Happy Saturday! I’m pausing in the midst of my cleaning frenzy to post this. We’re having company for Christmas tomorrow, so we’re getting the house in shape. Today, I’ll have a bit of last-minute shopping and wrapping, and then tomorrow we have two church services where my kids are playing. Busy, but fun.
Today’s snippet is a bit sad. Which I suppose is all right. I find this time of year difficult, even when everything is relatively harmonious. I’ve taken this bit from Leaps of Faith in a story titled “Noel and Silent Night.” The two people speaking here are Zayne, a bisexual trans woman, and Pam, the lesbian cisgender woman she’s been seeing. Their date has been interrupted by Zayne’s best friend, Micah, having a mental health crisis.
“Are you sure you want a next time?” Zayne asked. “This is my life. I live alone, I do nails at a salon, and I take care of my drunk, suicidal friend. You didn’t sign up for any of this.”
“And you didn’t sign up for a formerly sheltered, recently out woman with children and a pathetic excuse of an ex husband. No one ever ‘signs up for’ anything in a relationship, sweetheart.”
Rainbow Snippets is a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ authors, readers, and bloggers to share 6 sentences each week from a work of fiction—published or in-progress—or a book recommendation. Feel free to join in!
I have never found this the least bit sad… it’s life. It happens. My Anna didn’t sign up for three kids and my ex from hell either, but she never once shirked the task either. In fact, she delved head-long into it and didn’t look back, or so she says. Not bad at all for a woman who once said she didn’t want kids. That was over fifteen years ago. Sometimes, you just follow your instincts.
Yeah, I think the interactions between Pam and Zayne are generally loving and hopeful. But the story itself has a lot of sadness in it, which is probably why this bit reads as sad to me.
I also married someone who didn’t sign up for a lot of things, and yet he’s been there for me over all these years, which I guess is why I tend to write about people who go willingly into relationships where they have to mutually rely on each other. It’s the reality I live every day.
I found this encouraging, rather than sad. Neither of them is going into this wearing rose-tinted spectacles – which means they’re more likely to be able to make a go of it.
I think it’s sweet that Pam is taking the difficult along with the easier parts of the relationship in stride. I hope they make it!
Hope you enjoy your holiday celebrations! <3
What a great exchange! (heart)
She makes an excellent point. It’s probably the case in most relationships. <3
She makes an excellent point about relationships.
I loved Zayne in the books, such a loving supportive friend, and she and Pam are perfect for each other 🙂
I love this exchange.