Two words had long since been etched into the brain of Rachel Winchester: Gumball Isle.

She'd first seen the commercials when she was 5 years old, seated in front of the television in an otherwise darkened living room one Saturday morning, watching as she ate cereal directly out of the box with her bare hands. It had come on during the cartoons, and from the first second it popped up on screen, she was entranced. And from that moment on she spent the next 5 years begging, pleading, with her parents to take her to Gumball Isle. The problem was...it was states away and fairly expensive. Not that they couldn't have afforded it, but between school for her and work for them, the opportunity just never really arose. So Rachel did the next best thing...she printed stuff from the internet about it, she studied everything she could from Youtube walkthroughs of attractions to asking her parents for souvenirs on eBay when a holiday or her birthday rolled around.

She went to school with her backpack covered in pins, her closet full of t-shirts baring logos and characters from the park, she had plushies they'd managed to snag online and while she still asked to go, in the end, this seemed to at least somewhat satiate her desire a bit. And then, on Christmas morning, before her 11th birthday, her parents Rob and Emily gave her one final gift. Tickets. Tickets to Gumball Isle. Rachel screamed like they'd never heard her scream before, jumping around the house, so excited. She couldn't believe it, her dreams were finally going to be achieved! And then...

...and then, two months after she turned 10, she got her diagnosis.

And everything else paled in comparison, even Gumball Isle.

                                                ***

"Mom," Rachel asked, "what is beef jerky made of?"

"Well, beef, sweetheart," Emily said, "it's..it's in the name. It's cow. Like burgers."

"Oh," Rachel said, "I thought maybe it was like hotdogs, where it's a bunch of different meats together."

"Where did you learn that?" Emily asked, laughing as she dug through her purse for her card to pay for their purchases in the airport shop.

"Dad," Rachel said.

"Of course, that doesn't even surprise me," Emily said, paying, as Rachel gathered their bag of snacks. Emily and Rachel headed out of the shop and back into the big open area, heading back to the boarding area where Rob was waiting. When they arrived, Rachel and Emily each took a seat on opposite sides of Rob, who was reading a magazine.

"What are you reading?" Emily asked, opening her candy bar.

"This story about this guy who grew an ear on a mouse," Rob said, "some kind of medical miracle."

"I don't think the mouse considers it a miracle," Emily said.

"Why would someone grow an ear on a mouse?" Rachel asked as she situated herself in her seat and pulled her face mask off to eat a beef stick.

"Well, it's for people who need transplants, so they grow things that they can then surgically remove and put on someone who maybe needs an ear graft. It kills the mouse, but someone gets a new ear, so," Rob said.

"Wait so they grow an ear on a mouse and then kill it to remove the ear?" Emily asked, "This poor fucking mouse."

"They can just do that?" Rachel asked, "they can just grow things and you can have new things? Like Kidneys?"

Rob looked up from the magazine and glanced at Emily before they both looked towards Rachel.

"Well, nobody is trying to grow a kidney on a mouse, first of all," Rob said, "frankly that mouse has suffered enough, but second, no, not like that. They can't just do anything. Kidneys often come through transplants from family members or donors, and even then they have to be a match, and you have to be able to afford it, or be high on the list."

"...oh," Rachel said, looking back at her shoes. Emily wanted to cry. Rob reached out and rubbed his wifes back, but she shifted uncomfortably so he rescinded his hand and let her be alone. Each went back to their solo activity and nobody really said a word again until they boarded the plane. This happened on occasion, where Rachel would think she found a loophole, something doctors had somehow overlooked, and she'd be okay. But it was never the case. She was terminal, and it broke her parents hearts because she clearly so badly wanted to live.

                                                 ***

Rachel and her mother were in the doctors office. Rachel had been feeling sick for two weeks, and by now it had become somewhat of a concern, so after numerous visits, Emily felt like, if this doctor couldn't fix it, they'd look into a specialist. Could be Gluten related, they'd been told, could be digestive, could be numerous things but thusfar nobody had given them anything concrete. Rachel was sitting on the table in the doctors office, swinging her feet while her mother looked through a pamphlet. Rachel glanced over at her and squinted.

"Why are you reading about cosmetic surgery?" Rachel asked.

"Cause it's here, frankly," Emily replied, "not really cause I'm interested. I'm happy with my body."

"You should be! You're pretty," Rachel said, making her mother smile. Emily had done a lot of work to make sure that their household was body positive, and that Rachel never ever felt bad about the way she looked. This meant being confident in her own body...even if she didn't mean it. The door finally opened, and the doctor entered. Emily tucked the brochure back into the wall holder with the others and turned to face him.

"Please tell me you have something for us," Emily said, "she can't miss much more school."

"I can miss lots more school actually," Rachel said, "that's okay with me."

"Um, Mrs. Winchester, please sit down," the doctor said, "you don't need to be standing. We have plenty of seats. You're in high heels, must be uncomfortable."

Emily knew he was reaching for any other reason for her to sit because it was bad news, and now her guts were tied in knots. How bad could it possibly be?

"Let me tell you folks a story," the doctor said, "um, when I was in medical school, I was dating this woman who would later be the wife I have today. She was studying sociology, and I was, obviously, studying medicine. We used to go for these little lunch dates and talk about classes, courses, whatever. One day though, I showed for it and she could tell I was a mess. I'd been interning at a hospital and...and I had to help inform a family that their child was....was going to die. It was the single hardest thing I'd had to do up to that point and...and I told her I didn't know if I could be a doctor if I had to deliver news like that to children. There's...a difference, between telling an adult, who's at least had a good portion of life lived, and a child, who's barely started life. But she told me that I was stronger than I gave myself credit for, and I could handle it. I'm telling you this story because I want you guys to believe the same thing, that you're stronger than you give yourselves credit for, and you can handle it."

A long pause. The room filled with somehow loud silence. Emily finally cleared her throat and tossed her hair from her face.

"What are you saying?" she asked, "Are you telling us we have something we need to work through?"

"There's no working through this. No," the doctor said, looking from Emily to Rachel, his eyes watering, "sweetheart, I'm sorry."

And 'I'm sorry' was really all he had to say for them to understand.

                                                ***

It was called CKD, or Chronic Kidney Disease, but that was just where it started. It had progressed to End Stage Kidney Disease.

Rachel's kidneys could no longer adequately filter waste and maintain her bodys chemical balance. It was caused by Nephronophthisis, a group of genetic kidney diseases that typically cause failure in childhood, characterized by scarring and cyst formation in the kidneys. It is an autosomal recessive condition, meaning both parents must carry the gene for the child to be affected. After doing a lot of research, reading and learning, Rob and Emily each had....well...different reactions, but somehow similar conclusions. Sitting in their bedroom one night about a week after learning what Rachel had, dozens of books and articles, medical documents, scattered across the bed before them, neither one knew what to say. Rob was pacing as Emily sat cross-legged, smoking a cigarette, something she had stopped doing when they'd had Rachel but now had picked back up due to the stress of the situation.

"Even then dialysis can only do so much," Rob said, "and insurance will cover it, thankfully we're well enough off but...but she shouldn't have to..."

Emily just wouldn't say a thing. She was far too engulfed in her own thoughts.

"Emily!" Rob said loudly, snapping her out of it, causing her to look up as her cigarette ashed onto her leg, making her quickly wipe away at it out of surprise; Rob sighed, "sorry, I didn't...I'm not yelling at you, I'm just trying to get your attention and I'm stressed and-"

"We killed her," Emily said, causing Rob to look at his wife.

"What?" he asked.

"We killed her," Emily repeated, her voice wavering, shaky, "we...we killed her. This is our fault. We gave this to her."

"No, Emily, you can't let yourself go there," Rob said, climbing onto the end of the bed and reaching over the papers, putting one hand into his wifes hair, knowing that always comforted her, causing her to look at him as he added, "you just...you can't, okay? First of all, it isn't true, and-"

"It is, Rob, we did this. She got it from us," Emily said, crying now, "she got it from us. If we weren't her parents she wouldn't have it. She would be okay."

"You cannot go down that road, baby," Rob said, "please, don't do that. Come on, Emily, don't do this."

Emily started sobbing and Rob climbed fully onto the bed, shoving everything to the floor as he pulled his wife into him, taking the cigarette from her hand and putting it out, placing it on the bedside table. He held her as she sobbed and he rubbed her back, but eventually he too started sobbing because, despite not wanting to go down that path himself...he felt the same way. He didn't want to admit it, but he did. Emily was right. They had given their daughter an unintentional death sentence. And that's when Rob had his brilliant idea.

                                                 ***

"How often do planes crash?" Rachel asked, sitting next to her mother on the plane by the window, her father across the isle.

"Not often enough for you to worry about it," Emily said, buckling her daughters seatbelt, then stroking her face, "don't worry, okay? Dad and I are right here, so even if anything does happen, we won't let it happen to you."

"I'm not gonna stop a plane from crashing, I'm not Superman," Rob said, making Emily and Rachel laugh.

"I kinda hope it happens," Rachel said, "cause then...we'd be together."

Ever since her diagnosis, and the reality of sinking in, Rachel realizing her mortality, she'd made so many statements like this and it broke her parents hearts every time. She so badly just wanted to stay with them. Emily took Rachel's water from her hand and opened the cap so she could take a drink before putting her breathing mask back on. Travel hadn't been exactly considered a great idea, but they didn't care. This was something Rachel had wanted for years, and goddammit they were going to give it to her come hell or high water.

"Are you excited?" Emily asked, trying to regain the lighter mood, "soon enough we'll be there."

"I'm so excited!" Rachel said eagerly, and she meant it. This had been a lifelong dream, and now she was finally having it come true. When her parents told her they were going, she just couldn't believe it. Sure they'd gotten the tickets before that, but now the need to go had been greatly exacerbated.

"Are you excited to see all your favorite rides and characters?" Emily asked.

"I really hope Neko Chaton is there!" Rachel said, making Emily smile. Neko Chaton had always been Rachel's favorite. She was an anthropomorphic cat woman in a cute french dress, and she'd been the one character Rachel had really obsessed over. Most of the merch, most of the images she'd printed, they'd all been of Neko Chaton, and now, her chance of maybe finally meeting her was a possibility. She couldn't believe her luck, because even in the midst of her teminal illness, she might meet her hero. Unfortunately for Rachel Winchester, the woman who portrayed Neko Chaton was kind of a mess herself.

                                                   ***

Monica put the cat ears back on and readjusted her stockings as she finished getting re-dressed. She picked up her drink from the nightstand and finished it in one gulp, then clunked it back down. She looked back at Jeff, buttoning up his shirt, before looking ahead at Axel, pulling her dress back up over her shoulders. Monica exhaled and grabbed her small backpack, pulling out a bottle of pills and popping a few.

"Monica, can you help me?" Axel asked, and Monica nodded, getting up and walking up behind her as Axel held her necklace clasps behind her neck. Monica took it and did it for her, before holding onto her arms and leaning in, kissing her on the neck and making her blush. Jeff smiled as he walked over to get his shoes.

"You two are so cute," he said.

"You're just saying that so we'll keep sleeping with you," Axel said, "where is my tiara?"

"By the television," Jeff said, pointing.

The three of them had been having trysts like this regularly throughout the weeks for years now. They went, on their break, to the nearby hotel for the park and checked into a room together, ordered food, and then had sex. Axel, who portrayed the parks resident princess, Princess Frolic, and Jeff, who worked in ride operations, were really the only friends Monica had out here, but she loved what they'd made together. Monica quickly redid her facial makeup, putting on it on her nose, around her eyes, adding her whiskers and then had Axel put her collar with the bell on it around her neck.

"I'll see you guys back at the park," Monica said.

"Are you alright?" Jeff asked as she headed for the door.

"Yeah, never better," Monica said, but that was a lie. She was not alright, and she had, in fact, been better. It's just that this wasn't what she had meant to do. This job. It had been sort of an accident that had turned into a career that she now resented immensely. Whereas Rachel Winchester saw Gumball Isle as a place of enchantment, Monica Dawes saw it as a place that trapped people. But maybe, just maybe, if the two were to meet, they could find something in the middle. Something that would make being at Gumball Isle worthwhile for them both. After all...

...they do call theme parks the happiest places on earth.

"That's almost the last one," Erin said, tossing the bag into Steven's car, adding, "boy, you sure brought a lot of shit on vacation."

"You have no idea how much baggage we brought," Steven replied, making Erin chuckle.

But there was one bag still missing from the group. Laura's bag. A bag she had hid for a reason, to delay the inevitable, stall for time, stay a bit longer. Okay, she hadn't really hidden it, and it was just a backpack, but she was keeping it close with her so her parents didn't get to decide when the car was fully packed. If anything, the bag wasn't hidden, but Laura sure was.

She was currently with Hannah, sitting under the animatronic tropical parrot display inside the hotel, something her folks didn't even know existed, so she knew she was safely tucked away for a bit at least. She was laying on the display ledge, her head in Hannah's lap as Hannah gently stroke her hair from her face.

"I don't want to go," Laura whispered.

"I know, sweetie," Hannah said, "I don't want you to go either, but we know this would happen. Every vacation has to end."

"...I can't...I can't go back to my life without you. My boring little room and my chess club and my studies. I need you."

"You'll have me. You can call me, you can e-mail me. We have ways of communication. We could even write good ol' fashioned love letters through the mail!" Hannah said, making Laura smirk.

"You're a sappy dork, I love it," Laura said, and Hannah leaned down and kissed her. Laura happily kissed her back. After the kiss broke, Laura slowly licked her lips, as if to savor Hannah's taste, before adding, "you know, if you'd told me that I'd find a girlfriend by going on vacation, I never would've believed you. I was SO shy, and SO scared about who I was, and you just...erased all of that. I feel like such a complete person now."

"I'm glad," Hannah said, gently stroking Laura's cheek with her knuckles, "you deserve to."

A few guests walked on by, and the parrots overhead started chatting, being motion activated. After a small pause, Laura sighed.

"I'm scared," she said, "what if...what if it doesn't work? What if, ten years from now, like...what if you meet someone during now and then, or decide you like boys, or-"

"First of all," Hannah said, "liking boys? That ain't ever happening, so no worries there. As for the first part of your fear, well, I suppose anything could theoretically happen, but...I'm crazy about you, Laura. Like, absolutely crazy about you. I don't see anything changing that, not even distance, definitely not time, and certainly not the two put together. I guess I can't say I know the future or what might occur between then and now, or heck, even between now and college for us both, but..."

Hannah sighed and smiled as she looked at Laura's face, her bright wide eyes staring up at her.

"I'm 16 now. I'm going to be getting my license soon. I have long winter breaks, long summer vacations - granted I'm not forced to do something with my folks - and that means, once I get my own car and can drive by myself, I can come visit you. And I absolutely will. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make this work because...like...I don't know if you noticed, but my parents aren't happy. Your parents don't seem that happy either. They seem better than mine, admittedly, but still. And I think it's because people our parents age settled. They found what felt comfortable enough, not what felt right. You feel right. That's far more important."

Laura wanted to cry. She never would've expected anyone to talk so sweetly, so romantically to her. It was like she was in some sort of romance novel.

"...as far as I'm concerned, you're my person," Hannah said, "and damn it all if I'm gonna let anything change that between now and then."

"You'd really put in that much effort over me? I'm not that interesting," Laura said.

"I'll be the judge of that," Hannah replied, leaning down and kissing her again. As their lips touched, Laura wanted to cry. She didn't want to come on this vacation, and now she didn't want to go home. She wanted this moment to last forever, just herself and Hannah, right here under these robotic birds, eternally lip locked. That, to her, was a life worth living. Meanwhile, as Steven got Jasmine buckled into the car with her device playing cartoons on it, Gayle was nowhere to be found. In actuality, Gayle was in the hotel bar, sitting and drinking. A long road home lay ahead of them, and she'd be damned if she was gonna face it sober. She heard the stool beside her pull out and glanced to see, of all people, Sasha seating herself.

"What are you doing here?" Gayle asked.

"My sister is flying in today, told her to meet me here, since she's staying at this hotel," Sasha remarked as she ordered a drink.

"Wow," Gayle said, "she's staying here willingly? We didn't have a choice."

Sasha laughed as she set her purse down on the bar top and sighed, pushing her hair back behind her. Gayle finished her drink and then ordered a plate of cheese fries for them to share.

"...are you okay?" Sasha asked, "cause the last time I saw you, you were feeling rather uncertain about yourself, and your life, and then you never called me back which, not gonna lie, kinda hurt. Thought I was past feeling that way at this point in my life but I suppose, with the right person, it can still sting."

"I'm...I'm okay," Gayle said, another drink placed in front of her, the cheese fry plate put between them; she added, "thank you."

"You're welcome, figured I'd ask since-"

"No no, not for asking that. In general. Thank you in general. For...for doing the things to me that you did. I...needed that. I feel like a completely different person now than I was when we got here, and I think a lot of is thanks directly to you, and what you did to me, for me. So thank you. Even if you've now complicated my life," Gayle said, making Sasha laugh.

"Happy to help," Sasha said, picking up some fries and eating them; after a minute, Sasha added, "ya know, for what it's worth, of all the tourists we've tried to pick up, you were the best. You were one of the few I was genuinely into as a person, and I realize that makes me sound terrible, like some kind of perverted man who only views other women as a sexual object or conquest of desire, but that's not it at all. I just really like you as a human being. I feel like we connected on a deeper level that I ever could've with those other ones. They all had perfect lives, just wanted some fun. But you, with your grief and your fear and your enjoyment of it all...that made you SO real to me, and that's so much more enticing than the seemingly perfect ones."

