Page 30 of Tailored for Them

Not because her only daughter was a lesbian.

But because her only daughter wasn’t legally allowed to marry whom she would fall in love with.

I could still vividly remember sitting in my apartment during college, receiving the news that gay marriage was legalized. I immediately locked my bedroom door to give myself time to fall into a sobbing mess on my bed. The little girl within me was cheering and clapping and making her Barbies kiss over and over again.

My sexuality wasn’t illegal anymore.

Iwasn’t illegal anymore.

I could date women and tell them in the getting-to-know-you phase that I wanted to get married someday, instead of quietly knowing that it wouldn’t happen.

Itcouldhappen now.

It was such a romantic concept to me.

It was a dream.

I immediately wanted to ask Mary and Jamie a hundred questions, but I refrained. They just announced their engagement to us. I doubted that they wanted to discuss dresses or catering or venues or dates quite yet.

“Okay, so that was our thing,” Mary gestured between herself and Jamie as she released Signe and sat back in her seat. “What did you want to share, Signe?”

Signe sniffled, using the collar of her shirt to dab at her eyes as she giggled to herself.

“I feel silly saying this now,” Signe murmured to herself before fanning her face with her hands, attempting to calm her emotions, “But…I’m pregnant.”

Silence filled the room for half a second before everyone screamed with excitement.

Jacqueline covered her hands over her ears to shield herself from the unexpected noise, but her eyes and smile were wide with excitement.

“Oh my god!” I exclaimed, my gaze dropping to her soft belly. “Does Zaid know?”

Signe cackled, accepting hugs from Jacqueline and Jamie before turning to me, “Obviously, Zaid knows. I told him a couple of weeks ago.”

“A couple ofweeks?” Mary gasped, “And you’re just now telling us?”

“We wanted some time to enjoy the news ourselves first,” Signe lifted a shoulder, a warm smile touching her lips, “But we just told his family last night, so now I get to tell all of you.”

“I have so many baby things I saved from Gracie if you need them,” Violet offered. “It’s probably a little early to offer that, but even when I’m up in northern California, I’ll send you some stuff.”

“You’re so sweet. I’m going to be asking you all the questions about pregnancy and birth.” Signe happily shook in her seat, “Oh my god, I’m so glad tonotbe keeping that secret anymore.”

“But you’re sogoodat keeping secrets,” Mary teased. Signe rolled her eyes while all of us remembered the cringey and embarrassing circumstances that led to her and Zaid finally getting together. I wasn’t working there at the time, but I heard the stories. The part about Jacqueline confronting Signe and Zaid about her book always made me want to turtle shell into my shirt from secondhand embarrassment.

Once all the hugs were given and all the snacks were distributed, everyone settled into the pile of blankets and pillows Signe often created for our movie nights. Aubrey Plaza’s dry humor made everyone laugh, and I glanced around the room to take everyone in.

I was staring at Violet, whose blue hair was tied in a braid today, because I realized she and I were the only single women in the group. She caught me staring at her and raised her eyebrows in a silent question.

“I—never mind,” I shook my head.

Violet scooted closer to me on the pillows, whispering, “Do you want to ask me about Taylor?”

My cheeks flamed.

Oh my god, did she know that Taylor and I—?

“They were texting you during our last session. I saw your name show up on their phone,” Violet explained with an eyebrow wiggle.

“Ah, yeah, we texted.” I nodded, still blushing. It suddenly felt very hot in here.

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