Re: Charlie and Gavin (after Jules and Jasper)
Maybe it was better to have overheard this now, even if Gavin wished he hadn't. Better than doing all this processing to Jasper's face if he ever actually decided to talk to him about it. The odds of that were so low, he probably never had to talk to him about it, ever. And yet, should he make Jasper know that he wasn't going to react like his grandfather would have? Broken bones and nasty slurs and possibly something worse. The way Joseph had reacted at Gavin knocking up a girl made him think he might have killed him if he'd actually been with a guy. "I'm just... so grateful my father's dead," he mumbled and just thinking of Joseph made him want to get something stronger than wine. "I don't wanna corner him or nothing, but I'm thinking... He probably thinks I'd hate him if I knew. I don't know how to fix that."
That was something Charlie couldn't exactly help with. She had never had children of her own and she knew Gavin and Jasper had been working to repair their relationship for quite some time. It was a process and probably still had a long way to go. Reaching up, she brushed her fingers through the back of Gavin's hair. "Definitely don't corner him, but... maybe just make sure he knows you love him. Show him. Eventually he may get to where he feels he can be open with you. But let him be the one to come to you when he's ready." If he was ever ready. Teenagers were hard to read, but Jasper had gone through a lot more than the average teenager. "Who knows, it could be nothing, Gavin. A passing thing."
Gavin hoped it was, and then he felt guilty for that because what if it wasn't a passing thing? He thought of his brothers and at least now he knew Aaron would probably not care, he was the one who'd invited some gay guy with a punk boyfriend to his wedding. Caden though... He could never tell with Caden, all he could do was hope it wasn't a big deal. As usual he had gotten too far ahead of himself too, this might never be an issue, maybe it was just a phase and Jasper would never have to come out to anyone. Other than Jules, at least. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right," he murmured but that crease of worry stayed put between his eyebrows. "It's not a big deal. It shouldn't be a big deal."
It shouldn't be a big deal, but Charlie knew it wasn't that easy. Gavin still looked weary and thoughtful and she knew this would likely weigh on him for a while. Brushing her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, Charlie glanced toward the doors where Gavin had been hovering, but she didn't see Jules or Jasper. Hopefully whatever disagreement they were having was over. At least they had taken it somewhere else. Teenagers didn't always have the self-awareness to keep certain things private. "Do you want me to get you a drink?" she asked, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Something a bit stronger than wine?"
Gavin let out a sigh that was partially pained and partially oh so grateful. "Yes," he murmured and quelled the stupid impulse to say he'd get one himself. He was trying to learn not to treat Charlie like she was princess that constantly needed pampering, that so wasn't her. Instead he was learning to let her pamper him sometimes and even he was aware that stalking over to the bar with a look of worry etched into his expression might draw attention to him. He didn't need anyone else to notice he was fretting so yes, if she wanted to get him a drink he was going to let her. "Only if you get yourself something good too, yeah?"
Charlie didn't mind getting Gavin some liquor. He had cut back significantly since he had moved in with her, and she certainly didn't expect him to quit completely. But he was quite obviously stressed and she didn't want this to derail the entire day for him. "Something good for the both of us," Charlie promised as she stood. She leaned down to press a quick kiss to the top of his head before walking away from the table to head for the bar. There always seemed to be something happening in this family but Charlie could admit that Jasper possibly being bisexual wasn't all that bad once Gavin came to terms with it. It could have certainly been worse and hopefully he would come to the same perspective.