♡
Marie looked at Grace and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Are you ready?" She asked her older sister.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Grace said, a sigh moving past her lips. She then walked into the kitchen where her parents sat.
She faced her parents and sighed once more. "Mami, papi...can we talk?"
Pedro set down his newspaper and looked up at his daughter. "Of course." As he spoke, he stood up and walked into the family room and sat back down, onto the couch.
Rosalinda followed suite and sat beside her husband. "Qué es?" She asked, curious, as her oldest daughter joined them in the family room.
At the question, Marie held Grace's hand as a way to reassure her. "You've got this." She whispered.
"Um..." Grace said, unsure of how to phrase what she was about to say.
Pedro looked at his daughter intently. "You can tell us. Take your time. Just breathe."
Grace nodded and took a deep breath. She looked to her younger sister, uncertainty swimming in her irises. Marie squeezed her hand in a reassuring manner.
Finally, she took a long drawn out, deep breath and spoke. "I don't know how you two are going to react and that worries me, even if it shouldn't, but it does. Marie already knows."
Pedro raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Grace?" He asked.
"I like girls." She said, and looked down at the floor.
"Que?" Rosalinda asked in disbelief.
Pedro asked, "You...like girls?"
Grace nodded slowly.
"Esto es una locura." Rosalinda said as she stood up and sat beside her oldest daughter. "Como puedes? No está bien."
Grace swallowed harshly, knowing that she afraid to say a word of her true feelings due to the reaction at hand. "I—"
Pedro stood up quickly and shook his head. "I don't believe this."
Marie cleared her throat.
"Do you have something to say in regards to this, young lady?" Pedro asked, as he turned to his youngest daughter.
Marie nodded and spoke. "She likes girls, yes, but that shouldn't change your view of her. She may not be attracted to males like myself but that doesn't change the fact that she's your daughter, too. She knows it's wrong but she can't help who she's attracted to. She was scared to tell you both because she wasn't sure how you or mami would react but she finally told you two because I told her that being afraid wouldn't protect her. Her fear wouldn't protect her from your reactions so she told you two in confidence. In reality, she was scared that you would disown her or something."
Rosalinda sighed and faced Grace. "Te amamos. Nunca te repudiaríamos."
"We love you, Grace. Your mom and I love you so much it hurts. Regardless of your attraction to girls, you're still the same Grace that I held in my arms on Father's Day, tucked into bed at night, and the same one I drove to Prom. You're still the same Grace I've loved since you were born. The only different thing is your preference in attraction, but that doesn't change the amount of love that fills my heart for you."
Grace nodded slowly as she wiped her tears. Once she wiped her tears, she hugged her parents. "I love you, guys."
After she hugged her parents, she turned to Marie. "I love you, M. Thank you for believing that I could do this even when I didn't believe in myself to do it."
Marie laughed and hugged Grace. "I love you, too, Grace. You're welcome, and anytime."
After a while, the family four sat in the family room and chatted for a long time; reminiscing things and talking about anything that came to mind.