Don took in the pink, purple and turquoise colors and he looked as if he wanted to be somewhere else. Gabe’s mother, Heidi, furrowed her forehead. “What are you doing now?” The question hung in the air so heavy that Gabe thought he might glance up and see a giant question mark hanging from the high ceiling. “Getting you coffee.” He had to turn his back on her. What she wanted him to be was something he wasn’t ready for. Not now. Maybe not ever. When Gabe returned to his parents with their coffees, he wanted to tell Heidi he was sorry he disappointed her, but he held back the words. She would deny it even as she looked at him with her forehead puckered with worry. He’d seen that look too often. “I’m freelancing,” he said. A euphemism for doing wedding gigs. Not for Cherise—that hadn’t ended well and he wasn’t going back to her. He’d also filmed videos for two budding comics. The comics weren’t very good yet, but they wanted it and were working at their craft.
