“Like what?”
“Come over for dinner one evening. You haven’t seen my new house. I’d like to introduce you to my friends and meet yours too. I want to know what’s going on in your life.”
She looked away. “I want to tell you ... but I’m scared.”
“Please don’t be. I’m not the man I used to be.” His expression was earnest, maybe even hopeful. “Whatever it is you want to tell me, it’ll be okay.”
“I’ve fallen in love, and I want to tell you about her, but I—” She froze, her body flushing hot and then cold as she realized she’d inadvertently already blurted out her truth.
Her dad cocked his head slightly to the side. “Yes?”
She gulped. There was no going back now. “I’m in love with a woman. Her name’s Marin. Marin Easterly.”
“The name’s familiar. Does she teach at the university?”
“Yes, she does, but did you ... did you hear what I said?” Charlotte’s heart was about to beat out of her chest. “I’m in love with a woman.”
“I heard you, and that part’s a bit shocking, I admit. I had no idea you weren’t straight. I’m sorry if you felt like you couldn’t be honest with me about that.” His face fell. “Is that part of the reason you stayed away all these years? Because you’re gay and you were afraid I’d be upset with you?”
She shook her head. “I’m not gay. I’m ... well, I’m new to labels, but I’m going with pansexual for now. I’m attracted to all genders, but I only realized it very recently ... because of Marin, actually.”
“Then I think that’s wonderful. I confess that I can’t keep up with all the labels you kids are using these days. The things I hear from my students ...” He shook his head, smiling. “But I embrace it, even if I don’t quite understand it.”
She just stared at him, too surprised to respond. Apparently, her dad was a lot more open minded than she’d given him credit for. “I’m sorry for underestimating you. I don’t really remember us talking about gay rights when I was a kid.”
“We probably didn’t, and I might not have given the best answers back then if we had. I used to be a lot more rigid in my thinking about, well ... most things. But I learned the hard way that people are complicated,lifeis complicated. I made a lot of mistakes, but I like to think I’ve learned from them.”
She’d made mistakes, too, so many mistakes, but could she really say she’d learned from them? It felt like she just kept repeating the same pattern, avoiding difficult situations and running away when things got hard.
“I’m so happy that you’ve fallen in love,” he said. “Wait ... is this what you were trying to tell me at lunch a few weeks ago?”
She nodded. “I let you assume I was dating a man, and I felt terrible about it.”
“I’m glad I know now, and I hope I can meet her soon.”
“I hope so too.” But Charlotte had spent the last two days ignoring Marin. Charlotte had pushed her away because she was scared, because she was afraid to face the future. She’d been a coward, but maybe she could learn from her mistake the way her dad had done.
She could. Shewould.
And she needed to do it right now. “Dad, I hate to cut this short, but you just helped me realize something. I’ve messed up with Marin, and I need to apologize to her ... before it’s too late.”
He patted her on the shoulder. “Sounds important. Go talk to her, and I meant what I said. I want to meet her.”
“Assuming I’m able to patch things up with her, you will.”
She hurried him to the front door, grabbing her purse on the way because she couldn’t waste another minute. She was gripped with an almost frantic sense of urgency, desperate to get to Marin and make things right.
Her dad opened the door, then paused, looking at something ... or someone.
Charlotte peeked over his shoulder, and a startled cry escaped her lips. Her stomach tingled as adrenaline flooded her system.
Marin stood on her front porch.
Marin’s heart skipped a beat when the door opened before she’d had a chance to knock. For a moment, she stared in confusion at the man standing there, but just as quickly, she saw the family resemblance. This must be Charlotte’s father.
And Marin was intruding. Probably.
Charlotte appeared in the doorway beside her dad, eyes red and damp from recent tears.
