Page 39 of Mistaken Prejudice

“The flight was on time.” Dad flew back from New York. “So what were we talking about?” As expected of a lawyer, he jumped straight to the heart of the conversation. Dad wasn’t just a lawyer. He was the owner of one of the biggest law firms in the States, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Miami.

“We were just talking about my new swimwear. We got the samples today,” Papa answered enthusiastically as he poured Dad a glass of freshly squeezed mandarin juice.

“More like how it is missing an inch or two to be called swimwear,” I kindly added, and that earned me a glare from Papa.

“So, Mr. Rogers Junior.” Dad’s blue eyes turned to look at Shay-Lee, who was busy stuffing his mouth with carbs and fruits. “I heard you had a good opening game.”

Shay-Lee swallowed and took a sip from his glass before he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Yes, Daniel, did you watch it?” BH football games were broadcast on the school website, and on local news.

“Sadly, no, I was too busy with work, but Miles here told me all I needed to know.”

The corner of Shay-Lee’s mouth turned into a smile, and he gave me a quick look before turning back to Dad. “Well, I can’t take all the credit for myself. We have a pretty good team this year, some new talents.”

Dad patted his back. “Don’t be modest, kid. Without you as their quarterback, your team has an average offense.”

“Well…” Shay-Lee extended the pause. “You didn’t hear it from me.”

“Oh, there is that wide receiver who’s got some talent. I can see he has potential.” Dad took a sip from his drink.

“His name’s Jordy and I fully agree. He can be a real star one day.”

Unlike my dad, I didn’t care about football, but because it was important for Shay-Lee, I tried to learn over the years. I was pretty sure it was the only thing he truly cared about, and growing up, I always adored his love and passion for the game. Not only that, but he was extremely good at it too.

“Your dad must be very proud of you, right, mon chéri?”

“Yeah.” Shay-Lee’s answer was almost immediate. Shay-Lee had always looked up to his dad. He admired him. Perhaps too much considering how odd their relationship was. Shay-Lee was a completely different guy around his father, quieter, maybe even obedient. But in a good way. Mr. Rogers was a remarkably charismatic and handsome man, both qualities Shay-Lee had inherited. Considering how his father was a well-known man, a celebrity, I wasn’t surprised Shay-Lee felt awkward around him in public.

“I bet he is. How is Christian?” Papa jumped right in.

Shay-Lee was too busy chewing to answer, so he simply nodded. “Are there any more left?” he asked, already getting up to check for himself.

“Of course, monsieur, take as much as you want,” Papa said fondly while cutting a grapefruit, his breakfast, in two.

Being a model, Papa followed a relatively strict diet, and pain perdu was not on the menu. He still ate, don’t get me wrong, but his meals often included steamed fish and various vegetables. Me, on the other hand? He always told me to eat what I wanted and to enjoy life. He explained that his pick of food was limited because he loved to control what he got into his system. Still, I wasn’t stupid, and I was aware of his long fight with eating disorders over the years. Being in the fashion industry wasn’t easy, and contrary to what people thought, men also suffered from negative body image. About one in three people dealing with eating disorders was a man. Being at the top of the fashion industry as a lead male model for so long, I could only imagine the pressure he felt. Fortunately, Papa was doing much better now, but I remembered times when I was younger when things weren’t as good. I was mostly thankful for Dad and how amazing and supportive he was since the day they met, and I knew that a big part of Papa’s recovery was thanks to Dad taking an active part in it.

I took another bite from my delicious brioche and put two boiled eggs on Papa’s plate, ensuring he had enough food. It then occurred to me that I had my own cooking to do for the day.

“Papa, did Laurien buy the ingredients for today?”

“Oui, bébé,” he quickly replied. “Everything you need for the cooking is ready.”

“What cooking?” Dad asked, looking at Papa as if he held all the answers in the world, which was true most of the time.

“Oh! Daniel, seriously?” He gasped, a hand over his chest. “Even the mailman knows already!” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. Trust my father to tell the whole world I had a date; perhaps I should also tell him about my first blow job.

“I’m sorry, love, but I was busy with work. Bunny, how about you tell me what this is about?” Dad glanced my way.

“Well—”

“He is having his date come over, and he’ll cook him my famous coq au vin!” Papa jumped in and filled him with the information. “Isn’t that just—” The sound of shattered glass broke Papa’s excitement and all three of us turned to look at Shay-Lee.

“Fuck,” he cursed as he bent down to pick up the shards. “Sorry, the glass slipped,” he mumbled briefly.

“Oh no.” Papa got up, went over to where Shay-Lee stood, and quickly dismissed him by waving his hand. “Don’t, monsieur, you’ll get cut. Go sit.”

Shay-Lee returned to his seat while Papa called Laurien to help clean the mess. While he was gone, Dad took the opportunity to go back to our old conversation. “A date?”

“Yeah, I told you about it. I’m seeing someone.” I tried to shrug it off. Maybe he’d drop it?