Quaranteam - Book Two (Ch. 12)

"When the Pope sent out the papal decree not only permitting homosexuality but going so far as to endorse it," Ellen, Fiona's mom said. "Well, we had to reevaluate a lot of things. And all the additional women sleeping with your father now has obviously changed things as well, but that's all very new. We'd seen the story with you on television, Fi, and naturally we recognized Moira, but in that moment, it became rather clear that our daughter had been hiding things from us." The proclamation felt dangerously close to condemnation.

"To be honest, Ma," Fiona said, "I wasn't entirely sure how you'd react to finding out that I was in a relationship with a woman. But it wasn't like this was the first time I'd sort of been hiding something you from and Dad."

Ellen scowled, looking directly across the table at her daughter. "What does that mean? Fiona Abigail Smith, what have you been up to behind our backs?"

"Mother, you had to know that back when Andy and I were dating the first time, back in college, we were sharing a bed, and he didn't have his own bedroom. Not really. I figured you weren't comfortable with Andy and I sleeping together, so we sold you a fantasy. I always thought you'd probably known the truth, but maybe you were that much in denial. I also knew when I started getting involved with Moira that you'd have very complicated feelings about that, me in a long-term relationship with another woman."

"It's... very untraditional, Fiona."

Fiona threw her hands up in frustration, scowling at her mother. "Look around you, mom! Nothing's traditional anymore! And it never will be again! Do you know how much it angers me that you're paranoid of all the people I've ever fallen in love with?"

Ellen's face deepened even more, a complex conflicting set of emotions dueling inside of her. Some mix of shame, embarrassment, anger and frustration, directly not only at Fiona but herself as well. "I only ever wanted what's best for you, Fiona."

"I know, Mom! I get it! But back in college, I was in love with Andy, and all you could ever talk about how unfortunate it was that I couldn't find a good Catholic boy to settle down with! And then when I was in Washington, you were always trying to convince me to marry a cop or a politician. So I couldn't tell you about Moira when we moved in, because Heaven forbid that Ellen Smith's only daughter turn out to be as queer as a three-dollar bill! But we were in love, Mom! We still are! I love her and I love Andy and I love all these other women here! You know what? Fuck it. Let's just spill all the tea. Moira met Andy and I at Julian and Alana's wedding in Scotland, Mom! We all slept in the same bed that night! Well, I say sleep, but we didn't do much of that—"

"That is enough, Fiona!"

"It's enough when you back off, Mom! When you finally just say 'we're happy for all of you' and let us deal with everything else. I am as my Creator made me, mother, and if that means He condemned me to Hell for being as He intended, well, there's very little I can do about that, now, is there? But I still believe in God, mom. I do! I just believe God wants me to be who and what I am, and to value love when and where I find it. The flaws are in the teachings and the scripture, because sometimes when people are writing down the Word Of God, the message can get a bit jumbled in translation! So, either you can accept us, accept all of us, as a family, or we can all just get up and leave you to it, Mom!"

Ellen's frustration was evident on her face, but it wasn't until she spoke again that Andy realized it was directed inward. "I'm... I'm sorry if I ever made you feel anything but loved Fiona. You're right; it's not fair of me to judge you, or them, and if you're happy, that should be enough for me. No, that isn't good enough. It is enough for me. I'm... I'm very glad you're happy, and that you reconnected with both Andy and Moira, since it seems like they hold the keys to your heart. I do hope they'll be as careful with your spirit as we tried to be."

Finally, Fiona seemed to smile again, shaking her head. "Well, I'm marrying them, Mom, so I sure as hell hope so!"

The next few hours, it was like he was getting to meet Fiona's parents all over again. The same with her brothers, although Rob not being present was strange, at least at first. Then Andy found out that Rob had moved to Spain with his girlfriend a few years ago, and they were still sheltering in place, not having gotten access to the serum yet.

Seamus, Fi's dad, had always liked Andy, and the two men found an easy peace between them almost immediately. "I knew, of course," Seamus told him quietly so only the two of them could hear. "Back then. That the spare bed was just that, and not your actual bedroom. I didn't mind, and I didn't want to cause too much of a fuss, so I went on letting Ellen believe what she wanted to believe and let Fiona convince herself that we didn't know. It seemed better than kicking up too much dust."

"I know that feeling," Andy said with a soft laugh. "Sometimes I feel like the best thing we can do as men is to keep our head down and stay out of the way of the women who know better."

"Now now, my boy. Don't go sounding like those damn Male Protection Act people, Andy," Seamus said. "We few men, we're all that's left, so we have to take care of each other, and look out for each other, make sure nobody's trying to put us out to pasture."

"Yeah, well, I understand their concerns about keeping us all safe, but I'm certainly not going to live the rest of my life in a padded room with no sharp edges or corners because someone tells me I can't live my life the way I choose to," Andy chuckled. "They can try if they want to, but I can make a hell of a stink, and they've given me a bit of a platform to do it, too. I'm going to look out for my family, and that includes looking out for myself, for better or worse, no matter what the government thinks of me."

"I saw the news of the shooting," Seamus said to him. "That sort of thing can do a real number on a fella's psyche, but it sounds like it wasn't aimed at you."

"Aimed," Andy scoffed, shaking his head in anger and annoyance. "They were two people fighting about whose idea of the end of the world was the right one. It was ridiculous. Nobody gets to decide how the world ends, or what the state of it is after people start picking up the pieces. And yet, one of them decided to shoot the other. I was freaking out about this a few hours ago, but now? Now I just feel sorry for all of them. They're raging against the dying of the light, but it's the wrong light."

For the next hour or so, Andy, Fi and Moira entertained all the questions that Fiona's parents had, although they had a certain amount of information about Moira already. It was just a matter of reincorporating what they'd already learned about Moira when they lived together. Fi's mom had come around, at least mostly, and was now getting excited about the idea of the wedding, although she was a little annoyed that it wasn't going to be a Catholic wedding, despite the fact that Fiona, Moira and Aisling were all Catholic. But, as Andy pointed out, Emily belonged to the Church of England, Piper was Methodist and both Sarah and Niko were atheists. Andy was as well, which apparently was the most scandalous thing he said all night. But with such religious diversity in the family, it was going to be a non-denominational ceremony, but there would be hints of the big G here and there, to help soothe everyone over. The vows would all be custom tailored, though, and each person would speak entirely for themselves.

The fact that it wouldn't be an entirely God-less ceremony seemed to calm down Ellen a bit and let her focus on the parts of the wedding she was most excited about - the music, the dresses and what Fiona was thinking about saying.

By the time dinner was being served, almost all the tension had entirely dissipated, and everyone at the table was laughing again, and it felt like just a normal (if abnormally large) family get together. Seamus was even calling Andy "son" which Andy knew would probably always feel weird. The meal was excellent, and the dessert was even better.

Andy felt nearly halfway normal again by the time everyone was saying their goodbyes and heading towards the hotel again. Most importantly, Fiona was smiling, radiant and exuberant, joyous and wondrous, she and Moira were joking and laughing like they didn't have a care in the world.

It was a great moment.

He hoped it would last.