Gayle smiled and blushed as she picked up some more fries and chased them with her drink. He stomach would surely be upset for the remainder of the day, but she didn't care one bit. If she'd learned one thing on this trip it was indulge, indulge, indulge.

"Well, thank you," Gayle said, "gotta be honest, I'm pretty grateful that you were my first. I could've done so much worse, but you were so understanding and respectful. You made me feel not just understood and heard, but safe, and that...that just sadly isn't something most women get in a relationship, regardless of the gender of their partner."

Sasha smiled and patted Gayle on the thigh, making Gayle quiver.

"So what's the plan for when you get home?" Sasha asked.

"Honestly, not sure just yet, but it's looking more and more likely that we'll try to see someone together," Gayle said.

"You mean like a marriage counselor?" Sasha asked, smirking, making Gayle laugh as she sipped her drink.

"Yeah, we're gonna fuck a marriage counselor together, that'll really complicate matters," Gayle replied, the both of them cackling now. Back out at the car, Steven and Erin had finally finished loading the bags. Erin shut the trunk as Steven opened his wallet and Erin scoffed.

"Dude, you don't have to tip me at this point," she said.

"Oh, I wasn't," Steven said, "no, um...listen. When I won on the game show, this vacation wasn't the only thing I won. I also won money. I did some calculating based on the distance between here and where you grew up, plus the distance between there and where we live, and of course the cost of traveling all that way - gas and whatnot - and I managed to round out a figure that's completely affordable. I'm going to give you a percentage of my winnings as a charitable donation writeoff so you can go get your sister, then come to us, and we'll help you legally gain protection over her."

"...you're using me as a tax shelter? Oh Steven, you've made me the happiest girl in the world," Erin said, the both of them laughing. Steven pulled out a blank check and then asked Erin for a pen. She looked around on her person for a moment before finding one and handing it to Steven, who took it and wrote out the check. He then tore it off and handed it to Erin, whose eyes widened at the sight of the number on the paper; she bit her lip, then looked up at him and mumbled, "Steven, this is too much."

"It's not too much, it's just enough. Enough to save you and your sister. We'll carry the legal fees, so don't worry about that. You just do what you gotta do, then come to us. Our address is on the check," Steven said, before Erin lunged into him and hugged him tightly, crying. Surprised but not at all put off, Steven smiled and rubbed Erin's back, whispering that it would all be okay. Back in the hotel, Hannah and Laura were still under the parrots, in the same position, holding hands. Laura's eyes were beginning to water. The thought of going home, of not having Hannah around...it really stung.

"I really wish...mmmm," Laura said.

"What, what is it you wish?" Hannah asked, "tell me all your fears and dreams."

"I wish I could just skip ahead," Laura said, "you know? Skip all of this stuff. I don't get any enjoyment from this phase of life, well, outside of knowing you I mean. But still, I wish I could just skip ahead and be in college or be an adult and be working. I wish I could just skip ahead, just a little bit. Ten years, max."

Hannah smirked and leaned down, kissing her, whispering, "it'll come sooner than we think, trust me. Seemed like only yesterday I was 6."

"Don't say that, that's creepy," Laura said, making Hannah laugh as Laura continued, "either way I just wish I could make the future come already. I hate high school. I do well in it, but I hate it. I just wanna be grown up and do whatever I want and not worry about judgement from others."

"Oh, don't worry, they're gonna judge you even as an adult," Hannah said, "I know my parents definitely will."

Laura looked up at Hannah, a sad look in her eyes.

"And that doesn't bother you?" Laura asked, "to know you're gonna lose them?"

"The way I see it is this...either my parents love me and the person I love, or they aren't allowed to be involved in my life. Until then, sure, I'm kind of at their whim, but once I'm 18, I don't care anymore. I'm going to be who I am, and be with who I want, and that's you."

"It's just...there's no guarantee," Laura said, "I know I keep bringing that up, and it must feel bad cause of the effort we both wanna put in to making it a reality, but the truth is you never know what's going to happen in ten years time. Doen't that scare you? Because, well...when I think about it...the idea of you kissing another girl ten years from now, a girl who isn't me...it just breaks my heart."

"Then let me protect your heart," Hannah whispered as Laura sat up on her elbows as Hannah leaned in, holding her face in her hands, "let me protect your heart and prove it wrong. It won't break. If anything it'll only get stronger."

With that, Hannah kissed Laura again, and this time, it lasted a good few minutes, because inside, Laura knew this would be the last kiss they had for a long, long time. Gayle exited the bar and walked past the girls, telling Laura it was time to go. Laura gathered her things and, with Hannah, walked towards the parking lot. Erin was sitting outside on the curb, smoking, while Steven was already in the drivers seat. Gayle got into the car as Laura walked around to the opposite side and tossed her bag into the open door before looking at Hannah. Hannah smiled, both had tears in their eyes, and they hugged. They hugged tighter than either had ever hugged anyone before because they knew that this one had to last a while. Hannah raised Laura's hands to her lips and kissed them a few times, then Laura climbed into the car and shut the door. As the car began to pull away, Laura looked out the back window at Hannah, who was chasing after the car waving at her. Finally, Laura caved, and the tears started coming. Tears of relief, tears of gratitude, and tears of fear.

Because she had every right to be afraid. Ten years, after all, IS a long time, and anything can happen, regardless of how much effort you put into it. Her mother would tell her on the way home that even if nothing ever came of the relationship past this vacation, it didn't make what happened meaningless. It was still a pivotal turning point for both girls, and one they'd remember fondly forever. But this sort of sentiment didn't bring Laura any peace of mind. If nothing else, it only made her all the more certain that things would go wrong. So Laura went home. She went back to her life, to her school, to the girl at her chess club, but now she didn't fancy her at all. All she wanted was Hannah. They would spend hours on the phone, emailing, sending love letters through the mail, just doing all they could to stay in touch no matter what. And then one day, sometime in 11th grade, the calls and the emails and the letters from Hannah just stopped coming.

The way Gayle described it, if her parents really were as bad as they seemed, they likely forbid her from having contact with Laura, and while it was nice to think it wasn't an intentional ghosting, it still stung deep. Laura didn't find interest in anyone else, and all her calls were blocked, all her emails rejected by the mail server, all her letters returned unopened. Laura spent the remainder of her high school years even more isolated than before. She withdrew, she read more, she didn't date at all. She clung tightly to the keychain of Hannah's name, and she often cried herself to sleep holding it. She graduated high school with honors, and went to college to attain a degree in journalism, like she'd suggested she might do. The pain had eased, but just barely. She found other girls interesting, but didn't pursue anything. How could she? Nothing would ever measure up.

There's a reason so many people pine for their first love.

   10 YEARS LATER

The doors to the hotel opened and Laura walked inside, feeling exhausted.

All she wanted to do after such a long trip was climb into the shower and lay down before getting into bed. She stopped at the front desk and plopped her bags on the ground before handing her information over the desk to the clerk.

"Hi," she said, "Laura Walton, I have a reservation, Room 219."

"Alright," the clerk said, running the card and furrowing his brow, "this says it's for two."

"It was, but...they aren't coming. I was being stupidly hopeful," Laura said.

"Alright, well we can easily change that for you then, you'll only need one key card," the clerk said. Even now, the full decade after the fact, despite all evidence to the contrary, Laura still was hopeless enough to think Hannah might come. Might even check in before her. But at this point, her heart couldn't drop any further. She was used to the crippling disappointment. The clerk furrowed his brow and said, "...that's strange. It won't let me cancel. It's saying someone has already called ahead."

Laura's eyes widened. The doors behind her slid open, and she glanced instinctively towards it.

"Laura!" Hannah said.

Laura smiled bigger than she ever had before.

Gayle and Steven were seated in their suite, Jasmine watching TV in the other room. Neither had said a word for a while, but really...what had to be said at this point? They'd all but aired their grievances with their life by now, over the course of this vacation, and now, neither was exactly sure what to say. Steven had brought up Erin, brought up wanting to help her, and this had cause Gayle to be intrigued, because she was nothing if not interested in helping someone help their sister, if their sister was like her daughter. But that was just the tip of the iceberg, because when Gayle had gotten back to the hotel the previous night, Steven could tell she had had sex with someone, and could smell Sasha's perfume on her. Gayle said they would discuss it tomorrow, and now here they were, in tomorrow, not discussing a goddamned thing.

"...Is it her specifically?" Steven asked.

"No, it could be any woman," Gayle replied, "don't get me wrong, she's gorgeous, and very sweet, which is nice, but it could be any woman."

"Are you...gay?" Steven asked, and Gayle smiled, but shook her head.

"No. I still love you. I'm still attracted to you. And I don't want a divorce," Gayle said, "but I think something has to seriously change, and...and not just with you, but with me. I'm part of the problem. I work too much, and I recognize this, and it isn't healthy even if it's financially helpful."

"I want to change jobs," Steven said, surprising her.

"Re...really?" Gayle asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Erin, she said I'd be really good working with developmentally disabled children," Steven said, "and, honestly...she's not wrong. I'm good with Jasmine, and I know how they work. I mean, not every kid is the same, of course, but...but I feel like I'd be good at it regardless of the differences."

Gayle hadn't expected this. She knew Steven had been unhappy with his job for a while now, but he'd never brought up the idea of switching careers. Gayle smiled, and nodded.

"I think that's a really good idea, and I think you should try it," Gayle said, "and I think I'm going to ask to step down, just have some more hours to myself, for the family. I think I have proven my worth enough to be given that, and they won't lessen my paycheck as a result. I'm the best consultant they have, and they've seen that proof tenfold. Still..."

Gayle hated admitting that she'd miss working so much, but after spending time with Laura during this vacation, witnessing her become who she was, she realized she was missing out on her childrens development, and that scared her. She didn't want to become her mom. She wanted to be there for her kids, when they needed her or even when they didn't, just to watch and see them grow and change. She wanted to help.

"Then what do we do about us?" Steven asked.

That was the real question, and Gayle had no answer.

                                                                           ***

Hannah opened up the door to her parents suite, grinning as Laura walked inside. Laura was...surprised, to say the least. The lights had been dimmed - not hard, thanks to the built in dimmer switch every room had - and Hannah had even put on some quiet instrumental music over the stereo. Laura blushed deeply, and when she turned, she found Hannah standing behind her, holding a white rose.

"I got you this," Hannah said, "I had to buy it from a lady downtown, but...but I got it for you."

Laura graciously took the rose and smelled it. She didn't know what swooning was, exactly, but later on in life when she learned what it meant, she'd look back on this moment and realize that was indeed what she was doing right now. Laura smiled at Hannah, who giggled.

"This is very sweet of you," Laura said, and Hannah shrugged.

"I mean, I just...I wanted you to have something pretty, because you're pretty," Hannah replied. Laura let her fingertips gently touch the rose's delicate petals, afraid she'd damage it if she pressed too hard. Hannah then reached out and, gently, took Laura's free hand, leading her further into the bedroom suite. Laura felt her heart catch in her chest, unsure if she could actually do this. She wanted to, so badly, but she was nervous. Hannah sat herself on the end of the bed, then patted her lap. Laura giggled, put her rose carefully on the nearby dresser and sat in Hannah's lap. Hannah held onto her waist and kissed her collarbones. Laura shut her eyes and just let Hannah press her lips against her skin, loving the sensation.

"...you're so pretty," Hannah whispered as Laura ran her hands up into Hannah's hair.

"Are you kidding me? You're the pretty one. I'm a sack of potatoes next to you," Laura said, making Hannah chuckle. Hannah pulled her face away and then, holding Laura's face, making her look at her, she smiled.

"You're so pretty," she repeated herself, "Let me show you how pretty I think you are."

With this, Hannah started kissing her lips, one hand still on her hip as her other hand slid between Laura's legs and rubbed the crotch of her shorts. Laura's breath caught in her chest as Hannah unbuttoned Laura's shorts and slid her fingers in, rubbing her properly with her fingertips now. Laura had always wondered what this kind of intimacy might feel like - she knew that a lot of the girls at school were having sex with their boyfriends, and while she hadn't exactly been in a rush to find out herself, she couldn't deny the natural curiosity was there - and now that she was experiencing it firsthand, she couldn't believe how good it felt, yet also couldn't shake how awkward she felt at letting someone be this close to her, even if that someone was Hannah. Hannah backed up on the bed and pulled Laura onto the bed with her, Laura landing on her back as Hannah climbed up over her, continuing to kiss her, rub her.

"Is this okay?" Hannah asked, and Laura nodded, panting heavily.

"This is perfect," Laura replied, "please don't stop."

Hannah grinned as Laura blushed, and Hannah kissed down Laura's bare arms in her tanktop, before pushing her shirt up and nuzzling her tummy with her lips, continuing to head south. Laura knew what was coming, she knew where Hannah was headed, and she was nothing if not surprisingly eager to feel it happen. Hannah gripped the loops on Laura's shorts and tugged gently, then stopped and looked up.

"Is this okay? Can I-"

"Yes, please, please do," Laura said, her eyes shut, biting one of her fingers. Hannah nodded and continued, pulling her shorts down and then burying her face between Laura's legs as Laura wrapped her legs around Hannah's head as their fingers laced together, holding hands tightly. Laura had never felt such pleasure before, and she never wanted it to stop.

                                                                               ***

"I think it's a good idea," Gayle said, "I really do. But it's not a decision I can make on my own, it's a decision that affects both of us, so it needs to be mutual."

Steven nodded, listening. He wanted Gayle to be happy. But the problem was, what she was suggesting would only benefit her. Sure, it'd make her happy, which in turn would make him happy, but...to allow her to see women while being married? He didn't want to see anyone else. He had no interest in anyone outside of his wife. He buried his face in his hands and did his best not to cry.

"I'm sorry, I won't bring it up again," Gayle said softly, putting a hand on Steven's back; she then added, "it was just a suggestion because, outside of getting a divorce, which neither of us wants, I don't know what to do."

"I don't either," Steven whispered, "I want you to be happy, I do. I know you're not happy like this. But I also...I'd have no interest in seeing anyone else and it would be super one sided. I worry I'd get jealous and-"

"Jealous? Steven, anyone I would sleep with would be just that, someone to sleep with," Gayle said, "there's no replacing you emotionally. You're...you're so good. You're such a good person, a good man. I'm such a lucky woman to have someone like you love me. All I'm interested in is sex with other woman, nothing more, nothing less. Purely physical."

"But not sex with me?"

"Of course sex with you," Gayle said, "why...why do you-"

Steven stood up abruptly and started pacing, his hand over his mouth. He finally stopped, leaned on the sliding glass door to the balcony and sighed.

"Do you remember the first time we slept together?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, I do, it was special, so, kind of an important memory, my first time with my future husband and father of my children," Gayle said, the both of them chuckling nervously.

"Okay, well, you must not remember all of it," Steven said, "because...after about fifteen minutes of attempting to get into the groove, so to speak, you broke down crying. Do you not remember this?"

A hush fell over the room and the expression on Gayle's face changed dramatically.

"N..no, I...I really don't," she said, "but Steven, it was a long time ago, so-"

"You broke down crying, and I comforted you. Held you, stroked your hair, just told you that everything was alright and that if you weren't feeling up to it, we could try another night. Just tried to be as accommodating as possible. Tried to do the right thing, you know? Anyway you were just sobbing. Sobbing in a way I've never seen you sob before or since, actually. To be fair, we had been drinking a bit, and you were somewhat more sloshed than I was, so to speak. And then, at some point, you mumbled something, but cause you were crying, I couldn't make it out. I asked you to repeat yourself, and you did."

Gayle shifted anxiously, holding her own hand in her lap, biting her lip. Steven looked down at the floor and put his hands in his pockets.

"...and you did. To your credit, you were either willing enough to be that brave and open, or drunk enough, still never been sure which one it was, but regardless, you repeated it. You said, in quite possibly the saddest, meekest voice I've ever heard in my life, 'you're not her'. I didn't know what to make of that, honestly, so I didn't even bother asking a follow up. I just sort of took it at face value. But now, after this vacation, with all this context...I don't think I need to wonder anymore what you meant."

Gayle sniffled and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Steven sat down beside her again and put a hand on her thigh as she exhaled, shakily.

"...it was this girl before you," Gayle said quietly, almost as if scared to discuss it, "her name was Casey. She was an interior decorator major, so when I got my first apartment I asked her to help me decorate it. I thought, ya know, this is what she's literally in school for but also it was a good way to get to know her. Anyway, it worked. I got to know her rather well as a result. We started spending all our time together, and she...she was so beautiful. Ethereal, almost, like an angel. Always had perfect hair. Perfect makeup. But she was also the first girl I'd ever been openly attracted to, and I was terrified of what would happen if my parents would find out."

"Understandable," Steven said.

"I was absolutely head over heels crazy for her," Gayle said, sniffling, trying not to cry now, "but, as it turns out, I was nothing more than an experiment for her. Started finding her at parties kissing men, which, I mean, I also like but still. When you're with someone, you expect to be the only person they kiss. She didn't even discuss it with me. I guess I've adapted those mannerisms now though..."

"No, you've been more than open about your attraction to women," Steven said, trying to assuage her guilt.

