I squeeze Jude’s forearm excitedly. Holy shit,holy shit.I knew Taylor and Danny were good people, I knew it!
Jude is a statue, barely even breathing.
“Jude, did I lose you?”
When Jude doesn’t reply, I clear my throat. “Hey, Taylor. It’s Oliver. We’re still here. Jude’s processing.”
“Oh, hi, Oliver!” Taylor exclaims. “It’s so good to know Jude’s not alone right now.”
“Never,” I reply, rubbing their arms.
“Taylor, you guys don’t have to do that,” Jude finally speaks. “I—I couldn’t possibly?—”
“Jude, wewantto,” Taylor insists. “Danny and I love you, and we’ve always seen how ambitious and passionate you are about making a positive change in the world. You’re going to school to become a social worker, which, like teaching, is a thankless job that requires incredible courage and heart. We believe in you, and we’ve been blessed enough to extend those blessings to you.”
Jude chokes on a sob. “Are…are you sure?”
“We’re so sure, Jude. We can talk more about it later, but I wanted to let you know sooner rather than later.”
“Thank you,” Jude cries. “I don’t even know what more I can say.”
“You’re welcome,” Taylor says. “Now, go back to enjoying your lunch. We’ll talk again soon, okay?”
Jude ends the call, and I wrap them in a tight hug. Jude shakes their head. “I just…I can’t believe it.”
“I can. You deserve this, Jude,” I remind them. “You’re so amazing, and Taylor and Danny see it, too.”
Jude sniffles. “We should get back to your family.”
“Take your time, love. They’re not going anywhere, and neither am I.”
Jude takes a deep breath, then gazes at me with those gorgeous sea glass eyes. “I love you so much.”
I reach my hand across the space between us, delicately gliding my fingers along their cheek, then cradling their jaw. “And I love you.”
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
“Okay, everyone! Ten minutes ‘til the ball drops!”
Grace and Chloe have done it again, this time for New Year’s Eve. Every surface of their home sparkles with gold and silver decorations. Their party playlist has been fire, and our crew has spent most of the night dancing in the living room—Max, Celeste, Theo, Caleb, Vimlesh, Harrison, and Wren. This time, Oliver’s friend Elise was able to come down from Specter as well. Oliver was right—she’s something else. But in a good way.
After a few hours of dancing in my New Year’s Eve best—a black sequined suit with a sparkly golden necktie—I am officially too sweaty to keep going. Oliver and I step outside onto the porch to cool down. He helps me peel off my sweat-soaked jacket, rolls up the sleeves of his dress shirt, and slowly, deliberately, removes my necktie. Then, well, one thing leads to another until?—
“Get it, sluts!” Wren yells, giving us a wink before dipping back inside.
Oops.
That’s how it’s been over the past month. Since Thanksgiving, Oliver and I have been inseparable, spending only a few hours apart at a time. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a partner and more. He’s romantic, attentive, and affectionate. He holds me like I’m something valuable, something precious. He looks at me with so much fondness that I can barely stand it. He’s my sunshine, my protector, and my best friend. I love him more than I ever thought possible.
A few days after Thanksgiving, Oliver and I went back to my parents’ house, where we exchanged only a few words with them. As predicted, my parents refused to support me until I “accept my God-given gender” and “live life the way God ordained.” In other words, they want nothing to do with me unless I conform to the arbitrary rules set by an ancient book written by hundreds of different authors thousands of years ago, which has since been revised, rewritten, translated, and paraphrased countless times.
So Oliver helped me pack my things, and I said goodbye.
Oliver’s parents, being the gracious and loving people that parents are supposed to be, offered me the guestroom where Oliver’s paternal grandparents usually stay during the holidays. They said I could stay as long as I needed while I looked for a place of my own. I humbly accepted their offer, and I’m hoping to find a part-time job in January.
When Oliver and I returned to school and announced our relationship to our friends, no one was as surprised as we expected. I guess we were the only ones who couldn’t see how crazy we were about each other. Well, except Vimlesh, who was pretty stunned. Overall, everyone was thrilled for us.
Finals were rough, but we all made it through unscathed. Oliver and I passed all our classes with mostly A’s. Oliver did getone B in Biology, probably from skipping his Friday lab one too many times, but he wasn’t upset about it, so neither was I.
