At dinner that night, Elise arrived at the restaurant after her parents. Kristen and James had chosen a restaurant where they would have some seclusion, but it was still a public place, so hopefully, it would keep the conversation civilized. James’s parents were watching Jennifer for the night, so she wouldn’t have to be involved.

Elise sat at the end of the table and noted her father looked well for having been on his deathbed recently, but he still didn’t look completely like his old self. Elise feared he never would, and she worried what the stress of tonight’s news would do to her father.

Her dad wasn’t quite as conservative as her mother because, while her mother had grown up in the church, her father had married into it. Her mother hadn’t grown up with a television in her home, and Elise probably wouldn’t have had one either if it weren’t for her father. But he wasn’t exactly liberal. He had married her mother and converted to her religion after all.

Kristen and James walked into the restaurant a few minutes later, holding hands. Now that Elise’s eyes were open, she could see that they were best friends supporting each other and not lovers, like everyone assumed just because they were a man and a woman. Elise had been as guilty as everyone else, and she was ashamed for not knowing her sister better.

It appeared, now that Kristen and James weren’t fighting about getting divorced and had come to an agreement, their relationship was on the mend.

When the two of them arrived at the table, they sat across from her parents.

After their orders were put in, Elise could see how nervous Kristen was, so Elise grabbed her hand under the table and gave it a supportive squeeze.

Elise had reassured her sister prior to dinner that, no matter what the outcome, there were worse things in the world. Mom and Dad would recover from this. They loved their daughter, and they had gotten over Kristen getting pregnant before she was married. They would get over this, too.

At least, Elise hoped they would.

She knew her parents were conservative and close-minded, but they weren’t mean. She couldn’t see them disowning their own daughter or anything.

So far, her parents were making casual conversation while Kristen looked at James and then Elise. Elise nodded.

It was like a Band-Aid; Kristen just needed to rip it off.

“Mom, Dad?” Elise said.

Her parents stopped talking about whatever they’d been discussing and looked at her.

“Yes?” her mom said.

“Kristen needs to tell you guys something, and she really needs you to listen, okay?”

Their mom looked at Kristen. “Is everyone okay? No one else is sick, are they? Is Jennifer okay?”

“Mom, everyone is fine, health-wise.”

Their father looked relieved.

Their mother put her hand on her chest. “Thank the Lord.”

Elise mentally winced. Why did her mom have to bring up God right now?

When Kristen didn’t continue, their mom asked, “What is it, dear?”

Kristen looked at James again and then back at her parents. “James and I are getting divorced.”

Their parents looked more worried than mad. Okay, this was a good sign. Maybe they would take the rest of Kristen’s news better than Kristen had originally feared.

“Well,” their mother said, “we can fix this. We’ll help you go through counseling. We’ll have you talk to our pastor. This will all be fine.”

“Yes,” their father said. “We can also sign you up for one of the church’s couples retreats. Your mother and I have done those before. They are very enlightening.”

Elise’s spine slumped in defeat for her sister already. Their parents weren’t listening to Kristen. She’d said divorced, not that their marriage was in trouble.

“Mom, Dad, you don’t understand. We don’t want to be married to each other anymore.”

Her mother shook her head. “No, no, no. This can’t be happening. You can’t get”—her mother looked around and lowered her voice—“divorced.”

“Mom, it’s not a dirty word,” Elise said. “Plenty of people get divorced nowadays.”

“And that’s what’s wrong with this world, Elise,” her father said. “People don’t take marriage seriously or understand that God disapproves of divorce.”

“I agree,” Elise said, “to an extent. But what if the husband is abusive or if someone cheats on the other person? Are you just supposed to stay married if your husband is beating you?”

“I don’t have the answers for that,” her father said.

“It’s not for us to decide,” her mother said.

Elise was flabbergasted. Her parents hadn’t said yes, but they hadn’t said no either. That they actually considered it acceptable for someone to stay with an abusive spouse was more than Elise could comprehend, and it left her speechless.

James steered the conversation back to where they’d left off. “Ward, Suzanne, Kristen and I love each other very much. But we’re not in love with each other, and we never have been.”

“But there is still time,” her mom said. “You could fall in love with each other.”

Unbelievable.

They’d been married for seven years. Even if they weren’t gay, they weren’t going to fall in love with each other now if they hadn’t in the last seven years.

“No,” James said, “you don’t understand. It’s not going to happen.”

“Then, explain it to us,” Ward said.

Kristen and James exchanged looks.

“There is someone else, isn’t there?” Ward said. He pointed his finger at James. “If you cheated on my daughter…”

Elise didn’t even know how they were supposed to respond to that. Technically, yes, they’d both cheated on each other. But was it really cheating when Kristen and James weren’t truly married—at least, in their hearts—to each other? And cheating meant secrecy and deception. Kristen and James knew about Ashley and Adam. Kristen had told Elise that she and James were best friends, and they didn’t keep any secrets from each other. In fact, they confided in each other and looked to one another for guidance.

