“Right. Sorry. Congratulations,” Larissa added.
“Thanks. And it took so long because her dad’s a dick,” Murphy answered.
“My dad sent me away for the summer to some stupid kid’s camp. He went there when he was young and became a counsellor. He wanted me to do it, too, because he said it was a good experience, so I had to be there for ten whole weeks. Then, we went on a family vacation, and I know it was more about keeping me away from Murphy than us going on that vacation or me having a fun experience. When we finally got back to school for my senior year, I was scared. He didn’t like Murphy. He knew she was gay. She came out to her family, and at the time, our families were close. Anyway, he and my mom started keeping me very busy, making me join school activities and stuff they never cared if I was involved in before. I was also about to go away to college, so I couldn’t see how it would work, with Murphythere for another year and then, potentially, going to a different college.”
“So, your parents kept you apart because they could tell you were interested in more than friendship?” Larissa asked, thinking that it might be interesting to talk about how others sometimes noticed when people were in love, even when the couple themselves didn’t.
“I don’t know if they knew specifically that I wanted to be more than friends, but I think they worried that she could convince me,” Della replied.
“As if that’s a thing,” Murphy added.
“So, at what point did things change?” Harlow asked. “When did you move from friends to girlfriends?”
“Well, six months ago, we were in my room. My parents were both at work, so Murphy was over, and we were talking about colleges because I’d gotten into three and I needed to make a decision.”
“She got into one near here and two that weren’t really close, and we were trying to figure out how long it would take her to drive back and forth and how much we could see each other,” Murphy said.
“How did it make you feel, knowing she’d be gone and possibly far away?” Larissa asked.
“Like crap,” Murphy answered. “I wanted her to go to school wherever she wanted, but I hated the idea of not seeing her in school every day. At the time, that was basically it. We snuck around whenever we could, but her parents were really on this whole ‘I’m going to make her gay’ thing. They didn’t want us hanging out at all, so if she wasn’t in school, I couldn’t see much of her already. Then, she would’ve been gone and only home every few weeks at most, or maybe only for the holidays, where her dad might not want us hanging out then, either. Yeah, she was eighteen and could technically do whatever, but not reallywhen her parents are paying for everything and she’s staying with them whenever she’s home. So, it was complicated, but I didn’t want to not see her.”
Della looked over at her and said, “And that was when it happened.”
“What?” Harlow asked, leaning forward in her chair.
“When she said pretty much the same thing to me, that she didn’t want to not see me for months, I just leaned over and kissed her. I still can’t believe I did it.”
“Me neither,” Murphy added with a laugh. “I definitely didn’t expect it.”
“And what was it that had you wanting to kiss her in that exact moment?” Larissa asked.
“We’d spent the better part of a year wanting to be together without telling each other that and with my parents making it feel impossible, but there she was, telling me that she would drive to see me whenever she could and that we’d talk on the phone more now because I would be in a dorm and wouldn’t have my parents around to overhear, and I just knew that she felt the same way I did. I went for it. We were lying on my bed, and she turned just at that moment. I kissed her, and–”
“And that’s all,” Murphy said quickly. “Just that, and I left after that.”
Della laughed and said, “She’s shy about the weirdest things sometimes.”
“So, you two…” Harlow faded out but motioned with her hand for them to continue.
“Yeah, it was our first time.”
“You didn’t want to wait?” Harlow asked.
“No, I didn’t. We’d already waited,” Della replied. “And I’m glad we didn’t. I told her I loved her. She said it back. It was perfect until my parents were about to come home, and she had to leave. That part, I hated.”
“In that moment, what made you tell her how you felt?” Larissa asked Della, taking notes.
“I was tired of her not knowing, I think, but it had also almost slipped out a million times, and I knew it then. I just needed to tell her so that we could finally be with each other and decide what to do together. We’d let my parents keep us apart, but I didn’t want to do that once the summer started and when I was away at school. It felt…”
“Inevitable?” Murphy asked, finishing for her.
“Yes, but urgent or imminent might be the better word. I knew I loved her from the first moment I saw her. I just didn’t have the words to tell her then.”
“Describe that first moment for me.”
“In the cafeteria?” Murphy asked Larissa. “I was in line behind her, and she dropped a piece of paper. It was her schedule because she was new and didn’t know her way around yet. I picked it up for her, and we got to talking.”
“I still have it,” Della shared.