"Well thank you," Gayle said weekly, "uh...it got so bad. We started fighting all the time. We stopped being friends. We stopped being more than friends, and I say it like that because she never let me put a label on it, no matter how badly I wanted to, she refused. I was beyond devastated. I finally open up and act on my bicuriosity and what do I get? Bullshit. And then a few months later, I met you. That's...that's why I said that. I'm sorry, I know it's not a great explanation, but I was still pretty hung up on her even then. I'm sorry if that hurt you. I was just hurting so bad, and trying to move on brought it to the forefront."

Steven nodded, understanding his wife now better than he'd ever had before. He pulled her into him and squeezed her tight, kissing the side of her head. Gayle felt so safe with Steven, and really did love him. She didn't want what they had to end. She wanted to stay married, continue being a mom. But how could she possibly reconcile this with her interest in women?

"Gayle," Steven said, "you deserve to be happy, satisfied. Be yourself. This isn't...this isn't fair to you. Help me figure out how I can fix this for you."

"...I don't know that we can," Gayle whispered, and this broke Steven's heart.

                                                                           ***

Hannah lowered herself over Laura, one hand holding herself up, the other on Laura's face, making her blush as Hannah slipped herself between Laura's legs, grinding down against her. Laura craned her head back and breathed hard, panting, her eyes shut tight. The entire time she'd been with Hannah during the duration of this vacation, all she wanted were things of a physical nature that only seemed to progress the more they did. First she liked just holding her hand. Then she liked kissing her. But now, to be having sex for the first time, it was an amazing way of connecting that she never expected to experience at this age. Hannah kissed Laura again on the lips, whispering into her mouth.

"You're so beautiful," she said, her breath warm and wet; she continued, "I can't believe we're doing this."

"My dad always told me to wait until I was older," Laura said, half laughing as she grabbed Hannah's thigh and rolled her hips upwards, making Hannah moan; Laura added, "but all my peers are doing it."

"If all your peers were jumping off a bridge, would you do that too?" Hannah asked, the both of them cracking up.

Laura ran her hands up onto Hannah's hips and gripped them tightly, her fingertips sinking into Hannah's soft, warm skin. This felt almost...natural. Like she knew exactly what to do. There was no awkwardness, and that surprised her. She'd listened to some of her peers talk about how awkward the whole experience was, how painful it had been (of course for them they were doing penatrative, which makes sense to hurt the first time, and this wasn't the case with Laura) and how uncomfortable they'd felt throughout.

But...none of this was awkward or painful or uncomfortable. In fact, Laura had almost never felt more sure of herself than in these moments. She sat up and kept grinding against Hannah as she buried her face in Hannah's chest, Hannah's fingers becoming lost in Laura's hair. Laura knew what masturbation was like, she'd done it more than enough times to count, but the feeling she was getting from this wasn't like that. She opened her eyes and looked across the room, through the space under Hannah's arm, at the rose that was sitting on the dresser. She shut her eyes and buried her face back into Hannah's chest, as she felt her stomach tighten, her breath sharpen, her muscles clench. Whatever this was, it felt incredible, and she didn't want it to stop.

And before she knew it, she and Hannah were laying motionless on the bed, Hannah still on top, kissing her neck gently. Laura had never, in all her time masturbating, experienced a proper orgasm, so this entire feeling took her by complete surprise. Hannah kissed just under Laura's ear and whispered.

"You smell so good," Hannah said.

"I love you," Laura said suddenly, before widening her eyes and blushing. Hannah giggled and kissed her again, holding her face in her hands, her forehead resting against Laura's.

"I love you too," Hannah said, "...please just stay with me."

"I will. I promise," Laura mumbled, her brain scrambled from the concoction of hormones and emotions, "I promise."

Laura was not certain about much, but she was certain about two things. The first was that she was happier with Hannah than she'd ever possibly imagined, and the second...the second was that she would never become her mother.

                                                                               ***

Gayle was leaning on the balcony, smoking a cigar with Steven, passing it back and forth between the two of them as they looked out over the pool below. Gayle knew Laura had gone to Hannah's a while ago, but she had no idea her daughter was losing her virginity, nor would she really care. As far as Gayle was concerned, only Laura could make that decision of when the best time was for her. She was, however, expecting her back by now. She took a long puff then handed the cigar back to Steven.

"I could dress up as a woman," Steven said, making Gayle laugh.

"That's a very sweet offer, and honestly kinda hot, but no thank you," Gayle replied, "Steven, let's just go to counseling. Maybe I can just...push past it. Ignore it and-"

"You should never have to ignore who you are," Steven said, "that's the last fucking thing I want you to do. Well, I don't know, kind of a tie between that and leaving me. Neither are preferable, frankly."

"Then what do we do?" Gayle asked, and Steven shrugged.

"Right now, I say we go home tomorrow, we help Erin out, and we work through things one day at a time. And if there's no alternative than just...ya know...you meeting women, then that's what we-"

"What if we both did?" Gayle asked, "...what if we found a woman we both liked, who liked both of us? We could be a thruple. I know we're going from a fairly traditional family unit to something somewhat nontraditional in no time at all, but...what about that? That way you wouldn't feel neglected."

"But the only woman I want is you," Steven said, leaning in and kissing her shoulder, "you're...you're it for me."

Gayle blushed and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Marriage kinda sucks sometimes," she said.

"Yeah, it can," Steven said, "but it's worth it. Maybe your idea isn't too bad. We can look into that."

Gayle smiled and hid her face in his arm. She was so lucky to have a man so understanding, and so willing to work on things with her. When Laura finally got back to the hotel about a half hour later, she told her mother what happened, and her mother held her and cried. Not because her daughter was growing up. But because she was getting everything Gayle herself had never gotten.

Parenthood also kinda sucks sometimes.

Hannah was sitting under the docks on the beach, looking at various seashells, thinking. Thinking about how great it would be to be free. To be old enough to not be hindered by her parents whims about her personhood. To be who she was, and be with who she wanted to be. She heard footsteps approaching the docks and saw Laura peaking through the legs of the dock in a tanktop and white shorts. Hannah smiled as Laura seated herself next to her.

"I didn't know if you'd come," Hannah said, "after, ya know, the wonderful example of parental ineptitude my parents put on display."

"Why wouldn't I?" Laura said, as Hannah turned to face her.

"Put your wrist out," Hannah said, and Laura did just that. Hannah then tied a little homemade bracelet around her wrists, made of tiny seashells and sea rocks and glass. Laura smiled widely at it as Hannah said, "I did this yesterday, cause I wasn't allowed to see you, so, ya know, had to do something to pass the time."

"You couldn't see me but you couldn't stop thinking about me?" Laura asked, grinning and Hannah laughed.

"Yeah, guess I'm kinda in love with you like that," Hannah said, leaning in and kissing Laura, making her laugh more. No matter what barriers might be put between them, it seemed like Hannah wasn't interested in letting anyone or anything stop her from being with Laura, and Laura...Laura couldn't help but appreciate that. Laura, now lying on her back with Hannah lying on her side beside her, pushing Laura's hair from her face, couldn't imagine a life more perfect than this.

"When do you leave?" Laura asked, "to go home?"

"A few days," Hannah said, shrugging, "you?"

"Same."

"Then I guess we have to make the most of the time we have," Hannah said, leaning down and kissing her again, whispering against her lips, "you taste what I imagine joy tastes like."

"That's the cheesiest goddamn thing I've ever heard," Laura replied, giggling, before adding, "keep going."

                                                                           ***

Gayle was sitting in a diner, checking her watch, anxiously tapping her foot on the floor beneath the booth table. She looked up at her waitor as he put a new drink down in front of her and she thanked him before pulling it in, dropping a straw into it and taking a long sip. Suddenly she looked up to see Sasha seating herself across from her, and Gayle coughed, pushing her drink away.

"Don't stop hydrating yourself on my account," Sasha said, laughing.

"I just...I didn't even hear you come to the table," Gayle said, coughing, "that's all, surprised me."

"You're the one full of surprises," Sasha replied, taking her jacket off, letting her bare shoulders in her strapless crop top come out on full display, catching Gayle off guard; she continued, "I mean, first you let me go down on you in my bedroom, then you wanna meet again? I was sure after your husband walking in that-"

"Yeah, that was...fucked, sorry," Gayle said, "hopefully that wasn't too upsetting for you, or your husband."

"Nah, he's seen me in far more embarrassing situations, trust me," Sasha said, laughing, "so what did you wanna meet with me for?"

Gayle hesitated, opening her mouth to respond only to shut it again just as quickly. The waitor stopped by and took Sasha's drink order. Gayle didn't know how to approach this. Everything was so jumbled up. This entire vacation had spiraled out of control and brought to the forefront a lot of things she'd never expected to have to deal with, or at least hadn't expected to deal with so suddenly. Gayle exhaled deeply, shut her eyes, and put her palms flat on the table.

"Okay," Gayle said, "I'm gonna level with you...I don't...fuck...I didn't...ever think that, uh...that I would follow through with anything like that. I mean, I...I had always had interest in other women, especially in college, but, ya know, I never acted on anything. But you were so pretty, and so nice, it was like, impossible not to go for it."

"Well that's a compliment!" Sasha said, laughing loudly, "seriously, that's the nicest thing I'm gonna get told all year, so thank you!"

"You're welcome, glad to help," Gayle said, also laughing, but anxiously as she continued, "and uh...anyway, it was...it was nice, to finally kind of come through the other side of that curiosity, but now...now I don't know what to do. I love my husband, I do, I don't want a divorce, but at the same time..."

The waitor put Sasha's drink down, and she thanked him, then started sipping on it as Gayle sighed again.

"...my daughter came out to me the other night," Gayle said, "it was...not the way anyone would want to come out, but it happened, and...and I was so proud of her for being herself, but at the same time, so weirdly jealous? She's got her whole life ahead of her, in a generation where it's acceptable for her to be openly queer, and...I started thinking how sick that is, to be jealous of my daughters potential. But I was. I laid in bed that night just thinking about how I could attain some kind of the same happiness, but it's hard. I'm tied to a family. Tied to a man that I love...most of the time."

Sasha laughed, which made Gayle smirk.

"And for the most part," Gayle said, "life is good. We have a good home, a good existence. We've worked hard to carve out a niche for ourselves that works for us, and we can give our children everything they need and then more, but...what do you do when enough isn't enough? You know what I mean?"

Sasha nodded slowly, setting her glass down and tapping her perfectly manicured nails on the tabletop.

"I do, I get it," Sasha said calmly, "and I wish I had an answer for you. Jason and I, we have a lifestyle that fits us, but not every couple is lucky enough to be flexible enough to have that. Some men...a lot of men, actually, just aren't confident enough to have an open marriage, even if it's what could save their marriage. And it isn't right for everyone either, I recognize that. Do you think Steven would be okay with you seeing women?"

"I don't know, we kinda talked about it," Gayle said, scratching her forehead, "um, but I also don't wanna confuse our life anymore than it already is. As it stands right now we have a very hesitantly openly queer daughter and a developmentally disabled daughter who's much younger and, like, life is complicated enough without adding in my own wants and needs."

"Just cause you have children doesn't mean your needs stop being needs," Sasha said, "I realize that, to parents, that sounds like such a selfish thing to think, but fuck, Gayle, you were a person before them and guess what, when they're gone, when they're grown and have moved on, you'll still be a person. Don't throw yourself under the bus at the expense of others, even your own kids."

Gayle nodded, and she knew that on some level Sasha was right, but...she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Besides, with her work schedule the way it was, when they got home she wasn't gonna have time for dates or meet ups or anything. Hell, she barely had time for the family as it was already.

"Can we-" Gayle started, before Sasha interrupted.

"We absolutely can," Sasha said, grinning, "I've already got a room."

                                                                             ***

"I don't wanna go back to school," Hannah said, "I mean, I don't hate school, and I do fine at it, but like...all this pressure and expectation to be the model student, to be little miss perfect when I am so fucking far from that. Exhausting. I don't even know that I wanna go to college."

Laura shifted in the sand, sitting up against the pier leg.

"What do you wanna do?" Laura asked, and Hannah shrugged.

"I don't really know," Hannah said, "all I know at the moment is that whatever kind of future I get to have, I want it to involve you."

Laura blushed again. The way Hannah spoke of the future, it was as if she was going to will it into existence no matter what, that they would be together. Laura didn't mind this one bit. She wanted that as much as Hannah seemed to. Hannah leaned up on her elbows and tossed her hair a bit, trying to get some sand out of it.

"I don't really know what I wanna do either," Laura said, shrugging, "I have a few things that interest me, but overall, nothing I'm too obsessed over, like, as a career. I like reading so I thought maybe I'd be a writer, but I've been trying to write for a few years and I'm just not very good so that likely isn't going to happen. I also like animals, so maybe a veterinarian? But do I have the stomach to...well...stomach all that blood and guts? And what if they die and I can't save them? I'd feel so bad."

"Fair enough," Hannah replied, looking towards the water, "...what really bothers me is knowing that if I want to be myself, I'll lose my family. They won't want to have anything to do with me. I just really want my mom and dad to love me no matter who I am or who I wanna be with."

"Well, there's always room in my family," Laura said, shrugging, "You're free to join."

Hannah smiled and looked at the sand. Laura was right. She could always start a new family with someone else. But still...she wanted her parents. Not someone elses. And if there was anyone who knew how that felt, it was Erin.

                                                                              ***

"I'm scared," Erin said, sitting upright in her hospital bed, "I'm just scared. I know that's normal, all things considered, but still. What if I go back and they try to paint me as some weird sicko? Some kind of pervert? Would be ironic, given what my father actually did to me, but still, those kinds of people are all about projection aren't they?"

Steven nodded, writing something down in a little notebook.

"You really sure your wife won't mind helping me?" Erin asked, and Steven looked up and grinned at her.

"Not one bit, she lives to help people from bad families," Steven said, "she didn't have the best parents either, so she's gone the extra mile to not only be a good parent but help others who have bad parents. She says it's a calling. So yeah, I'm sure she won't mind helping you, especially if, as you said, you have a sister like our daughter. That alone would net her interest."

Erin smile weakly and looked down at her hands in her lap. She wasn't used to people older than her being nice to her and wanting to help, and it almost felt like...like a manipulative tactic, like at some point Steven was going to ask something of her, but she knew that was just her experience with her father seeping into her relationships with other older men.

"Steven," Erin said, "...what if nothing can be done? I mean...people already don't believe victims as it is, what if I do nothing but just make things worse for her by trying to make them better? What if, somehow, it just makes him hurt her more? Or start hurting her to punish me, if he hasn't already?"

"All valid fears to have, but Erin, nobody ever got anywhere by not doing anything," Steven said, "and I know that sounds like a bullshit pseudo intellectual positivity movement slogan, but it's true. Because at least, even if you don't succeed, you tried, and that alone makes you a good person. Wanting to try is just wanting. You're still good for wanting. But you're better for trying. And trust me, from what you've told me, you're eons better than that piece of trash you call a father."

Erin smiled weakly, nodding in agreement as she looked back down at her hands. She wanted to believe him, but her father had dug the claws of worthlessness in so deep that she had a hard time even attempting to believe someone might want to help her, let alone that someone being another father figure.

"And what happens if I fail? Failure feels almost worse than doing nothing, because it'll prove they're right, and I'm not strong enough," Erin said. Steven looked up again and sighed.

"Yeah, failure...failure sucks," he said, "there's no sugarcoating that turd, but...you need to look at it from the perspective of your sister. To her, good and bad is binary. It's black and white. I know, because that's how our daughter sees things. There's no room for grey. So she knows what her father is doing is bad, and she'll know - even if you fail - that what you were trying to do was good, and she'll be so grateful for you just trying."

Erin thought about this. Steven wasn't wrong. Her sister did have that mindset. She was impressed, because he wasn't in education, far as she knew anyway, and yet he seemed to have a pretty decent grasp on the mind development of a mentally challenged child.

"You should go into childcare," Erin said, "You'd be really good at it. You understand them."

Steven nodded, and thought about this. Maybe he should. He wasn't happy with his current job, and he did like taking care of Jasmine. Maybe he should do something better. Something more real. Something where, like his wife, he could help people, people who can't help themselves. And he smiled to himself.

                                                                               ***

Sasha opened the hotel room door, and Gayle followed her in. It was a normal little hotel room, nothing overly fancy, but also nothing gross. As plain as can be. Sasha tossed her purse on the chair and began removing her blazer as Gayle stood in the center of the room, feeling anxious, picking at her nails.

"I...I don't know, maybe this was a mistake," Gayle said, "I'm not good with-"

Sasha walked up behind Gayle and put her hands on her shoulders, whispering in her ear.

"Just calm down," she said softly, "everything is fine. Just relax."

Gayle felt her muscles unclench, her tension melt a bit, as Sasha pressed her lips against her neck. Gayle shut her eyes and started breathing faster. This was what she really wanted, but she felt bad about it. Then again, this whole vacation had been Steven's idea, and he'd insisted she do what she need to to be happy. Gayle turned to face Sasha, who took her gingerly by the hand and led her to the couch. Gayle sat down and Sasha carefully sat in her lap, continuing to kiss her neck, biting her earlobe.

"There is no shame in doing what you want," Sasha whispered, "don't let society dictate what you need or want."

"I'm a mother, a wife," Gayle muttered through her hard breathing as Sasha ran a hand down between her legs and rubbed her fingertips against her; Gayle's eyes widened and she added, "but I...I need this."

