Chapter 4.9 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 4.11

Generation Four: Orange

Appearance: Orange hair, Island clothing style
Traits: Foodie, Good, Active
Aspiration: Friend of the World
Occupation: Lifeguard
House Goal: 40,000 worth

Hello, Mother…

The morning dawned beautifully, belying the tossing and turning I had done the night before. As Grandma Kimber had suggested, I was planning to try to break the news to Mom today, on New Year’s Eve… and my nerves had kept me from sleeping peacefully, despite the comfort of the bed, and my blissfully unaware wife beside me. By morning, I had memorized non-existent patterns on the freshly painted ceiling.

Sighing, I got up, and woke Greta for her support. With her watching, I dialed the familiar number, and waited breathlessly for Mom to answer her phone.

“Hello?” I heard, and I had to swallow twice, hard, before I could get a word out.

“Hi, Mom. It’s me. I was thinking of coming over for New Year’s Eve, would that be okay?” I said, stumbling a bit over the words. Greta put a hand on my arm, letting me know wordlessly that she was there for me.

“Oh! Charlie! So good to hear from you! Of COURSE you can come over. I have someone for you to meet!” Mom replied, sounding surprised and pleased to hear from me.

“Okay. I’m going to bring someone for you to meet, too, if that’s okay?” I asked in return.

“Of course. I can’t wait to see you!” Mom replied, and the phone went dead. Typical Mom, always in a hurry. She was probably already tidying the house like a maniac for me and my guest. With a small smile, I kissed Greta’s supporting hand, and we both turned to get dressed.

The butterflies in my stomach seemed to have a life of their own by the time we arrived at my childhood home, but as soon as I saw Mom, I had to run over and give her a big hug. I had missed her so very much, I was almost crying with joy at seeing her again.

Kado looked on, and as soon as Mom stopped gushing over how good I looked in my new clothes, he greeted me, as well.

After a moment, Greta came around the corner, just like we’d planned, and greeted my parents with an apparent complete lack of nerves. I envied her cool for a moment, then took a deep breath, and said, “Mom, Dad, this is Greta. Greta, meet my mom and dad, Kali and Kado.”

Mom and Dad both greeted her warmly, and turned back to me. They started to both talk at once, but I held up a hand to stop them. I had to get this out, or I would certainly lose my nerve.

I took a deep breath, gulped again, and Mom patted my shoulder supportively. “What is it, Charlie?”

Looking at the sand, I finally managed to get out, “Greta is .. my wife. We got married at the Romance festival.” … and then my nerve absolutely left me, and I just froze, afraid of the response.

“Oh? What happened to Magnus?” Mom replied, showing only a mild surprise, and never losing her smile.

“We broke up not too long after I moved. I never had more than a friend connection with him. I guess I was just trying too hard to be “normal” and have a boyfriend like everyone expected me to. I just never felt it. We remained friends, though. He passed away on Mt. Komorebi last week, however.” I replied sadly.

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry to hear that. About him dying, that is. I always wondered about the distance you always kept between you and him.” she mused, then turned to Greta, and continued with a warm smile, “It’s lovely to meet you, Greta. Welcome to the family!”

I gasped. “That’s it? Just ‘Welcome to the family?’ As if I hadn’t just dropped the big bomb of being gay out of nowhere?”

Mom tossed her head back and laughed heartily, “You should not have been worried, sweetie. I will always accept you. No matter your orientation. I would do the same for Christian should he swing the other way. Who you love is completely up to you!”

“But..” I started, and looked at her worriedly. “But, I’m supposed to have a blood heir.”

“Oh, honey, I have full faith that you will find a way. There’s a new fertility clinic in San Myshuno I heard about a couple weeks ago. I’m sure you could get in with them to discuss options. You should not worry so much. And look at those bags under your eyes. You were up all night, weren’t you??” she scolded, and pulled me into another hug. “I wish I could have seen your wedding..” she mused, almost to herself.

“There’s no reason we can’t have another, official ceremony. The new restaurant includes a wedding venue, and it’s gorgeous.” I commented, thinking silently that it wouldn’t be too expensive since we were part owners, but I decided not to tell Mom that part.

Mom broke into a huge grin, and replied, “You know I’m in for that idea!”

Behind me, Greta smiled at Kado, and commented, “I TRIED to tell Charlie things would be okay, but she just couldn’t help but worry. That’s Charlie for you. Always trying to please everyone except herself.”

