“You’re blowing smoke up my ass,” Dr. Adams finally said, reaching for his fork, clearly dismissing the comment as he dug back into his salad.
“No, I’m seriously not. I was acting out, bad. I should be in prison right now—I was headed there. I didn’t understand what was going on with me. I was confused and felt so alone. I couldn’t accept myself. I was angry and scared as shit. My uncle gave me your dad’s first book. It changed my life. I’m gay and your father made me see it was okay. I wasn’t alone anymore. I give him all the credit for everything turning out okay with me,” he replied honestly, scrubbing the napkin over his whiskered face before tossing it on the empty plate.
This time, Dr. Adams sat back in his seat. Landon felt the intensity in the doctor’s stare as he watched him, the salad in his lap seemingly forgotten. “It’s not the first time I’ve heard something along those lines, but I’m surprised to hear it here. So, you know I’m gay?”
“Yeah. I wondered how you felt about him writing about you.” For the second time since Dr. Adams had arrived, Landon felt a kinship with the man, if for nothing more than the reverent respect Landon had placed on the entire Adams family. The Adams men were gay, but that didn’t define them. It was a side note to their extraordinary lives, a lesson Landon had really needed to learn. “Your childhood was anything but the norm, but from what I read, you seemed really well adjusted and happy.”
“As hard as it is to believe, I lived a very normal life. I grew up probably more sheltered than most kids, but that was out of necessity. They kept us—me and my sister—in a little bubble, safe and secure away from the negativity. I grew up in a home filled with love and respect for each other. My daddy, Kane—he was very protective of us. He gave up everything important to him to become a buffer between us and the hatred aimed at my family. Autumn and I knew some people weren’t happy with two men raising children, but it never really touched me personally. I just never understood why it mattered. I was maybe twenty-two when my dad’s first book was released. Of course, he asked before he wrote about me, and I agreed to him discussing my journey because there was literally no drama to my coming out. When the book released, that’s the day I understood how influential my father truly was.”
Dr. Adams put the almost empty salad bowl on the tray and picked up his glass of water, taking several long drinks. Landon didn’t know what it was, but the mood had shifted in the room. He sensed underlying pain or sadness in the doctor. Something deep and unresolved. It covered him like a weighted blanket.
“I had just started medical school when the book dropped, and reporters tracked me down. I still had secret service on me, and I was so confused. I had always been boring for the agents to guard. No one had ever wanted to talk to me before. Even then, the conversation was more about the in-vitro conception that interested the media the most, not my sexuality or being raised by two fathers. They wanted information on something that meant nothing to me.”
“What was it like being raised by two men? I’ve wondered, if my father had been like your dad, would it have been easier for me? I don’t think I would have struggled so hard with getting good with myself if I had someone like your dad around,” Landon said humbly, saying anything that might keep Dr. Adams talking.
When Landon admitted he’d read Avery’s book, he hadn’t been completely honest. He’d read and re-read all three of Avery Adams’s books. He had studied those books like textbooks. He could quote lines that had stuck with him through the years. Avery Adams showed him a very different and achievable side of life. A life he dreamed of having for himself someday.
“I was raised with lots of parental guidance and balance. We spent every Sunday in a progressive church environment. It was something my daddy— Does that confuse you? My dad is Avery, my daddy is Kane.” When Landon nodded, Dr. Adams continued. “He wanted us to have a spiritual… No, that’s not quite right. He wanted us to have a religious understanding of the world. Autumn and I went to an Episcopal school and church. I didn’t know until that first book came out how much my daddy struggled with being gay or how hard my dad had to push for their relationship. I’m sorry to say, even then, it didn’t hold a lot of interest for me. They were just my parents, nothing really special at all. I was never rebellious with them or anything like that.” Dr. Adams grinned, staring past Landon at something unseen. He shook his head at whatever memory came to mind. “I did like to best my sister any chance I got. That caused lots of lectures about the importance of not overpowering people, putting others first before yourself, and the importance of personal growth.” Dr. Adams’s grin grew as his eyes focused back on Landon. “My parents made it too easy. The four of us were just a unit. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Even though he didn’t fully understand. His family was close, but they all could go from zero to ten on the anger scale in seconds flat and did it often. “I did the exact opposite of what my parents wanted me to do. I borrowed
