The return to New York came quicker than Camila had expected. Wednesday was as snippet of what life could be like: waking up together, showering together, breakfast by the pool, walks down the beach, making love at every opportunity. Camila wanted that life. At the very least, she wanted more days of uninterrupted Lauren time. But Thursday rolled around, and there were meetings Lauren had to go to and phone calls she had to answer and the day slipped quickly by until they were on a plane, headed east.
A lot had happened in four days, and Camila was still processing the events of the week. Lauren had come out to her family, which only made Camila think about doing the same with her own. The thought filled her with dread. It was impossible to be brave when you already knew the outcome. It felt like a ticking time- bomb. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Boom. There went her family; lost in a blur of tears and anger and Bible quotes. She could live a lie and keep them happy, or she could tell the truth and lose their love. Was there a right answer? Or did it all boil down to choosing the option she could live with.
She would tell them. Some day. Eventually. Maybe. No, right away. She would write them a letter. She would call them on the phone. She would drop by in person. It didn't matter. She could already see her mother's face, stricken with shame and pain and disappointment.
She turned away from the airplane window and looked at Lauren. Lauren looked up from her book and something in her eyes tore through Camila's soul. She felt unworthy, sitting there beside Lauren. She felt ashamed of her own cowardice. Lauren grew up bearing the weight of her mother's death, her father's guilt and her grandmother's fading health, all the while facing the pressure of a career in the limelight. Now she had the fear of losing her career and everything she'd worked towards. And still she'd come out to her family, answering cruelty with poise and even laughter. "How do you do it?" she asked.
Lauren closed the book. "Do what?"
"How are you so brave?"
"Brave? Me?" Lauren started to laugh but saw that Camila was serious. "I'm not brave, I'm just impulsive. Like you throwing wine in Janet's face."
"Wait, you threw wine in someone's face?" Dinah had suddenly appeared within earshot. She plopped down in the seat across from Camila.
"Who threw wine in someone's face?" Ally asked, taking the seat beside Dinah.
"Camila."
"Whose face?"
"Who's Janet?" Dinah asked.
"Camila threw wine in Janet's face?" Adrian walked over.
"Will someone tell me who Janet is?"
"Lauren's stepmother," Ally answered.
"Holy goat fuck. Seriously?"
"Why was I not there to see this?" Adrian asked. "You're now, officially, my hero." He bowed before Camila.
"Wait, tell us everything," Ally said. "Start at the beginning."
"What's going on down here?" Louis asked.
"Camila threw wine in Lauren's stepmother's face," Dinah said.
"Camila did?"
"Let her tell the story."
They all stared expectantly at Camila.
Startled by the sudden attention, Camila looked to Lauren for assistance but her girlfriend was too busy looking amused to be of much help. Camila cleared her throat. She didn't want to go into the full details of what Janet had said. The thought still infuriated her and made her want to travel through time and punch her in the face. But, she could give them an abridged version of the truth. "Um, well, we ran into Lauren's dad and stepmom at the restaurant..."
