“I’mverygay,” Lily announced proudly, picking up her bottle and holding it up in a cheers. Diana clinked her glass and then so did Maya, who turned to meet Hanna’s eyes and burst into laughter.
Lily began to laugh, and so did Diana.
It was contagious, and Hanna found herself laughing too, not even from relief at finally saying it out loud but from the sheer ridiculousness of the situation, and the love and gratitude she felt towards her girlfriends who were beingtherefor her in the best way.
“Well then, congratulations ladies, but I already knew about you, kiddo,” Diana said, taking Lily’s hand and giving it a squeeze. “Came out to me and my sister back in—what was it, seventh? Eighth grade? We took her out to celebrate,” she continued, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Suddenly, Hanna remembered she’d only gotten half of it out. “Um and Lily, I’m dating Lily, and Maya. I’m dating both Lily and Maya. We are together. The three of us.”
Silence returned back to the table, until Diana said nonchalantly, “Triads are poly on hard mode, but y’all are young.”
“Hanna?”
She turned to her mother this time and forced herself to meet her gaze. “Yeah Mom?”
“So, you’re–so you’re interested in girls? But Jeff?—”
“Boys, girls, and well, I’m bisexual.”
“Okay, and so, what, the three of you are–together?”
Hanna turned to look at Lily and Maya, who looked at her as they nodded.
Mary let out a little laugh. “Is this real?”
“Yes, Mom, I’m moving with them to Providence, they’re who I am moving in with.”
“I knew based on your chart you’d be a U-Hauler,” Diana said to Lily.
“You can’t, I mean, come on, is this why you are holding off on med school? To play out some fantasy?”
Her mother’s words sent ice down her spine, and she could feel her eyes sting with the threat of tears. “It’s not a fantasy, Mom,” Hanna said quietly.
“Well then what is it? I thought you had a plan, and now your plan is—” her mother couldn’t seem to complete sentences. “Is that why you brought us here? To tell us all together?” She looked around the table.
Hanna fixed her eyes on her hands in her lap. Finally she heard her dad say, “Mary, I think it’d be best to?—”
“I’m just trying to understand. My daughter got into Tufts, she volunteered at our church, she got great grades, graduated summa cum laude for crying out loud, was going to be pre-med, and all of the sudden, she starts hanging out here at the Do Whatever You Want and Live However You Want to Live Orchard and telling me she’s bisexual — okay, but this?” From her peripheral vision, Hanna could see her mom was gesturing towards Lily and Maya, “Going to forgo med school to live in, what? A brothel?—”
“Mary!” Her father’s voice was a volume she’d never heard before. It was enough to make her look up again, eyes full of tears that began to spill over.
“Listen Mary McAvoy, I do not care what you say about me and how I run things, but you will not talk about my daughter and who she decides to love this way.” Diana’s voice was low and cool, something Hanna had not heard before either.
“Hanna.” Hanna looked up at the sound of her name and found Lily’s eyes. “Come here,“ Lily said, getting to her feet.
“Hanna,” her mother warned.
Hanna pushed back from the table and walked over to Lily, who pulled her into her arms.
“We love your daughter,” she heard Maya saying. “We are in love.” Hanna heard Maya stand and then felt her warm hand onher back. That’s when she broke. She turned her face into Lily and began to cry.
“Hanna,” she heard her mother almost hiss.
Hanna was able to pull together her composure just enough to say, “It’s true Mom, I love them, they’re my future too. I’ll still go to medical school if it still feels right, but loving them isn’t throwing my life away, it’s making it better.”
“Are you not going to say anything?” Mary turned to Maggie, who hadn’t said a thing.
“I love my daughter,” she said weakly and shrugged, “but sure, this is super surprising.”