"Then let me give it to you," Sasha said, kissing her on the lips, "and then, this way, when you get back home, you'll have one hell of a good memory of a vacation."

Gayle nodded and shut her eyes as Sasha knelt in front of her on the couch. The thing was, Gayle was realizing, it wasn't just that Sasha was a woman - though she didn't mind having a beautiful woman between her legs - but moreso that she did things Steven never did, or even thought to do. Women took better care of women than men ever did in bed, and that's the high Gayle was after. Gayle felt Sasha grab her wrist and pull her hand into her hair as she pushed her legs open and started licking her, and Gayle grinned, letting herself go. The problem wasn't that Steven was a man. It was that men don't think like women.

But thankfully, that was something Steven was getting better at every day.

                                                                              ***

Hannah and Laura were walking down the beach, heading back in the direction of the hotel, hand in hand. As Laura kicked sand a little bit ahead of her, Hannah looked out towards the water and blushed. She thought about what they had talked about, and thought about the possible future they could have. If nothing else, Hannah promised herself she'd do a better job at being in love than her parents ever had.

"Tomorrow," Hannah said, "my parents are going on a date for their anniversary."

"Oh?" Laura asked.

"Yeah, so if you wanna come by the suite and hang out, that would be cool," Hannah said, "I'd like it if you did."

"I'd like to," Laura replied, smiling.

Laura thought about it. About being alone with Hannah, in a private room, with a bed...her heart began to race. Was she ready for that sort of thing, if that's something in fact that Hannah was planning? She didn't know. She felt like she might be, but she also felt like she was still too young. Only time could tell, she guessed. But for right now, right here, on the beach, she was happy with just the way things were. Laura stopped walking and looked at the water, and Hannah hugged her from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder, making Laura giggle.

"I like the sunset," Hannah said, "but I like it even more seeing it with you."

"God you're sappy," Laura replied, laughing, as Hannah kissed her cheek.

Yes. Right now things were exactly as she wanted them.

Laura had never had great birthdays, at least not on a social level.

Her birthdays proper had always been great. She spent them with her family, and she got good gifts because they understood and her interests, but she never had a birthday where friends were invited, because, well, Laura rarely ever had friends, and even on the few instances she managed to...they didn't accept the invite. But Laura didn't care. She liked celebrating her birthday alone. But celebrating someone else's birthday? That was also something she wasn't accustomed to, outside of, again, her family. So when Hannah asked Laura to come to dinner with her and her folks that night, she happily accepted, but she had no idea how to handle it. And what does a young girl do when she doesn't know how to handle something? She turns to her mother, of course, and Gayle was more than happy to help if she could.

So now, standing in front of the vertical full length mirror in Gayle and Steven's suite, Laura looked at herself in her slim, black party dress as her mom worked on her hair, making it fuller, curlier than usual, and all she could think of was how weirdly...cool this was?

"Thanks for helping me," Laura said, and Gayle smiled.

"It's no problem," Gayle said, "that's what moms are here for. You and this girl have spent a lot of time together, it's good to see you met a friend. I was afraid you'd spend the entire vacation in the room, reading. Not that...that sounds so judgemental, but not that I'm against your interest in literature, you know that. You know I love you for it. But I want to see you meet people."

"I generally don't like to meet people," Laura said, shrugging, "people are of no interest to me. Usually."

"Well, what makes this person so different?" Gayle asked, and Laura bit her lip, trying not to smile. How could she tell her mother? Could she tell her mother? What was it that made Hannah so different, was it that she loved her? Was it that Hannah just accepted her and liked her exactly as she was? It was likely a culmination of a million things, and it'd be outright impossible to pinpoint just one or two. Laura cleared her throat and blinked a few times, trying to come back to reality.

"I guess it's...she's just...nice," Laura said.

Gayle nodded in silent response, continuing to work on Laura's hair. When she was done, she set her hair tools on the bed and, taking Laura by the shoulders, turned her to face her.

"Laura," Gayle said, "Sweetheart...why did you want me to do your hair? You usually don't care about your appearance, but now, for this girls birthday, you do? I mean, I can understand wanting to just look nice for a special occasion, but is that all it is? A special occasion?"

Laura wanted so badly to tell her mother the things she felt, the things she'd been feeling for the last year, but instead she just smiled and said, "Yep."

Acceptance would almost be as scary as rejection.

                                                                             ***

The place Hannah's parents had chosen to take Hannah for her birthday was a themed restaurant with animtronic animals (and not the kind that are on a stage, playing instruments, just ordinary animals) and a gift shop built in. Hannah had wanted her birthday here every year after the first time her grandmother had brought her here, and every year her parents had obliged. Sitting at the table with Hannah and her parents, Laura couldn't take her eyes off the enormous mechanical yet lifelike Python that was slung over fake tree branches overhead.

"You chose this spot on purpose, didn't you?" Laura asked, and Hannah shrugged, Laura laughing and adding, "you and your love for snakes."

"Hey, they're cool, okay?" Hannah replied, laughing.

"Laura," Hannah's father, Tim, said as he put his menu down, "what are your guys doing on vacation here?"

"Well, my dad won the trip on a gameshow, and since we rarely take vacations I guess we couldn't pass it up," Laura said, "mom usually works too much to go on vacation so I guess guilt is a good enough motivator."

Tim laughed and nodded as Hannah's mother, Carrie chimed in.

"What does your mother do?" Carrie asked.

"She's a partner in a law firm," Laura said, "but, more as, like, an associate than a lawyer proper. She just kind of helps them work on cases, get things put together. A consultant, I think is the word she once used."

"Wow, that's pretty good," Carrie said.

Laura felt strange, discussing her parents with someone elses parents, but then...isn't this what people who wanted to be in one anothers lives did? Merged families? Laura felt good that Hannah trusted her that much to bring her into the fold that was her family. Felt like she really meant everything she said about wanting to be together.

"Can I show Laura the tiger?" Hannah asked, and her parents nodded, so Hannah scooted out her chair from the table and, taking Laura by the arm, pulled her along to another location within the restaurant. Once far enough away, Hannah let her hand slide down Laura's arm and into her hand, squeezing it tightly, making Laura blush. They got further and further away from the table, and eventually stopped at a large animatronic tiger near an empty table.

"Wow," Laura said, "that's a serious tiger."

"Isn't he awesome?" Hannah asked, "I wish I could have a giant animatronic tiger in my room."

"I think I'd rather not wake up in the middle of the night and feel like I'm being stalked by a vicious predator," Laura said, making Hannah throw her head back, laughing; Laura blushed again and, squeezing Hannah's hand, added, "thank you for inviting me to your birthday."

"You're my girlfriend, aren't you? Why wouldn't I? And you look amazing," Hannah said, "I'm a little embarrassed, honestly, being so underdressed compared to you. To think you'd go to such effort just for me, it's...it's sweet. Nobody's ever done really thoughtful stuff for me, outside of my grandma."

"I had my mom do my hair," Laura said, reaching up and touching it, "I just wanted to look pretty."

"Oh, please, you always look pretty," Hannah said, approaching Laura and putting her hands on her shoulders, "but to think you wanted to look pretty just for my sake? That's really sweet."

"Are you gonna kiss me?" Laura asked.

"I was thinking about it," Hannah giggled, as she leaned in and kissed Laura, who happily kissed her back. To think, Laura, who didn't even want to come on this vacation, had now gotten the most out of it of everyone. While everybody else was having a really rough time, she had met a girl she liked, who liked her back, and was finally feeling more comfortable with her burgeoning sexuality. This really had been a vacation worth taking.

                                                                             ***

Erin's eyes fluttered open and she groaned, rolling her head around on her pillow before realizing where she was. A hospital room, attached to some IV tubes feeding her fluids. She tried to shield her eyes from the obnoxious overhead lights, when she noticed Steven coming into the room.

"Steven?" she asked, groggily.

"You called the hotel and had them notify me," Steven said, "I guess, maybe you don't remember that, but...that's often the sign of someone who doesn't actually mean to kill themselves."

Steven sat down on a chair near the bed and handed her a candy bar.

"Got you something from the machine," he said, "figured you could use some sugar."

"I didn't want you to see me like this," she whimpered.

"Then you shouldn't have had me paged I guess," Steven said, "...Erin, are you okay? Is this...is this about your dad? The story you told me the other day?"

"Kind of," Erin said, doing her best to sit up and unwrap her candy bar, "moreso my little sister. Remember I told you I have a sister kind of like your daughter? I've felt guilty ever since just running off, leaving her with them. God knows what they're doing to her. I could fight back, but she...she can't. She can barely tell what's okay and what's not. They could abuse her so much. I feel like I betrayed her."

"Erin, it...it isn't your responsibility," Steven said, "I mean, I get that it's your sister and all, but-"

"She has nobody else in the world to protect her, how isn't it my responsibility?" Erin asked, taking a bite of the candy bar, chewing as she added, "if I don't do it, who fucking will? I thought that by maybe killing myself I could finally get away from my guilt, but this is only gonna compound it. Here I am yet again, running away. I'm always running."

A long pause entered the conversation, as a nurse came in to check something, then exited.

"Then maybe it's time to stop running," Steven said, and Erin looked at him as he smiled, "maybe it's time to stop running" he repeated.

                                                                             ***

After having eaten dinner and visited the gift shop, Laura and Hannah were given the freedom to just roam the restaurant and look at everything while Hannah's parents stayed at the table and had a few more drinks and some dessert. Standing in front of a fake pond with an animatronic alligator snapping at them in regular intervals, Laura reached into her dress pocket and pulled something out.

"Um," Laura said, "so, do you remember the first night we met? You took me to the hotel gift shop, looking for your name on a keychain?"

"Yeah, they never have it," Hannah replied, "why?"

Laura pushed her hand into Hannah's and dropped something in it, something metal. Hannah opened her hand and looked at it, furrowing her brow, looking confused.

"This is a keychain with your name," Hannah said, and Laura nodded before dangling a second keychain, this one brandishing Hannah's name on it, in front of her face, making her jaw drop; Hannah added, excitedly, "you found one with my name on it!?"

"I did, but I thought it'd be kind of romantic if we each kept the others. That way, like...we'll never be fully apart, you know?" Laura said, looking at the keychain in her hand now, "and...and when we're having a bad day, no matter where we are, we can look at the keychain and think about eachother, and realize that somewhere there's someone who cares about us, and wants to be with us."

"You're such a romantic dork," Hannah said, laughing, "but...that's a really cute idea, and I like it."

Hannah turned and put her arms over Laura's shoulders, looking in her eyes, the sound of the fake river splashing gently behind them, the snap of the animatronic alligator nothing more than background noise now.

"You have beautiful eyes," Laura said quietly, "they're so big, and such a nice color. Everything about you is beautiful, but I guess I'm prone to liking eyes, and yours are the most beautiful I've ever seen. There's this girl in my Chess club who has nice eyes, but yours are even nicer, and I'd rather look in your eyes than hers."

Hannah sniffled, like she was about to try, but she didn't. She choked it down and exhaled.

"You're so sweet," Hannah replied, "I don't know how I got so lucky to meet someone like you, on vacation of all places, but...I don't want my life to be without you. I want you in it, no matter what. If you'd like to be."

"Of course I would," Laura said, "I...I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be with."

Hannah knew better. She knew they were 15 and 16 respectively, and that teenage 'love' rarely actually lasted or turned into anything worthwhile or lengthy, but she still had hope. She'd seen couples in their 40s who had met in high school, so why couldn't it happen for them too? Hannah smiled and laid her head on Laura's shoulder.

"Thank you for the keychain," Hannah said, "thank you for...for you."

Laura smiled, nodding as Hannah kissed her neck and Laura felt her skin goosebump. Hannah nuzzled her lips against Laura's neck and Laura couldn't help but swoon. She'd never given thought to the idea of intimacy, but now...being this close to such a beautiful girl, she couldn't get the idea out of her head. Hannah kissed up Laura's neck, and then kissed her on the jaw, and then pressed her lips against hers, kissing her more. Laura happily gave in, kissing her back, never wanting to stop, when suddenly Hannah was pulled away and her father, Tim, was standing there.

"Again? In public?" he asked, sounding angry, "Come on, we'll take you back to your folks, Laura."

As he stormed off, Hannah sat down on the edge of the fake pond and buried her face in her hands. Laura sat beside her, her hand on Hannah's thigh.

"What did he mean?" Laura asked, and Hannah shook her head.

"He means I'm a disappointment," Hannah replied, sighing and, her hands fidgeting with one another, she said, "...last year, I went to a camp during the school year, it was a sleepaway camp that only lasted, like, a week. Anyway, while I was there, I met this girl from another school, cause it was a place a bunch of schools went at the same time, and we got really close. We used to spend all our spare time together, and one day, we were hiding in this little building where they had a bunch of equipment for activities and we got caught."

"...caught...doing what?" Laura asked, and Hannah sighed.

"You know, just...what we've been doing, but maybe a little more," Hannah said, "anyway they separated us for the rest of the time there, she didn't give me any contact information, and when I got home, my parents really gave me a talking to, if you wanna call it that. Told me that if I ever was caught doing something like that again, that was it. They'd be really disciplining me."

"I'm so sorry, that's so unfair," Laura said, "I didn't know your parents were so..."

"Closed minded? Yeah, neither did I until then, they always seemed pretty cool," Hannah said, "but...it's worth it, honestly. Being with girls is worth it, and being with you is worth it."

Laura blushed as Hannah picked her hand back up and kissed it, their eyes staying on eachother. Hannah was right, it was worth it to be ones self, to no longer hide from the reality of your identity. Laura thought to her mother, and knew that her mother wouldn't be the same way as Hannah's father was, and she felt lucky for this. Hannah laid her head on Laura's shoulder while they waited for Hannah's parents. It was worth it. Love was worth it.

                                                                                ***

"How do I go back and fix it? I can't just take her, she's not 18, my folks would have me arrested," Erin said.

Steven sighed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs.

"Erin, I'm not the best father in the world, lord knows," he said, "but I do know one thing and that's from watching my daughters interact with one another, and how much they love eachother. Siblings, when the relationship is good, have a bond that nobody else has, and that makes it hard to break. She'd be grateful just for you to be around, even if you couldn't actively liberate her from the household. And listen, my wife is a lawyer, well, lawyer adjacent these days, and...and if you need someone to back you up, I'd happily ask her to."

Erin wanted to cry. This random father of two was treating her with more kindness and understanding than her own father ever had, and she felt so grateful, so lucky.

"Why?" she asked, sounding on the verge of tears, "why would you...why would you care so much? You barely know me."

"Barely knowing someone doesn't mean they aren't deserving of respect or empathy," Steven said, "Erin, you've had it hard, and...and if I can help alleviate that in some way, maybe make things better for you, then I'd like to do that. I'm sorry your parents weren't good to you, but other people can be parents to you too. Let us help you."

Erin nodded, crying quietly. She didn't know why this random family she'd met had become so kind and generous to her, but she wasn't going to knock it. She was just happy to be finally be seen.

                                                                              ***

Laura was sitting in her parents suite as Gayle stepped back into the room. She stopped, looked back at Jasmine coloring on the floor of the opposite suite, then shut the door behind her. Gayle approached the bed and sat beside Laura, who had pulled her legs to her chest, feeling anxious.

"He had no right telling you," Laura said.

"No, he didn't," Gayle said, "but most people don't respect a child or a teenagers privacy, and frankly unless they're doing something excessively dangerous, they should. Regardless, are you okay?"

Laura looked up at her mom, her eyes red.

"Do you hate me?" Laura asked.

"Why would I hate you?" Gayle asked, sounding shocked by the question, "Laura...Laura, honey. Fuck."

Laura's eyes widened. She had never heard her mother say the 'F' word before. Gayle exhaled, her breathing shaky, as she ran her hands through her hair.

"Laura, do you remember the first day of 4th grade?" Gayle asked, "remember? And I took you to school, and you saw your teacher for the first time, what was her name?"

"Miss Marks," Laura said.

"Right, Miss Marks," Gayle said, "right, and...and the first thing you said when seeing her was how beautiful she was. And you didn't even...you were in 4th grade, you'd never had a crush before, but you inherently decided within that moment that Miss Marks was beautiful. Now, it's not unusual for kids to have crushes on teachers, but...in that moment, I knew there was a likelihood that you were gay. The fact you never talked about boys. Laura, I don't hate you, I'd never hate you. I'm not ashamed or disgusted, and-"

"And I'm not a disappointment?" Laura asked, crying, "Cause Hannah says her dad thinks she's a disappointment."

"You are not only not a disappointment," Gayle said, turning, cross legged on the bed now to fully face her daughter, "you are the single thing I am most proud of in my entire life. I worked my ass off to get to where I am, career wise, and I've put a lot of time and effort into my relationship with your father and into myself as an individual, but you and your sister are what I'm most proud of, in spite of all of that. I wanna see you be yourself. I don't care who that is."

Laura leaned into her mothers lap, and Gayle smiled, holding her close.

"I don't care," Gayle continued, "if you want to do something out of the ordinary with your life, as a career, or if you love women. I just want you to be the happiest, most successful version of yourself that you can possibly be. And if anyone takes issue with you, I'll fuck them up proper, okay? Her dad is in the wrong to say such a thing, and I can't...I can't imagine how bad that must make Hannah feel, but having met her, she seems like a really sweet young lady and frankly, if she makes you happy and makes you feel good about yourself, then she's good enough for me."

