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Trinity comes out to Jack in an unintentional way. After gymnastics.
Most of the parents usually wait in the gym lobby at the end of practice.
Some of the moms treat it like a social hour to sit and chat about their husbands, their lakehouses, their country clubs, all things Jack holds very little interest in. He often finds himself sitting alone until Trinity comes out from the locker room.
He notices a group of girls from the team exiting together, giggling and whispering. He doesn’t think much of it until he starts to overhear what they’re conversing about.
“She probably has a crush on you, too.” One of them remarks.
“I can’t believe there’s a lesbo on our team.” Another one agrees.
He raises his brow as he listens to their obnoxious conversation, but keeps to himself.
Their clueless moms follow out behind them and Jack is left alone in the now empty lobby. He checks his watch, usually Trinity is finished getting changed at the same time as the other girls. He quietly clicks his tongue in a sporadic rhythm to cut the silence in the room while he waits.
Eventually, the door to the locker room swings open and Trinity emerges. She stands less upright than usual. Less confident. Her bag is slung over her shoulder carelessly. He stands to meet her in the middle of the room as she slowly approaches.
“Hey, sport.” He greets, hoping she’ll perk up.
“Hi.” She says curtly as she moves toward the door, looking down at her feet.
She’s already outside and walking to the car while Jack is left staring through the glass panel of the door, thoroughly shocked and confused. He doesn’t want to assume, yet he can’t help but draw conclusions that those girls’ remarks were referring to her.
He shakes his head, bringing himself back to the moment. He follows behind Trinity, speedwalking to catch up to her as he digs in his pocket for his car keys.
She reaches the car as he’s still crossing the threshold of the gym lobby. She tugs on the passenger door handle repeatedly while glaring at Jack, waiting for him to unlock the door. She groans and rolls her eyes in frustration.
The door finally clicks as Jack finds the key fob in his pocket, furrowing his brow at Trinity’s sudden burst of anger and disinterest. Not out of the norm for teenagers, but definitely out of character for his teenager.
She jumps in and slams the door shut just as he makes it to the driver’s side of the car.
“Hey. You don’t slam my door like that. What’s with the attitude?” He scolds. She turns to lean against the window, huffing in resignation. He climbs into the car and sighs, mood shifting back from angry to worried.
“Talk to me, hon. What happened?” He asks as he starts the car and begins to back out of the lot.
“Nothing happened.” She scoffs.
“Mm.” He nods, unconvinced. “How was your vault routine?” He inquires, persistent to find the underlying issue even if it takes lots of probing to do so.
“Fine.” She answers passively.
“I saw some of your friends out in the lobby.”
“They’re not my friends.” She asserts.
“Okay.” He nods. “I heard ‘em talking as they left.”
“About me?” She snaps up and turns toward him. Her urgency catches him off guard, but also signals to him that she’s holding on to some situational context that he doesn’t have.
“I don’t know. Do you think it was about you?” She pauses. She can tell she’s at the crossroads.
“It was about me.” She tells him assuredly.
“Yeah?” He prompts.
“Yeah.” She sighs, turning back to the window.
They rest in the silence for a moment, but the brooding energy remains. Jack considers the weight that whatever he says next will carry in her memory.
He and Robby have always had some suspicion that she was queer, but they never said anything. It was just a kind of lingering backthought for most of her childhood.
“You know– people who are insecure–”, he pauses as he focuses on a left-hand turn, “spend a whole lot of their time trying to make other people feel miserable so they can feel understood.” She quirks an eyebrow at this.
“You mean they might be gay?” She questions.
“Well, they could be. But what I mean is that they might feel different, or be afraid of being different, so they try to make people who are openly different feel bad about it. Y’know? Misery loves company.”
“Mm.” She nods with comprehension.
“But whatever they say about you, you’re still our kid, bottom line.”
“I know.” She hums.
“Just making sure.” He gives her a small smile.
“Would you guys care if I was gay?”
“Not at all, baby. I’ll love ya no matter what.” He glances over at her.
“Really?”
“Mhm. Really. You’re my kid.” He guarantees.
“Okay.” She smiles.
“‘Cause I do– kind of like girls.” She admits.
“Kind of?”
“A lot.”
He reaches out and squeezes her hand assuringly. “Thanks for telling me, honey.”
“So– got your eyes set on any hotties in particular?” He asks with a grin as they pull up to a red light.
“Oh my god, Dad!” She gasps as she snatches her hand away and glares at him.
“What?” He huffs.
“Can you not be normal for five fucking seconds?”
“Language.” He nags, reaching over and tousling her hair. She groans dramatically.
“Quit it.” She shakes her head to throw his hand off. She rolls her eyes as she tries to smooth her hair down as Jack pulls into their driveway.
When he brakes and shifts the car into park, she grabs her bag and moves to reach for the door handle, but Jack clicks the lock. She turns back to him in confusion.
