2. Prescription For Love

“Was it bad for him, before you moved?”

“I wish I knew the answer to that. He doesn’t always tell me everything, I don’t think. Partly that’s just being a teenager, and partly probably trying to protect me.” “He’s his mother’s son,” Flann said softly.

“I know his friends, of course. I’ve known them most of their lives. He went to preschool with them, and then with a couple of them all the way through into high school.” “Private school?”

Abby nodded.

“It must not have been easy raising him, with you being a resident.”

“My mother lived with us. That made a difference. I had some insurance money from my father’s death, so that helped pay for Blake’s school.”

Flann knew she was pushing, but she wanted to know. Needed to know in some deep way she couldn’t even name. “What about Blake’s father?”

Abby laughed. “David? He’s a nice enough guy, but

I would call him something of a flake. He’s into tech and always looking for the next big wave. He hasn’t caught one yet. He never had enough financial resources to really help out.”

“He’s not in the picture?” Flann’s chest tightened, waiting for the answer.

“He’s never really been in the picture,” Abby said slowly, not taking time to ask herself why she was answering. Why she wanted to answer. “He was my best friend in high school—the two gay kids against the world. We came out together, had our hearts broken at the same time. Presley was my best friend in college, maybe my only real friend. The sorority gave me a kind of community, but I was lonely, I guess. David showed up in the city one night, chasing a job. I wasn’t quite twenty yet, away from home for the first time. It was wonderful to see him and we went out to dinner, had a lot to drink, and ended up back in his hotel room reminiscing. Turns out he was a little lost and lonely too. Somehow

” She shook her head. “God, I don’t even know to this day how it happened. But it happened.”

“Wow. And you never considered—”

“Never. Not from the second I found out. I wanted the baby. David, on the other hand, was running before the sentence was out of my mouth.” Abby shrugged. “That was fine with me. I didn’t expect anything from him, and I’m just as glad things turned out the way they did.”

“Does Blake see him?” For some reason, Flann hated the idea of Blake feeling rejected or hurt because his father wasn’t in his life.

“Oh, sure. David’s always been in and out of his life. I left it up to Blake as he was growing up to decide how much he wanted to see him. It’s been a couple of years since his last visit. David lives out west with his lover now.” “Blake’s okay about it?”

Abby smiled, hearing the protectiveness and the concern in Flann’s tone. They were still holding hands, and she didn’t want to let go. “He’s good.”

“Does David know about Blake?”

“Blake told him on the phone. David seemed to take it well, but you just never know until you’re really confronted with it. Besides, the next time David sees him, Blake is likely to be a lot different from the child he remembers.” “Is he taking hormones?”

“Yes, for about six months.” Abby realized Flann was the first person other than her mother and parents in the support group with whom she’d discussed any of the details of Blake’s transition. Talking about it with someone she trusted helped make all the changes feel less foreign. “I keep looking for changes. There are some, but he still looks baby-faced to me.”

“A lot of boys do at that age.” Flann smiled. “Is it hard, watching him change?”

Abby wanted to say no. Part of her thought she should. Slowly, she nodded. “Sometimes. I think back and remember Blake as a child, trying to see what I missed, trying to pick out the moment when he knew and I should have. I can’t. I feel guilty.”

“You’re amazing,” Flann said softly. “Blake is so fucking lucky.”

Abby grimaced. “I don’t feel amazing. Sometimes I feel completely inadequate. A couple of the friends I told you about shut him out, hurt him. I can’t tell you how much I want to shake every single person who hurts him or might hurt him. And I can’t and I don’t know how to keep it from happening again.”

“Blake seems like a pretty strong, together kid. He’ll be okay. He’ll get some bumps, and it’s got to be damn scary. But he’s got you. That’s probably the single most important thing he needs.”

“I hope so. I hope he and Margie get to be good friends. She’s the kind of friend he needs.”

Flann grinned. “Margie? She’s a freaking Amazon.”

“From what I can tell, all the Rivers siblings are Amazons.”

“You should meet my mother.”

Abby laughed. “Oh, now there’s a line I didn’t expect to hear from you.” As soon as she said it, she flushed. Flann might think she was flirting.

Flann didn’t laugh. “You know what? I think that’s a great idea.” She pulled out her phone, punched in a number, and waited. “Mama? Where are you?

Have you heard from Dad and Harper?

Uh-huh. If everything stays quiet, maybe an hour or two

Uh-huh. Hold on.” Flann held up the phone. “Here’s

Blake.”

“What?” Abby took the phone. “Blake? Are you okay? Where—?”