Page 67 of Love Legacy

Grannie Mae turns her attention from the pot on the stove she was stirring to me. “You’re really serious about her, aren’t you?”

I nod. “I am. Or at least I think so. I want to see where things go between us. I think she could be my person.”

“So, does that mean you’re going to stay in New York after next year? And stay with Sage?”

Shrugging, I let out a small sigh. “We haven’t actually discussed that yet. But I know we’re going to have to have that talk soon. Sage graduates this year, so I’m not sure what her plans are for after graduation. I think I will stay though, even if Sage decides to go off somewhere else. I love New York, I love New York City. I’ve been able to grow and thrive so much, I can only imagine how much more I can grow once I’ve graduated.”

“I’m happy for you, baby. But you know that means I’m going to miss you, right? New York’s just a little too cold for these old bones.”

“I know, Grannie Mae, but you could come visit me during the summer! And I can still come home to see you for Christmas. Even if my parents might not want to see me, I know you always will.”

“And don’t you forget that,” she adds with a wink. “Now, stop stalling and go over there. You might as well get it over with.”

I sigh, knowing that she is right. I can’t delay the inevitable. This conversation is going to happen sooner or later, and their response likely will not change the longer I drag this out. Better to just rip the Band-Aid off and come clean now.

“Don’t forget to grab your momma’s pie pans!” Grannie Mae calls after me as I exit the house.

Soon, I was sitting at the kitchen table with my momma, helping her grate cheese for her famous macaroni and cheese. It was the easiest thing we could make when trying to feed as many people attending the Three Kings Day feast, but there’s a lot of prep involved, especially since my momma makes it from scratch. My daddy normally helps too, but he was currently in his office, working on his sermon for the pre-feast service.

“Momma, I have something to tell you,” I say softly, focusing my eyes on the grater in front of me.

“Of course, baby, what did you want to talk to me about?” my mom asks, her soft voice slightly soothing my nerves.

“I’m gay, Momma. I’m in a lesbian relationship with that girl you met, Sage.”

Other than the sound of a block of cheese dropping on the table, the kitchen is eerily quiet as I wait for my mother’s response.

Silence.

“Momma? Can you say something?” I ask, finally looking up at her. Immediately, I regret doing that. The look on her face is one that I’ll never forget. The way her face was twisted up in horror, her lip curling with disgust. You would have thought that I just told her I killed someone rather than simply coming out as gay.

“Momma, I—”

“Stop! Just stop! I knew you going to school up in New York was a bad idea. You’ve been led astray from the path to the heavenly kingdom.”

“Momma, if you just listened—”

“No, Naomi, you listen to me. Your father’s going to have a field day when he finds out,” she says, getting up from the table and heading down the hall, presumably to tell my father.

It’s not long before I hear my father’s booming voice coming from down the hallway. “We said it, Adora, we said if she went away to school, she would be tempted and corrupted from the faith!”

I groan, resting my head on my arms on the table.Here we go…

“How dare you come into this house and say such vile nonsense?” my father roars as he comes into the kitchen.

“But Daddy, it’s not nonsense. I’m a lesbian, I’m in love with Sage,” I say, trying to plead with him. It’s futile, but I’m hoping that deep down, there’s some part of him that’s willing to put me first rather than the church.

“That’s the devil talking Naomi. You don’t love a woman, you can’t love a woman. You won’t be allowed to enter the Kingdom of God if you choose to continue on this path of sin and sodomy.”

I roll my eyes. “Daddy! It’s not sodomy, it’s love. What Sage and I have is no different than what you and Momma share.”

“Don’t you dare compare your father and I to your disgusting lifestyle. I can’t even believe that you would think that they could possibly be the same thing!”

“But Momma, please! Don’t y’all want me to be happy? To find someone who loves and cares for me, supports me, and pushes me to be the best version of me I could be? Sage does that!”

“Blasphemy! You can find that with a nice, sweet boy in the parish. I’m sure if you apologized, Josiah would take you back. You can drop out of school and come work for the parish’s mission organization with your mother. After all, that’s what you were planning on doing anyway, right? You don’t need a degree to do that. This whole college dream was foolish, to begin with.

I feel tears prick the back of my eyes, but I quickly blink them away. I was determined to maintain my composure and approach this from a place of rationality, even if they might not see it or feel the same.

---