Page 45 of Love Legacy

“Daddy, it’s okay. It’s just an inside joke. Things are fine with my roommates,” I say, taking a seat on the couch, curling up in the far corner. I can already feel a headache coming on from this visit and my parents just got here. The way my mother was just so dismissive of Sage, likely because of her tattoos and piercings, has my blood boiling just a little bit.

“Sweetheart, we just worry about you since you moved all this way away from us,” my mother says, taking a seat on the couch near me. I roll my eyes at how dramatic she’s being.

“Naomi, don’t be rude and roll your eyes at your mother. Have you already lost your manners?” my father scolds, taking a seat next to her.

I sigh, holding my head in my hands. “No, Daddy. My move up here had nothing to do with y’all, and you know it. This was the only school that would let me transfer so late in my degree, and still offer me scholarship money.”

“Well, you could always return to High Valley University and pick up right where you left off,” my mother counters.

“And there’s the real reason for your visit,” I say exasperatedly, sitting back. “I already told you guys multiple times, I’m not going back there. I don’t agree with a lot of their policiesorwhy I was kicked out.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Naomi, they are just preparing you to follow in your path with Christ.”

I scoff. “Christ isn’t going to turn his back on me just because I wore shorts.”

“No, but leading Godly men to temptation is a sin.”

“Oh my God, are you even capable of realizing how ridiculous that sounds?”

“Naomi, language!” my mother scolds. “You know better than to take the Lord’s name in vain.”

I sit back, crossing my arms across my chest. “Fine. Sorry,” I grumble.

“So tell me about this Sage girl,” my mother starts, “she’s… interesting looking.”

“She’s a degenerate, that’s what she is. Did you see all those tattoos?” my father asks, his voice dripping with disdain.

My mom shakes her head in disapproval. “I don’t understand how anyone can desecrate their bodies like that. It’s not just the tattoos, it’s the piercings, and the colored hair—so many signs of the devil’s influence.”

“I’ll be sure to include her in the opening prayer of the next service. In fact, I’ll include the whole younger generation. So many of them need saving.”

I mentally tune out my parents. This is exactly why I left Georgia, why I wanted to get away from them. They constantly cast judgment on everyone. Everything is a sign of the devil’s influence to them. Frankly, I was sick and tired of it. So when I had to move far away to finish my undergraduate degree, I was grateful to be able to put distance between me and them. It was a blessing in disguise, honestly.

“Naomi! Are you even listening to us?”

The shouting of my name catches my attention, bringing me back into the current conversation. “I’m sorry, Mama, I didn’t quite catch that,” I say softly, trying not to get any more on her bad side. I was hoping I could get through this conversationrelatively unscathed without my parents noticing the new addition I’d made to my face.

“I asked you if that Sage girl was one of them.”

“One of who, Mama?”

“The GLBTQI agenda, Naomi. The queers and the transsexuals,” my father states.

I wince at his blatant bigotry. “Daddy, you can’t say that. It’s the LGBTQ community, and it’s gay and transgender. Not queer and transsexual.”

“Whatever they call themselves, they’re sinners, every last one of them.”

“They’re just normal people that found love, just like you and Mama. Just because they found it with someone of the same gender doesn’t mean that they’re bad people. Sage is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. I mean, she could give some of the parish leaders a run for their money. The way she’s able to form a community and make everyone feel welcome? It’s pretty remarkable.”

“So she is one of them!” my mother confirms.

I groan. There was just no getting through to my parents. “Yes. Sage is a lesbian. She’s also one of my best friends and the best person I’ve met here.”

My father grins proudly. “That’s my girl, leading the sinners to the Lord. That is our mission, after all.”

“Daddy, that's not what this is. I’m not proselytizing Sage, we are just friends. I can have friends that aren’t religious.”

“Blasphemous!”

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