Chapter 2 #3
Sarah studied her briefly. She opened her mouth, ready to answer, when the bathroom door swung open and Lily burst into the room in a flurry of hairspray and shimmering crystals.
“Okay,” Lily stated matter-of-factly, cocking a hip, her hand resting on it in her classic I’m about to tell you something important stance she had adopted as a child. “So before I go, I need to tell you two that I’m dating Wren.”
Beth blinked. Whatever she’d been expecting Lily to say, it definitely wasn’t that.
“She’s my girlfriend,” Lily said in a perfectly even tone, as though she was running through a checklist. “No one knows except Dylan, Wren’s roommate Sydney, and now you two…
So, like, you’re now sworn to secrecy, obviously.
But Wren wanted me to tell you so now that that’s done”—she bent down to pick up her gym bag—“I’m gonna go.
” She shifted her weight towards the door.
Beth’s mind scrambled to catch up. Lily and Wren were dating. Not completely out of the realm of possibility, but this was Lily. Lily, who had never expressed so much as ever having a crush on anyone. Lily, who had eyes and headspace only for gymnastics.
Her eyes immediately went to Sarah. Sarah, for her part, had kept an impeccable poker face, no doubt thanks to all her years of being a shark in the courtroom. Not a single muscle in her face moved.
“Not so fast, Lils,” Sarah said, looking first to Beth, then to their daughter.
Lily groaned, dropping the bag. “What? I need to go.”
“You have plenty of time,” Sarah replied evenly. “You just told us something kind of important. Let’s take a minute and catch our breath.”
Beth’s mouth opened, then closed; her mind was still spinning around Lily’s admission. How had she missed this?
“So you and Wren...are dating?”
“Yeah,” Lily said with a small sigh. “It’s not that big of a deal.
I like her, she likes me, we’ve been together for a few months.
And before you ask, I don’t know if I’m a lesbian or bi or pan or whatever.
I’ve been a little too busy with, you know, training for the Olympics to really sit down and think about it.
I’m still me, Wren’s still Wren, and yeah. That’s it.”
Beth caught Sarah’s eye, silently begging for backup. But her brain and, unfortunately, her mouth had already taken a turn down the wrong path. “You know Wren’s gay, right?” she blurted out.
Both Lily and Sarah looked at her like she had grown an extra limb and she couldn’t blame them because what was that? Her cheeks burned as she tried to organize her thoughts.
“Uh, yeah, Mama, I know Wren’s gay. She came out to me, like, forever ago.”
“I think what your mama was trying to—” Sarah interjected.
Beth opened her mouth to try again, to say literally anything else, but it was too late. The words were already coming out. “Are you two…sexually active?”
Silence filled the room as Sarah and Lily both gawked at her.
“Oh my god!” Lily groaned, covering her face with both her hands.
“No, for the record, we’re not doing any of that because we decided to wait until after the Olympics.
You know, no distractions. This year is too big for both of us.
I needed to tell you guys because I can’t be worrying that you don’t know about Wren and me while I’m trying to stick the most difficult beam routine I’ve ever attempted. ”
Beth nodded, raising her hands in surrender. “Okay, good to know. Just, as your mama, I had to ask. Sex is totally normal and fun when it’s with someone you really love and—”
“I get it.” Lily cringed as she bent to pick up her bag. “Well, that went even worse than I thought it would in my head, but now you know. Thanks so much for the supportive and super normal conversation.”
Sarah stood and moved around the table, wrapping Lily into a hug. “We’re both so happy for you, Lils. And Wren. You know you can always talk to us about anything going on in your life and we’ll try our best to be whatever support you need.”
“I know,” Lily muttered into Sarah’s shoulder.
“Kick butt today. Find us in the stands?”
“Thanks, Mom. I’m glad at least one of you is normal.
” Lily moved towards the door, pausing briefly with her hand on the door handle.
“I love you both, but please let’s never speak of this again.
Okay? But next time you see Wren, tell her how happy you are for us.
She really cares a lot about what you think of her. ”
With that, Lily was gone, the door clicking behind her.
A slow clapping sound filled the room as Sarah turned to face her, a grin stretching across her face. Beth groaned, burying her head in her arms on the table.
“That had to be some of your finest parenting, and let me just say, I’m thrilled to have been able to bear witness to such artistry.” Sarah did not attempt to hide the laughter that laced her words.
Beth looked up. “I panicked. It’s not even surprising, Lily and Wren—we all kind of knew that one was coming—but I don’t know what happened. My brain short-circuited.”
“Lily will recover,” Sarah said with a small smile. “But you know this definitely ranks as her top-most embarrassing conversation with us, right?”
Beth groaned again. They sat in an unfamiliar quiet together.
Sarah reached for her water bottle, pausing halfway to her lips. “This weekend’s probably hitting a little differently for you without Jamie here.”
Beth looked down at the table, not sure how to answer Sarah. She decided to go with the truth. “Yeah. It is.”
“It’s not the same being here without her,” Sarah said quietly, not looking at her. “If you want to talk later, or sit and not talk, I’m around. You let me know, okay?” She flexed her hand before slowly reaching out, giving Beth’s arm a gentle squeeze, the heat of her touch reassuring.
Beth looked up, slightly taken aback by the offer and the gesture. “Thanks,” she said appreciatively.
Sarah took a swig from her water bottle before leaning towards her, bumping their shoulders together, her lips twitching. “Oh, by the way… Did you know Wren’s gay?”
Beth caught her eye and this time she noticed the slight sparkle mixed with the hazel coloring, accompanied by that familiar feeling of being around Sarah.
It was like taking a deep breath. And even after all this time and everything they’d been through, it surprised her that that feeling was still there.
She dropped her head back onto the table with a thunk. “Most embarrassing parent award goes to me today.”
Sarah’s unguarded laugh filled the kitchenette, echoing off the hard surfaces, filling her.
Before Beth could stop herself, she smiled too, wide and real and just as unguarded for the first time in what felt like forever.
“And I’m usually so good at conversations like these,” she added, her body buzzing with the unexpected surge of joy where guilt usually settled.
“I know. Heart-to-hearts have always been your forte, so the fumble is that much funnier. This definitely makes my list of top ten favorite parenting moments with you.”
“You keep a list?” Beth asked, intrigued. “What’s on it?”
Sarah eyed her, a smile curling at the corners of her mouth. “Oh, all sorts of things,” she said gently. “We may have had our ups and downs, but I have always loved every moment of raising Lily with you. I mean, we did create damn near perfection.”
“We did, didn’t we?” Beth agreed, grateful, as always, for having someone like Sarah in her life.