A moment passed. The could hear the sounds of some kids down in the pool, the sliding glass balcony door open.

"Laura," Gayle went on, "we're not very different. We both work very hard, you at school and me at my job, and...and we both like women. I just don't happen to like them exclusively, but...I do like them. You're me, Laura. You're...you're me. But, like, all the good parts of me condensed into a better version, a version who deserves better than I got. I'm gonna fight tooth and nail to see you get it. You're anything but a disappointment, and I'm so fucking proud of you."

Laura shut her eyes and just let herself be a little girl again, in her mothers arms, feeling safe as can be.

"I like girls," Laura whispered, and Gayle chuckled, kissing the top of her daughters head.

"Me too, honey," she said, "me too."

"I can remember," Hannah said, "being in like 2nd grade, and this girl in my class had a birthday party at her home, and it was princess themed because of course it was, we were 2nd grade girls after all, and my mom made me go even though we weren't really friends and I barely knew her. That was when I realized that it didn't matter what I wanted, my parents had societal expectations of me that I had to live up to for the good of our image. Course, it wasn't a total loss. That was also the first time I realize, after seeing her in her birthday princess dress, that I liked girls, so."

Laura laughed as she put her arms behind her head. The girls were laying on the sand of the beach, staring up at the sky. They were just in their regular clothes, not bathing suits, as people walked on by them.

"I guess it really was that easy," Hannah said, "you just don't know until the right person in the right outfit hits you."

"I only learned this last year," Laura said, "I never really had interest in anyone, I was always way too focused on doing well in school, so my social activities weren't exactly high on my list of priorities, but then this last year I joined a Chess club and there was ths girl in the club. She had this really long, dark wavy hair and these big grey eyes. She was...beautiful. From the first moment I saw her, I knew something was different, and when we first matched up to play, I couldn't look at the Chess board, only at her."

"That's cute," Hannah said.

"But it made me feel so...weird. So different. So I just kind of did my best to ignore it and pretend I still felt nothing for anyone. But the more I did, the harder it became to do so, and the more I started thinking about her. I would be sitting at my desk in my bedroom doing homework and I would just suddenly think about her, and how soft her skin must feel, or I'd be taking a shower and I'd think 'what would it be like to kiss her right now' and these thoughts scared me even more."

"Why?" Hannah asked.

"I don't even know. My parents aren't closed minded. They encourage me to read about the world, to embrace any and everyone of different races and religions and stuff, so it wasn't like they would be ashamed of me or something. I think I just...being different as a teenager is already a death sentence, and I guess I didn't wanna invite the firing squad."

"Well put," Hannah replied, "well, you're lucky. My parents are suspicious of me and I hate it because I know they have their heart on me meeting some boy and giving them some grandkids which is a lot of weird pressure to put on a fifteen year old, honestly. I haven't even planned what college I'm gonna go to and you're already expecting me to pick out baby names? Gimme a break."

There was a shared laugh between them, and then a long pause. A few seagulls flew overhead, and some more kids ran by, older teenagers and a few little kids. Laura cleared her throat and rolled her head, looking towards Hannah who did the same and smiled at her, making Laura blush. Laura reached out and took Hannah by the hand and squeezed.

"I guess one good thing about being a girl is that people expect you to be affectionate with your friends, which makes it easier to get away with being gay," Laura said, and Hannah laughed loudly.

                                                                          ***

Steven was walking down the hall, grumbling to himself. Gayle was taking care of Jasmine back in the room, still not really wanting to discuss the other night, or the implications thereof for the future, so Steven took it upon himself to just take his leave for a bit and take a walk. As he passed by a door in the hall, he heard the door shut behind him and turned to see Erin.

"Hey there champ," she said, "where you headed?"

"I have no idea," Steven said, shrugging, "just...anywhere, I guess. This vacation isn't turning out to be the relaxing time I had in mind."

"Well, I'm off for lunch in like ten minutes. You want some company?" Erin asked, and Steven hesitated, then nodded.

"Sure, why not. The more miserable people the merrier, I suppose," he said, following her as she pushed the luggage cart back to the elevator. They stopped in front of it and Erin pressed the button, waiting for it to arrive. She adjusted the hat on her head and crossed her arms, sighing.

"I'm sorry shit is going south for you," she said.

"You don't know the half of it," Steven said.

"I think I do, actually," Erin said, causing him to raise an eyebrow. The elevator arrived, the doors slid open and, after letting a few people off, Erin pushed the luggage cart inside, then entered herself, Steven right behind her. He pushed the button for the ground floor, and the elevator started going down; Erin pulled out some gum and put a few pieces in her mouth, saying, "I know I look like I'm cool as shit, and have everything together despite my age, but...man...I've seen this happen. Families fall apart. Cause it happened to mine."

Steven leaned against the elevator wall and listened.

"People who think they want something, do everything they can to get that something, and then realize a few years down the line that, hey, this isn't actually at all what I wanted and now everyone else has to live with the rubble," Erin said, sitting on the luggage cart, "all in all, I can't blame anyone for it. People change, interests change, whatever, but...that doesn't mean the aftermath doesn't hurt, you know?"

Steven nodded as they hit the ground floor. Erin sat cross legged on the luggage cart while Steven began to push it out the doors and down the hall towards the main foyer.

"It's ridiculous to expect someone to be the same way forever, want the same things forever, because sure, there's people like that, but they're not the majority, and people change and grow. So I might try not to hold anyone directly accountable, but that doesn't mean I didn't get hurt in the crossfire. And that's only for their actions towards themselves or one another, that doesn't forgive the way they treated me."

"Your parents not good to you?" Steven asked, as Erin sniffled, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"Let's just say that, when it comes to seeing how good you two are to your children, it makes me a little jealous," she replied.

Steven had no idea Erin felt this bad. He figured she had been through something, after all she was very young and already working here, living on her own (well, with roommates, but not family), and overall he figured she had some sort of sad history, but he was not at all prepared for the things he'd come to learn that afternoon.

                                                                              ***

"I have a cousin, Effie, she was completely cut off after admitting she like anyone regardless of gender," Hannah said, "and my parents seemed a little mad at my aunt about it, but...at the same time, they also seemed like they understood why she chose to do it. Cut Effie off, I mean. Like they were weirdly supportive while being somewhat distant. I don't know how to explain it. All I know is that, watching that happen...it made me terrified to ever be open about who I am with them."

Laura nodded, listening, looking up at the clouds overhead.

"But with you, it feels...not scary? Worth it? I don't know," Hannah continued, "with you it feels normal. Not that it isn't, ugh, I don't know how to put it, but I'm sure you know what I mean. It feels like if they found out, it would still be worth whatever the result would be, because knowing you is...is enough. Knowing you is worth that. Worth whatever their response is."

Laura blushed and looked away, smiling stupidly. All her life, she'd loved the idea of romance, of being whisked away by someone who understood her, accepted her, without question or judgement, someone who just loved her for existing in the way that she did. She never expected she'd actually find it, much less find it on vacation as a teenager, but here she was, smack dab in the middle of her very own romcom, and she couldn't be happier. All those doubts, those little nagging fears that she once held so closely to her heart about who she was and what she deserved, they'd melted in an instant, and all because Hannah had the capacity to do exactly what she wanted someone to...just like her. That's it. That simple, really.

"Yeah, well, my parents aren't exactly great either," Laura finally said, "I mean, they're good parents, they love my sister and me, and I think even if they knew, they would, but...at the same time, they aren't good for eachother. I think that's my biggest fear for the future, right? Like I get through high school, and I get through college, and I meet someone and then I spend the next fifteen years unhappy all because I made a mistake to love someone when I was 20."

"I'm not that mistake, right?" Hannah asked quietly, as Laura pulled her hand close to her and kissed it.

"I'm not twenty, so no," Laura said, grinning, making Hannah giggle.

"Let's make a deal," Hannah said, "let's say that, in ten years, we meet up here again, and see what happens, yeah?"

Laura nodded, whispering, "I like the sound of that."

And she did. She didn't know what ten years from now would be like, she'd be 25 and she had no real concept of what her future might look like right now, but...the idea that she had something to look forward to, someone who was interested in waiting that long, that gave her so much hope and right now Laura Walton needed hope, as did her father.

                                                                             ***

"You're jealous?" Steve asked, "really? Oh how good Gayle and I are? Cause that's...that's sad, cause we're not very good parents, and if we aren't very good, then boy the bar for you must be low. Your folks must've been terrible."

Steven and Erin had found their way to the indoor hotel restaurant, and seated themselves in the very back corner, despite it being relatively empty at the moment. Erin put out her cigarette in the ashtray on the table, then pushed some hair back behind her ear and grimaced. Steven wasn't sure what she was about to say, maybe tell him, but he wasn't ready for it, and he'd know that the moment she started speaking.

"My dad," Erin said, "um...when I was about 17, my dad found me and a friend in the garage one weekend. He was supposed to be at work, but he got fired and so he came home early, and my mom wasn't home, she was at work, and uh...he pulls into the driveway and he opens the garage door and we didn't even hear it cause we had music on, and there I am."

Steven waited as she paused, clearly trying not to break down.

"...on the pull out couch that he sometimes slept on when they were fighting, with my legs wrapped around another girls head," Erin said, "and I craned my neck back to see what the noise was, and fucking hell that's...that's the last sight of him I really have, because after that we bolted, I mean we took off. We had to move quickly, and seeing as he was still somewhat in the car, he was encumbered and so we had a little bit of leeway, and we just...took off. And I couldn't stay with her, her folks were hyper religious, and so instead she gave me a lot of money that she had from various birthdays and holidays and stuff, and that allowed me to get out of town."

"You were seventeen, you were...you were nearly an adult," Steven said.

"Yeah. Didn't matter. Didn't see either mom or dad again. I don't even know what he might've told her, but I'm sure she wouldn't have backed me up, because she never did. See they used to have this, uh...this theory that I was, ya know, and...and my dad was so fucking against it that from the time I was....13 maybe....he would..."

She paused and put her hands over her face, breathing into them. Steven reached across the table and touched her arm.

"Hey, you're okay, it's alright, you don't have to say it, I think I get it," he said quietly.

"Yeah, okay," Erin replied, "yeah. For years. Said he was doing it to get the gay out of me. And my mom just let it happen. She didn't like it, but she was too scared of him to stand up for me. So I can only imagine his reaction when he opens the fucking garage door and sees me getting head from another girl, like, all that effort and for what, right? Hah. That was kinda rewarding, actually, in some warped sense."

Steven smirked, nodding. Erin lit up another cigarette and took a long drag.

"So yeah, when I tell you that seeing the way you two are, as parents, makes me jealous...I don't say it without reason," Erin said, looking up, her eyes locking with Steven, her lip trembling, "because I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to be like this. I can't help it. But I shouldn't be abused for it either, especially not by the very people who are supposed to love and protect me more than anyone else in the world."

Erin had tears rolling down her face as she looked down at the table.

"...it's one thing if they hated me for something I did," she continued, "you know, some grandiose mistake I can't take back, wrecking the car or killing a family member or something, something justifiable for hatred, but to hate me for this...after what he did to me for years...that isn't fair. I just wanted my dad to love me. That was all I ever wanted but nothing I ever did was good enough for him. Nothing. He was calling me slurs as early as fourth grade, regardless of the truth. Contextualization meant shit to him. Frankly, he probably just hates women in general, but...I just wanted him to love me."

And she couldn't hold it anymore. She laid her head on the table and started crying. Steven pulled his chair around to her side and gently pulled her head into his chest, stroking her hair, letting her weep against him.

"I'm so sorry," he said, "I'm so...fuck I'm so sorry. You're okay now. You're safe now."

And she was, Erin knew that. She was, in fact, safe now. The women she lived with didn't care about her sexuality, some of them were queer themselves, but the fact remained that no matter what kind of future she made for herself, her past was always right there to remind her of what she didn't get. Steven didn't want to rob his own children of that, and, as his thoughts turned to his wife, and that woman in the bedroom, that very same sight, he suddenly realized his anger wasn't directed at her at all, but instead himself, for not seeing it all sooner. He knew. He knew Gayle had always been curious. But he didn't realize how interested she might be, and...and if what it took for her to be happy, and his children to feel comfortable in themselves, was for them to not be a family anymore...

...that was a sacrifice he was willing to make for them.

                                                                              ***

The air was getting cooler, less and less people were on the beach, the stars were starting to come out, but Laura couldn't think of anywhere else she'd rather be than right where they were. She felt Hannah squeeze her. Hannah had rolled onto her side and laid her head on Laura's chest, letting Laura pet her, as they laid on the sand together.

"I didn't even wanna come," Laura finally said, "not to this, today, I mean, on vacation in general. I was planning on staying in my bedroom and studying and reading and...and just hiding."

"Well isn't it good your folks make you do things sometimes then," Hannah muttered, sounding half asleep.

"I suppose," Laura said, "yeah, it is. You really mean that, about what you said, about meeting in ten years?"

"Mhm," Hannah mumbled, nodding gently, "I did."

Ten years. Who would she even be then? Would she still be the same girl Hannah liked right now, or would she be so drastically different that Hannah couldn't stand her? Or vice versa, would Hannah be the same or different? But the thing Laura realized in that moment was that it didn't matter if they grew or changed, they were supposed to do that, and instead of being scared of who Hannah might be in ten years, Laura suddenly felt excited at getting to know the person Hannah might be in ten years. She leaned her head down and kissed the top of Hannah's head, making her smile.

"I really....I really like you," Laura whispered.

"I know," Hannah said, making Laura laugh as she added, with a yawn, "I really like you too."

The waves broke quietly on the shore, and a few birds dropped down to search the sands for shellfish of some variety. The streetlamps that ran alongside the upper edge of the beach all began to turn on, dousing them in soft, yellow light, and Laura felt like this was the only place, the only time, the only person in the world that mattered right now.

"Do you wanna be my girlfriend?" Laura asked.

"Aren't I already?" Hannah remarked, making Laura laugh again.

"I guess you are," she said, kissing the top of her head once more, "Yeah, I guess you are."

                                                                              ***

Gayle heard the sliding glass balcony door open and close, turning to see Steven standing there. He looked like hell. She offered him part of her drink, but he refused. Instead, he sat down on one of the deck chairs and looked at her with the most intensity she'd seen in his eyes in years.

"You okay?" Gayle finally asked.

"I won't stop you," Steven said, "if you...if you wanna pursue someone else, or something else."

"I don't, Steven, I don't, really. I'm just stressed and I'd never acted on it before then and it was...it was nice, I won't deny it, but I married you for more reasons than you may think, and I'm willing to work on our problems, specifically my problems. But I wouldn't be against us, maybe...doing things with others, sometimes?"

Steven smiled, and stood up.

"I just want my family to be happy," he said, leaning in and kissing his wife. And while they shared this moment, hoping to work towards a better future for both themselves and their children, and while their daughter, unknowingly to them, shared a moment down on the sands somewhere with another girl, hoping for the best romance she could ever imagine, Erin was instead back in her apartment, back in her bedroom, counting all the pills she could fit in her fist and then taking them with whatever liquid she had still lying around before laying down on her bed and watching the ceiling spin. Because sometimes people don't get happy endings. Sometimes people get broken by those around them, and instead, decide to end the story early. Erin didn't want a to be continued or a next time on.

She just wanted a period.

"I know it's kind of shitty, but I like the zoo," Hannah said as she and Laura leaned against the railing in front of an Alligator exhibit; she sipped from her straw and added, "I know these animals shouldn't be in captivity, but I also like to see them. It's one of those double edged sword situations. Damned if I do, damned if I don't."

"I don't think you should judge yourself on the moral merits of whether or not you like the zoo," Laura said, "that seems a little obtuse. Judge yourself on whether or not you think people deserve rights or whatever. Animal rights are important and all, but most zoos take very good care of their animals."

"I know," Hanna said, laughing, "I know it's a little ridiculous."

Jasmine tugged on Laura's sleeve and she turned to see Jasmine pointing at another exhibit. Hannah and Laura followed Jasmine as she ran ahead to the exhibit, which featured an enormous snake inside a completely enclosed tank. In fact, this whole little area, the Reptile section, was a small, enclosed manmade cavern above ground that featured spiders, lizards and all sorts of similar creatures. Laura and Hannah were happy that Jasmine wanted to see this, because it meant getting out of the Florida heat.

"Do you like snakes?" Hannah asked Laura as they stopped behind Jasmine and looked at the snake.

"I mean, I can't say I'd willingly spend my time with one, but they don't scare me exactly," Laura said, shrugging.

"I love snakes. I love things that people think don't deserve love," Hannah replied, placing one palm on the case. She felt Laura slip her hand into Hannah's free hand, and she blushed. Hannah had so much to say, and was so uncertain how to say any of it. For all her intelligence, her emotional maturity, she was only fifteen, and life isn't exactly anymore easily understandable then than it would be at thirty. Just ask Laura's parents.

                                                                         ***

"Glad you could come!" Sasha said, opening the door and letting Gayle and Jason into the loft.

Gayle and Steven entered, Steven somewhat cautiously, and took off their coats, handing them to Sasha who hung them on the nearby coat rack by the door before turning on her heel and heading towards the kitchen. Steven stayed behind in the living room, admiring the photos on the wall, while Gayle followed Sasha into the kitchen, standing opposite the island of her.

"Your place is beautiful," Gayle said as Sasha pulled out a bottle of wine from the fridge and opened it before gathering a few glasses from a nearby cabinet.

