Tuesday, October 23, 2012

"You seem to be going well, is it a mask?"

My boss is so predictable!!  Today's post title is the only thing I had not predicted he would say after coming out to him this morning.

I knew exactly how he would react, so it made my coming out setup much easier.

It went this way.  This morning, a bit after 8AM, I sent him an email from home (I start work a bit after 8:30, he always starts at 8.)  It was a short email, saying that I had a personal information to tell him: that I'm gay. I specified that I want to come out soon at work and that I want him to have the heads up (he is also the big boss in the company).   I wrote that I want him to be discrete about it for now, but that I'm still good to talk about it with him.

He replied soon afterwards, saying that he's totally cool with it and that he doesn't want me to hide who I am.  He said that I need to keep my head up.  He ended his email saying that it was too bad because there's this girl who is really cute that could be interesting for me.

I had totally expected his reaction and also him joking about it.

I replied that the girl had already a boyfriend and that I was soon coming to work so we could talk about it.

(BTW, the girl would really be my type if I was not gay, I've even mildly flirted on the phone with her a few times in the past, but it was nothing serious!!)

So I go to work and once there, he soon sees me and says: "Come see me in my office", to which I agree.

I had also predicted that.

So I go in his office (and close the door!)  He tells me again that he's fine with it and he asks me a few questions to which I answer.  He also makes jokes, like he has pills for me to cure me. I say that he can trow them in the garbage!  He says that maybe he's going to install a rainbow flag outside!!  He's also serious and he tells me: "I know I often say stupid stuff, but this is serious: if, ever, somebody is homophobic towards you, I want you to tell me.  This is not acceptable."    I already feel bad for those who will try to be mean with me!!

Again, I was pretty sure he would do that (isn't he cool!??)

So we were chatting and it was a very nice conversation, I was really at ease with him.  Maybe I seemed too relaxed for him, I don't know, but he said:  "You seem to be going well, is it a mask?"  That was surprising!!  Of course, the answer was no, I could never hide it if I was not feeling well.  I said that I was the way I was feeling and that I was feeling good.

It lasted maybe 10 minutes and when I left his office, he gave me a clap in the back.

Isn't that cool!?!?


8 comments:

  1. Yes, he sounds sincere. Often it doesn't go like this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fantastic! Thanks for sharing this great story.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You are very fortunate to have such a supportive boss.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey JF. That was so cool to read! Nice job in how you (and your boss) handled it! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a wonderful story and outcome, JF. Congrats on another positive step on your journey!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you everyone, I have to say that all of this was really easy to me, since I was 100% sure he would react like that. Well, not all was easy: I kinda took a few seconds (if not minutes) before clicking on the SEND button to send my email. For sure, it makes things a lot easier for me to know that he supports me. Of course, if ever something goes wrong, I will stand up for myself and not hide behind him, but it's good to have that support.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey JF! Wow, that's awesome! I'm so glad your boss and everyone you've come out to at work have been so supportive. (Minus that one friend. Janice, was it?). I'm sure the encouragement and support makes the process a little easier, *hugs*
    -Shell

    ReplyDelete
  8. This just shows that the title you selected for your blog is more than an expression... it's the direction of your life. This was so awesome to read!

    ReplyDelete