“Don’t be sorry,” her mom said with a laugh. “You’ve had an exhausting couple of days, and you were sick on top of it. I’d say you deserve to rest today.”
Jules nodded, but her smile must have fallen flat, because her mom’s eyes narrowed.
“What else aren’t you telling me?” she asked, placing a hand on Jules’s arm.
She blinked, and two fat tears rolled over her cheeks. She’d known, somewhere in the back of her mind, this was going to happen today. Maybe she’d been anticipating it. Keeping secrets from her mom was eating her alive, and she couldn’t bear it another moment. “I have to tell you something, Mami.”
Paula gulped, a kind of fear gleaming in her eyes that told Jules she had jumped to a much more serious conclusion than necessary. “Okay. Anything.”
Jules laughed through her tears. “It’s not anything bad. Well…my heart is a bit broken, but that’s the second half of the story.”
“Aw, sweetie, you’ve fallen in love and gotten your heart broken, and this is the first I’m hearing of it?” Paula pulled her in for a warm hug. “Tell me everything.”
“I didn’t tell you before because there’s something else I need to tell you first.”
“Okay.” Paula pulled back to meet her eyes, her expression searching. “You know you can tell me anything.”
Jules nodded. “It’s something I’ve kind of known for a while, but I didn’t really figure it out until recently.”
Her mom stared at her in confusion, clearly having no idea where this conversation was going.
Jules blew out a breath, heat prickling on her skin. There was nothing else but to just say it. “I’m bisexual.”
Paula’s eyebrows rose comically. “Bisexual?”
“I’m attracted to both men and women. I always have been, but for a long time, it was just easier to date men and ignore the other side of myself.” Jules exhaled, already feeling as if a huge weight had been removed from her chest. Her tears dried. Whatever happened now, Jules was free. No more hiding.
Her mom stared at her blankly for a moment as she processed this news that for her had probably come completely out of the blue. And then her arms were around Jules, holding her tight. “Oh, sweetie. Well, of course you know I love you no matter what.” She pulled back to meet her gaze. “You do know that, right?”
Jules pressed a hand to her chest, breathing freely for the first time in weeks. “It’s still nice to hear, just to be sure.”
“I won’t lie, this comes as a total shock to me,” Paula said. “So I may need time to process all my thoughts and questions for you, because I want to knoweverything, but I just…wow. I’m so glad you told me.”
“Me too,” Jules said. “So glad.”
Paula tapped a finger thoughtfully against her lips. “So, if you had to tell me this part before…oh. You fell in love with a woman.”
“Yes.” She nodded, and to her surprise, her eyes stayed dry. She was just so glad to have the truth out there, to be able to share her feelings with her mom and get her advice, the way she had always done.
Paula seemed lost in thought for a moment, and then she sat up straight. “Sophie.”
Jules exhaled in relief. “You’re good at this.”
“Well, I like to think I know you pretty well, even if I didn’t have a clue you were into women until about five minutes ago.”
She gave her mom a grateful smile. “And you’re taking it a lot better than I had feared, honestly.”
“Oh honey, you didn’t think I’d be judgmental, did you?”
Jules shrugged. “I mean…not really, but we’re Catholic, you know? All I heard growing up was about marriage being between a man and a woman and all that. I didn’t even know bisexuality existed until I was in my twenties and already feeling pretty confused about myself.”
“I’m not sure I did either,” her mom admitted. “I mean, obviously, I’ve heard the word, but I’ve never given it much thought. I definitely didn’t think I knew anyone who was bisexual. You’ll probably have to be patient with me as I figure it all out.”
Jules nodded, leaning in to give her mom another hug.
“If you’d asked me how I felt about gay or bisexual people in an abstract sense yesterday, I probably would have told you that I try to let people live their own lives and keep my nose out of their business. But you’re my daughter, Julia, and I love you unconditionally, no matter what. And I will support you in anything. Now tell me more about Sophie.”
Jules blew out a breath, so relieved by her mother’s words that her broken heart felt temporarily mended. “She’s the first woman I’ve dated. She helped me sort a lot of things out, and it was…it was amazing. I’ve never felt anything like what I had with her with another person before.”
