Page 9 of No One Like You

And Tasha’s revelations about her sexuality?

Does Tasha’s interest in women have any impact on my need to decide to accept her offer? Yes/No? Definitely No. I want to support my friend and, hey, being close by makes being supportive easier. Okay, that sounds like a slight yes, it does have an impact. Spiraling—need to focus.

The big question… Should I accept Tasha’s offer? That means that Sophia and I are staying in Portland for the foreseeable future. Am I okay with that? I think so. More importantly, is this what is best for Sophia? That’s the real question.

From the backseat, Tasha said, “You know, I could get used to this. It’s like Driving Ms. Tasha.”

Megan laughed, “Oh, I see now. You want us to stay in Portland so that you can have a personal chauffeur.”

“You know it!”

“Are we staying here, Mommy?”

“Let’s talk about it later, okay, sweetheart? Tasha, when we get back, can you give us some time to talk?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll go ahead and fix some hot chocolate. Sounds good?”

“That would be great, thank you.”

The three of them settled into an uncomfortable silence for the next few minutes, until Megan found a free space near Tasha’s apartment. Tasha got out, and Megan turned to her daughter.

“Aunt Tasha offered to let us stay with her here in Portland.”

“Are we ever going home again?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart.”

“Why? I miss Daddy.”

“I know, Sophia. It’s hard to explain. Ummmm… A long time ago, before you were born, your father did something that made me very upset. He promised that he would never do it again, but yesterday I found out that he was doing it again.”

“Is Daddy bad because he broke his promise to you?”

“Sweetie, I don’t want you to think of your daddy as a bad person. He’s made mistakes and he’s made Mommy very angry, but you need to make up your own mind about him. I know that’s hard, but your feelings need to be your own, not Mommy’s. Does that make sense?”

“I think so.”

“Right now, though, your Aunt Tasha has offered us a place to stay. What do you think about that?”

“Does that mean that I’ll go to a different school?”

“Yes, it does. Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah. The kids at my school can be really mean sometimes.”

“Well, I don’t know if the kids here would be better, but they would be different. Are you sure that you wouldn’t miss your friends?”

“Maybe, but I think I’d be okay. Plus, I like Aunt Tasha a lot!”

“That’s good. You haven’t seen her since you were five, though.”

“That’s okay! I like her cat, and she makes you laugh. You and Daddy never laughed. I heard you and Aunt Tasha laughing a lot today. What was so funny?”

Yeah, that’s a conversation for a later date, Megan thought to herself. “We were remembering old times and having fun with the cats. Did you have fun with the kittens?”

“Yes! They were so much fun! Can we get one?”

“Not right now, sweetheart, but maybe once we are settled down again we can talk about it. Does that sound good?”

---