4.

"Shawn, I have something to tell you," Jack announced one day.

"Wait. Coffee." Shawn poured himself some in an oversized mug, and then added a ton of sugar and cream. He drank about half of it before he said, "Okay, caffeine's kicking in. What?"

"It's about, well, why I came here instead of going home."

"Okay," Shawn said slowly. "I thought that you just didn't want to deal with your mom and stuff."

"That, but, plus, before I left for the Peace Corps, I came out to my parents."

Shawn sat stock still for a moment, then whooped for joy and ran for the phone. As he dialed, he did a little dance of celebration. "Hey, Angela!" he said happily. "We're even girl. Yeah, I know it's past midnight there, or I do now. Anyway, I just wanted you to know... yeah, seriously! No, I don't think so, at least not yet. 'Kay, love you, bye."

"You just called Angela internationally why?" Jack asked after Shawn returned to the table.

"Because there was a bet, and I won, but she won first. So, we're even."

"Do I want to know?"

"Prolly not," Shawn said agreeably and got up from the table, still drinking his coffee.