[CM] THE CASE

Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired by another. —Robert Foster

Griffith poked his spaghetti with a sad face, Reid saw that he was poking the good noodles into mud, and asked helplessly, "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm going to see your mother," Griffith said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Your mother, man, I'm a little nervous."

Reid put down the fork: "My mother is easy to get along with, and the doctor said her condition is relatively stable, so you can rest assured."

"It's not your mother's fault." Griffith stuck a tomato, "It's me, I..." He threw the tomato away again.

He hasn't figured out how to come out to Reid yet.

He didn't know what Reid's attitude towards homosexuality was, so he shouldn't go to Lucy's party with him rashly - Lucy certainly wouldn't care about that.But if he hinted at Reid that it was a gay party, Reid would have guessed something, he was so smart.

In the face of this, Griffith didn't care one iota about who Reid told him to see...well, kind of.

"What does your mother like? What do I need to give her when we meet for the first time?"

"Book?"

Griffith sighed: "I think her book should be enough."

Reid recalls his mother's hospital room: "…well, yes."

They sat by the window, across from a clothing store. Griffith turned his head melancholy, and had an idea: "Should we go buy a silk scarf after dinner?"

"What?" Reid said confused. "The air conditioner in the nursing home is powerful enough, and Mommy's clothes are warm enough. I don't think she needs to…"

"Come on, Reid, how long has it been since she's had a new dress, have you noticed?" Griffith interrupted him, "She needs this, no one will notice if she reads a different book, if you sent her a new one. Yes, the silk scarf is different, and her patients will see it. And the silk scarf is not very hot, so she can wear it as long as she wants."

"..."

"Reid?"

"I, I never thought about this." Reid felt bitter, "I..."

It turned out that he didn't have an outsider who knew his mother.

Griffith realized this and smiled: "Anyway, you know your mother's taste better than I do, and I need your opinion."

"Of course," Reid said immediately, "I'm not particularly sure, but of course."

Two big men visiting a women's clothing store is, let's be honest, weird.However, the clerk's professional quality is very good, and he did not show any surprise.

"Excuse me, what kind of silk scarves do you two want to buy?"

Griffith turned his gaze to Reid, and Reid gestured: "A lady in her 50s, she... likes purple, very light."

The clerk asked meaningfully: "Who are you sending it to?"

"My mother."

"Okay, please come with me."

Although Griffith bought the gift, it was Reid who was actually communicating with the clerk. Griffith's only role was to nod and finally pay.

After pointing out where the cash register is, the clerk chatted with Reid for a while: "You guys are so sweet."

Reid immediately understood what she was implying, and his ears turned red: "We are not...not that..."

The clerk chuckled: "Don't be shy, I saw him participate in the same-sex marriage promotion this afternoon."

"what?"

"Legalize same-sex marriage." The clerk said word by word, "It's on this street this afternoon, don't worry, I support you."

"Oh." Reid said dryly, in shock, "He...he was loving."

"Yes." The clerk said, "I hope your mother will like him, come on."

Griffith came back with the receipt and politely said to the clerk, "Can you pack it for me?"

"Of course." The clerk smiled brightly, "Please wait a moment."

"Thank you."

Reid's shocked eyes shone on Griffith's face like a searchlight, and the latter touched his face uncomfortably: "What? Is there something on my face?"

"..."

"Reid?"

Reid looked shocked and confused, with countless questions coming to his lips and swallowing them back himself.

How did you meet Lucy?

Why did you participate in their activities?

Why don't you tell me the purpose of sex?

Don't you still have some secrets you haven't told me?

The truth was coming out, but he didn't seem to have enough ground to ask.

"No." Reid struggled to take his attention away from him, "I'm just a little tired."

"We will rest when we get back to the hotel. You are not allowed to go to bed at one o'clock today, twelve o'clock at the latest." Griffith said firmly, "A good schedule is more effective than medicine."

"Hi, this is your gift." The clerk handed over the beautifully wrapped gift box and winked secretly at Reid, "Welcome to visit next time."

"Thank you."

Reid didn't need to look to know that Griffith had misunderstood the meaning of the clerk, and after they left, Griffith asked him gossipingly if he had a phone number, which made him dumbfounded.

"Why are you more anxious than my mother?" Reid pushed open the door of the hotel, and the staff at the door gave them each a Christmas hat. Griffith put the hat on his hand and twirled: "It's not just me, the whole office is looking forward to that day."

"...Are you guys this boring?"

"We need some diversion, something that's easy to come by, like office gossip," Griffith said solemnly. "You sure didn't know Andrew and Daisy were together."

"What?" Reid really didn't know, "Didn't you say dating is forbidden in the office?"

"As long as there are no accidents, there will be no major problems." Griffith walked into the elevator, "There are not so many rules and regulations. It's a very normal thing who likes whom."

"So, how about the party tomorrow night?"

This time it was Griffith who was speechless.He stared at the crack of the door for a while, as if he could break the door open with his mind.

"I heard from the clerk that she saw your event this afternoon to legalize same-sex marriage." Reid said, "Lucy is..."

"Lucy is gay and her girlfriend hosted the event," Griffith said. "Me too."

The elevator door opened.

Griffith stepped out of the elevator and waved to Reid who was frozen inside: "Hurry up, I don't care about you inside."

Reid's hand holding the silk scarf trembled.

"You don't mind, I'll just go and talk to Lucy, she's very generous and won't say no." Griffith didn't look like someone who just came out.He opened the door calmly and even asked Reid if he had a shower.

In contrast, Reid is like the guy who came out.

He rushed into the bathroom in a hurry, and came out in a panic to get a change of clothes. Griffith called Lucy while he was in the shower, and checked the time and place, including Reid's arrival.

Lucy heard he was taking a male companion and screamed, prompting Mariah to ask what happened. Griffith got a headache from her noise: "Shh, Lucy, calm down."

"You want to bring a male companion!" Lucy was so excited that he seemed to have discovered a new world, "Why didn't you say so earlier! I thought I had a chance to introduce you to a partner!"

"Lucy, he's not..."

"No? Isn't he here for what?"

Griffith was taken aback: "He...we just went to play, it's Christmas after all."

Lucy didn't seem to hear his momentary stuttering: "Did you tell him we were a gay party?"

"he knows."

"He came with you when he knew?" Lucy said in surprise, "You still say he has nothing to do with you? Who are you lying to?"

Griffith found himself at a loss for words.

Lucy continued to ask: "Then he knows you are?"

Griffith replied dryly, "Yes."

"If it's an ordinary friend, you might choose to avoid suspicion in this situation." Lucy analyzed with him seriously, "Are you sure he's the super straight one?"

Thinking of Reid's unidentified crush, Griffith's "yes" almost didn't come out.

"Really?" Lucy asked suspiciously, "Forget it, take care of your own affairs. Let me tell Mariah, don't worry. Rest early, you have worked hard today."

"Well, you go to bed early."

Griffith hung up the phone, only to find that the sound of the bathroom running water had stopped long ago. Reid sat on his bed, the dark circles under his eyes were much better than before he went out in the morning, Griffith sighed: "I'm going to wash, remember to call me tomorrow morning."

"Ah."

The first snowflakes fell to the ground quietly, and with the twinkling lights, a new Christmas was ushered in.