Over the next couple of days, Luke and Rachel took turns in going to the Mayo Clinic with Elise. She had a great friend and boyfriend. Now that everyone knew about her and Luke, she had no problems saying boyfriend, and what was even better was that Luke had no problems calling her his girlfriend. If someone had told Elise when she moved back to Minnesota that she’d be dating Luke Long, she would have laughed in their face, but here she was.

Elise’s dad was making a slow recovery, but he finally got well enough to go home, and so far, he was doing pretty well. Thankfully, Elise had already taken time off work to move, and she had explained about her father before she’d taken the job, so they understood that she might need time off at the last minute. She could never thank her former boss enough for the recommendation.

Today, Elise was meeting her sister for lunch, per Kristen’s request to talk. They were going to have dinner tonight with their parents and Kristen’s husband, and Elise had a feeling that something important was going to happen.

While waiting for Kristen and an available table, Elise stood in the entryway of their favorite restaurant when her phone began belting out “Kung Fu Fighting.” Everyone turned their heads to look at her, and she laughed nervously while she cursed Luke out. He’d changed her ringtone for him, which had made her laugh. But he was forever turning her volume up to the max because he’d found the loudest recording, so when she was out in public, everyone would hear her phone and look at her.

Elise got the hostess’s attention and pointed to the front door, so she would know that Elise hadn’t left.

After she stepped outside, she answered her phone and greeted Luke with an, “I’m going to beat you.”

Luke laughed in her ear, and she tried to not smile at the musical sound.

“What’s wrong, Lise?”

“I told you I was going out to lunch with my sister, and I know you turned my ringer up and waited to call me when you knew I’d be at the restaurant. Sometimes, Lucas, I question your real age.”

“Babe, if you haven’t realized that there is a ten-year-old little boy in every man, lying dormant until the time is right, then you’re in for a big disappointment.”

Elise sighed. “Yeah, I know.” At least, that had been her experience with men. “What did you need?”

“Nothing.”

Nothing? “Then, why did you call?”

“I thought we just went over this.”

Elise rolled her eyes. “I really am going to beat you.”

“Sounds kinky.”

Elise smiled. “What am I going to do with you, Luke?”

“So, you’re not going to beat me? Damn.”

“You know I’m not going to hurt you, no matter how mad you make me.”

“You could tie me up and ride my cock until you came.”

Elise’s vagina clenched deep inside at the thought, and she struggled to keep her voice straight. “That doesn’t sound like much of a punishment.”

He lowered his voice. “It is if you don’t let me come, and you get yourself off over and over again.” He groaned in her ear. “Trust me, watching you use my cock as your own personal sex toy would be the ultimate punishment.”

Elise stepped farther way from the entrance even though she was the only one outside. “Stop talking like that. I’m getting turned on.”

“Then, you’d better get your ass over here later.”

Elise saw her sister walking toward the building. “Deal. I’ll try to come after dinner tonight. Gotta go though. Kristen’s here.”

“Okay. Later, babe.”

Elise hung up the phone and waved at her sister. She could see lines of stress around Kristen’s eyes.

Elise hugged Kristen, hoping she would realize that she could trust her sister with whatever was bothering her. They entered the restaurant, and thankfully, they only had to wait a couple of minutes for a table.

After they were seated and the server brought their drinks and taken their orders, Elise was over the small talk. The longer Kristen waited to say something, the more worried Elise became. While she figured this had to do with her sister’s marriage, Elise couldn’t help but think of other bad things. The worst possible scenario would be that Kristen or Jennifer was sick, and if that were the case, Elise didn’t know what she’d do.

Right before Elise was ready to tell her sister to spit it out, Kristen said, “I asked you to lunch because I really need your support tonight at dinner.”

Elise didn’t know what for, but she didn’t have to. “You have it. One hundred percent.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to say yet.”

“I don’t have to. You’re my sister. I love you. I’m here for you.”

“Still.”

“I can guess. Things aren’t working out with James.”

She nodded. “He filed for divorce.”

Elise leaned forward and took her sister’s hand. “I am so sorry.”

“Me, too.”

“Why did you think I wouldn’t support you? We’d already talked about this a while ago, so it’s not like you’re taking me by surprise. And I know Mom and Dad will be disappointed, but they will get over it. Eventually.”

Kristen withdrew her hand from Elise’s. “There’s more.”

More? How could there be more? “Are you pregnant? Because having a baby out of wedlock might give Mom a heart attack. But just a mild one. She’d recover.”

Kristen chuckled at Elise’s joke but only for a few seconds. “No, James says he doesn’t want to live a lie anymore. And, if I don’t tell Mom and Dad the truth, then he will. To be honest, I don’t want to lie anymore either.”

Elise ruminated on the words. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Elise thought about it some more.

“He doesn’t want to live a lie.”

“Wait, does this mean that…” Elise sat back in her seat. “Does this mean, James is gay?”

Kristen swallowed. “Yes.”

“That makes so much sense.”

“What?”

