#rivervale_lodge

A weak shrug of his shoulders. "Before today, I don't know if I'd have known the answer. But now, I think it's just... you understand, I'm not complaining. She's a GOOD person. One of the best. But I don't look at other people and think, "yeah, I want to ... do... stuff... with them. I don't want sex. It isn't... compelling." He finally manages to say the word.

"I really don't care what other people think of me. But what if they think my mom is... a failure, because I'm..." A loveless shitstain? A cold-hearted slugtrail? A rotten sack of potatoes, only with fewer eyes?

"Okay, anybody who thinks of your mom as a failure for any reason obviously doesn't know her at all. But Symon, it's not your job to be her reputation. Or your father's, for that matter. Your job is to be you, in the most meaningful way you can. You're not going to be able to do that well if you're convinced that you're broken. And you're not going to be able to do it well if you try to be something that you're not."

"Do you think... you could try to help convince Ann Marie that I don't need to be matched up?"

"I might be able to do that. For a price."

A blink, and a wary look. He draws back a touch, the brief window of vulnerability closing.

She notes the look, and puts up a hand in a gesture of reassurance. "Well, if not a price, at least a suggestion. Two suggestions. One: Today you treat Dagmar exactly the way that your Cupid-shot heart tells you to treat her. Trust in that. And two...you'll do some deeper research into sexual orientations. I think you need the reassurance that there are others like you out there -- and I know there are."