True to You Read online

  Arshdeep stops so abruptly he nearly drops his Coke. “Hold the phone.” Arshdeep looks back at Thom and then at me. “Are you . . .?”

  I pull Arshdeep away so no one can hear us.

  “Yes! I’m gay,” I whisper. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. We’ve been spending so much time together. I didn’t want you to get the wrong impression.”

  “No, this is cool. My girlfriend, Pria, is going to be so impressed when I tell her I set up a gay guy on a date.”

  “Don’t get too excited. I’ve haven’t kissed a girl, much less another guy.”

  “Dude, trust me. If that guy’s eyes were a pair of lips, you would be French kissing by now.”

  I have to admit hearing Arshdeep say that makes me feel kind of hot. But this isn’t the time or place to be thinking about guys. For all I know, Thom will have forgotten me by the time he gets home from work.

  04 Student Show

  I try talking my dad out of coming to the student show. But he won’t take no for answer.

  It was Dad who got me into pro wrestling. He used to watch it with his father after they came to Canada from Portugal. Grandpa loved watching wrestling because he didn’t need to know English to understand what was going on.

  The School of Hard Knocks has taken both our minds off me being gay and getting expelled from school. Sometimes I worry that my training is our way of not talking about what’s going on. But my parents insist I can talk to them about anything. It’s me. I don’t know if I’m ready yet.

  The chime on the glass door rings as Dad and I enter the school. Romeo is talking to volunteers who are helping out with the show.

  “Hey, Jorge!” Romeo says. “Ready for your debut?”

  “My knees won’t stop shaking,” I tell him. “Romeo, this is my dad, Manny Gomez.”

  Dad is starstruck. He can’t seem to speak.

  “Pleasure to meet you,” Romeo says. “You have a talented son here.”

  “The pleasure is all mine!” Dad says, finding his voice. “I think I saw every match between you and Gene Kiniski back in the seventies.”

  “Gene taught me everything I know. I cried like a baby when he died.”

  “Those were the good old days of wrestling. No smoke machines and fireworks. Just good old-fashioned wrestling,” Dad says.

  “Okay, Dad, put your tongue back in your mouth,” I say. “I need to get ready for the show.”

  “How much is the ticket?” Dad asks.

  “Your money’s no good here,” Romeo tells him.

  “Let me give you twenty dollars,” Dad says, trying to force the bill into Romeo’s hand.

  “Dad!” I drag my finger across my neck to get him to cut it out. He gets the hint and takes a seat on the bleachers.

  * * *

  Romeo puts me up against the Atom Bomb for my first match. Atom and Romeo trained together in the seventies. Atom weighs about 300 pounds. His arms are as big as my thighs.

  “Are you kidding me?” I say when Romeo introduces me to Atom.

  “Everyone starts off against Atom,” Romeo says. “He’s indestructible. And he’ll punish you if you don’t do as you’re told.”

  “How’s it going?” Atom says. I’m surprised by his voice, which is quite gentle.

  Atom and I spend the next fifteen minutes going through the match. He keeps things pretty simple. We focus on the holds and moves I’ve already perfected.

  “I’m going to give you a piece of advice,” Atom says. He opens the curtain between the hall and the gym. “See those two big ladies sitting in the front row?”

  “The ones with the fanny packs around their stomachs?”

  Atom nods. “Those are the Schlepp sisters. They come to every show. It doesn’t matter what it is. They’re true marks. If they love you or hate you, you’re wrestling gold in this town.”

  My match with Atom is third on the roster. I run through the order of our match in my head. I go over the moves, acting them out in my brain. Then I hear the ring announcer try to pronounce my name, “And hailing from Vancouver . . .”

  Oh my God! I’ve been so nervous about the match, I forgot to tell the announcer my name is pronounced “George.”

  “Hair-gay . . . your-gay?” the announcer says. The crowd starts to laugh as he continues to butcher my name.

  “GEORGE!” my father finally shouts. This is getting worse by the second.

  “George!” the announcer says.

  I burst through a black curtain and enter the gym. The first people I see are the Schlepp sisters. They both start shouting, “You’re gay! You’re gay!”

  This is exactly what I was afraid of when I signed up to become a pro wrestler. I want to run back through the curtain and hide.

  Then I see Thom from the Cloverdale fairgrounds sitting behind my dad.

  I can’t believe he actually came to see me wrestle. Either he’s insane or he likes me. Now I really have to put on a good show. I bound over the top rope to impress him.

  Atom storms through the curtain like he’s ready to eat everyone alive. He stops in front of the Schlepp sisters and starts yelling in their faces. Where is the soft-spoken guy I practised with? He’s like Jekyll and Hyde. I’m genuinely afraid.

  The bell rings, starting the match. I take control of Atom. He pretends to get frustrated that he can’t get the upper hand. On cue, he rakes my eyes with his fingers and starts pounding on me.

  My time to shine arrives with my “hot comeback.” That’s the point in every match when it seems the Face might actually win. I hit Atom with a couple of flying dropkicks. Then I do a backwards somersault from the top rope.

