One Day At A Time

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Question Of When - Part #1

On Thursday, a couple days later during lunch, when she finds the words and figures out how to say it, Ava tells Rose and Lucas that she's queer.
She also thanks Rose for giving her that word in the first place.

She goes in-depth about all the research she did and the talk she had with Lilly.

And her friends all hug her, congratulating her and telling her that they're proud of her.

It feels weird in a way, coming out to them.
Her friends are the first people she's told.

It gives her hope in telling her mom, hope that it'll go smoothly and end in congratulations and a warm, loving hug.

She starts to plan out the how in her mind.
How she'll do it is simple. When her mom isn't busy, she'll ask her to talk and then she will jog her mom's memory about the Christmas party and how Lilly kissed her and throw her into a whirlwind of emotions.

And it'll go on from there, going in depth about the last few months.

It's easy, an easy, full-proof plan.

The when is harder to figure out.
Should it be after school or on a weekend?

If it's on a weekend, should it be in the morning or in the evening? Or maybe in the middle of the day?

Should it be on Saturday or Sunday or on Friday night?

All the questions buzz in her head for the rest of the day, even while she's in the car with Lilly on the way home.

She's looking out the window, not saying a word, which is a little strange to Lilly.

"Hey, are you okay? You're kind of... spacing out." Lilly asks her.

That startles Ava out of her own mind as she blinks her eyes and swallows down the many, many words clouding up her head.

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay. I was just thinking."
"What were you thinking about?"

"I, I'm gonna tell my mom about everything. I'm ready to, to do that."
Lilly glances over at Ava with wide, joyful eyes.
"Really? That, that's great! When are you going to tell her?"

Ava thinks for literally one second before answering,
"On Saturday, in the morning."

She says it matter-of-factly and she sounds very sure of herself, which makes Lilly's heart beat enthusiastically.

They pull into Ava's driveway a brief moment later.
"I'm really proud of you for being ready to say it."
Lilly smiles at her and Ava smiles back, her mind feeling calm for the first time since she came out to the friend group.

"Thank you. I love you."
"I love you, too." Lilly says, before Ava kisses her cheek and steps out of the car.

Lilly sits in her car with a giddy smile on her face, but her worrying about telling her own parents creeps into her mind.