Spencer couldn’t believe she heard her mother say all those things. Sure she knew about her mom’s discomfort with homosexuality but to hear her outright express her hatred and disgust for it was both painful and enraging.

“Mom, you have no idea what you are saying. You have no idea how bigoted and narrow minded you are. You call Ashley someone of low character just because she is gay? You say being gay signifies someone’s upbringing and family? Now I will tell you something.” Spencer paused, her blue eyes fixed on Paula’s grey ones. Like a flood of icy, dammed water, the words poured out from Spencer’s lips.

“Your daughter is gay. I am gay. I am in love with Ashley. She is my girlfriend.”

As Paula swallowed each word she heard and apprehended it, a rush of emotions swamped her. She felt everything from shock to disappointment to fear to fury. Even before the voluntary part of her mind could conceive what she was doing, her hands swung in an arc, striking Spencer on the face. The loud noise of hitting and bright red finger marks on her daughter’s cheeks made Paula realize what she had done. She balled her hands in a fist and brought it to her chest.

Arthur did not know what stunned him more. The fact that Spencer had just admitted she was gay or that Paula had slapped their daughter. He stood in transfixed silence as Spencer’s confession sunk into him and the sound of the slap resounded in his ear.

Spencer felt her heart explode with the tears that were threatening to come out. Before they could, she ran away from the kitchen. She heard her father whisper her name but the voice disappeared amongst the rage of emotions within her. She rushed to her room and slammed the door.

When she was finally alone, she collapsed on her bed and let the tears run. Like rivulets of pain, it flowed out. Her throat choked with the sobs breaking from her heart. She did not even know what she felt anymore. All her grief, distress and anger combined together to smother her.

She did not know when she fell asleep. Her eyes opened when she heard loud banging on the wooden floors. Glen was bouncing the basketball and talking in his usual cocky way.