Seven Dates

Chapter Twenty-Nine

My hand rests on the doorknob to my house. I take a deep breath and try to exhale slowly. I focus on my heartbeat, trying to will it into relaxing.

"Oh, come on, you're taking ages," Ari rolls her eyes, strides up beside me, and twists open the door handle. My parents are hanging out in the living room, watching the news. "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Derington. Can I turn off the TV for just a second?"

"I guess so," my mother says nervously. If I wasn't so terrified, I would probably be laughing at the situation. Ari is more bold on a daily basis than I could ever dream of being. Silence rests between us all for almost a full minute. Mom and dad just stare at me, waiting for me to speak.

"I'm a lesbian," I blurt out. "I know it's against the Bible and you'll probably hate me forever and disown me for it. I'm really sorry. I've tried not to be, but I can't do it. Please don't hate me," I ramble. My whole body is shaking. My parents exchange an uncomfortable expression.

"By the way, if you disown her my mom already said she'll take her in as her own. She's really excited to have an awesome second daughter," Ari threatens them, raising her eyebrow. I feel Leah wrap her hand around mine and give it a light, reassuring squeeze.

"I don't get it at all," my father says. Silence rests between us again for what feels like an eternity. I brace myself for what he's going to say next. "But you're still our daughter. We're not going to disown you," he finishes, his face softening.

I look at my mother, who has her eyes fixed on her Bible. I know she's having some sort of major internal crisis right now. She's probably thinking something like, "Where did I go wrong?" or "How can I exorcise the demon causing my daughter's lesbianism out of her?"

"I'm not happy at all. I'm really not happy," my mother whispers. I let out a long exhale. I knew it would be like this. "But you're eighteen. It's your choice, whether I like it or not." She sighs, standing up from the couch and walking toward me.

She holds out her arms and pulls me into a hug. "Do you still believe in God?" She asks. I nod. "That's good, at least. Just, I don't know, pray extra hard, okay? Please? I love you," she rambles. I feel tears coming to my eyes again.

"You're going to have to tell the relatives," my dad tells me from the couch. I choke out a laugh between sobs. My mother pets my hair. I glance over at my friends. I see Ari giving me a thumbs up and Brent and Leah smiling.

Even though my family doesn't understand or support me, it's enough for me that they still love me.

It's enough for me that even though I'm a lesbian my overly religious mother will still wrap me in a hug. It's enough that even though my father is prejudice against LGBT people he can look me in the eye and tell me that I'm still his daughter.

I don't need them to love lesbians or be supportive, I just need them to still be my parents. I just need them to still care about me.