“You know, I have never seen James check out a woman. And he was blushing around Luke and Nate when you guys helped me move. I’m not that surprised really.”

“Huh?”

“I’m so sorry, Kristen. It must be awful to be married to someone you love who doesn’t love you the same way.”

Kristen just stared at Elise.

“What’s wrong? Why are you staring at me?” Do I have something on my face?

“You don’t think James is a bad person?”

Elise tilted her head to the side. “In what way? The fact that he’s gay? No, not at all. The fact that he married a woman when he’s into dudes? Then, yes, he should have never led you on.”

Kristen looked down at her hands and muttered, “He never led me on.”

“What?”

Her sister looked up at her. “I said, he never led me on.”

Elise was confused. “I don’t understand. Then, why did you get involved with him? Why would you put yourself through that?”

“One, he was my best friend. Nobody got me like he did. We were each other’s cover,” her sister said.

And the light bulb went off in Elise’s head. Suddenly, all these little details began to fill her mind. James was the only guy she’d dated, her super-close relationship with Ashley, and why she didn’t look at guys, like James didn’t look at girls.

“Oh, Kristen, you’re gay, too.”

Kristen nodded as tears began to roll down her face. Elise grabbed her sister’s hands this time.

“You’ve been living with this inside you all this time? You must have felt so alone. Sweetie, I am so sorry.”

Elise could not even imagine what it was like for her sister to live with hiding a big piece of who she was like that. Especially with their parents and their old-fashioned ways.

“So, this is why you want my support?”

Kristen looked so sad. “Yes.”

“You still have it. I would never leave you to face Mom and Dad alone in this. That’s what big sisters do. They protect their little sisters.”

Kristen let go of Elise’s hands and wiped her tears. “Thank you.”

“Of course. But can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“How do I have a niece?”

Kristen laughed through her tears. “James was my best friend. We both knew what the other one felt like because we were the only homosexual kids at church, and we thought, if we tried to have straight sex, maybe we would like it, and all our problems would be solved.”

“Oh, Kristen.”

“Yeah, needless to say, our little experiment failed miserably. We both hated it, and we couldn’t look each other in the eye for, like, a week. When I missed my period, it was the icing on the cake. Honestly, back then, I was kind of relieved. I knew our parents and James’s parents would force us to get married. And, since I’d be married to my best friend, I figured everything would be great. I knew his secret, and he knew mine. And we got a beautiful daughter out of it. But the older Jennifer gets, the harder it is to hide stuff from her. She knows we don’t have a normal marriage.”

“Uh, yeah, I think she said something about how you’ve never shared a bedroom and how, lately, you’ve been going to Aunt Ashley’s and James has been going to Uncle Adam’s quite a bit.”

“See! We’re horrible parents.”

“No, Kristen, you are not horrible parents. Yes, lying is wrong, but if you both come out now, you will show Jennifer that it’s okay to be who she is. That everyone is different, and people love who they love.”

“Man, you’re insightful.”

“Eh, maybe I should have been a psychologist,” Elise joked.

The server brought their food, and they thanked him, letting their conversation pause momentarily.

After they dug into their food, Elise asked, “So, Ashley?”

Kristen blushed. “She’s my girlfriend.” She raised her eyebrows. “Wow, I never thought I’d be able to say that to you.”

“Doesn’t it feel good to tell me?”

“Yes.”

“And Adam is James’s boyfriend?”

“Yes.”

“So, why does James want a divorce now?”

“Adam wants to get married, and he’s tired of waiting. I honestly don’t blame him.”

“Why now? Same-sex marriage has been legal in Minnesota for almost four years.”

Kristen shrugged. “I think because it’s legal in the whole US now. Plus, I think Adam is sick of being the other woman, so to speak.”

Elise could understand that. It would be tough to not be able to be with the person you loved because they were stuck in a farce of a marriage.

“Kristen?”

“Yeah?” she said around a bite of food.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me all this before? Did you think I would judge you?”

Elise’s feelings were hurt because her sister hadn’t trusted her. The irony was not lost on her that she and Rachel had had almost the same conversation, and now, Elise was on the opposite side. But Elise had kept her secret for about two months. Kristen had kept her secret for years.

“I can’t really explain what it’s like to be me and grow up in our church and with Mom and Dad. And society isn’t as great as some people think it is. There is still a lot of judgment and prejudice. It’s scary to tell people. Plus, I didn’t want you to have to keep it from Mom and Dad. I didn’t want to put you in that position because I know how that feels.”

“You know I’m not a saint. There are plenty of things I do that Mom and Dad would definitely not approve of.”

“But are you a lesbian who got pregnant out of wedlock by a gay guy?”

Kristen had a point.

“Touché. You got me there. But I still wouldn’t have judged you, and I would have kept your secret.”

“I know.” Kristen smiled at her. “I appreciate it.” She sighed. “Now, I just have to get through telling Mom and Dad.”

“I’ll be right there with you.”

“I’m glad because I’m scared shitless.”