“You know how religious our family is back home. My sister…” She hesitated. “She sees the world differently than I do. I am sorry you thought so ill of me all these years, cara.”
She’d misunderstood everything. She’d let bits of conversation she’d overheard shape her view of her own family.
“And Braden,” Celeste continued. “Everyone's been so angry at him because he came out and left me for a man.”
“We are angry because he deceived you. He married you knowing he could never love you the way a husband should love a wife. He wasted years of your life, cara. That is why we are upset.”
“He didn't deceive me. We both knew about each other and married because we thought it would be easier. And we loved each other, just not romantically.”
Vittoria was quiet for a long moment before speaking. “It appears we all owe Braden an apology.”
Relief flooded through Celeste, so intense it was almost painful. Her grandmother wasn't horrified and neither was she turning away.
“I didn't want to let you down.” She bit her lip to keep it from wobbling. “Because you sacrificed so much for us.“
“Oh, my darling girl.” Vittoria pulled her close again. “My greatest gift is seeing you happy. All of you—you, your siblings,your cousins. Happiness is what I wanted. It hurts me that you thought you needed to hide from us. That you carried this fear alone for so long.”
“I'm sorry,” Celeste whispered.
“Don't apologize. Never apologize for protecting yourself. But know that you don't need to anymore. Not with me or the rest of this family.”
“What about Mom and Dad?”
“It may come as a shock to them. But they will accept you. They love you more than anything. Though perhaps I should be there when you tell them, for support.”
“I think I need to do this now.” Celeste gulped down hard. “Before I lose my nerve.”
Vittoria stood, offering her hand. “Then let's go.”
They walked back into the house together; Celeste's parents were in the living room with the twins, who were enacting a play for their attentive audience.
“Mom, Dad,” Celeste began, unable to keep her voice from trembling. “I need to tell you something.”
They looked up immediately, concern replacing their smiles.
“What's wrong, sweetheart?” Ottavia asked.
Vittoria spoke before Celeste could. “Theo, Luna, why don't you go to the kitchen and get some gelato from the freezer? The good kind from the Italian market.”
Theo’s eyes lit up. “Really? But Nonna said that was for special occasions.”
“This is a special occasion. Go on. Take your time. Maybe bring some for your mother too.”
The twins exchanged puzzled glances but didn’t argue with the promise of gelato. They hurried off, their voices fading as they headed to the kitchen.
“Now back to the question. Nothing's wrong. I just…” Celeste felt Vittoria's hand on her back, supportive and strong. She took a deep breath. “I'm a lesbian. I have been my whole life, and I'm in love with a woman.”
The silence that followed felt endless. Her parents stared at her, surprise clear on both their faces.
Then her mother moved, crossing the room to pull Celeste into a tight hug. “We love you. We'll always love you. Thank you for trusting us with this.”
Daniel joined the hug, his arms wrapping around both. “Your mother’s absolutely right. You're our daughter and nothing could ever change that.”
Celeste felt tears streaming down her face, but this time they were due to relief and gratitude.
“Now we have an actual surprise for your siblings the next time they call,” Ottavia said, pulling back with a happy sniffle. “They're going to be so annoyed they missed this.”
“In the meantime,” her father said, guiding Celeste to the couch. “Tell us everything.
