Pride and Presents

It was nearly done. Her stomach was knotted tight, and the anxiety boiled inside her head like red hot magma. In a few seconds, her parents would tear away at the wrapping and, subsequently, tear away at her facade. There would be no more secrets or lies. No more pulling the wool over their eyes.

"And this one is from Anna to us," her mother said, smiling at her father who sat uncomfortably on the carpet next to her. She pulled the red hat upright on her head. Anna smiled. This was it. The moment of truth.

As her mother started tearing at the wrapping paper, her mind went over every detail for the last time. Replaying the events of the previous night.

She had started it off with anxiety, similar to that which she was experiencing now, beginning the recording with a simple "Hey."
She felt stupid about that, but it was the only way she could think to start off something as life changing as that video.

Life changing. Anna pondered these words yet again, just as she had during the slumberless night that had passed. Rebecca had told her that things could go one of two ways -- she could be accepted and loved all the same, or she could be ridiculed for being gay.
Anna felt her heart speed up. Gay. That word had appeared in her video, too, more than once. It was the whole purpose of making it. To tell her parents not only that she was a lesbian, but about Rebecca too.

Without realizing it, Anna smiled at the thought of Rebecca. In the distance, her mother continued to tear away at the wrapping paper that covered her DVD. But, as always, thinking of Rebecca soothed her. She was Anna's safe haven. She was her home. Hopefully, her parents would understand that.

"It's a DVD!" her mother exclaimed, and as the words snapped Anna back to reality, she felt a fresh wave of stress and guilt overtake her. The questions, like they had the previous night, overtook her brain, deafening her ears. Would they accept me? Would they love me, even if their only child is a lesbian?
She pushed the thoughts away, plastering on her fake smile once again. This had to happen. For Christmas, all Anna wanted was to tell her parents. Actually, it was more than that. She wanted them to understand.
She swallowed hard. "You guys should play it. It's something quite..." she hesitated for a second, but continued nonetheless, "...special."

Her parents looked at each other, a look she didn't quite understand. But then, her father got up, walking to the DVD player. Her mother looked at her as the video started, her simple "Hey." playing softly from the speakers. And as both her parents kept looking at her, smiling wider with each passing second, she felt her cloud of anxiety lift. They would love her, just as they always had, because she was still Anna.