Chapter 24
SAGE
“Idid it!” Aspen practically screams as soon as I answer her call.
“Did what?” I ask with a laugh.
“I got my dad to sign over his shares, and then I told them I’m a lesbian and walked out of their lives for good,” she says, sounding so happy it makes me tear up a little. “Arthur drove the getaway car, it was amazing.”
“Holy shit! That’s incredible, babe.” I realize I’m matching her energy and basically yelling now too, so I try to tone it down for the sake of my family even though I’m alone in my room.
It’s the morning after Christmas, so I’m still here for another day.
I wish I could be there with Aspen now, to hug and congratulate her in person. Actually…
“Wait, you already left?” I check. “Are you going back to Chicago now?”
“In a few hours probably. I need to go drop off Parker’s stuff at the hospital and then I’ll figure out a flight,” she answers.
“Come here instead,” I suggest, failing to contain my excitement about the idea.
“To your parents house?” she asks, obviously confused.
“If you came out to your parents, then I want to too,” I decide aloud.
I’m assuming they won’t be thrilled about it, but it’s time I tell them.
If Aspen doesn’t have to worry about her father’s influence on her business anymore, there’s no reason for us to hide.
“I’ll tell them even if you can’t come,” I assure her.
“I just thought it could be fun to do it together.”
“Of course I’ll be there,” she responds, bringing butterflies to life in my stomach. Even after months of us being together, she makes me blush all the time. I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of how easy it is to love her or how cherished she makes me feel.
A few hours later, Aspen is texting me that her rideshare is here, and I excuse myself from the living room where everyone is watching a Christmas movie to go answer the door.
I probably should have given my family some warning that she was coming, but then they would have asked questions, and I was worried I’d spill everything.
I quietly greet her on the front porch, immediately pulling her in for a kiss before she can even say anything. After a moment, she pulls back. “Well, hello to you too,” she says with a laugh.
“Hi.” I smile back. “I’m so happy for you that it worked out with your dad.”
“I’m so happy for us,” she responds, running a hand through my hair as I hold her hips, not wanting to let go. Even if it’s only been a couple of days apart, that’s unusual for us even before we were dating, so being back in the same place is a huge comfort. “Now we can be together publicly!”
I beam at the thought. I’ve never resented our situation, but I am more than ready to be ourselves in public, to let the world know that we’re in love.
“Time to go tell my family,” I say, faking enthusiasm, because as excited as I am to claim our relationship, I know this is going to be an awkward conversation.
It might not end well. I have all my bags packed in case they ask me to leave.
“Did you tell them I was coming?” Aspen checks.
I shake my head. “No, we’re just going to walk in and announce it,” I inform her, sounding far more confident than I feel.
“Lead the way,” she agrees, matching my falsely bright attitude.
We go inside, and I clear my throat when I get to the entryway to the living space everyone is hanging out in.
They all turn to me, varying degrees of curiosity in their expressions as they see I’m not alone.
“Oh, hello!” My mother jumps up from her armchair, putting down her knitting as she rushes forward to give Aspen a hug.
“Sweetie, I had no idea you were coming! How are you?” my mother asks.
Everyone in my family knows Aspen, and they seem excited to see her, but I have no idea if that’s about to change.
“Great, thank you,” Aspen replies, hugging her back somewhat hesitantly.
“Sage, darling, why didn’t you tell us?” she asks when they step apart.
I glance around the room, attempting to ignore the giant knot of nerves twisting around in my stomach as I try to figure out what to say, but I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to phrase it, so I stop overthinking the exact words.
“I wanted Aspen to be here when I told you all that we’re together,” I finally blurt out, a little louder than I intended.
I’m expecting surprised, shocked expressions, maybe even anger, but everyone still looks confused. I must not have been clear enough. “We’re dating,” I explain, but again there’s no reaction. “Each other. We’re dating each other,” I clarify. “She’s my girlfriend, and we’re in love.”
Aspen steps to my side, taking my hand in hers and offering a light squeeze in support as I wait for anyone to have a reaction.
After what feels like the longest moment of my life, my eight-year-old niece is the first to speak up. “Mom, I thought you said that Aunt Sage’s girlfriend couldn’t come,” she says.
Wait. What? Did they overhear me talking to her? How would they know?
“Sweetie,” my mother says, smiling as she steps closer to place a hand on my forearm. “Thank you for finally telling us.”
Seriously, what is happening right now? “You already knew?” I ask.
“Of course we knew, but we didn’t want to pressure you into telling us. We wanted you to come out in your own time,” she explains.
“Took you a lot longer than we expected, though,” my father adds, confusing me even more.
“Longer? What do you mean? When did you find out?” I question.
“Oh, gosh, Sage. It’s been, what, almost ten years now?”
Aspen bursts out laughing next to me as I stare at my family, mouth hanging open in shock. After what feels like an entire minute of silence, I finally remember how to talk. “We’ve only been dating for, like, four months,” I protest.
Now my family looks as confused as I feel. “That can’t be true,” my sister responds. “You moved to Chicago to be with her.”
“And all the trips to Paris,” my brother adds.
“We were just best friends until August!” I insist. They’re all staring at me skeptically now, and I realize something. “Wait. So none of you care?”
“We just want you to be happy,” my mother assures me.
Well, this certainly was not how I pictured this conversation going.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard my family give an opinion of LGBTQIA+ anything.
Our town is pretty small and everyone is so conservative that I just assumed they would protest, not that they were giving me space to come out when I was ready.
“For the record, I have been in love with her the whole time,” Aspen adds, easing some of the tension I’m still feeling. “She just didn’t know that until a few months ago.”
I laugh and my family joins in, congratulating me and us as they invite her to stay.
I’m still kind of stunned about how this all went down, and I’m surprised by how relieved I feel.
I was trying to convince myself that it wouldn’t matter if my family kicked me out of their lives, but it's clear to me now, with how happy I am that they didn't, just how devastated I would have been.
I might not have the closest relationship with them, but maybe I haven’t put in enough effort.
We love each other, and having more people in your life who love you is always a good thing.
Aspen isn’t mourning the loss of her own family, but I’m hopeful that if my family doesn’t feel like I’m hiding a huge part of myself from them, that we can all be closer, Aspen included.
I’m lost in my thoughts when Aspen slips her hands around my waist, hugging me from behind. “I’m so glad that I was here for this,” she whispers, kissing my cheek.
“Me too,” I agree. “Even if I was the very last person to realize that we were into each other,” I add with a laugh.
“It might have taken us a while to get here,” she agrees. “But I’m thrilled with our life just the way it is right now.”
“So am I,” I say, spinning in her arms to give her a real kiss. No one in my family even reacts to the public display of affection, and it’s such an amazing feeling to not have to worry about hiding our love anymore. “I love you, Aspen.”
“I’ve always loved you, baby,” she responds, making my cheeks heat. “And I always will.”
Aspen is right, there’s no use in wondering what might have been if I’d realized I was in love with my best friend years ago.
We’ve still had all that time together, and I wouldn’t change a thing, because it brought us here.
And no matter what the future brings, I know we’ll continue to love and support each other through it all.
I get to spend every day with my best friend, my person, the love of my life.
It might sound cheesy, but it really does feel like a dream come true.
THE END