Starting Over (Unexpected Encounters part 3)

Chapter 26

*Whitney

"So I guess this isn't a great way for you to find out that I'm bisexual, is it?" I asked them.

We had stepped off to the side of the crowded street, away from all of the activities that were happening. I didn't want to tell my family about this either way, but this was definitely worst case scenario.

"I don't understand," my mom said, "you just introduced us to your boyfriend last week."

"I told you that wasn't actually my boyfriend," I said.

"Well what was the point of bringing him to dinner then?" My mom asked with a bite to her tone.

"Because I knew you'd react exactly like this," I said as I motioned towards her.

"Whitney," she said as she tried to steady herself with a deep breath, "this can't actually be true, we've talked about this before."

"Oh you mean the conversation we had when I was like thirteen years old when I didn't even know who or what I liked?" I snapped back.

"Well - yes," she said, "I thought I made it pretty clear back then."

"Maybe you're just confused honey," my dad added, "I know you've had plenty of boyfriends before."

"For fucks sake," I said angrily, "you're both proving exactly why I've kept this from you, and I've had plenty of girlfriends too, don't worry."

"I'm twenty-nine years old" I continued, "I'm not fucking confused."

"Calm down Whitney," my mom said through gritted teeth, "this isn't how we raised you."

"How you raised me?" I sarcastically laughed, "are you really still under the impression that you can raise someone to like who you think they should like? That's not how this works."

"We raised you so that you would know it was wrong," my mom quietly hissed.

"Wrong," I nodded, "right, this is just so terrible."

She glanced over at my dad like she was waiting for him to scold me too, and she shook her head.

"I had my friend's brother come and pretend to be my fake boyfriend so I could avoid telling all of you this," I said, "don't you think that's a little bit of a sign of how fucking ridiculous this is?"

"What's ridiculous is that you're dating that woman," my mom snapped.

"Deb, take it easy," my dad said under his breath as he put a hand on her arm.

My mouth hung open as I struggled to find the words to respond to what my own mother had just said to me. I knew she wouldn't be happy, but that didn't mean that it stung any less.

"That's - that's the part that you find ridiculous?" I said back, my voice barely below a yell, "not the part where I don't even feel like I can tell my own family who I like or who I'm dating?"

"Lower your voice," she responded in an intense whisper, "you're causing a scene."

"You guys are fucking unbelievable," I said as I shook my head.

"Whit, I think what your mom is maybe trying to say," my dad cut in, "is that we have different um, beliefs, beliefs that don't exactly align with that lifestyle."

"Give me a break," I scoffed, "you're saying the exact same thing that she is, you're just trying not to be such a bitch about it."

"Excuse me?" My mom quickly said.

"What?" I shrugged, "You've been going on about how terrible and wrong I am for having a girlfriend, and you expect me to be nice about it?"

"I expect you to be respectful towards your parents," she said angrily.