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Emily
1 year 8 months prior…
The dreaded day.
My mom had finally asked me to meet him. With my Christmas dessert in one hand and my phone in the other, I shot Benjamin a text:
I’m on his porch.
It was cold outside, but I waited for him to text me back before I knocked.
Benjamin: Have you seen what he looks like yet?
Me: No, she’s been very secretive.
As I waited for them to answer the door, I chanted in my head, “Please don’t be the judge. Please don’t be the judge.”
The door opened, and Mom opened the door with a smile. Next to her was another woman… I looked down at their hands.
Right in front of them, I got out my phone and sent him another text:
Or… woman!!!!!
He replied immediately:
OMFG! GO DEB!!
Me: Stop! This is going to ruin Dad! Imagine how he’s gonna feel when he finds out Mom’s been stolen by another bun instead of the wiener!
Benjamin: LMAO!
I was glad he found it funny.
I glared at my phone.
Me: He’s been sober since June! (crying emoji) What will this do?
Benjamin: Nothing. Like u said. He’s doing good!
“Emily,” Mom said my name rather impatiently.
I slid my phone in my pants and smiled. “Sorry.” I looked to my mom’s girlfriend again.
“You didn’t tell her, did you?” she asked my mom.
Mom smiled. “This is my girlfriend, Sarah.”
“Hi.” I offered my favorite Butterscotch Delight dessert to her. “I brought dessert.”
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I slammed the door when I was home and yelled, “That’s it, we’re putting up a tree next Christmas!”
Dad stepped out of the kitchen and I took in the smell of the house. Had he cooked? “Was it that bad?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No, she was great and so was her tree.”
Dad’s eyes widened. “It’s not a man.”
I ran up to him and grabbed his shoulder. “This is big news but no alcohol, okay?” I told him.
He laughed and pulled away from me. “I’m fine, Emily. Really, the only time the temptation is too much is when I’m sitting around watching TV or I see alcohol.”
Which was why he kept busy now. He’d lost weight too. He looked great actually. But we both knew his alcohol tendencies would always be there in the back of his head.
“Did you cook?” I asked as I stepped into the kitchen. I gasped when I saw that he made a chicken and a few sides.
“About your mom…” He followed me into the kitchen. “She’s got a girlfriend?”
“Her name’s Sarah.” I studied his face as he was deep in thought. “How are you feeling about it?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing really… I just never considered your mom as a woman that’d go down on another woman.”
I covered my ears in horror. “Dad!”
“It’s not a bad thought actually,” he told me, then looked at me in all seriousness. “Did you look to see if she was completely into girls or does she go both ways like your mom?”
“OH MY GOD! Stop! Don’t even think about hitting on both of them!”
He laughed. Over the last six months, I was learning a whole new side of Dad. He was a completely different person. He was funny but also too much at times. I was still getting used to him.
But it was the best. No, the greatest.
“I know you already ate, but you can eat with me again,” he changed the subject. Thank God.