“Oh my gawd! She knew about Angela…? You knew about Angela…?” Carmen nearly died there and then. The little fling she had in college didn’t last very long, and she never ever expected her mother to know about it.

“Dude. Angela’s cousin is Rafie, my best friend and her aunt is Momma’s regular customer. How did you figure that we would be kept in the dark for long?”

Carmen wanted to kick herself for being the stupidest person on planet earth. She never thought that Angela would say anything since they promised never to mention this. But Carmen figured that Angela probably told on her when she came out. She counted the years in lightning speed. Three years, Momma and Roddy knew about her sexuality for three whole goddamn years. How could she have been so stupid!

“And you… never told me…” Carmen asked with tears in her eyes.

“What’s there to tell? It wasn’t like I was going to confront you or anything…”

As the tears of gratitude rolled down Carmen’s cheek, Roddy sat himself down onto her bed and wiped her tears away.

“Don’t cry hermana, I still love you. No matter what, I will stand by you.”

Carmen crashed her brother in for a big hug, crying appreciatively into his shoulder. Her thoughts wandered to Shane and her momma, wondering if she should go out there now. ‘What was momma saying to Shane? Would Shane be able to take it? This wasn’t Shane’s battle; she shouldn’t be subjected to this alone.’

Her tears continued as she realized the agony she had subjected her mother to. Her refusal to include her mother into this part of her life must have been hurtful to her. ‘What had she thought all these years? What does Anna think?’

“Who else knows?” Carmen asked apprehensively.

“Well, I don’t know about Carla and hermano, but I’m sure Prima Anna doesn’t.”

“Prima Anna doesn’t know about what?”

Anna burst into the room with little Jose in her arms.

“Aunt Carmen!” Screamed 5 year-old Paulos and 7 year-old Diana before anyone had time to react.

Carmen soon found herself surrounded by her little nieces and nephews and all of her siblings. This was a welcome distraction from this new turn of events and she soon immersed herself into the chattering and the laughing, finding solace in the mindless babbling of the kids trying to tell her about the going-ons of their lives.