Lauren comes out

“Mom, my date isn’t a guy,” Lauren said. “She is an old friend, who I’ve had a crush on for a while, just a small crush. I don’t know if it’s really anything more than that. But it’s... her name is Emily, Emily Cho.”

Michelle paused when she heard that name. She always had a feeling, but she wasn’t sure, but now she knew she was right about Lauren’s feelings for Emily. Michelle remained composed and said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that your date was a woman. But I’m glad to know I was right about you, Lauren.”

“Right about me?” Lauren asked.

“I had a feeling, but I wasn’t certain, and I never wanted to overstep my boundaries when it came to sexuality,” Michelle said.

“So you knew... all this time?” Lauren asked.

“Of course I did. The amount of times Emily came over, I would be dumb not to notice something going on. I just never wanted to make you feel uncomfortable or anything, so I just never said anything,” Michelle said.

“Thank you, mom,” Lauren said, hugging Michelle again.

Michelle hugged back and smiled. “You’re welcome, Lauren. Now go finish getting ready for your date. Knowing Emily, she’ll be 10 minutes early, so you have about 20 minutes to finish up.”

Lauren grinned and jumped up, rushing upstairs, Vanessa followed her upstairs to help her.

Lauren had no idea what to feel or what any of this meant, but for now, she was happy with everything.