During summer vacation, Hanna and I became close. She invited me to go to her house when something was bothering me, and I took her up on the offer. At times, we had long talks and found that we saw eye to eye on a number of things.

One evening my mom came home from work and began showering and getting dressed up nice. She and Hanna were going to dinner. She explained that Hannah wanted to discuss something. It sounded kind of serious.

When she left I got on the web and started looking at the Rice University website. I could hardly wait to get out of high school and get started in pre-med. I looked at everything I could find about pre-med and memorized it. After that, I went to the Victoria’s Secret site. “Amie could be a model”, I thought to myself. She had too much brains to waste, though.

It got to be late so I got off the computer and lay across the bed. I wanted to awake when my mom came home to find out what the issue was with Hannah. I drifted off and was awakened by the sound of my mom coming in the door. I got up and went to the living room.

“Oh hey, honey. You’re up late. It’s almost 1 am.”

“What did Hannah have to say?”

“Oh, she just had a gift to give me.” She held out her left hand and showed me a 2 karat diamond engagement ring.

“Y'all are getting married! Well … I guess not legally married…”

“Yes, legally married!”

“But, it’s not legal … is it?”

“You haven’t been watching the news. The Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage today! Hannah has had this ring for a while because she anticipated this ruling.”

I hugged my mom like I would never let go. “Oh, mom, we’re gonna be a family!”

“That’s not all. We’ll be moving to a bigger place. We’re looking at a 3 story house near Dr. Adams. It’s about one bgzillion square feet and more rooms than some motels. There is a separate area we’re thinking about using for a homeless man…”

“Mom! You want to bring a homeless man into our house?! You’re a generous person, but this doesn’t sound like you. There’s a safety issue here!”

“It will be OK once you get to know him. I think a girl should know her dad.”

My dad! That shut me up. I didn’t know what to say. Deep down, I thought I loved my dad. I just didn’t like so many of the things he did.
It seemed that my mom heard my thoughts. “You’re dad is a different person when he’s not drinking or taking drugs. He smart, funny … sexy, too, but that’s irrelevant now. He needs a place to stay and we have more than enough room. The bible says, ‘freely ye have received, freely give.’ We won’t be charging him rent. We don’t need it, so there’s no need to strain his resources while he’s getting back on his feet. I still love him, but I’m no longer in love with him. That part of my life is past. I can’t say I regret those years. Without them, I wouldn’t have you. I can’t imagine life without you.”

“Well, mom, I don’t even want to imagine life without you. It may happen someday, but I push it way to the back of my mind.”
I got into bed and lay awake thinking. I was so proud of my mom for her generosity. My life was going to change even more. It was both exciting and scary. We would have two more people in the house. I would be even closer to Amie.

I thought about the cliché so many people used, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” I heard it so much I wanted to gag. Still, what if it applied to my life? Was I headed for something that would upset my near perfect world? I realized that my euphoric existence was fragile. Despite my desire for frequent solitude, I relied on the support of the wonderful people around me. I seemed to be insulated from the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” I realized that there was really no reason I deserved such bliss, but I was happy to accept it and not willing to give it up.

I finally willed my mind to stop wandering and was able to drift off to sleep and dream. Changes were soon to come. I had to rest to prepare for them.