Chapter 38
It had never been hard for Stephanie to pick up a phone and call her mom until the day she realized she had been dating Court for two months and hadn’t told her parents about it.
That she couldn’t see her life without the woman anymore.
They had fallen into a routine that suited them both, and neither wanted to change.
It was a rare night that they spent apart and rarer that they didn’t see each other at some point during the day.
Mostly they stayed at Court’s condo because it was bigger and more comfortable, but also closer to both their work.
That she had been within a dozen blocks of Court all this time seemed unbelievable.
Not once had they run into each other until that night at the club.
Picking up the phone, she knew she had to make the call. Today was her mom’s birthday. Not once since she moved away from home had she not called. Even if she hadn’t actually talked to her since walking out of the house after Court left.
She had expected someone to call her, but that hadn’t happened and now, of course, the ball was in her court. Usually, she talked to the woman weekly, if not twice a week, catching up on each other’s lives. After the blowup, it seemed her mom was no longer interested in her life.
Even as she dialed, she knew she needed to tell them everything.
Court was now such a big part of her life that she couldn’t hide what they were to each other.
Which meant she’d learn today if they were going to treat her the same as they treated Court all those weekends ago.
Because there was no way Stephanie would let anyone treat Court that way again. Not when she was around.
It wasn’t that her parents were mean, it was that they had never given Court the love she deserved.
Marlene had let her jealousy of Helene cloud her feelings for a child that Calvin had been close to.
As if he would leave her for the woman who had never looked his way in the years after his friend had died.
But Calvin was to be blamed even more. Had he been so easily convinced, Court was out of control?
If she’d been out of control, Stephanie could see why he wouldn’t want her around his step-kids, but had he known it was just because she was gay that she was out of control? Would that have changed things?
Did she even know her stepfather anymore?
Calvin wasn’t the only one who changed in her eyes in the last few months.
Court had all but stopped her clubbing with Rebel and Ellis.
Though she still went out a night or two a month.
On those nights, she gave Stephanie the option to join them when she was done with her last class for the night.
Sometimes she did and sometimes she let the friends have time together, knowing she’d worry about Court and the women she could go home with.
Until the woman crawled into her bed at the end of the evening, could she truly relax?
Tonight, she hoped, would be no different.
The three friends were meeting for drinks and to comfort Ellis after a breakup.
Or what Court said was a breakup, but wasn’t with the man she was seeing.
Nope, it was with her therapist. Which Court had said was far more devastating for the woman.
Men came and went, therapist lasted years.
So far, she hadn’t been able to get on the right side of Court’s best friend. She was cold and distant whenever they were together. More than a little judgmental of everything Stephanie said or did. Rebel was nothing but accepting and friendly.
Staying home tonight wasn’t about her avoiding Ellis, it was that she was letting them have that time together.
And because she needed to make a call that she usually made right away in the morning.
But since she had been putting it off, it was already after dark, and she was still finding excuses not to call her mom.
Sitting on her couch, she ran a hand over the spot Court had picked at the night she told her story. A story that Stephanie knew her family was complicit in. Even if Court didn't say it, Calvin hadn’t stepped in when it was needed the most.
Instead, he had been focused on her family, her siblings, and everything they were doing. And even if he hadn’t stopped her from being sent away, he could have taken her in after. Or even tried to contact her earlier, not waiting until he thought his own life was ending to make a move.
Listening to the phone ring, Stephanie wished it wasn’t answered, that would be far easier than talking to her mom. Even after two months, she didn’t know how she’d handle the anger that still lingered.
“Stephanie, is that you?” Marlene asked, even though she had caller ID on the phone she was talking into, so knew exactly who she was talking to.
“Hi Mom, happy birthday.” She said flatly and hoped her mom would just still be mad at her for not contacting her for months and they could just end this call in a fight. Leaving her with the knowledge that she had made the call.
Instead, her mom said nothing about the past, but gushed, “Thank you, honey. You are the last of your siblings to call today.”
“Yeah, I was busy today.” She emphasized the word today, because she hadn’t called in weeks. Not that Marlene had picked up her phone, either.
“How are things going for you?” Her mom asked, giving her the opening she needed.
“Good.” She chickened out.
“How is Jordan? You two are still getting along? I know business partners sometimes fall into a pattern of dislike.” Marlene was always interested if they were fighting. Even when they first opened the gym, the woman had been convinced their friendship wouldn’t last.
“She’s good. The gym is getting a little membership spike because of some advertising we have started.” She wanted to go into the fact that Court’s suggestions had been spot on, that they were getting a few new members every week. Steady numbers finally.
