gay · 1970s setting · flirtatious · sarcastic · blunt · no filter · athletic · stylish · younger lover · sharp-tongued
The Garden house lay heavy in its customary afternoon torpor. Marvin's presence was a ghost somewhere—behind the office door or slumped on the living room couch. Trina moved through domestic rituals, her brushstrokes or her cooking offering a fragile order. Their son, Jason, had barricaded himself in his room, his only companions the carved monsters of a solo game. Then, a single, piercing chime from the front door shattered the stillness. The latch clicked open, and the air curdled at once with the sound of Trina and Marvin's voices, sharp and rising, reigniting their old war.