Cathy and Tammy have been living together for two years, since they both finished high school. They had to keep it a secret for many reasons, but mostly they were afraid what their friends and especially their family would think.
They had a crush on each other the first year of high school, but didn't act on it until their senior year. They lived in Birmingham, Alabama, in the deep religious south, where homosexuality was frowned upon.
Cathy grew up here in Birmingham, spending her whole life not going more than one hundred and fifty miles from Birmingham.
Tammy was different, she was Hispanic and grew up in San Francisco, moving her at the beginning of her first year of high school, and Cathy was the first friend she ever made.
They both had nice jobs, they were lucky; both companies each one worked for supported the gay and lesbian community, a rarity for the Deep South.
Their lives were great, except they had to live in secret, afraid of what the neighbors, friends, and their families would think. Tammy wasn't really concerned about her family much, but a part of her was afraid to tell them.
Both of their parents knew about the other and had met them many times, but their parents and friends only thought they were best friends. They knew they lived together, but not as lovers, but as friends sharing an apartment to save money.
One night, after a long day at work, they were on the couch cuddling and watching a chick flick they both loved, Tammy said, "We should tell our parents and friends the truth about us. I am tired of living a secret life."
Cathy just sat there and watched the movie; she was trying to ignore what Tammy said. They had this conversation many times, and it all ended the same way, with a big argument.
Tammy persisted with it and finally Cathy said, "I love you very much, but you know how I feel about this. I am tired of living in secret, living a lie. I can deal with my friends, even my job, they wouldn't care much, and even if they did, I would get over it. My family is another thing, I have no idea how they would react, and you know they are super religious."
Tammy replied, "I know, just think about it. It would so much easier if everybody knew. I know we would have to move if the neighborhood found out, but all of this will make us stronger.
Cathy and Tammy didn't speak about it the rest of the night, Cathy knew Tammy was right, about everything; she was just scared that everything they have could be destroyed and she would lose Tammy over it all.
They went to bed and held each other while they slept. Cathy tossed and turned all night, the thought of coming out to everyone weighed heavy on her mind.
The next morning at breakfast, Tammy was eating her morning toast, Cathy sat down at the table, and she sipped her coffee and said out of the blue, "You're right, we should tell everyone about us, and it should be done soon."
Tammy almost gagged on her toast, she was not expecting that. She looked across the table and said, "How about this weekend, Saturday, you can go to your parents, and I will go to mine, and we will deal with the fallout Sunday."
Cathy smiled, she got up and gave Tammy a kiss on her forehead and said, "That sounds like a plan, I am still scared this will all blow up on us."
Tammy got up, she held Cathy close and said, "I promise you, if this blows up on us, we will pick up the pieces together."
Cathy smiled; she kissed and gave Tammy a big hug before heading off to work. Tammy realized it was getting late; she threw her dishes in the sink and headed out herself.
They both called their parents and set it all up for Saturday night since they both had to work that morning. I would be a long day for both of them since they won't see each other from breakfast until late that night after the talk to their parents.
Saturday came and they both headed out to work, they kept sending each other text messages of support all day.
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Cathy drove from work at a large international publishing company to her parent's house. It was a twenty minute drive with traffic. As she pulled into her parent's driveway, she was scared as hell as to how they would react. She wished Tammy was here to comfort her and give her support, but she knew it was best she didn't come with her, her day had a violent temper when he got angry.
All through dinner, Cathy couldn't sit still, her parents knew it was something big she had to tell and tired to pry it out of her during dinner.
After a long and usually quiet dinner, her parents John and Mary, followed her into the family room and all sat down in the chairs, her parents were sitting directly across from her.
Cathy took a deep and started by saying, "Mom, dad, I have something to say and I know you won't like it, but I hope you will understand.
Her parents looked at her and her mom said, "Its ok dear, whatever it is, and you can tell us. Let me guess you lost your job, didn't you."
She looked at her dad who had a confused look on his face, she looked at her mom and said, "Mom, dad, this is not about my job." She took another deep breath and continued, "As you know, Tammy and I have been sharing a place for two years now."
Her mom interrupted and said "No, is Tammy okay? Did something happen to her? Tell her we will keep her in our prayers and ask the church to pray for her."
Cathy knew this was going to be a lot harder and not good, she continued, "NO mom, Tammy is fine, we are best friends, but also more, we are lovers and we are both lesbians."
Cathy was in a way relieved that it was finally out, but she could she her dad was about to explode, and explode is what he did."
Her dad stood up and yelled, "What the hell are you saying. We raised you to be a good Christian. You know God hates fags and you will burn in hell for this."
Her mom didn't say a word for several minutes, she finally said, "Now John, let me handle this." Her mom looked at Cathy and continued, "Cathy, you know how the church feels about this. What did we do wrong? We raised you to know better. What about children? You need to find a nice man, marry him and have children. How are you going to have children now?"
