“Sweetie, have we ever given you the impression that we didn’t approve of you or your lifestyle.” Tina’s mother interrupted her shocked at the accusation and the label that was being placed on her that went with it.

“No, but…”

“Well what makes you think we would start now?” Tina was dumbfounded, she really thought her parents were being hypocritical bigots by not coming to her wedding. “Yo Daddy he’s old fashion, extremely old fashioned. He always dreamed about a man coming to us first and asking for the privilege of having you as his wife. And when you told him that you were gay that dream just altered a bit baby, it never went away. It was almost as if she had robbed him of something that we’d dreamed of for so long, ya know? Never would we deny you sweetie, you’re our only daughter and we love you through anything, you understand me?” she finished by holding Tina’s chin and attention very sternly.

Tina smiled as she took her mother’s hand and kissed it gently “Yes, ma’am.”

“Now how did you find out about her affairs?”

“She told me actually. Right to my face.” Tina finished and couldn’t really look her mother in the face she kept her head down and concentrated on the path. Her mother simply patted her on the back and continued to walk with her.

“Sweetie, I’m sorry. I know how you feel, believe me I know.” Tina looked at her mother with curious eyes and an eyebrow just like her father. She looked at Tina and smiled she truly was a Daddy’s little girl. “You should’ve been in the Marines with a stare like that, Jesus. You remind so much of that man it’s scary.”

“Spill it.” she said nudging her mother as they continued to walk.

“This was long before I met yo Daddy. We were both so young and foolsih, thought our love would carry us where we needed to go. But I was madly in love with Mr. Benjamin Talbert“ she said with glazed eyes and soft smile as some of the good memories came back to her. “He was the man I wanted to marry, and we were engaged too.” Tina looked at her mother completely shocked.

“Wait a minute Mr. Talbert, my high school principle?” Tina said looking at her mother for confirmation. She just nodded her head and smiled. “Please continue.” Tina was now intrigued.

“Well he was supposed to pick me up for our two year anniversary dinner, but before we left we were going to tell my parents that we wanted to get married. He was supposed to ask Papa for my hand. So I got all dolled up that night, put on the dress he’d bought me and the earrings he liked on me, “ Tina’s mother smiled as she recalled the giddy feelings she had getting dressed, “had my parents wait in the living room for him to arrive. Child, I even bought him a specific tie to wear ya know, so we‘d match. Well come 8:30 and he still wasn’t there. He didn’t show up at all and I went out looking for him, when I saw him he was coming out of the pictures with Belinda.”

Tina understood now, Belinda was Mr. Talbert’s wife. She waited as her mother took a big breath and continued.

“Well I walked over to him and he was completely dumbfounded, you know what he said to me?” she stopped and held Tina’s attention, “He said, I thought that was tomorrow.” Tina scoffed in response. “Girl, I’ll tell you men are something’ else.” her mother said pursing her lips and shaking her head.

Tina chuckled at her mother’s southern ways growing heavy in her speech, she than realized how much she missed her mother‘s long southern drawl. Tina started laughing to herself and couldn’t contain the elation that went along with her ironic thought “Well now I don’t feel so bad.”

“For what Precious?”

“Well I kind of, umm,… slept with his daughter when we were in high school.” Tina said laughing for the first time in days. Tina’s mother laughed as well and swatted Tina’s arm, she too missed spending time with her daughter her laughter often brought smiles to dark days.