Becoming More Than Strangers

Chapter 13: Dinner

Later in the week, Sadie and Jess were anxiously getting ready for dinner at a nearby restaurant. Sadie's parents were planning on picking the two up within the next few minutes. The two were finishing getting ready when they were startled by a knock at the door. Sadie went to open the door and giddy screamed as she jumped to hug her parents and then Jacey. Sadie's mom had said, "We're so sorry! Jacey really had to use the restroom so we figured it would be okay to just come on up." Sadie said, "Of course, of course. Go ahead Jacey!" Jacey waved at Jess who waved back before running into the bathroom and slamming the door. Jess walked over and said while holding out her hand, "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Sink. It's great to meet you. I'm Jess." They both shook her hand and Sadie's mom said, "Call me Lori." Her dad said, "And me, Casey." Lori continued, "We've heard a lot about you. There's no way you should be calling us such formal things." Jess raised her eyebrow at Sadie who blushed in return. Finally Jacey returned from the bathroom and said, "Thanks, guys. I had to pee for miles." Everyone chuckled and Sadie engulfed her in a bear hug. She said, "I missed you, little cutie." Jacey laughed and hugged her back.

Before they knew it, they were sitting in the restaurant eating Japanese food. Casey said, "So how'd you end up getting into acting, Jess?" Jess tried to chew her food quickly to answer the question. She followed it with a big gulp of water and said, "Ah well. It's the classic, 'I had a passion' kind of thing. Circumstances in my life led me to realize how important it is to tell people's stories and I felt acting was a great way to do it." Lori said, "So what was the goal? Landing a big show like this?" Jess responded, "Actually...not really. I wouldn't go as far as to say I didn't have goals but to me, the only real goal was simply to just keep telling as many stories as I could. I mean Stranger Things is an absolute blessing. I never imagined something like this to happen. But it's allowing me to keep telling stories which will always be my number 1 driver." Sadie squeezed Jess's hand underneath the table cloth, ensuring it was fully covered however.

Jess turned to Jacey and said, "Well enough about me. I want to know about you, little missy." Jacey smiled and shrugged, saying, "Well...what do you want to know?" Jess said, "Hmm how about...what's your favorite thing to do with Sades?" Jacey said, "Oh! I have a lot. I really like to paint our nails together 'cause then we get to do our girls' things together. And some nights, when we pick out a movie, we'll eat a bunch of ice cream." Her parents tilted their heads in slight concern as Sadie covered her face and said, "Jaceyyy. Shhh." Jess leaned over and whispered into Jacey's ear, "How much is a lot?" Jacey whispered back, "Like a whole carton of her oatmilk stuff." Jess covered her mouth playfully and said, "You better not tell your mom and dad!" Lori and Casey crossed their arms and Lori said, "Jacey? Is there something you want to tell us?" Jacey giggled and shook her head before shooting Sadie a thumbs up who was still glaring at her. They laughed quite a bit causing Sadie to take a minute and enjoy the bliss around her.

As they all spent the time after dinner walking around town, they were nearing a playground to which Jess said to Jacey, "Race you there?" Jacey yelled, "Oh I'll beat ya!" as she sprinted toward the playset. Jess scrambled to follow her and they laughed as they both reached it together. Soon, they were both swinging on the swing set and laughing. Sadie walked with her parents and they slowed to a stop at a park bench. They sat there together, talking about things they needed to catch up on. Sadie finally cleared her throat which got the attention of her parents. They both looked at her through the silence that was occasionally broken by the distant laughter shared between Jacey and Jess. Finally Sadie spoke, "I–uh. I've been meaning to tell you guys..." Her voice flattered and she bit her lip trying to hold back tears. Her parents looked at her with concern, each grabbing a hold of her shoulders. Her dad said, "What's up, Bear?" Sadie continued, "I uh—I really don't want you guys to hate me or anything. Or even view me differently or whatever." Her mom said, "Hey, we would never." Sadie said, "I don't know. You guys get all weird whenever you find out my friends are gay or whatever." Her mom swallowed hard and said, "Honey, is that what you're telling us?" Sadie began to cry and said, "I mean yeah. I don't know if I'm like fully gay or bi or whatever. I just know I really like Jess." Her mom's eyes glistened with tears and she gave a somber smile. Sadie looked to her dad who seemed to be deep in thought. Sadie said, "Well?" Her mom grabbed her in a hug and said, "Honey. Sweetie, baby. We would never hate you for that. You're our little baby, right hun?" Casey looked up and nodded reassuringly. Lori continued, "Does Jess know?" Sadie chuckled through her tears and said, "Yeah. We're kind of...we're kind of dating." Lori smiled and said, "We could tell." Sadie said, "You could??" She looked at her dad too who said, "Whoa, whoa. I'm not that attentive. That was your mother guessing. Not me." Sadie said, "You guys already talked about this??" Lori continued, "We always wondered. There were little things here and there. And that's why I always was weird around your gay friends, I guess the girls...because I was always trying to figure out if you were dating them or liked them." Sadie's jaw dropped. Lori said, "All that to say, Sadie, I love you. We love you. No matter what, okay? I'm glad Jess makes you as happy as she does." She gave Sadie a tight squeeze and kissed her on her head. She continued, "I'll leave you alone to talk with your father but know that it's okay, okay?" Sadie allowed her tears to keep falling as she gratefully nodded.

They watched as her mom made her way over to Jacey and Jess. Sadie turned to her father and said, "Dad?" He continued to look off into the distance and said, "You know I've always been more spiritual than religious. I believe there's definitely a God out there. But I also believe that He doesn't make mistakes. And I know He didn't make one with you." He turned to Sadie and said, "I love you, Bear. No matter what. It's a slight adjustment for me because I think I always had hoped things would be different. Not because I think it's wrong or anything. I just hate that your life will look different because of this, you know? But I sure as hell do not have any issue with this." He motioned to her and Jess. Sadie had now begun to cry harder to which her dad hugged her. He said, "I love you, okay? But if this Jess girl ever hurts you, I'll kill her." Sadie laughed between sobs and couldn't help but feel a weight lifted off her shoulders.