“Are you seeing anyone?” As usual, it was actually more important than how Stephanie was to her mom, but she almost always remembered to ask those questions first.
It was now or never, so she answered honestly, “I am, for a few months now. I think I’ve found the one. Well, no, I know I have.”
“The one! Who is he, what does he do and, more importantly, does he feel the same? When can we meet him? Does he want to meet us?” Her mom automatically assumed it was a man, of course. Even if Stephanie had told them again and again that she dated women as well.
“She, Mom. And yes, she feels the same. She's an investment banker.” Stephanie told her and hoped that was the right phrasing for her job. It was working with other’s money, and Court was good at it.
But mostly she didn’t talk about it much with her.
She only knew so much because she was always saying Rebel was a numbers genius, and Rebel would say it back to her.
“Oh, you’re doing that again.” Her mom sounded anything but approving.
Deflated, she realized she had hoped her mom would be as excited about her and Court as Stephanie was. “Yes, Mom. I’m still bisexual. I know you’d like that not to be the case, but it is.”
“I never said that, Stephanie. I just want you to have a normal life.”
Gritting her teeth, Stephanie explained slowly, like she was talking to a child, “Nobody has a normal life, I’ve told you that. Nobody’s life is the same, so there is no normal.”
“Easier than. You know what I’m saying.” She sounded put out by being chastised by her daughter.
“I don’t see it that way. I like my life the way it is, and I like spending time with Court.
It’s only harder for you because being happy is easy for me.
I’m dating Court, and I don’t really care if you approve or not.
” She said, knowing she was lecturing, but not caring.
Court was far too important to let her mom’s words slide.
“Tell me about her, then. This Court.” Marlene said the name as if it wasn’t real.
“She’s kind and considerate. She's always asking me about me and actually listening to what I have to say. Every Friday she brings me flowers, because we met on a Friday. Nobody’s ever done that for me before.
She’s everything I have been looking for in a person.
” She said there was just so much she loved about her.
“She sounds nice.” Was all her mother said about her description.
Finally going for broke, she admitted, “She is. It’s Calvin’s goddaughter, Court. We have been together since the weekend at your place.”
“Oh, Courtney,” her mom said softly, more to herself than to Stephanie.
Rushing in with an explanation, she added, “It wasn’t like it was planned or anything. There was just chemistry that couldn’t be denied, so we stopped fighting it.”
“Something happened in the bathroom, didn’t it?” Her mom accused.
“Nothing happened in the bathroom. We were just talking.” Stephanie lied. A little kissing was actually nothing when talking to her mom. “Her name is Court now. She doesn’t use Courtney anymore. She told everyone that over and over again that weekend.”
“I don’t know if I like that you and Courtney, Court, are dating. Don’t you think you two are too close? You grew up together.”
“No, because we barely knew each other back then. And I don’t care if you like it or not, I like her. In fact, I love her. As I said, she's the one.”
Her mom sighed loudly. “You're just springing this on me after not calling for months.”
“Mom, you tried to ignore her all weekend and then basically kicked her out of your house. All she wanted to do was talk to Calvin.”
Since hearing Court’s story, Stephanie couldn’t put Calvin back in the same box she had always had him in. No longer was he the fun stepdad she happily called dad for years. Now he was Calvin, who played favorites and in doing so caused damage to someone she loved. Damage that would never be fixed.
“What about?” Marlene all but demanded.
“That’s between them, not us.” She said calmly, because she was never going to be the one who told Court’s story to anyone. That would always be up to the woman herself as to whom she shared it with.
“So have you taken her side and we will never see you again?” Marlene pouted on the other end of the phone line.
“There are no sides, Mom, and weather we spend time with you or not is up to you. Because I'm part of an us with her now. You will have to treat her with respect or you won’t see either one of us.” She said, surprising herself with how much conviction she was putting in every word, because until right now she hadn’t thought she felt it.
But now she knew she was on Court’s side and wanted everyone to know, “That goes for everyone in the family.”
“Honey, you can’t dictate what everyone thinks.” Marlene argued.
Sitting up straight, she told her mom sternly, “For Court, I can and I will. She deserves better from us as a family, and I want her to see that things are different now. But more importantly, I want her to know she’s the most important person in the world to me.
When you completely understand what I just said, give me a call. ”
Ending the call, Stephanie realized she felt nothing but relief that they knew. There was no sadness that she was effectively out of her family, but a sadness that they disliked Court so much that they were willing to let her leave the family.