Little!Dennis Whitaker who was a victim of emotional incest.
He was always very close with his mother, but of course he always thought it was just because he was her baby. His brothers always resented him for being coddled and getting away with anything, much like most youngest siblings do… but as he gets older things shift.
His mom and dad don’t really love each other as much as their pastor says parents are supposed to love each other. Dad is sleeping on the couch more and more. And every so often, Dennis will wake up to his mother pulling him from bed. “Come get in the big bed with mommy. You’ll sleep better.”
He’s only 11. Its normal to find comfort in your mom. And he assumes that its ok for her to find comfort in him too. They just love each other so much. She tells him about how much she loves him, and how she sometimes wishes they could leave Dad and Trent and Elijah and Connor here on the farm. They could live by themselves and he could be her sweet little Dennis forever. And that sounds okay… he doesn’t like how aggressive his dad and brothers are anyway.
And when mom says that he’s the only reason she hasn’t killed herself… thats just how much she loves him right? So he should keep being her sweet boy. He needs to take care of his mom. He’ll go to church with her. He’ll think about being a pastor, like his dad always wanted to be. He’ll listen to his mother cry and scream about how hard life is… and he’ll hold her while she cries, even though he’s only 15– and 15 year olds shouldn’t have to be the ones comforting their mothers.
But Dennis isn’t perfect. He can’t be exactly what she needs. She needs a husband. One who will take care of her. And for a while, Dennis could do that. He could listen to all her problems, and tell her that it would all be okay. But he can’t fill that hole forever. Especially because he’s not the kind of man his mommy needs. He’s not that happy pursuing religion. He wants to help people and go into medicine, but she thinks that emergency medicine is the work of the devil… And he hates to disappoint her. And he hates to take away the only thing thats keeping her here on the planet. But maybe since he’s done so much for her, she’ll finally be able to return the favor and try to understand him a little?
Now, he’s in the condo of his boyfriend who’s twice his age. A man in his 50’s who is actively working on his mental health, but never asks Dennis to deal with his depressive episodes. A man who is good at keeping clear boundaries, yet makes him feel more loved than any person ever has.
A man who takes care of him as well. Who lets him cry, and act childish without telling him he’s wrong for that. A man who holds him and tells him how he’s so brave for doing anything remotely scary or overwhelming.
There are definitely a few wires crossed in his brain. Mainly the ones that connect the way he receives love and affection, and the feeling of being babied and coddled. But now he lives with Robby— who’s loves that about him.
Robby puts him to bed in his crib every night, even though he knows he’s going to wake up to that soft voice an hour later over the baby monitor. The poor boy who needs someone to cuddle up to.
But when Robby picks him up and takes him to the big bed, its different than his mom. For one, Dennis always wants to go cuddle with him. And secondly, Robby is his companion. His partner, who is going to love him no matter what happens. If he makes a mistake or responds to something wrong, Robby is still going to be there telling him that he loves him. And its not because Dennis the only thing keeping him alive.
Robby would pick his little Dennis over anybody else. His mother had nobody else.
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