The Same Umbrella

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"I can't believe you agreed to this," Micah complained, shutting the door of Jeff's truck and going to the back to help Sasha out.


Sasha hopped out and brought out a serving that was their contribution to the dinner apparently. They had offered to bring a side of green bean casserole and a pie, while Jason's wife was making a roast with vegetables.

Jason lived in a small house in town where the yards were bigger than the structure itself. Micah was surprised that it looked well kept, considering Jason didn't strike him as an active man. "His daughter is two years ahead of you, in high school," Jeff explained. "So, she'll be there when you start in the fall. Maybe you two could be friends or something."

Sasha looked skeptical about it. "Won't I be weird for transferring in?"

Jeff shrugged. "I wouldn't worry much. You can talk to her about the art program or something."

"She does graphic design. That's different than musical arts, I think," Micah had to remind him, walking up to the door with Sasha in between them.

They had already discussed, they were going to be friends, at least in front of Jason. Jeff had custody of Sasha, so it wasn't weird for them to spend time together.

Jason greeted them eagerly at the door, waving them in the narrow entry way. "This is my wife, Lexa," he said, gesturing to the woman trying to get the casserole and pie from Sasha.

"We can take this into the kitchen," she said, guiding Sasha into the house.

Jason showed them the living room, proudly showing off his recliner from where he watched football on an impressive TV. It was the feature of the room, while the rest of the furniture looked like it had seen better days. Jason didn't seem to mind. He had set up a few extra folding chairs to seat everyone that wouldn't fit on the couch, as Sasha and Lexa came to join them in the living room. "Dinner should be finished in a few minutes; I just seasoned the vegetables and added some brown sugar to the roast to caramelize a bit."

Sasha beamed excitedly at Jeff and Micah. "We should try that next time."

Jason cleared his throat, his daughter standing behind him. "This is, uh," he stopped awkwardly and shot her a flustered look. Her hair was cut short and her clothes seemed too large on her slender frame. She gave her dad a shy nod. "Well... wants to go by Zach, now."

Jeff let out an audible, "Huh?"

Sasha's face lit up with excitement. "One my friends in New York goes by Amber, now, too!"

"Am I missing something?" Jeff leaned into Micah. "Going by Zach, does he mean—"

"I'm a boy," Zach raised a defiant voice.

Lexa came whirling out of the kitchen, her face red and panicky. "What are we talking about in here?" She shrieked, taking Zach by the shoulders. "I thought we had agreed to keep this in the family, for now, until things get figured out..."

"There's nothing left to figure out," Zach pulled away with a scowl and stormed up the stairs.

Jason looked like a deer caught in the headlights, and Lexa followed up the stairs. "Young lady," she said. "You come back and talk to me right now!"

"Not when you talk to me like that!" There was the slamming of the door, and Jason's face was red.

"Lexa, it'll be okay. Jeff's a friend. I should have asked you too, but Zach was okay with telling them," Jason tried to explain. "I don't think anyone is ready for the whole town to know yet or anything."


Sasha bit his lip, fidgeting eagerly. "It's cool, though," he said. "That you're okay with it."

"I wouldn't say it like that, but I can try," Jason snorted.

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