"I'm glad you think so," Sasha replied, smiling, "I put a lot of my effort into interior decoration, but only for my own home. I figure if this is the place I'm gonna spend the majority of my time, I may as well make it as appealing as possible, you know?"

"My husband has the same idea about the bathroom," Gayle said, making Sasha cackle.

This has been Gayle's idea. She'd asked Steven about it the night before, about possibly meeting back up with Sasha and Jason, and much to her surprise, he'd agreed. So, Gayle called Sasha up, calling up the the number Sasha had written on her hand - which Gayle had put down on a napkin when they'd gotten back to the hotel that night - and Sasha sounded more than happy to have their company. Now, standing in the gorgeous Florida loft, Gayle realized just how different her and Steven's life was from Sasha and Jason's.

"You look beautiful," Sasha said, making Gayle blush and divert her eyes, pushing her hair back behind her ear nervously.

"Well, it's hard when you're a mother of two to find time to make yourself up, but god knows I try," Gayle replied.

Meanwhile, Steven was standing, staring at a large photo of a an elephant standing in a river in some desolate landscape, all black and white, when suddenly he felt Jason's presence beside him. Steven turned and smiled, nodding at him politely. Jason lifted his cigar to his lips and took a long drag.

"I took that photo," Jason said.

"Weren't even gonna wait for me to ask, huh?" Steven asked, making Jason chuckle.

"Well, sometimes a guy just likes to brag," Jason said, shrugging, "regardless, it wound up being featured in some magazine for animal preservation, ya know, saving endangered species or species that have the chance of becoming endangered. Felt pretty good about that. Felt like I was somehow doing something worthwhile simply by enjoying my hobby."

Steven nodded politely, trying not to respond. He hated people like Jason. These holier than thou 'everything I do is great' smug ass attitudes. But he wasn't going to say anything to ruin it. He knew Gayle wanted to come here, and he was doing his best to ensure she had a good night. Finally Gayle and Sasha rejoined the men in the living room, handing them both glasses of wine, which Steven was very grateful for. If he was gonna have to endure this, he might as well be buzzed.

"How much does a place like this cost?" Steven asked after taking a sip.

"More than we'd like," Sasha replied, "honstly, I'm looking into leasing it for part of the year, maybe spending some time elsewhere. It's not that we don't have the money, it's more just that that money could go somewhere else. It's ridiculous how expensive everything is."

"I'm sure," Gayle added, "Florida, being a tourist destination, can't help things."

"Bingo," Sasha said, pointing at her, "yeah, it doesn't. Being a tourism city has pros and cons. On one side it's great for your economy, keeps businesses in business, gets money for things to be fixed or added, but it isn't great for the locals. Not only do we have to endure all these people coming and going, taking up our resources, but then it drives our prices up as well. There's no price just for locals, you know? So we pay the same as anyone who's simply visiting."

"Well, sorry to be part of the problem," Gayle said slyly and Sasha grabbed her arm.

"You're not the problem, sweetheart," Sasha said, this gesture making Steven uncomfortable as she added, "trust me, it isn't people like you two, it's the in and out, quick and easy tourists. The ones who come to take some pictures, see some sights and then post them online never to discuss it again. This is a destination to them, not a place to really admire or respect. You guys are clearly smarter than that."

Steven nodded, taking another long sip, as he watched Sasha tighten her grip on his wifes arm. Tonight was gonna be hard.

                                                                           ***

"I like novelty items," Laura said, "call me a based consumer, but I think they're cute. It's nice that you can go somewhere like a zoo and get a cup shaped or colored like a tiger. I like that kind of stuff."

"I don't think that's dumb at all," Hannah replied, "I think I agree with you. It's cool to have things you can only get at a certain place."

The girls were continuing through the reptile cave, following Jasmine who was walking steadily ahead of them, until they all exited out the other side and were back under the hot Florida sun. Laura shielded her eyes with her forearm, then suddenly felt Hannah tug her towards a little kiosk selling items such as t-shirts and hats. Hannah grabbed a sun visor and placed it on Laura's head, making her blush.

"There," she said, "now you won't be bothered."

"That was very thoughtful of you," Laura said.

Jasmine, meanwhile, had made her way towards a large enclosure that featured a pair of lions, a male and female, and two cubs. As she pressed herself against the class, looking inside and watching, Hannah and Laura sat down on a bench nearby and watched. Hannah sighed and took another long sip from her drink as Laura adjusted her hat.

"Imagine what it must be like," Hannah said, "to have no autonomy. To have a mate placed in your quarters that you're just expected to be with, because it's 'the norm'. To be that trapped must be awful. That's how it is at home. My parents want so badly for me to date the son of this friend they have, and like...he's a nice guy, he's not at all a bad choice, but it's sad that they're pushing me into something they think is what everyone wants when not everyone wants the same thing."

"That must be hard," Laura said, starting to worry about the direction the conversation was taking.

"And we're friends and they're all like 'oh, you're already friends, it'd be so easy to become partners!' and like...number one, that's really creepy that they're pushing that hard for me to be romantically involved at all because it's not anyones business but my own, and number two...I...I don't want to be with him. Or any guy. But I can't say that, of course, that'd break their hearts. I miss the days when the only ways I could disappoint them was by getting a bad grade or being rude. Now that I'm older, there's so many different ways I wasn't even aware of that I could disappoint them with."

Laura squeezed Hannah's hand, and Hannah smiled weakly.

"I wish I knew what to say," Laura said quietly.

"Saying isn't as important as listening, and you're really good at that, so it's okay," Hannah remarked, looking down and lifting Laura's hand up to her lips and kissing it, making Laura giggle. Hannah smiled and scooted closer on the bench to her, resting her head on Laura's shoulder as Laura reached up and stroked her hair; Hannah sighed and added, "it's supposed to be easy. This is easy."

"Are you calling me easy?" Laura asked, laughing.

"You know what I mean," Hannah replied, also laughing, "being with you...it's easy. I can talk to you without feeling weird or judged, and I always feel like you understand me and if you don't I feel like you'd make the effort to. It's nice. Easy is nice. Easy is how it should be."

Laura nodded in agreement. This was easy, and that was nice. She continued running her fingers through Hannah's hair as Hannah shut her eyes and relaxed. Laura kept watch on Jasmine, making sure she didn't leave the area, but the whole time her thoughts were elsewhere. Her mom had made it seem like being gay was fine with her, and nothing to be ashamed of, but the way Hannah had spoken...it seemed like her parents felt the opposite. Laura suddenly felt grateful for having such a cool mom.

If only she knew her mom also liked girls.

                                                                             ***

"This is so smooth," Gayle said, running her hand over the black silk sheets on the bed, "and they say money can't buy happiness. This would buy me lots of happiness. I hate having to use the awful sheets I have to buy at big box stores. I wanna splurge. I wanna buy nice sheets."

"Well," Sasha said, sitting on the bed, "it's not like you can't. You're the money maker, right? Buy what you want. I know it's a whole thing, like, to match up with your husband and make sure you guys are one the same page financially, but sometimes you have to treat yourself, especially when you work as hard as it sounds like you do. You deserve nice things. And he should too. You both should."

Gayle sat down on the bedside, finished her wine and placed the glass on the table, then sighed.

"Everything's fucked," she said, "we keep trying to be happy. We don't hate eachother by any means. But it feels like things aren't working out anymore, no matter what kind of attempts we make. I'm tired of putting in so much effort only for it to lead to nothing. It's exhausting. And then I also feel bad for working so much, feel like I'm a bad mom, even though everyone insists I'm not. But I'm the one who makes the most money between Steven and I, and so I feel like I have to work as hard as I do to maintain the life we have."

Sasha rested her glass on her bedside table and crawled across the bed, right up behind Gayle, putting her hands on Gayle's shoulders and massaging her. Gayle moaned and shut her eyes, enjoying the physical attention.

"Well," Sasha said, her long dark brown hair falling around Gayle's shoulders, her voice low and sultry, "then let yourself relax, and not feel so pressured. Let your guard down and just feel comfortable. There's no expectations or pressures on you here."

Gayle nodded, feeling her shoulders lighten, her breathing slow down, her muscles soften. Sasha run her hands down Gayle's back and kept kneading at her spine.

"I love him, I just worry that I'll never be good enough," Gayle whispered, her eyes still shut, "and then that coincides with all my other fears about myself, like, maybe I got married for the wrong reasons or...or had children for the wrong reasons, not that I don't love my daughters because they are my whole world, but...I hate that when you become a parent or even a spouse, you're suddenly no longer seen as an individual and all your personal wants and needs, hopes and dreams and goals and aspirations, suddenly vaporize into thin air."

Sasha climbed around the front of the bed and sat in Gayle's lap, holding her face in her hands. Gayle opened her eyes, her breathing faster.

"That's one reason I don't wanna marry Jason or have kids," Sasha said quietly, "because you're right, especially if you're a woman, you're suddenly meant to give everyone else your all and whatever you need is secondary. So what do you need, Gayle? Tell me."

Gayle bit her lip, blushing. She knew what she needed. She just didn't want to say it. Turns out she didn't have to. Sasha understood all too well, and kissed down her neck. As she got further down, she dropped to her knees between Gayle's legs and opened them, pushing her dress up, and burying her face between her thighs. Gayle gasped, putting a hand on Sasha's head, closing her eyes, enjoying the sensation of being taken care of for a change. And then the door opened, and there stood Steven, staring at the sight of a woman eating out his wife. Gayle and Steven's eyes locked for a moment, before he turned and left. Gayle could hear the front door to the loft open and close, but she didn't try to go after him. She couldn't pull herself away from actually being focused on for once.

When Steven got back to the hotel, he stood around outside angrily muttering, pacing, finishing the cigar that Jason had given him. The doors to the front opened, and Erin came out, in full uniform, tugging a luggage cart behind her. She stopped and looked at Jason.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked.

"...I don't...I...I don't know," Steven said, as it started to rain lightly.

"Where's everyone? Where's your wife?" Erin asked, and Steven sat down on the front facing flower beds, crying into his hands. Erin sat down beside him and ran a hand over his back. She didn't even ask another question. Whatever had happened, it had reduced the man to shambles, and sadly, shambles was something Erin herself understood very well.

"I'm not good at my job, I'm not good at being a dad, and I'm not good at being a husband," Steven said, sniffling, "and I don't...I don't know how to fix any of that or do better. But it can't hurt to try, right? Can't hurt to try. Even if I'm the only one trying."

"I wouldn't know, I'm not exactly good at being in relationships myself, and I sure as shit wasn't a very good daughter, according to my dad," Erin said, "but...a family unit isn't comprised of a hivemind, man. You're still a person, first. You'll always be a person, first. So don't feel too bad, okay?"

Steven nodded, wiping his eyes on his sleeve and smiling weakly at Erin.

"Yeah.....thanks," he said, "thank you."

"S'what I'm here for, to help the customers," Erin said, smirking.

                                                                            ***

When Gayle picked the girls up from the zoo, she didn't say anything. They all just sat in silence in the car as she drove downtown to get everyone something to eat before heading back to the hotel. Once back at the hotel, Laura opted to walk Hannah back to her room, while Gayle took Jasmine inside the suite and, after putting her headphones on, laid her down for a nap in the girls suite before heading into her and Steven's to find Steven waiting for her on the bed. Gayle shut the door and sat down on the bed, neither one sure what to say. While Hannah and Laura walked down the hall, still holding hands, Hannah just shook her head, chuckling.

"It's weird, isn't it?" Hannah asked, "the souvenirs you find on vacation."

Laura laughed and nodded in agreement. They stopped at the end of the hall that housed her room and Hannah turned to face Laura.

"You probably shouldn't come closer," Hannah said, "I just...I don't want my parents being weird. They know we're friends, but...I don't..."

"Don't want them knowing you want something more?" Laura asked, and Hannah didn't respond; Laura took Hannah's hands and asked, "you do want something more, right? With me?"

Laura was impressed with herself. She'd never once managed to be this forward with someone she liked. In fact, this was the first time she'd ever openly confessed to another girl about how she felt. Hannah looked Laura in the eyes and nodded slowly.

"Y...yeah, I do," Hannah said, near tears, "but...what happens when the vacation's over? Then what? Then you're just another memory tied to this place, like my grandma."

"Don't have to be," Laura said, "We can stay in touch."

Hannah nodded again, as Laura leaned in and pushed Hannah gently against the hallway wall and kissed her, Hannah happily kissing her back. After a few minutes kissing, Hannah rested her forehead on Laura's, crying quietly.

"Don't leave please," she whispered, and Laura nodded.

"I won't," she whispered.

Laura, in her wildest dreams, never could've imagined this kind of thing happening to her, especially not on vacation. Back in the suite, however, Gayle and Steven weren't having such luck. Still sitting there on the bed in total silence.

"Do you want a divorce?" Steven asked and Gayle shrugged; Steven exhaled, adding, "is it me?"

"It's not you," Gayle said, "it's me. I'm stressed."

"I can do the same thing for you she did. You just have to ask," Steven said, making Gayle chuckle slightly.

"It isn't about what she did, Steven, it's about who she is, that's the difference," Gayle said.

"Ah, got it," Steven replied.

They continued to sit in silence. Steven couldn't help but wonder...how do you fix a marriage when the people in it aren't broken and don't need fixing?

"I wouldn't stop you, if you wanted to leave," Steven said.

"I don't want to leave, Steven," Gayle said, "but something has to change. Something has gotta change."

Steven nodded as he shrugged.

"We can try to change things," he said, leaning in and kissing the side of her head, making her blush, as he added, "can't hurt to try."

Laura wasn't naive. She wasn't sheltered. She knew that she was 15 now, she was well aware of the 'changes' her body was going through. She'd gone from being a short, awkward gangly little girl to being a tall, awkward but conventionally attractive young woman in just under a year and she was aware things were only going to get worse. She didn't really hate the changes as much as she hated the attention it brought to her. And what was worse was that a lot of it was expected to be accepted, specifically when wearing certain clothes, like her new swimsuit for example. Even now being 15, Laura hated the idea of a two piece and opted instead to stick with having a one piece, because she just figured the less skin she showed, the less attention she'd attract. Course, many women knew this wasn't the case, but she was doing her best to work around it regardless.

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, admiring herself in her salmon colored one piece, she couldn't believe how long her legs had gotten in such short time. She pulled her hair back behind her and put her hands in front of her, holding them together and looking at herself dead on in the mirror. She didn't want this. She didn't want to grow up. She didn't want to stay a child either. Truth be told, she wasn't exactly sure what she wanted. A knock on the dressing room door caused Laura to break concentration and turned quickly.

"I'm almost done," she said.

"Sweetheart," Gayle said through the door, "Your sister's getting restless so we're gonna head on down to the pool and you can come find us, okay?"

"Alright," Laura said. She then waited patiently until she knew her parents and sister had left, then exited the bathroom. She sat on the end of her parents hotel bed and stared at the wall, unsure if she even wanted to go down. She didn't really want to be seen. She sighed. She knew she'd get a talking to if she didn't join though. This was supposed to be one of their 'family' days. Laura gathered her towel and headed to the front door of the room, opening it to find, much to her surprise, Hannah standing there. Hannah, unlike Laura herself, had gone for the typical two piece swimsuit. Bannana yellow and frilly, Laura couldn't deny how good it looked on her. Laura came out of the room and shut the door behind her.

"I didn't know you were waiting," Laura said.

"Well, I figured when I saw your folks leaving without you that you might want some company," she replied.

"That's...that's thoughtful of you," Laura said, as she and Hannah started down the hallway. As they walked, Laura couldn't stop from sideyeing Hannah up and down. She looked so...good. So grown up. And here she was, feeling like a child still, or something in between.

"Are you a good swimmer?" Hannah asked, and Laura shrugged.

"I mean, I've done it, I can do it," Laura said, "I haven't drowned yet."

"That's the right answer!" Hannah remarked, making Laura laugh. They got to the elevator and waited for it to arrive. Once it did, and the doors slid open, the girls made their way inside and pressed the appropriate buttons for the main floor. The elevator was slow, but Laura could hear the gears and ropes overhead moving, and it brought her a weird sense of calm. Then she felt Hannah's hand in her own, and she blushed. The doors opened again, and the two exited, heading towards the outdoor pool area. All things considered...this might actually be a pretty good day.

                                                                          ***

Gayle was in the kiddie pool with Jasmine, playing with her, while Steven was laid out on his chaise lounge, staring at his book when he heard someone sit on the seat beside him. He rolled his head in that direction, only to spot Erin of all people. She was in a bikini and had a sheer overshirt on, though it wasn't cinched shut, along with a large sunhat with a sunflower on it. She tugged her sunglasses down and smirked at him.

"You get days off and you opt to spend them at work? Christ, you're like my wife," Steven said, making Erin laugh as she raised her legs up on the chair and started applying sunscreen.

"Yeah, well," she said, "on my salary you expect me to be able to do anything else? It's like working in a restaurant, you get free food. Perk of an otherwise shitty job."

"Do they let you sleep here too?" Steven asked, smirking.

"Look, I slept here one time, and that was before I was able to afford an apartment, okay?"

"Where do you live?" Steven asked, putting his book down.

"With a few other girls downtown above a donut shop," Erin said, shrugging as she began applying to her other leg now, "it's not great, the area isn't super safe, but the apartment always smells like donuts so you take what little bonuses you can get."

