Monday, October 24, 2016

Set Me Free

This is a re-post from my old blog Soulful

Marcus* is tall, dark and handsome guy of about 23. He is a young professional trying to make his mark in the adult world and I could say he is making a good job at it. He is one of my respected colleagues and maybe one of the most eligible bachelors in the office. For two years of being parts of a strong team, he became as close to me as if he were my brother. We take our lunch together, and we normally talk as we eat.

We talk about almost anything. But our favorite topic, just like almost everyone else, is love life. And since I am married, I have nothing much to contribute to the conversation. So, he usually does the talking and I do the listening and commenting every now and then. He talks about someone whom he cares about so much. But the someone seems to be taking him for grantedmaking him wait for hours, not showing up on dates, and even telling him 'I'm not ready for a commitment.' He asked me once what it means.. So I said, it's just as he heard it.. 'that someone is not ready.'

There is just one thing that I am so curious about. When he talks about his love interest, he simply says 'my friend', no names,  no pronouns. He NEVER referred to it as 'she.' So one day, my curiosity got the better of me and I blurted out 'What is this friend really? Is it a 'she', a 'he' or an 'it'? I almost regretted it. I won't forget how his face drained of color and he couldn't talk. He wasn't ready for a confrontation. So, he simply answered... 'just friend.'

And I knew. Marcus is gay. How difficult is it to say "Of course she's a girl!Why use the common gender? How long he could keep it from us and from his family, that I don't know.. Maybe he still needs time or maybe not at all..

 *not real name



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