Page 54 of A Very Miller-Cooper Life

“Um, yeah.” Charlie squeezed my hand tightly. It broke my heart that even after all this time her parents still caused her to return to that scared little girl. “It’s about Carter. We really don’t want to make a big deal about it since it isn’t one, but Carter likes girls.”

Mrs. Miller furrowed her eyebrows. “Did she tell you to talk to us?”

Charlie shook her head. “No, because she doesn’t see it as anything that needs to be discussed, which makes sense, and we’re glad she feels that way. But we wanted you to know so that you don’t hurt her, intentionally or unintentionally, if she tells you about a girlfriend in the future.”

“Really, Charlotte? Are we still stuck in the past? I have a son, daughter, and sister who like the same gender. I think I know how to talk to gay people at this point.”

Charlie huffed. “The fact that you just said you know how to talk to gay people tells me you really don’t since you should talk to gay people the exact same way you talk to straight people, because there’s no difference.”

“Charlotte, don’t tell me—”

Charlie put up her hand to stop her mom. Thank god. “I’m not trying to fight with you. I just want you to know that if Carter ever introduces you to a girlfriend, you need to react the exact same way you would if Ronan introduced you to a girlfriend. Don’t get me wrong, I’m appreciative of the placewe’re at now, but if you ever cause her even an ounce of the pain that you caused me, our kids will be out of your lives forever.”

Charlie’s mom opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but instead, her body stiffened and she stared straight ahead. Charlie’s dad leaned over her to squeeze Charlie’s hand. “If or when Carter gets a girlfriend, we will welcome her with open arms. You don’t have to worry about that.”

With Carter being so focused on school and her extracurriculars, I wasn’t sure if that was going to be a worry anytime soon anyway, but I was wrong.

*Charlie*

In the middle of their sophomore year, Carter and Olivia walked through the front door chattering back and forth excitedly. “You have to tell them. They’ll be so excited,” Olivia said.

“I don’t know. What if it doesn’t last?” Carter asked. “I don’t want to make it into a big thing and have her end up dumping me next week.”

My ears perked up at that. My little girl had a girlfriend. Sure, both Olivia and Ronan had dated but their relationships were never long-lasting. Since Carter never jumped into anything without giving it careful consideration, I figured a relationship for her would be more serious from the beginning.

“Doesn’t last?” Olivia laughed. “Marcie Bishop has been making googly eyes at you all year. I can’t believe it took you this long to finally ask her out.”

“I had to make sure she was someone I could see myself with long-term. I don’t see the point in starting a relationship that is destined to fail.”

“Because relationships are fun. Kissing is fantastic. If you ask me, it’s so much better when you know you’ll be kissing another guy in a few weeks. Or in your case, another girl.”

There was a moment of silence before Carter responded again and even though I couldn’t see her, I pictured her shaking her head while she considered Olivia’s words. “That’s just not my thing. I really like Marcie. I don’t want to kiss anyone else.”

“But you do want to kiss her, huh?” Olivia teased.

“Oh, shut up,” Carter responded.

“What? My baby sister is going on her first official date and about to get her first kiss. How could I not be excited?”

“Baby sister? Really? It was four minutes.”

“Still counts.”

A minute later, the two girls walked into the kitchen where I was sitting at the counter. Both of their eyes went wide when they saw me.

“Mom?” Carter asked. “What are you doing home already?”

“My last three patients were siblings and they ended up canceling, so I decided to come home so I could be here to greet you.”

“That’s cool.” Olivia sat down at the table, but she kept making faces at Carter and looking between the two of us.

I pretended I didn’t notice because I didn’t want her to feel like she had to tell me anything she didn’t want to. I wanted it to be her decision in her time.

Carter took a seat next to Olivia and fidgeted with her hands on top of the table. “I want to tell you something, Mama.”

I watched her hands and face closely, which both showed signs of hesitance. “Are you sure? Because if this is something you’re not ready to share with me, I completely understand.”

Carter’s face turned red from my words, but they also caused her to stop fidgeting and a large grin to spread across her face. “No, I do want to tell you. I really do. Just don’t make it into a big deal, okay?”

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