“He didn’t say it was true. He just said he wouldn’t answer the question.” That one was definitely Mike Davis.
“Then we don’t know for sure. It’s just gossip.”
“If there wasn’t, don’t you think he’d say so rather than saying it’s nobody’s business?”
“There might be reasons he would.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Protecting Ian or something. There may be some reason we don’t know about.”
“Do we even know for sure that Ian is gay, or is that just a rumor?” asked a male voice.
Various voices replied, overlapping. “Oh, yeah, he’s gay. He’s definitely gay.”
Ian shrugged and shook his head.
“He definitely is. He said so himself. At the blood drive. He said he couldn’t give because they don’t let gays give blood.” That had to be Margaret.
“Yeah, and then a few days later, Paul took his name off the sign-up list.”
“Thanks, Emily,” Paul muttered.
“That’s pretty suspicious.”
“But that’s not proof of anything.” Paul recognized Julie’s voice instantly. “There could be all kinds of reasons for that.”
“You really think there’s another reason?” Mike said. “They live together, the two of them took their vacation at the same time. Why do you think that is?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think we should assume anything.”
Next came an unrecognized male voice: “Come on. Haven’t you seen the way they look at each other? They’re clearly gay.”
“I saw them in the conference room one time. It looked like they’d been kissing.”
“We were not,” Paul argued with the unknown voice.
“How does someone look like they have been kissing?” Julie asked.
Ian laughed at this.
“What I think…. This question of being gay or not gay…. I don’t think that it’s a problem if Ian is gay, but I don’t know if Paul should…. Isn’t the question whether or not Paul is a good minister? Because I remember, you know, when we met for the Worship Committee…. Oh, that was the time that Ian ran out of the house wasn’t it? See, it seemed like there was something going on there.”
“Rella,” Ian and Paul said in unison.
“I know Paul is fond of Ian, but I always assumed he felt protective of him, like a son. Just because you’re close to someone gay doesn’t necessarily mean you’re gay too,” said an older woman.
“But that’s the most likely explanation, isn’t it?” Mike said. “All the other reasons are kind of a stretch.”
“I just want to say something,” said a female voice. “So what if he is gay? My husband and I are new to the church, and we came because we liked the minister. We love his sermons, and he’s been really welcoming and helpful to us. As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter if he is gay or straight or from Mars. He’s the reason we came here, and we’re going to keep coming.”
Another female voice: “I’m not homophobic. I don’t care what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own home….”
What two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own home, Paul thought. Was someone really using that expression about him?
“But we’re trying to grow our membership. We have to be realistic. If you’d heard that this church had a gay minister before you came, would you have gone somewhere else?”
“It wouldn’t have made any difference to us.”