Page 24 of Novel Problems

“Hey, no judgment here,” I said. “And welcome to Sapphire Springs.”

“Thanks.” Hannah looked around Novel Gossip, her face bright. “I really love this space. Did you set up Novel Gossip yourself or buy it from someone already like this?”

Pride welled in my chest. “I set it up. When I bought this place, it was a rundown old restaurant that hadn’t been used for years.”

“Oh, wow! Well, you did an incredible job. It’s such a warm, cozy space. I love the name, by the way.” Hannah took another bite of pork.

“I’m glad you like it.” I smiled at her, and our eyes connected for a moment. “I can’t take full credit for the name. It’s the Instagram handle of a Bookstagrammer I like—I did ask her permission first, though. I always thought it would be the perfect name for a café-bookstore.”

“It really is. Do you like owning your own business?”

“Honestly, it’s great. I get to combine two of my passions—books and food. I really feel like I’m part of the community and love the relationships I’ve been able to build with my regulars.” I paused, realizing I’d been painting a very rosy view of small business ownership. “Don’t get me wrong, like most small businesses, it’s not without stress—especially recently with the staffing issues I’ve had—so it’s been an enormous relief to have you on board. But overall I love it.” I grinned at Hannah. I thought I caught a strange expression cross her face, but it vanished before I had time to analyze it.

“That’s great,” Hannah said, smiling again. “I always thought it would be amazing to own a bookstore and be able to help people discover new books.”

I grinned. “I love that aspect as well. Especially the last few years, with publishers getting so much better at publishing diverse stories, I love being able to stock books that I would have killed to have read as a child, about queerpeople like me living normal, happy lives. I make a point of stocking books with diverse representation generally, in the hope all our customers will be able to see themselves reflected.”

Hannah nodded vigorously. “While there’s still a long way to go, it’s great representation has been improving. I get so furious hearing about book bans though, and unfortunately, it’s in those states banning queer books that there’s the most need for kids to access them.” Hannah paused, her face softening. “Maybe I’ve just got a misconceived stereotype of Florida in my head, but I imagine that Florida probably wasn’t the easiest place to grow up in the ‘90s as a queer kid.”

“Yeah. Dunedin, where I grew up, is currently in one of the more liberal pockets of Florida, but in the ‘90s, it was much more conservative. It certainly wasn’t the most accepting place. And I definitely didn’t have any queer role models in my life.”

“That must have been hard. Were your parents okay with you being queer?”

“It took a bit of adjustment. Mom and Dad decided to only have one child because Dad traveled a lot for work—well, at least that’s what they told me. Perhaps I was such a handful it put them off a second kid.”

Hannah laughed. “I doubt that. But as an only child myself, I can’t deny I’ve had similar thoughts. But sorry, go on, I think I interrupted.”

I grinned. “No problem. Nothing like a bit of only child solidarity. Mom had always wanted a daughter, so she was thrilled when I turned out to be a girl. Unfortunately for her, I turned out to be a bit of a disappointment in the girl department. Instead of playing with dolls or wearing dresses, I ran wild with the O’Brien brothers next door,lived in shorts and t-shirts, and cut my hair as short as Mom would allow. I also insisted on shortening my given name, Georgina, to George, which Mom was not happy about.”

“That must have been difficult, especially if you knew at the time that your mom didn’t approve,” Hannah said gently.

“Yeah. Dad was always a distant figure in my life, so I didn’t really care what he thought. But I did feel terrible about disappointing Mom—but not terrible enough to change how I presented or who I played with. I think Mom had hoped it was just atomboy phasethat I’d grow out of, but as I grew older and it became clear it wasn’t a phase, I could tell Mom mourned the loss of having a daughter whose hair she could style, who she could share makeup tips with, and dress up for prom in a sparkling gown.”

Hannah’s face was soft. “That sucks. I’m sorry.”

I shrugged. “It’s okay. Despite all that, I never doubted that Mom loved me, no matter what. And while I’d rejected most stereotypical ‘girl’ pastimes, we had a shared love of cooking. According to her, I’d insisted on ‘helping’ her make dinner from the age of two. Most nights, we’d cook dinner together, chatting about our day. So even though we were very different, cooking brought us together.”

Hannah broke into a smile. “Oh, that’s so lovely. I can just imagine adorable toddler-tomboy George standing on a stool and making a complete mess of ‘helping’ to make a cake. Maybe if I’d had something like cooking to bond with my parents, we wouldn’t have such a strained relationship. Was your mom okay when you came out?”

“I told her when I was seventeen, while I was chopping carrots for a salad to pair with the steak she was frying in a pan.” I smiled at the memory. “I was incredibly nervous about how she’d react. I remember my hands shaking somuch I struggled to cut the carrots into sticks the way she liked.” Even though I’d told her well over a decade ago, the memory was still so strong in my mind. “I finally got up enough courage after the first carrot to tell her. I felt so sick as I watched her swallow and stare at the steak as she digested the news.”

Hannah gazed at me intently, a look of concern on her face.

“But when she turned to me, she was smiling and she pulled me in for a long, warm hug. ‘Do you still want to come to church?’ was her only question. Mom didn’t always understand me, but she was always there for me.” I paused. “How about your parents? How did they take it?”

“I was so nervous telling them as well. I had put it off for months, even though they’d never shown any signs of being homophobic.” Hannah gave a wry smile. “But they were fine. The whole thing felt like a bit of a letdown, really. Coming out felt like it should have been a momentous occasion, but when I finally gathered the courage to break the news to them over breakfast, they barely seemed to register it. It was like I’d just told them I’d had a good sleep. I know I can’t complain, given how lucky I was that my family was so accepting, but they literally just said, ‘Okay,’ and then turned back to the morning papers they were reading.”

“That would definitely have been a bit anti-climatic.”

“Yeah. Well, that’s my parents for you.” Hannah shook her head, sounding defeated.

Hannah focused her attention on the almost empty plate in front of her, scraping it with her fork and put the last remnants in her mouth. She closed her eyes briefly in enjoyment.

“Would you like another serving?” I asked.

“I’m feeling so full I’d better not. But if there’s any leftafter the lunch rush tomorrow, it’ll be my first choice for lunch,” Hannah replied.

I smiled, making a mental note to put some aside for Hannah to make sure she didn’t miss out.

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