  Atom lifts his legs and I land across his knees. He picks me up and body slams my back to the mat. Atom finishes me off with a belly flop off the second rope. He pins me: 1-2-3.

  The crowd boos as Atom’s hand is raised for the win. I roll out under the bottom rope, pretending I’m more beat up than I am. I dash back behind the curtain into the dressing room.

  “You were awesome!” Atom says when he joins me out of sight of the audience.

  “Thanks!” I say. “I barely felt you when you landed on top of me.”

  “I’m a pro.”

  I towel off and change back into my street clothes. I’m pumped up with adrenaline. And I’m relieved I got through my match without getting hurt.

  * * *

  After the show, all the wrestlers go out into the audience to say hi to our friends and fans.

  “I didn’t know you could do a backward somersault!” my dad says when he sees me.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Thom lurking nearby. He looks out of place amongst the likes of the Schlepp sisters.

  “I’ve been practising for weeks,” I tell Dad. “Hey, do you mind if I say hello to someone really quick?”

  “Go ahead,” Dad says.

  I’m more nervous about talking to Thom than I was to fight my first match. I’m afraid to look at him.

  “So what did you think?” I ask him.

  “I’m impressed. Yours was the best match by far,” he says. “Could we talk in private for a minute?”

  “Sure.”

  We go out to the parking lot.

  “I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime,” Thom says.

  “Out?”

  “Like on a date. I could be totally misreading the whole situation. But I got a vibe from you the other day.”

  “A vibe?”

  “This is so embarrassing. I knew I shouldn’t have come here.”

  “No, no, no . . . it’s cool,” I whisper. “I’m not really out to the other wrestlers.”

  “I just assumed from your friend’s behaviour at Cloverdale . . .”

  “He had no idea until I told him later.”

  “That must have been awkwar
d.”

  “You did me a favour.”

  “So is that a yes?”

  “Totally.”

  “I can’t believe this worked. I was sure you were going to punch me in the face. Let me give you my number. Call or text me whenever you feel like. No pressure.”

  “I’ll call you tonight when I get home.”

  Arshdeep is standing with my father when I go back inside the school.

  “Was that who I think it was?” Arshdeep asks.

  “Yup.” I can’t keep myself from smiling.

  “Who are you guys talking about?” Dad asks. “What did I miss?”

  “I’ll tell you all about it on the drive home,” I tell him.

  I’m so happy right now, I want to do another somersault off the top rope.

  05 First Date

  “Hey, Thom!” I say as I enter the store through the back. Our shop, the Union Market, is basically a big old house. The store is on the ground floor. My parents and I live in the two floors above.

  “Thom was telling me how you guys met,” Dad says.

  “Your father went a whole five minutes without making a fool of himself,” Mom says.

  “A new record,” I say.

  “See what I put up with?” Dad says to Thom.

  “I love your store! We don’t have anything like this in Surrey,” says Thom.

  “You and Jorge should open one after you get married,” Mom says, winking at me.

  “And that’s our cue to leave,” I say. I take Thom by the arm.

  “Nice meeting you, Mr. and Mrs. Gomez!”

  “Don’t encourage them,” I say.

  We walk down the sidewalk toward Thom’s car. He clicks a small black remote that triggers an electronic chirp.

  “This is us,” Thom says.

  “You drive a Mercedes?”

  “It’s used.”

  “I drive a minivan.”

  “I’ll remember that the next time I need to go to Costco.”

  We drive downtown and have lunch at the Cactus Club at English Bay. It’s a beautiful day out. The sun’s reflection off the ocean nearly blinds me.

  “So why is a guy who drives a Mercedes working at the Cloverdale fairgrounds?” I ask him.

  “The pension is good.”

  “Very funny.”

  “To be honest, I decided to apply for every job on the City of Surrey website. The concession stand was the only one I was qualified for.”

  “Why the City? There are tons of restaurant jobs around.”

  “This is just a stepping stone. I want to become an environmental lawyer someday. I think it’s disgusting how we treat this planet.”

  “So you’re a crusader.”

  “Does that bother you?”

  “Not at all. I think it’s cool. Believe me, I have a history of sticking up for the underdog.”

  The waitress arrives with our food. I sneak looks at Thom as he spreads his napkin on his lap and tosses his pasta to let it cool.

  “So why pro wrestling?” Thom asks, out of the blue. “I thought everyone was into UFC these days.”

  “I hate UFC. It’s just two people pounding the crap out of each other until one of them passes out.”

  “And pro wrestling isn’t?”

  “Of course not. Pro wrestling is a dance. It has its own language. It takes themes from current events and acts them out in the ring. A good guy in a wrestling match is no different from you trying to protect the environment. You’re going up against an opponent who will use every dirty trick in the world to get the upper hand. And all you can do is play by the rules until you win.”

  Thom tilts his head to his side. “I never thought of it that way. I have a new respect for wrestling now.”

  Thom digs into his pasta. I feel like I’ve passed a test.

  * * *

  We decide to go for a walk on the Seawall after lunch. I give my leftovers to a homeless guy digging through one of the trash cans on the beach.