Steven had so many questions about Erin that he wanted to ask, but didn't want to come off as creepy. He just saw in her a young woman who clearly had had a tumultuous adolescence and this was her adulthood as a result. In a way, she reminded him on Laura. Acting stoic, but deeply sad inside, hiding her issues behind the veil of humor or likeability. He didn't want Laura to end up in this sort of situation.

"I suppose one could get used to the scent of bear claws admist raging poverty," Steven said, making Erin chuckle.

Meanwhile, across the way, Laura and Hannah had arrived. Laura felt tense, nervous, anxious. Her stomach was clenched. All these people being capable of seeing her, not just seeing her, seeing her in this one piece swimsuit. She'd lied to herself about the need for a one piece, claiming modesty, when really it came down to body dysmorphia. She hated this weird, in between stage she seemed to be stuck in, and didn't want anyone else to notice it either. Hannah tugged on her hand, pulling her towards a few chairs under large umbrellas and a bit away from everyone else.

"I set these up before I came upstairs," Hannah said, "just so we didn't have to feel crowded and already had a place when we got down here."

"Oh, thanks," Laura replied, "...you really know how to plan ahead."

"Well they could've been taken while I was gone, but I made a huge stink about what would happen if someone did that before I left so everyone knew to leave 'em alone," Hannah said, "there's perks to being considered a child, still. Nobody wants to disappoint children."

Laura laughed and nodded, sitting down on one of the lounges and wrapping her towel around her body. She didn't want to be seen at all. As she sat there, she watched Hannah dig through a little drawstring bag she'd brought with her, rummaging for one thing or another. Hannah had such beautiful skin, and Laura wanted to reach out and put her hands on her back, to feel her flesh. She wanted to touch her, and this thought made Laura recoil again, feeling ashamed. She instead diverted her eyes to the ground and waited until Hannah was done. Hannah pulled a pair of sunglasses from her bag, then turned and looked at Laura. Hannah frowned.

"Hey," she said, "you wanna see smething cool?"

Hannah grabbed Laura's wrist and yanked her off the chair.

"But we just got here!" Laura remarked as they headed back into the building.

Gayle, meanwhile, had pulled Jasmine from the kiddie pool and taken her bag to their seats, where she found Steven and Erin engaged in conversation. She sat down on her lounge and began to dry Jasmine's hair (Jasmine absolutely hated being wet when not submerged in water), simply listening to her husband and the bell girl talk. If anything, she felt happy that Steven had made a friend, and was glad to see him socializing. Gayle set Jasmine up with her noise canceling headphones before turning back to face Steven and Erin and possibly join in the conversation.

"It isn't even that I dislike working here," Erin said, "cause I really don't. I like the low keyness of the job. Working minimum roles at a hotel is about the closest one can get to working in a record store in the 90s. That's the level of career aspiration I can manage to ascribe to. I don't really have any goals or anything else in mind. I just wanna have enough money to live in a building, afford food and sometimes see friends."

"I know what you mean," Steven said, "when I was in my early 20s, still in college, I worked in a video rental shop and a bookstore, not at the same time of course, and those were the best jobs of my life. Having a career sucks. Too many expectations, too many ramifications when things go belly up. I wanna just hang out with coworkers and talk about movies again."

Gayle's smile faded. She felt like she was the only person who enjoyed her career, and then felt bad for it. She stood up.

"I'm gonna go get a snack," she said flatly, before walking away.

                                                                            ***

"Why is there an indoor pool if there's also an outdoor pool?" Laura asked.

"Because people just automatically associate pools with being outside, but honestly, this is way cooler," Hannah replied.

The hotel did, in fact, have two pools. One indoor and one outdoor. And, as Hannah stated, everyone opted for the outdoor for the socialization in the weather, meaning this indoor pool was currently absolutely empty as a result. The light wasn't so harsh, it was quiet and isolated, and Laura felt all her anxieties melt away. She approached the pool and dipped her legs inside as she sat on the steps leading in while Hannah waded fully into the water. Hannah dunked her head under and when she reappeared, she pushed her hair back, causing Laura to blush and look away. Even soaked she looked beautiful.

Laura stepped further into the pool, the water rising around her. She felt her feet touch the bottom and noticed the water only came just a little above her waist. Again she had to ask herself when she'd gotten so tall? Seemed like only last week she couldn't reach the top shelf in their kitchen, and now here she was, like a giant passing through a river. Hannah swam a bit further away, and Laura followed. It was almost totally silent in this indoor pool, aside from the quiet sloshing of water being moved as they swam further into the center.

"Are you having a good vacation?" Hannah asked and Laura shrugged.

"I don't know, it feels weird not to be at home," she replied.

"I'm kind of the same way. I miss my grandma, and not seeing her here is strange," Hannah said, "when a place is so tied to a person, it becomes strange when the person is gone but the place remains."

Laura had stopped moving, so Hannah swam up closer, causing Laura's heart to beat faster.

"I guess that's why I like making friends while I'm here, tie the place to new people, you know? But then if I ever come back here as an adult or something, they probably won't be here, so it'll be weird all over again in a totally different way."

"We could make a pact to come back as adults and see one another," Laura said, not realizing what she was saying until the words had left her mouth and then she felt stupid for them, but Hannah just smiled at this suggestion.

"I like that, like a tradition," Hannah said, "traditions are what make life fun, always something to look forward to! Like a holiday. I love the holidays. It's the one time of year everyone stops fighting and is just nice to one another. Of course I realize they do it cause it's expected of them, it'd be rude to fight during the holidays, but still. It's nice to have that break."

Laura couldn't help but notice Hannah was looking away from her, her eyes wet, but was it just the pool water or were they tears? Laura swam a little closer, her voice low.

"I won't ever fight with you," she said softly, causing Hannah to look back towards her, smiling.

"Yeah? You promise?" she asked, and Laura nodded. The air filled with total silence, Laura didn't even hear the water moving in the pool. Hanna swam closer and put her hands on Laura's shoulders; she continued, "cause...I'd really like to have someone who doesn't wanna fight in my life. Life is already really hard, you know? And the last thing I want is someone making it harder. People should make things easier. They should work together."

"I know, my parents fight a lot, but my mom says it's cause they want the best for me," Laura said.

"Mine don't," Hannah replied, surprising Laura, because up to this point she'd assumed Hannah's parents were cool, but...now that she thought about it, Hannah did pretty much have whatever freedom she wanted, and didn't seem to be involved with her family despite being on vacation with them; Hannah sniffled and added, "I mean, maybe they say they do, and in some ways they do, but they'll never want what I think is best for me."

"And...what is that?" Laura asked, her voice shaking as Hannah looked up and in her eyes. Hannah didn't even reply, she just laid her arms over Laura's shoulders and leaned forward in the water, and pressed her lips against Laura's, surprising her. Laura's eyes widened, but she didn't resist one bit, since this was all she'd thought about for days now. Laura finally snapped back to the moment and pushed forward, pinning Hannah against the side of the pool and kissing her back. After a few minutes, Hannah pulled her face away and was crying.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Why?" Laura asked.

"I'm just sorry," Hannah said.

"You don't have to be sorry, ever, especially for that," Laura whispered, putting her palm on Hannah's face.

"I should get back to my parents," Hannah said, slipping away and swimming towards the front of the pool. She emerged from the water, grabbed her towel and waved goodbye, before quickly exiting the building, leaving an extremely confused Laura there to tread water by herself. Laura sighed and leaned against the side of the pool, sloshing the water with her legs gently, so very uncertain of what any of this meant. She reached up and touched her lips, smiling. Hannah had tasted exactly as she expected, and she was happy to have kissed her, and been kissed by her. Eventually, Laura rejoined her folks, and by the time the evening came around, they all headed back up to the room and ordered food in. All in all, it could've been a worse day.

                                                                             ***

"I like working," Gayle said, "I like having something to do. Not that being a mom isn't something to do, but...god, it's so hard to explain."

Gayle and Steven were seated on the balcony of their suite, sharing a cigarette. Steven didn't respond, he just listened.

"Hearing you and the bellhop talk about jobs, jobs you had that were absentminded and easy, it just made me feel bad about how much effort I like to put into stuff," Gayle said, blowing smoke out into the air before handing the stick across to Steven; she added, "and then I feel bad, cause I feel like you're judging me for it. I like being a mom, and I like being a wife, but I feel like sometimes that's all you expect me to be."

"You know that isn't true," Steven said, "Hell, I'm the one who pushed you to get that promotion."

"I know, and I know you believe fiercly in women in the workplace and all that," Gayle said, putting her legs up on the railing and leaning back, arms behind her head, continuing, "but...I don't know. I guess I just feel pressure from every angle and then I feel bad because I feel like if I'm not good at one, I'm great at the other, and then when I'm not good at that one, I'm good at the other, and then people expect me to be great at both and fuck, Steve, it's hard being a woman. All this fucking expectations."

"Hey, I...I realize I've been kind of shitty," Steven said, "and what Erin and I were talking about by no means applies to you or your work ethic. Everyone approaches things differently. You're not a bad mom, or a bad wife, and you're great at your job. Frankly, I'm appreciative of the work you do, especially since I'm not so good at working. I don't mean this in any way as to put pressure on you, but...fuck...without you, this family would be nothing. You're everything."

Gayle smiled, knowing he didn't mean it in a pressuring sense.

"...I need my job, Steven," she said quietly, "and I need your support."

"I know, and I'm gonna do better, I promise."

Gayle reached over and held Steven's hand as they stared at the sky, unaware that, on her own balcony, Laura was also staring at the sky, more confused yet the least confused she's ever been, somehow. The Waltons were certainly having one hell of a vacation.

Gayle and Steven were at a bar downtown for the night, sipping from little shot glasses. Steven put his glass down on the table upside down and grinned. That was his fourth, he was beating his wife by two now. Gayle finished her second and leaned back, belching, making him laugh. Tonight she seemed to be a little more open to having fun, and he was happy about it. Hell, she hadn't checked her phone in an hour, which felt like she deserved a chip for.

"You wanna get some disgusting bar food?" Steven asked, opening the menu, "we could get a huge thing of nachos."

"Nachos are always a good choice, can't go wrong there," Gayle said, scooting out from the booth, "I'm gonna go to the bar and get something else to drink."

With that, she headed through the crowded bar and approached the bar, where the bartender was clearly very busy. But she didn't mind waiting, she figured it'd only make the alcohol taste all the better. Leaning against the bar, running a hand through her hair, she heard the sound of someone stand beside her and looked to see a beautiful woman around her age, in a tight black dress with straightened dark brown hair standing there. The two women smiled politely at one another, and then the woman put her empty glass on the bartop.

"It takes forever when it's this crowded," she said, "You're almost better off staying at home and getting drunk."

"We would, but we don't live here and we'd rather not have easily accessible alcohol around our children," Gayle said, making the woman nod as she pulled a cigarette case from her purse and lit one, taking a long puff.

"Fair enough," she replied, "Are you visiting? Tourists?"

"Yeah, vacation," Gayle said, "Honestly, much as I tried to deny it, I needed it."

"You probably work too much, yeah? You just strike me as that type," the woman said.

"Well, thanks for the unsolicited judgement, total stranger," Gayle remarked, the both of them laughing. After she got her drinks, she turned to head back to the table, then stopped and looked back at the woman, asking, "would you like to join my husband and I? It'd be nice to have some company."

The woman grinned and put out her cigarette.

                                                                           ***

Jasmine was asleep, and Laura had the hotel room all to herself. Jasmine, nestled in their parents bed in the other room, had her noise cancelling headphones over her ears and was covered in blankets, so she would be out likely until they either got home, or the morning, whichever came first. This amount of freedom gave Laura immense satisfaction, as she felt like she never had this type of thing at home. That being said, she didn't know what to do with it. Laying on the floor of the suite, the TV on mute as she flipped through channels, she couldn't help but think of Hannah.

She stopped on a movie on some upper channel, and watched. The movie featured a woman getting out of a shower and folding a towel around herself before heading into her bedroom to get dressed. Laura pulled her legs closer to her chest, feeling anxious. Was this a horror movie? It felt like a horror movie. She continued to watch closely as the woman began getting dressed, until another woman entered the room. Suddenly the entire tone shifted, and Laura felt her chest tighten, but for an entirely different reason. She watched intently as the second woman approached the first and reached out, touching her shoulders as the towel dropped from her. The two women began kissing gently, and suddenly Laura understood what she was watching. Something she shouldn't be, and yet something so enticing she couldn't look away or change the channel.

This was all she wanted. She wanted to kiss another girl. Maybe not naked, she didn't feel confident enough in her looks for that level of intimacy, but she wanted to taste another girls lips on her own. Laura grabbed the nearby throw blanket and pulled it over herself, feeling embarrassed. She scrunched her legs together, hoping to make the feeling between them stop. All she had to do was change the channel, but...she couldn't bring herself to use the remote. Her eyes were glued to the screen, and her heart was glued to the thought. And then, just when she thought things couldn't get anymore emotionally confusing or awkward...

...she started thinking about Hannah.

                                                                           ***

"No I live and work in the area," the woman, whose named turned out to be Sasha, said as she lit up another cigarette. Gayle, having once been a routine smoker herself, didn't mind, and honestly she found the smell rather nostalgic, making her wistful for her college days.

"What is it you do?" Steven asked as he sipped on his drink.

"I," Sasha said as she leaned back against the booth and crossed her legs, "own a little boutique downtown. Nothing incredible, but it's nice. We do good enough business. It's not a bad way to make a living. Course, I realize I'm lucky, cause my husband comes from money, so I'm able to just do this kinda for fun."

"I wish my hobby could be my career," Gayle said quietly, making Steven grimace. He knew she was tired of her job, but she made the most money between them, and they both couldn't see themselves surviving financially without her income.

"You know," Sasha said, "it isn't all it's cut out to be. It's neat, and it's nice I don't have to worry, but...I kind of wish I did have to. Having things be so easy is boring. But that line of thought probably comes from being able to have things so easy, so who knows. Speak of the devil, here he comes."

Gayle and Steven looked up, just to see a handsome man in a suit approach the table and seat himself beside Sasha. Sasha leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, making him smile.

"This is my husband," Sasha said, "Jason, this is Gayle and Steven, they're tourists."

Jason leaned across the table and shook both their hands, then took Sasha's drink and finished it.

"Sorry I was a little late," he said, "I was on a work call. Thankfully now I have the rest of the week off, which is great, I need the rest. So how do you guys like the Keys?"

"It's been interesting. Good climate, at least for right now. We'll see how I feel if a hurricane hits while we're here," Gayle said, sipping on her drink. Overall it had been a decent enough trip thusfar. Gayle was still struggling to not work, and struggling to let herself just relax, but it was getting easier by the day, especially the more Steven tried to find fun things for them to do, and especially if they met more fun people like Sasha and Jason. Course, Gayle had no idea of their actual motives.

                                                                             ***

Laura was hiding in the bathroom. It was the only way she could pull herself away from the movie on the TV.

Sitting on the side of the bathtub, almost near tears. Laura felt awful. She didn't want to be like this. She didn't. She wanted to be like the other girls she knew, the ones who wanted boys. Instead, Hannah completely took over her mind and wouldn't leave. Would her parents even accept her if they knew? They seemed loving enough, open minded enough, but who knows. She didn't want to risk losing her family just for the sake of love. She scrunched up her face, her eyes squinting shut, her teeth grinding, trying so hard not to cry.

It would be so easy. To just go over to Hannah's room, tell her everything, even if she didn't feel the same, and move on with her life. But she couldn't be honest with herself. Her own parents couldn't even be honest with themselves, how could she possibly be? Ever since she'd been little, maybe 7 years old, Laura could remember seeing pretty women on TV or out in public, or seeing girls in her class or at her school, that she just felt instinctually drawn to and she never understood why. Now, as a teenager in high school, she got it. It all made sense. And yet none of it made sense. There was simply no winning in this situation. So what was she to do? Simply harbor these feelings until late adulthood when she didn't have to worry about being supported by her parents? And that all hinged on the off chance that she managed to survive without their help.

Hannah.

Hannah and her big teeth and her blonde hair and her long, slender legs. Hannah and her high pitched laugh. Hannah and her soft skin. Laura felt her breathing quicken, her chest tighten. She shut her eyes and she could see Hannah's face clear as day. God, how to escape this. Could one escape this? She didn't know. All she knew was that she wanted to kiss her, and that that scared the hell out of her more than anything else ever had. The weird thing was, too, Laura had had crushes before, like the girl in her chess club at school. But something about Hannah felt different. Like...maybe this was what something beyond a general crush felt like? Maybe this was genuine love? That scared her even more though, to be honest. She slipped back into the bathtub and covered her head with a towel, crying. The funny thing was, if she knew her parents better, Laura would realize just how similar they actually were to one another, and she might not be as scared as she was to be herself.

                                                                         ***

"I gotta say," Sasha said as she approached the bar where Gayle was ordering some food, "you guys are probably the coolest tourists we've met this summer. Like, usually we meet these boring, prissy upperclass types, and they just have no personality anymore, you know? Everything that maybe once made them cool has been driven out of them by their quest for venture capital."

"I like the way you think," Gayle said, chuckling, "you're right, I try very hard to maintain the identity I've always had. I know I have to work, I know that my job takes a lot of time and effort, but I don't want it to become my soul identifying characteristic, you know?"

