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And it was why she finally took a deep breath and prepared herself to tell them what was on her mind.

“Ellie,” Vera said softly as she smiled at Ellie, “you can tell us.”

“Tell you what?” Ellie wasn’t playing dumb; she didn’t know what Vera was referring to.

Nodding her head toward a bench, they sat with Ellie in the middle of them. Ellie turned to face Vera as her mama continued.

“We know something’s on your mind.” She gently tucked Ellie’s hair behind her ear. “You can talk to us. You know there’s no judgment here. Only love and understanding.”

“I know.” Ellie took in another deep breath and held it for a moment before blurting out, “Sadie and I have been talking about having sex.”

Getting the words out felt like a relief Ellie didn’t know she needed. Her shoulders relaxed as the tightness in her stomach she hadn’t noticed until then went away. She leaned back onto the wooden bench as she kept her eyes locked with Vera’s.

“Are you mad at me?”

“No,” Vera instantly answered.

“Why would we be mad at you, Ellie?” Isla rested a hand on Ellie’s knee as she turned her attention to her mom. “First off, thank you for telling us. I know that wasn’t easy.”

“And secondly,” Vera picked up, “we know you’re not the girl that just sleeps with whomever and doesn’t care. We know you love Sadie, and it’s natural to have those feelings and desires when you love someone.”

“But like we’ve always said…”

Isla didn’t have to finish, Ellie knew what she was going to say.

“You should never feel pressured to have sex,” Ellie repeated the words she’d heard her parents say a million times before. “I know. And I’m not. I think we both want it.”

Ellie lowered her eyes to her hands in her lap, noticing how both Isla and Vera had their hands on her knees. She took in a deep breath, held it for a few moments, then slowly let it out as she looked up at Vera.

“I wanted to tell you all in case it happened tonight.”

Vera held Ellie’s gaze for a moment before slowly shifting it to Isla. Ellie would forever be amazed at how they could communicate so well without words. The simple raise of an eyebrow or narrowing of the eye seemed to speak volumes to the other. And now shereallywished she knew what they were thinking.

Were they upset? Angry? Going to tell her Sadie couldn’t come over? Would they make her move out of the garage apartment?

No.

Ellie knew the answer to every question. That wasn’t who her parents were. Never was, and never would be.

Finally, Isla spoke. “The only thing that Mama and I ask is that you’re both safe and consensual.”

“And you come to us if you want to talk about it after.”

Ellie’s eyes ping-ponged back and forth as they kept talking.

“Not in detail, of course.”

“You can go to Mason for that.”

“Or Eden.”

“I mean, I’d prefer it to be with us since we are a better sounding board,” Vera smiled at Ellie. “But in the end, alwaysalwaysknow we are here for you.”

“I know, Mama.” Ellie wrapped her arms around Vera’s waist as she buried her face in her chest. She felt Isla slide closer to them on the bench, pulling them both into a hug.

“I can’t believe my baby girl is all grown up.”

“I’m not grown up.” Ellie pulled back just enough to see Vera’s face. “And besides, no matter how old I get, I’ll always be your baby girl.”