Summer Re-release Being Normal

A coming out story

Jul 23, 2023

“Moms?” Shelley started, finally working up to the reason she had called this family meeting. At least her two younger siblings were in bed, so there wouldn’t be any little ears listening in.

Both of her moms waited, their full attention on their oldest child. She squirmed a little under that attention, though normally it wouldn’t have felt so much like she was under a microscope.

Shelley sucked in a breath and released it slowly through tight lips, took in another, and asked, “How did you know you liked girls?”

Jerry raised an eyebrow, clearly not having anticipated this. It was only when her body relaxed that Shelley realized Mom one had been as anxious about this discussion as she was. “I knew young,” Jerry said, “really, as soon as I started noticing that boys and girls were different species.”

“And I didn’t know until I had dated a few boys and realized I liked their sisters more than I liked them,” Mom two chimed in. “It’s different for everyone, sweetheart.”

Well, that wasn’t a lot of help. Shelley tried another tack. “Do you think it’s a genetic thing?”

Jerry gave her a perplexed smile. “What do you mean? Why are you bringing this up now?”

Shelley’s heart began to flutter in her chest. She wasn’t normal. Wasn’t okay. Unable to meet her mothers’ eyes, she hung her head and muttered, “I think I like boys.”

“Is that a problem?” Mom two asked.

“Well, shouldn’t I be like you?”

“Oh, honey,” Jerry said, a soft laugh tinkling in that way that always told Shelley everything was going to be okay. “If that were true, both of your moms ought to like boys like our mothers before us. You’re attracted to whomever you’re attracted to, and that’s completely normal.”

Shelley looked up, scanning Jerry’s face for any sign that she was humoring her. Seeing nothing but open honesty and love, she wiped a tear and climbed onto the sofa between her moms, snuggling into their warmth.

They all sat, watching the fire for a few minutes, content in the silence. Jerry broke it, asking, “So…is there a particular boy?”

Shelley turned to Mom two for support but was met with waggling eyebrows. Sighing, she realized there was no way out. She was going to have to dish.

This story was suggested by the image. I had been using a prompt to create images of LGBTQ couples. For some reason, Midjourney insisted, in most, on including a third person. In this particular image, there seemed to be an age difference between the couple and the third person.

The picture looks like a serious discussion is going on. As I pondered what that might be about, the idea of a reverse coming out scenario came to me.