparing to be hugged.
    He hugged and squeezed me really hard, like he normally did. I had forgotten that Alex was a very affectionate person. Even as a child he hugged everyone that he greeted like they were family.
    â€œAlex, baby, you know you can talk to me and your dad about anything, right?”
    â€œYeah, Ma. Why you getting all mushy?” he said, a smile on his face.
    â€œAlex, I just