"Here you are," Stef handed a woman, covered in an uniform, her debit card and signature.
Like she had insisted, she and Lena both were seated upon a table for two, at a nearby restaurant. The blond haired woman had been dressed in a plaid button-down and blue jeans, all while Lena wore a flared skirt and matching top.
"Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" Stef asked her mentor, after taking a sip of the preferred drink she had ordered.
Lena, smiling, moved her head up and down. "No, not at all. Go for it." Her eyes went from Stef to the burger and fries that sat before her on a glass plate.
Stef released a heavy breath, then said, "How did you um...know that you were y'know...gay?"
"Well," The mentor smiled a bit. "I could give you a whole rundown of my journey of finding myself, but truthfully, I knew I was into women while in high-school." Her shoulders shrugged. "In Spanish we had two teachers. Mr. Rivera and his wife." The woman then smiled, a handful of reminiscences filled her mind. "All of my friends at the time were dreaming about him, but I was too busy fantasizing about Mrs. Rivera."
"Really?" The blonde chuckled a bit, finding humor in what was said. A breakdown of some self quest was what she had expected the woman to deliver. "That must've been hard to keep to yourself. You ever faced judgment or anything like that?"
Lena's eyes widened, she placed one of her fries into her mouth. "Are you kidding me? The day I came out to those 'friends' was the last day I had spoke to them." Her head moved from side to side. "Gosh, they had said so many bad things about me, called me plenty of names." She then breathed heavily. "But—even to this day—I still don't believe they were homophobes at heart. We were all young and I just thought they weren't taught to love and accept people."
Stef's head moved in disbelief. "I'm sorry you had to endure all of that."
"I'm not," The mentor replied. "It made me stronger and allowed me to love myself more than I had." She then eyed the woman before her sideways. "Can I ask you a personal question?"
The blonde haired woman positioned her shoulders in an up and down fashion. "Shoot your shot."
Lena breathed rather profoundly as she allowed a response to form within her throat. Considering how loaded the situation of Stef and her marriage was, she was hesitant to ask the question she wanted to, but after all—she was still the woman's counselor—so she needed to. "When did you decide to walk away from your marriage? At what point did you say enough is enough?"
Stef gave permission for the deep breaths that swam in her body to move outwardly and into the air she sat in. Since that night in the room Lena had given her, the two had not spoken of her previous marriage. But, she knew that sooner or later she'd have to see the conversation once more. "Well, even on the days that he-he hadn't hit me or mistreated me, I would break down and cry just out of nowhere. It took me one last day to realize I was all out of tears and that I needed to leave." Her pupils read the floor the two women placed their feet upon, seeing the memories recreate themselves. "Love was no longer being
given in the relationship."
Before Lena could respond, the waitress that had taken Stef's card had appeared at the table for a second time. Upon her face, an expression of uncertainty occurred. "Um—ma'am—I don't mean to be a bother, but your card keeps reading as declined."