Mom broke into another laugh, “I see you know her well already.” she said, then took a deep breath of her own, “While we are on the topic of children and family… I have someone for you to meet.” With that, she led me to her room, and with surprise, I noted that the bassinet was occupied. With a smile, I greeted my new baby sister, Alexus, and she cooed at me happily. Mom handed her over to me, and I cuddled her close, telling her how she was going to be a lovely Mermaid when she grew up.

Unbeknownst to me, behind me, Greta watched closely, rethinking her opinion on kids. She could see how important they were to me, and that I wasn’t the slightest bit intimidated by a tiny baby. Maybe kids wouldn’t be such a bad idea, after all, Greta mused silently.

After a while of saying hello to Alexus, she started to get fussy for a nap, so I changed her diaper, sung her a siren’s lullaby, and put her down to nap.

I heard a bunch of noise outside, and went to investigate. Christian had just gotten home from a friend’s house, and he greeted me enthusiastically. Typical Christian. I introduced him to Greta, and listened to him going on about high school.

Meanwhile, Greta found a full watering can and was helping Dad with the garden. I would have expected nothing less. His garden was impeccable, and he was proud of his flowers, so he was thrilled with a daughter-in-law who appreciated his work.

After a while of socializing, I suddenly noticed I hadn’t seen Fish. Questioning Christian, I found out the poor old dog had passed a few days ago. Immediately I regretted taking so long to get to telling my parents that I was gay. I could have seen Fish one more time. He showed me where Fish’s urn was, and we mourned the loss of the cutest dog ever for a while.

Then, Greta noticed the bubble blower out on the back deck, and she apparently had never tried one, so I sat down to show her how it worked.

She looked around to see if anyone was listening, but there wasn’t anyone there, so she leaned in. “I’m so happy to see you with your little sister. Maybe kids aren’t so bad, after all.”

“Oh. But I thought you didn’t want kids.” I replied, confused, but pleased.

“Well, that was before I met you and your lovely family. You’re going to be a lovely mother.” she smiled at me, then giggled when I was speechless. “Maybe you should get the number of that fertility clinic so we can get you an appointment.”

“Good point.” I said, and did a quick search on my phone, bookmarking the clinic number for later.

Inside, I could hear the TV blaring the countdown to New Year’s, and Greta and I hurried inside so we wouldn’t miss any more of the celebration.

As the ball dropped, Christian pulled me aside.

“I’m so glad to see you, sis. I always wondered about you and Magnus. I’m glad you found someone to love. Greta is so good for you. You seem happier.”

“I am, Christian. I am. Greta is amazing. And wait until you see our new house! It’s SO COOL.”

Christian laughed at my enthusiasm, and pulled me into a hug. “Happy New Year, sis.”

After that, I headed back out on the breezeway to find Greta. There was that midnight kiss I was owed… and I certainly wasn’t going to break tradition this time.

After the traditional kiss, Greta and I said our goodbyes and headed home in companionable silence. I couldn’t stop smiling. Grandma had been right. The whole gay thing had been a non-issue. Mom had been very clear on that point.

When we got home, Greta and I both headed for the kitchen for a snack before bed, but Greta caught my attention before I got to the fridge.

“I wasn’t kidding, Charlie.” she said, taking my shoulders in her hands.

Confused, I replied, “About what?”

“Kids!” she replied, with a big grin.

“Oh. I didn’t think you were.” I said, questioningly.

“No, silly.” she replied, “I meant having one as soon as we can.”

“What? Wait. You mean soon as in I should call about making an appointment tomorrow when the office is open again?” I replied, having thought she was talking in future-speak, not about right now.

“Oh, love. Yes, tomorrow. I can tell how important they are to you. We should get started right away.” she replied, laughing.

“About that wedding idea… ” I started, “Should I call about that tomorrow, too?”

“Of course.” Greta replied, “I will marry you again. Anytime. You should know that.” She ran a hand down my cheek, and I melted.

After that, there was no more need for chat.. and in fact, we both completely forgot about the snack we had been planning to get.

It had been a long day. And tomorrow was another stressful day, since I had to get plans in motion for the wedding.. AND a baby.

Bonus Out-take:

I have no idea why they did this, but this was apparently how Christian decided to greet Charlie at first… LOL!

Chapter 4.9 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 4.11