Getting There

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Wala naman." he answered.

"Are you sure?"

"My sister asked me earlier if I were gay."

"What did you say?" I asked

"I denied it. I should have just told her the truth but it just didn't feel right yet."

"Yeah. You can't really rush it you know."

This is the one thing that Gregory has been struggling with.

How to come out to his family.

"I just wanna get it out in the open. I want them to know who I really am. I want them to know that you're my boyfriend." he said.

I could feel his agony. I was in the same situation as him before.

"It will happen when the time is right. It's not something you can rush." I told him.

"I'm thinking about coming out to them tomorrow during our family dinner. But I'm not sure yet. I don't know what to do." I was just listening. "How will I know if it's the right time na?"

"I can't tell you when the right time is," I said. "It's something you'll figure out on your own."

"When you came out, how did you know that it was time for you to come out?" he asked.

"I was miserable. I was emotionally exhausted." I said. "Why don't you try this. This is what I did before. It took me weeks to decide whether I should come out or not. Everyday I would ask myself if I were ready and everyday I told myself 'no'. This went on for weeks. One day I asked myself again, but this time instead of saying 'no', I said 'maybe'. That's when I knew that I was close to being ready." I added.

"You do know that this is one of the obstacles we'll have to face right?" he asked with an apologetic tone.

"Yeah. I know. Don't worry. When you're ready to come out, I'll be here. I'll hold your hand and assure you that everything will be okay. Whatever happens, I'll be here." I assured him.

I don't know when Gregory plans to come out but I know that he wants to. When that time comes, I'll be there and I'll make sure that he's okay.

I told him, the feeling of relief is unparalleled once you come out.

I've met his entire family and I think the most accepting would be his Mom. Next would be his dad. The one's who'll probably be in denial for some time would be his sisters. I told him that this is something he should be ready for.

He already has his mom's blessing, actually.

But that's a story for another day :)