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."