“Dad,” Kristen spoke up before James had to say anything, “James didn’t cheat on me. At least, not in the way you think. And, whatever James has done, I have done the same.”

Their father began to stand before his wife grabbed his hand.

“Sit down, Ward. We’re not making a scene.”

Their father reluctantly took his seat.

“Mom, Dad, James and I can’t stay married to each other because we’re each in love with someone else.”

Their mother closed her eyes and clapped her hands together.

Elise thought she might be praying, but then she said, “Please don’t say it, Kristen. I’m begging you.”

Elise looked at her mom again. Did she know?

“I’m sorry, Mom. I can’t. James and I are tired of lying. I like girls, Mom and Dad, and James likes guys. We can’t stay together because we’re gay. We will always love each other, just not in the way you want.”

Neither of their parents responded. Their mother started praying out loud, and their father sat in silence, looking at anything and anyone but Kristen and James.

After several minutes of no response, Elise couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you going to say anything? Your daughter just poured her heart out to you—something that was very, very hard for her to do—and you’re just going to ignore her?”

Her parents were being completely unreasonable.

Her mother looked at Elise with so much rage that she sat further back in her seat. “You knew about this?”

It was on the tip of her tongue to say that she’d found out just today to defend herself from her mother’s wrath, but she didn’t think that would be fair to her sister, so she settled for a simple, “Yes.”

“How can you condone this sort of thing? The Bible says it’s wrong.”

Elise fought the impulse to roll her eyes. “Mother, the Bible was written thousands of years ago by men.”

“It’s the word of God.”

“No, it’s how each individual person interpreted the word of God.”

“It’s not an excuse to…to…choose to be…” her father started.

“To be gay?” Elise said. “News flash—nobody chooses to be gay; they just are.” She turned to her sister and clutched her hand. “It’s how Kristen was born, and I wouldn’t change a thing about her.”

“Thank you,” Kristen whispered.

“I’m sorry,” her mother said, “but we just can’t accept this.”

“Except you’re not sorry. Not really. Because, if you were, you would accept Kristen the way she was.”

“Elise,” Kristen interrupted, “you might as well save your breath. They won’t understand.”

Elise was too angry to stop. “No, they don’t want to understand.” She turned back to her parents. “You know, nobody is perfect.”

“Kristen got pregnant out of wedlock, is getting divorced, and is now gay. We raised you girls better than that,” their mother said.

Her parents were clueless.

“First, Kristen has always been a lesbian, and she got pregnant because she didn’t want to disappoint you, so she had sex with a man. And she might not have gotten pregnant if you had discussed birth control with us.”

Her mother stuck her nose in the air. “I don’t regret how we raised you girls. Sex before marriage is wrong. And, obviously, one of you listened to me.”

Elise laughed loudly, causing her mother to jump. “You honestly think I would sit here and not defend Kristen and James? That I took everything you’d told us growing up and lived by it? You’re more delusional than I thought.” Elise shook her head. “Mom, I am not a virgin, and I haven’t been for a long time. Actually, I’ve had more sexual partners than Kristen.”

“Elise,” Kristen said, grabbing Elise’s arm, “please stop. You don’t have to take yourself down with us.”

Elise shook her sister off. She was on a roll and too livid to stop. “Did you know, Mom…Dad, that I like sex? So much that I’ve had one-night stands and fuck buddies?” She purposely used the F-word to shock her parents. “And guess what? I’m still the same person I always was. There is nothing wrong with me.” She held out her hand to her sister and her soon-to-be ex-brother-in-law. “And there’s nothing wrong with Kristen or James.”

Her mother slowly stood and set her napkin on the table. “Ward, I think it’s time we go.”

Her father rose from the table as well.

The two of them turned to go, but then Elise’s mother turned around and said, “I don’t know why either of you thought I’d be okay with finding out that my daughters were going to hell.” Her mother wasn’t saying that to be mean; she truly believed it.

“Kristen, the Bible says that homosexuality is a sin, and your father and I will never condone it.”

Her mom looked at Elise. “And, Elise, why you think any man would ever value you as a wife and mother after you have had numerous sexual partners is beyond me. The Bible says you are supposed to save yourself for the sanctity of marriage for a reason. No man will ever be able to take you seriously or see you as anything other than someone who gave her body away freely. How is your husband supposed to see you as special when you have lain with other men? I can only hope that you find someone who looks past your errors and takes pity on you.”

With those parting words, her mother spun around and left.

Their father didn’t say anything. He just followed his wife out the door, as if Elise and Kristen didn’t exist.