“Hey, baby. Thanks– thanks for telling me.” He smiles. “Did those girls do anything else besides the mean jokes? Did anyone put their hands on–”
“No. They were just making jokes. It’s fine.”
“No it’s not. I’m calling your coach tomorrow and letting her know.”
“Just please don’t make me look like a loser.” She pleads.
“Asking your coach to do her job doesn’t make you a loser.”
“It will at gymnastics, Dad.”
“Okay. But if it keeps going on, or they start posting stuff online, or someone puts their hands on you, I’m getting involved. Non-negotiable.”
“Fine.” She nods.
“I love you, baby.” He holds out his arms.
“I love you too, Dad.” She leans over the center console and hugs him.
“C’mon, let’s go inside. You hungry?”
“Mhm.” She says as they get out of the car and move towards the door.
“Dad?”
“Yeah, hon?” He answers as he digs in his pocket for his house keys.
“Can you not tell Abba for now?”
“Your news to share, kiddo. Promise.” He assures as he reaches to unlock the door. “What do you want me to make for dinner?”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Trinity comes out to Robby a few weeks later. It’s around 11:00PM on a Friday night, Jack’s at work.
She comes downstairs to find Robby looking through paperwork and charts on the couch. He looks up from his lap and pulls his glasses down to look at her.
“Hey, honey. What’s up? Thought you were asleep by now.” He tilts his head.
“Can we go somewhere?” She asks hopefully.
“Where exactly?” He questions.
“Just, like– for a drive.”
He looks down at his watch and sighs. “Okay, but only because it’s a weekend. Let me grab my keys.” He says as he stands and pads off to gather his belongings. She stands by the door while she waits for him.
When he returns with his shoes on and keys in hand, he looks her up and down and gestures to the coat rack in the corner.
“Jacket.”
She pouts a bit but grabs her hoodie anyway, slipping it on over her pajamas.
“I’m old enough to know whether or not I’ll be cold.” She huffs.
“And I’m old enough to know that you’ll be cold and to make you bring the damn jacket anyway.” He snaps back as he opens the door for her.
She hums as she walks out to his car. When they settle into their seats, Robby finally addresses the abnormality of the whole outing.
“So– what’s going on?”
“Nothing, really.”
“Okay.” He sighs. He’s always content to just sit in silence, presence is often enough to comfort him. He starts the car and pulls out of the driveway.
Trinity fiddles with the drawstrings on her hoodie. The street is quiet, it feels like the whole city is lying in wait to listen to her speak.
“Are you not gonna ask again?” She questions. He turns slightly to look at her.
“You wanted to go for a drive.”
“Yeah.” She affirms.
“We don’t have to talk.” He tells her as he turns off their street.
She sits with that for a beat. Now she has to initiate the conversation. She wonders if he knows more than he’s letting on, if Jack told him and he’s just playing dumb.
“Did Dad talk to you?” She inquires.
“About–?” He prompts.
“About me.” She confirms.
“We talk about you everyday, honey. You’re our daughter.” He assures, wondering if she’s feeling neglected. When her worried look doesn’t fade, he asks a further question.
“You mean– did he tell me something?” She nods. “No. Is there something you want to tell me?” He asks.
“Kind of.” He raises his eyebrows and nods slightly to signal that he’s listening.
“I– I like girls.” She admits.
Robby doesn’t say anything. He continues staring forward at the road, left hand on the wheel and right arm rested on the center console.
Trinity inhales nervously, anxiously wondering what he’s thinking. He switches on his signal and pulls the car to the side of the road they’re on. He shifts the car into park and finally, he turns to her.
“Okay.” He says neutrally.
“I mean– I think so. But–”
“Honey.” He interrupts. “Thanks for telling me.” He smiles slightly.
She exhales a long sigh of relief and her nervous system finally allows her eyes to well with tears.
“How long has this been weighing on you?” Robby asks with concern.
“Well– I told Dad a few weeks ago, but I mean– I’ve known a long time. It just never really came up.” She says through light tears.
“Oh, sweetheart.” He leans in and hugs her. She hugs him back and leans her head on his upper arm.
“I promise that your dad really didn’t tell me.” He tells her. She pulls her head up and looks at him.
“He said it was my news to share.” She tells him.
“It is.” He confirms. “I’m glad you trusted me. I hope I’ve never made you–”, his eyes begin to look glassy and a few tears start resting at the corners of his eyes, “–feel like you couldn’t tell me.”
“Abba, don’t cry it’s gonna make me cry again.” She starts fully bawling.
“I’m sorry, I can’t help it!” Robby sniffles. They both sob for a few more beats as the occasional car passes by. Eventually, they both sit back up in their seats and face forward again.
“Do you want ice cream?” Robby breaks the silence.
“Yes.” She snivels.
“Okay. Just don’t tell your dad. He thinks we eat too much junk already.” He wipes his eyes with his thumb as he shifts the car back into drive.
“Okay, Abba.”
“I love you.” He says as he leans over his seat to look out for oncoming traffic.
“Love you too.” She smiles.