Out Of Focus (Wattys 2023)

16. Divine (Cold Brew) Retribution.

"So it's not going to be the best plan, but it'll get the job done, and hey, at least it's not a moody Australian you may or may not have a thing for."

Shayne's rolling his eyes at Max while he combs his hair. Last night had ended about as well as it could given how close he got caught outing himself to his parents (he's not sure how he feels about what led up to it at that just yet).

"You're lucky you and Lily's plans haven't had terrible averages or I totally would have committed seppuku by now," Shayne says.

Max mouths the word "ouch", but Shayne only offers a shrug.

"Listen, Lily's already wrangling your parentals for coffee at the Brew. You'll laugh some more, share some good ol' times, and then rip that band-aid right off."

"What's option two?" Shayne asks.

Max looks puzzled. "We were supposed to have an option two?"

Shayne groans, hurling himself onto the couch and shoving a pillow in his face.

"Why couldn't I have been a lawyer with five kids instead," he grumbles into it.

Max jumps right on top of him, nearly crushing his body with his weight.

"Maybe in another life my friend, but in this one, you have a totally kind of normal writer crisis to figure out. God, are you sure you don't want to write all this down? I still think it's good material."

Shayne shakes his head, momentarily contemplating throwing Max out of the window before he shoves the lanky guy off of him; the latter landing with a THUD on the floor.

"OK," Max says. "I deserved that. Have you talked to Ethan though?"

Shayne shakes his head again, knowing that Ethan is the last thing he should be worried about. He's pretty sure the guy has already texted him about three different apology texts, and he has enough of his shit to deal with.

"What if they try to pull a come to Jesus and send me to conversion therapy?" Shayne asks.

"Aren't you Jewish?" Max asks.

"What? No man, what kind of rock have you been living under?"

Max shrugs, pulling himself to his feet. "One where you're Jewish I guess."

Shayne reminds himself to make a note of just how much of an idiot he is for later.

"On that note," Shayne says, forcing himself to his feet and heading toward the door. "My Catholic ass is off to my own execution!"

Max waves goodbye like a little kid. "Have fun, let them eat cake and all that jazz."

And Shayne notes there probably isn't enough cake (or coffee) in the world to make what's about to happen any less bullshit.

***
Shayne takes a deep breath as he walks towards the Brew. The nerves in his stomach are practically doing jumping jacks, and he can't help but want to abort it all and call it a day.

As he enters the cafe, he spots his family sitting at a table near the window. Lily waves him over, a warning sign in her usually warm eyes. Shayne joins them, taking a seat between Lily across from his parents.

Maribel Bennett is a stay-at-home mom. A third-generation immigrant who met their father while working at a coffee shop back home. She looks a lot like Lily in some way, just older, grey, and slightly shrinking.

Ricardo Bennett is a man all his years, tired under the eyes, with a thick but patchy black beard he's given up on shaving. He has a round face from his mother's cooking and a thin long nose. His black hair is hidden under a hat, and Shayne can't help but remember his balding. He's a farmer through and through; out of his element in this big pond.