  “That was sweet of you,” Thom says.

  “We donate a lot of expired food to the soup kitchens around town,” I tell him. “My parents are the good kind of Catholic.”

  “They seemed nice when I talked to them at the store.”

  “They’re still getting used to this whole gay thing,” I say. “You’re the first person I’ve ever been on a date with — guy or girl.”

  “Really?”

  “How many guys have you dated?”

  “Three. I just came off a two-year relationship.”

  “Two years! How old are you?”

  “Seventeen. How old are you?”

  “Seventeen. Wow. You have way more experience at this than I do.”

  “Don’t let it get to you. There are plenty of guys our age who haven’t been in a relationship.”

  “So why did you guys break up?”

  “It was complicated. Lionel is a great guy, and the sex was amazing . . .”

  “You guys were having sex?”

  “We were totally safe. If that’s what you’re worried about . . .”

  “I’ve never even kissed a guy. I feel like I’m driving a car without a licence.”

  “I go to a private school. It’s pretty liberal. What about you? Where do you go to school?”

  “I don’t.”

  “You graduated?”

  I was hoping this wouldn’t come up until we got to know each other better. But there’s no point in lying. “I was expelled.”

  “Why?”

  “Fighting. My grades weren’t that great either.”

  Thom grows quiet.

  “Does that bother you?” I ask.

  “You just don’t strike me as someone who gets into fights.”

  “I’m training to be a pro wrestler.”

  “But that’s not real.”

  “Want to see the bruises?”

  “You know what I mean. It takes a lot of anger to hit someone. Were you being bullied?”

  “Sort of the opposite.”

  “You were picking on gay guys?”

  “God, no. I was sort of acting like their bodyguard.”

  “That’s noble of you.”

  “Tell that to the police.”

  “You were arrested?”

  “It never got that serious. But it was headed that way. I have a hard time watching people be mean. Instead of using my words, I tend to insert myself in the situation.”

  “Did you hurt anyone?”

  “Only in self-defence. I know how awful this must sound. I’m totally ashamed of myself. I’ve been working with a counsellor. It’s one of the reasons I started pro wrestling. My counsellor thinks I was trying to suppress my sexuality with my fists.”

  I feel like I’ve blown the date. I shouldn’t have agreed to this. Who am I kidding? Thom is way out of my league.

  He doesn’t say anything for a few minutes. So I ask, “Why did you break up with your boyfriend?”

  “Because the only reason we were dating was that we looked good together.”

  “Do you still see him?”

  “At school mostly. He took the breakup pretty hard. He’s convinced we’ll get back together. But it’s over as far as I’m concerned.”

  “So I’m your rebound date.”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. You seemed really sweet when I met you at the fairgrounds. And you’re so far removed from my world. I was intrigued. I thought we might click.”

  Why do I get the feeling he doesn’t think we click? Maybe because deep down, I know that we don’t.

  I do want to get to know him better. It takes a lot of courage to dedicate your life to something as impossible as protecting the planet. I need to be around someone like that.

  “We should get going,” Tho
m says. “I have a long drive back to Surrey.”

  “Sure thing.”

  We walk back to the car without speaking. I don’t know what to say to make him like me again. I feel like a freak. I just want this to be over now.

  Thom drops me off in front of the store and unlocks the car door. “I’ll call you,” he says.

  “Cool.” I look at him. I don’t know if I should give him a kiss or a hug, so I just get out of the car. Something tells me I’ll never see him again.

  06 Sticks and Stones

  “Jorge! You look like you’re moving through water!” Romeo screams at me. I am botching another drill during practice.

  “What’s with you today?” Arshdeep asks when I get to the corner. “You look like someone kicked you in the balls.”

  “It’s been a week since I went on my date with you-know-who. And he still hasn’t called or texted,” I whisper.

  “So call him. Maybe he’s playing hard to get,” Arshdeep says. “My girlfriend, Pria, made me jump through hoops before she went on a second date with me.”

  “Thom doesn’t seem like he’s into head games.”

  “Then screw him. There’s plenty more where that came from,” Arshdeep says.

  Thunder finishes the drill and gets behind us in line in the corner. “What are you two girls gossiping about?”

  “How sloppy you are in the ring,” Arshdeep says. He steps through the ropes for his turn to do the drill.

  “That guy is so full of himself,” Thunder says.

  “He has the moves to back it up,” I reply.

  My mind switches from Thunder back to Thom. Maybe Arshdeep is right. There are lots of fish in the sea. I can’t just hand my heart over to the first guy I meet. For all I know Thom is back together with his boyfriend. They are probably laughing about the date Thom went on with the high-school dropout training to be a pro wrestler.

  But inside, I know Thom wouldn’t be so shallow as to make fun of me like that. In the few hours we were together I could the feel the connection between us. And then I had to tell him about my fighting in school. He probably thinks I’m a psycho.

  I should call Thom to find out how he feels. For all I know, he’s wondering why I haven’t reached out to him. I’ve almost called him a half dozen times. Then I chicken out before I press “call” on my phone. I’ve written all sorts of texts. Then I delete them before hitting “send.”