"Let me ask you a question, just because of, like, how you and Steven have acted tonight...are you guys okay?" Sasha asked, and Gayle sighed, looking back over her shoulder at Steven and Jason, laughing back at the booth.

"It's complicated," she said, "I mean, we still love eachother, but I work too much - and I acknowledge this - and I think he feels bad that he doesn't work more. I don't think he's insecure enough to be mad that I make more money, we're happy with whatever we can bring in and whoever brings it in doesn't matter, but I think he wishes he could be more successful for his own sake, if that makes sense? And then I feel guilty cause I wonder if I'm working so much I'm missing my daughters lives and...it's complicated."

Sasha nodded, listening as she finished her beer and put the empty bottle on the bartop, then reached over and put her hand on Gayle's thigh.

"Jason and I know a way to make things more interesting, bring you guys closer," she said quietly, and Gayle froze up.

Moments later, she had rushed back to the booth, food not in hand, and dragged Steven off outside for a 'cigarette', or so she claimed. Once outside, Steven couldn't understand why she'd done this. Standing out front, hearing the pulsing rock music from indoors, all he wanted to do was go back inside and keep drinking and being social.

"They're swingers, you idiot," Gayle said, "they're swingers and they literally locked onto us for that. Sasha just invited us back to their loft for the night."

"Really?" Steven asked, sounding genuinely surprised, "odd, neither one comes off like that. Though, it's kinda nice that people that attractive have interest in us, I guess. Makes me feel like I'm in college again."

"I...kinda wanna go," Gayle said, surprising him further.

"Excuse me?" he asked, half laughing.

"They're nice people, and...and it would be fun, ya know? To do something exciting like that," Gayle said, "and we could take turns and-"

"Wait wait wait, you're okay with another woman wanting to be with me?" Steven asked.

"She doesn't want you as much as she wants me," Gayle whispered, and this caught Steven completely off guard. He started cackling anxiously, almost unable to control himself. Just then, Jason and Sasha joined them outside, and Steven had to quickly collect himself.

"We're gonna head home for the night," Jason said, "I'm exhausted, been workin' all day. But hopefully we'll see you guys around again before you leave."

Sasha grabbed Gayle's hand and wrote something on her palm, then leaned in and whispered.

"In case you change your mind," she said quietly, making Gayle shiver. With that, Sasha and Jason exited the area and headed towards the parking lot where their car was. Gayle looked at her hand and Steven did as well, completely confused. He knew Gayle was bisexual, he knew she'd been with women, but he'd never actually seen anything between her and another woman happen until now. He smiled and put his hand on her lower back.

"Well," he said, "she has great taste in women."

Gayle blushed, and kissed her husband on the cheek.

"Come on," she said, "it's getting late. We should get back to the hotel."

                                                                           ***

Laura was laying on the couch again when her folks arrived, Jasmine still sound asleep in their bed. Steven went right into the bedroom to check on her before getting into the shower, while Gayle seated herself on the couch and ran her hand through her daughters hair.

"You have an okay night?" she asked, and Laura shrugged.

"It was...weird," Laura said and Gayle laughed, nodding in agreement.

"It sure was," she said, "Are you feeling okay?"

"The other day, Hannah and I went to get something from the vending machine and there were these two women kissing in the hallway," Laura said, "and...I guess I've just never seen that before, in like, real life, and it was surprising. They were really nice though, they waved at us."

"They just want to express the way they feel about eachother, same as any other couple," Gayle said, rubbing her daughters back, "it's not unusual. I mean, love is one of the most fantastic things you can get in this world, and everyone should be allowed to experience it, regardless of their orientation. I know your father and I fight a lot, especially lately, but fighting doesn't mean we don't love one another. If anything we're fighting because we want what's best for eachother, and for you girls. Did seeing that make you feel uncomfortable?"

"No, it felt..." Laura stopped herself, biting her lip; she exhaled and shut her eyes, "it felt right."

Gayle smiled and kissed her daughter on the forehead.

"Well," Gayle said, "as my mother used to tell me, what feels right can't be wrong. Now that's a generalization and gives plenty of leeway to questionable morals, but the overall gist is the point. If it felt right to you, then it's right for you."

Gayle pulled the blanket up over Laura and said goodnight before heading into her and Steven's room. Laura rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, thinking about what her mother had said. In a way, it felt like her mother had made it excessively clear that the way she felt was fine, and she wouldn't be judged for it, but Laura still felt uncomfortable about it. And then her thoughts turned to the women in the hallway, and to Hannah. She blushed and pulled the covers high up to her face, shutting her eyes. Imagining the feeling of pressing her lips against Hannah's, and drifted off to a nice sleep.

Her mom was right.

It was right for her.

Sitting with Gayle on the patio of a nice restaurant that evening, Steven Walton couldn't help but feel like he was somehow doing something wrong. Gayle hadn't spoken to him in an hour, and she was focused entirely on dinner. Sure, she could just be hungry, but the look on her face told Steven there was something else. Something more going on. He just didn't know what it was, didn't have the heart to ask and was, quite frankly, scared to find out. Steven sipped his drink as he watched Gayle cut another sliver of fish off with her fork and, after spearing it, lifted it to her lips.

"Is it good?" Steven asked, and Gayle nodded, still not giving him eye contact.

Steven sighed and looked around. This had been a recommend restaurant by the free local culture magazine, and he thought since they rarely had the chance to go out when at home - considering her busy work schedule - that she might appreciate it now. Yet, she didn't appear to be, or if she was, she was certainly showing it in a funny way. He didn't even want her to appreciate the offer, he just wanted her to be happy. To have fun. Gayle always seemed like she was lost in her mind, probably thinking about work since she couldn't be working. The woman worked far too much, and it was a habit he was intent on breaking her of.

Steven sighed again and leaned back in his chair, looking around at all the other couples; all happy, laughing, enjoying one anothers company. He hoped his daughter was having a better evening than he was.

                                                                            ***

"Is there anything you wanna do?" Hannah asked, as she and Laura lounged on the couch in the suite while Jasmine sat on the floor and looked through her favorite storybook for the 9th time in a row. Laura shrugged and plopped more chips into her mouth, chewing noisily.

"They wanted me to babysit, so that's what I'm doing," Laura said, "thanks for coming to keep me company though."

"It's spooky being in a hotel room by yourself," Han said, "always feels like you're about to be murdered."

"You watch too many horror movies," Laura said, Han nodding and laughing.

"I can't deny that," she replied, taking the chip bag from Laura and shoveling some into her hand to eat.

Laura didn't mind babysitting. She knew her father appreciated it, and she was always handsomly rewarded for her efforts, plus she loved her little sister to death. But still...this was vacation. She shouldn't have to be babysitting on her vacation. Or was it her parents vacation and they were just along for the ride? She didn't know. Regardless, at least she had Hannah around to pass the time with. Han flipped through the TV channels - the television on mute so it didn't bother Jasmine, but with the subtitles on so they could follow something if they wished - and finally stopped on a home shopping network to admire the jewerly. This particular set were emerald rings of different cuts and sets.

"Emerald is the best gem," Hannah said, mouth full of chips, "I think I want my wedding ring to be emerald. Forget Diamond. Diamond is so overdone."

"Emerald is a pretty good choice," Laura said, nodding in agreement, "I'm partial to Ruby's myself, but Emerald wouldn't be a bad choice."

"Okay then it's settled," Hannah said, "you get me an Emerald and I'll get you a Ruby."

Laura blushed and looked away from Han, confused.

"Wh...why? What for?" she asked meekly.

"Duh," Hannah said, "that way whoever we wind up marrying we can still get the rings we want!"

Laura felt her heart drop. She nodded, going back to being quiet. The answer was never what she wanted it to be.

                                                                        ***

Steven and Gayle, now walking arm in arm down the street in downtown shopping district, still weren't speaking. As they walked, Gayle window shopping as Steven looked off in a far away gaze, it was obvious there was a clear tension between them. Gayle stopped, pulling away from her husband and looking into a window, admiring something. Steven smiled and came back to her side, sidling up beside her.

"What is it, what do you see?" he asked.

"Look at this camera," Gayle said, pointing at an old photography camera that looked to be from the 40s. Steven smiled again. He'd always known she had a passion for photography, and in fact, had she not fallen into the line of work she had, she wanted to be a professional photographer. He'd always supported that; Gayle bit her lip and shook her head, "it's so fucking pretty. Look at the shape. All the chrome."

"You want it?" Steven asked, and Gayle looked at him.

"It's 300 dollars, Steven, I don't think-"

"I don't care, do you want it?" he asked again, and she blushed, nodding. Steven told her to wait right there, then headed inside and purchased it. When he came back out and handed her the box, she was almost crying. She got on her tip toes and kissed his cheek.

"Why did you-"

"Because you've been so busy with work lately I wanna see you do something fun just for you," Steven said, before adding, "plus, we're gonna need pictures of this vacation to remember it by, aren't we?"

Gayle nodded, looking down at the box in her hands as they continued to walk down the street. She started thinking about what he'd said, and she knew he was right. She had in fact been working way too much lately, and much as she enjoyed it, she also really did hate how much time it was taking away from her family, Laura especially. She knew Steven was fine, she knew Jasmine was well cared for, but Laura she could sense was going through something, and it killed her to know she wouldn't tell her own mother what it was. But, she thought, that's what teenagers do.

"So what's the first thing you're gonna photograph?" Steven asked, and Gayle thought for a moment.

"My ass, obviously," she said, the both of them laughing.

"It is a fantastic sight, one of the great wonders of the world," Steven said, both of them cackling.

                                                                         ***

"Do you think she'll be okay here?" Laura asked, standing by the door.

"She'll be fine, we're just going to another floor to get drinks," Han said, "she's engrossed in her book. We'll be literally right back."

Laura nodded, but she was still hesitant. She hated leaving Jasmine alone, even for a moment, but Hannah was right. They were only going down for a minute. As she and Han exited, Laura tugging the door shut behind them, Laura knew Hannah was right and she had nothing to worry about. Heading down the hall, side by side, Laura was scared to say anything. She was afraid she'd say something stupid, or expose herself in some unexpected way. She was always this way around pretty girls.

"You know," Hannah said, stuffing her hands in her windbreaker pockets, "next time you need to babysit, we should be dropped off somewhere. There's a really cool small zoo nearby, and they have an awesome butterfly dome where you can go inside and just be surrounded by butterflies, it's so beautiful."

"That does sound really neat," Laura said, hugging herself as they walked, her sweatshirt sleeves hanging past her hands, "but...so...you'd wanna come along with us for that?"

"Well it's my idea," Hannah said, laughing as they headed down the stairs and to the floor with the drink machines, adding, "besides, why would I turn that offer down? I love going there! I brought it up cause I wanted to show it to you!"

Laura blushed as they turned the corner and saw the drink machines off in the distance. As they arrived, Hannah started digging through her pockets, looking for the money her father had given her to use for snacks. As Laura waited, she heard the sound of another door in the hall open, and saw a woman in her thirties step out in a nice black dress with sleek heels and long dark orange hair. She stopped and waited momentarily, then was suddenly joined by another woman of the same age, this one in a white blouse and a black pencil skirt with yellow flats. They made sure the hotel door was locked, and then - and much to Laura's surprise - they kissed. Just right there, in the hall...where anyone could see them. After the kiss ended, they noticed Laura watching them, and they both waved at her, and she politely waved back, smiling, before turning her attention back on Hannah and the drink machines.

Laura suddenly felt different, like...like maybe there really was nothing to be afraid of. There were older women, happy women, in love, who felt just like she did. She could grow up to be just like that too, she thought. Laura suddenly, absentmindedly, slipped her hand into Hannah's as Hannah used her other hand to continue buying drinks. Hannah glanced at Laura and smiled, Laura blushing. A single word didn't have to be said. Whether Hannah felt the same way Laura did didn't matter to Laura right now. What mattered was she had a friend she could be affectionate with.

Vacation's are all about new experiences after all, she thought.

                                                                          ***

"I can't believe it came with film," Gayle said, as she popped open the back then shut it again, lifting the camera to her eye and scanning the horizon.

Steven and Gayle had stopped on a small bench right on the beach, looking out towards the water. They had gotten ice cream cones and had seated themselves on the bench to eat them; Gayle was now finished, but Steven was still eating his and he watched his wife play with her camera, her joy warming his heart. As he finished his cone, he stood up and went to get them an iced coffee they could share. Stopping at the nearby cart, in line behind a few other people, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Erin standing behind him.

"Oh hey!" he said.

"Hi, what're you doing down here?" she asked.

"Wife and I had dinner, now we're just relaxing, taking in the view," Steven said.

He and Erin looked towards the ocean, and then Erin scoffed.

"It's not much, is it?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"I've seen better," he replied, the both of them chuckling as he added, "what about you? What brings you down here? Do they let you leave the hotel for extended periods of time or did you have to tunnel your way out with a spoon?"

Erin laughed hard and shook her head.

"Naw, I come down here every night," she said, "I like getting coffee from here."

"You work the night shift and need the caffiene?"

"Nah, I just like seeing her," Erin said, pointing to the barista manning the cart, and Steven smirked.

"I get it," he said, "she's pretty."

"Okay," Gayle said, approaching them and tapping the camera, "I'm gonna take your photo Steve. Just stand there and we'll see how it comes out. I think I've got it all figured out. These older cameras take a bit of time for me to remember how to use cause I'm so used to those modern monstrosities with a million buttons that I have to remind myself about simplicity."

Erin threw bunny ears up behind Steven as he smiled for the camera, Gayle snapping the photo and smiling afterwards.

"Do we know you?" she asked, looking at Erin.

"She was our bellhop," Steven said, "remember? She helped bring our bags up to the room?"

"Right!" Gayle said, shaking Erin's hand, adding, "it's so good to see you again!"

With that, it was suddenly Steven's turn to order, but he let Erin go ahead of them, just to be nice. The last thing any of the Waltons had expected to do on this trip was make friends, and yet here they were.

                                                                            ***

Lying back on the couch, Hannah's head in Lauren's lap as they continued watching the TV on mute - Jasmine now asleep curled up on the floor as she liked to do - Hannah shook her head in disbelief as she took another bite of her candy bar, one arm gesturing towards the television.

"See, who needs designer purses?" Hannah asked, "now that's a waste of money. It's a BAG. You're buying a glorified BAG. I don't mind the jewelry or even the weirder stuff like swords, but purses is where I draw the line."

"You're really gonna die on this hill?" Laura asked, and Hannah nodded vigorously.

"I am! I'm gonna die on the hill and then roll down it and take everyone with me! Look, I guess I get, if you have literally so much money that you have to spend it on something, then why not buy designer purses, but...I don't know. I'm not even agaisnt high fashion! I like fashion! I guess I just think purses is where I have to take a stand."

"But it's just an accessory, just like jewelry, why does one get a pass and one doesn't?"

"Because...because it...it just does!" Hannah said, the both of them laughing, then trying to hush up so as not to wake up Jasmine. Hannah finally sat back upright on the couch and looked at her cell phone, realizing that it was getting late. She finished up her candy bar and then, still sitting on the couch, looked at Laura, who was watching her closely. Hannah turned and pulled her legs up onto the couch, crossing them and putting her hands in her lap, Laura doing the same.

"...um," Laura said, stammering, feeling nervous, "...thanks for babysitting with me tonight."

"It was fun! I got to wash all the trash TV I wanted," Han said, "plus you're fun to hang out with. Super chill. It's nice."

Laura blushed deep, and looked down at her hands, but when she looked back up, Hannah was smiling at her still, which only made her blush deeper. Laura reached out, waiting for Hannah to take her hand, but as soon as their fingers almost touch the door unlocked and swung open, Steven and Gayle entering, Laura quickly pulling her hand back in shock.

"Hey," Steven said, "sorry it's so late, guess we lost track of time. How was your night, girls?"

"Not bad," Laura said, stuttering, terrified, "um...um what did you guys do?"

"Had dinner, bought your mother a camera, boring adult stuff," Steven said, "Hannah, your folks are probably worried about you, you should get going."

Hannah nodded, climbing awkwardly off the couch and heading out. Laura scrambled to follow her, telling her parents she'd be right back, and shut the door behind her quietly. She knew they'd be occupied with unwinding and putting Jasmine to bed properly, so she had a little bit of time. Standing in the hallway now, Hannah zipping up her jacket, looked back at Laura, who was completely flushed.

"Are you okay? You look like you're sweating to death," Hannah said.

"I just...I didn't...expect...they came back so suddenly," Laura said.

"I'll come see you tomorrow, yeah? We'll do something way more fun than this," Hannah said, before suddenly leaning in and hugging Laura, patting her back, whispering, "sleep good."

With that, she turned and headed down the hallway, leaving Laura glued there, obsessed with the affection she'd just been shown. She never wanted that hug to end. The door opened again and Gayle exited, watching Hannah leave and patting Laura on the shoulder.

"It's nice you made a friend while here," Gayle said, smiling, continuing, "you should come and see the camera your father bought for me."

Laura nodded and began following her mother back into the room, but all she could think of was Hannah, and their promise to buy rings, and the older women kissing in the hallway. Laura hated herself. She was going to ruin everything, she just knew. But she'd worry about that another day. Tonight she was, nervous yes, but also on cloud nine, and she wasn't about to let her usual teenage angst ruin what had been a literally perfect night. And she'd see Hannah again tomorrow.

And who knows.

Maybe tomorrow would be perfect too.