“Of course it is.” The man’s voice took on an authoritative sound. “Come on, Elaine, I’ll help you with it in the kitchen.” He put his napkin back on the table and rose from his chair.

“I’ll get the dessert, Samuel.” Narrowed eyes pinned him as he stood up. “You stay here and clear off the table.” Elaine dropped the utensil in her hand, letting it fall onto her plate, then pushed off the table to get enough room to stand. She gave one last cold glare in her eldest daughter’s direction as if in warning, then left for the kitchen.

Sam closed her eyes and pulled a mental image of Brooke to the front of her mind once more. After taking in a deep breath, she opened her eyes and focused on her father. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

“That’s okay, Sweetie.” Samuel worked fast to gather the used dishes into his hands. As he reached across the table for Sam’s plate, he kept his voice to a whisper. “I trust that I can leave you two for a few minutes while I take these into the kitchen.” The man looked at both of his daughter’s, then winked, taking his leave.

After shooting a quick look to the doorway leading to the kitchen, Sam leaned over the table toward her sister. “Sarah,” she whispered, “Thanks for the save earlier. I know that Mom’s not ready to hear anything at all about my love life.”

The teen nodded her head as her eyes grew bigger. “You got that right. Don’t worry, it was no problem at all. I was in the right place at the right time.” Sarah sat back in her chair, letting her lively green eyes drink in her sister’s image. “I’m just glad that you’re here.”

“Well, we’ve got Brooke to thank for this one,” Sam smiled as she spoke her lover’s name.

“So, will I actually get to meet her this time?” Sarah leaned forward, showing her eagerness.

“Maybe…” Sam teased her sister. “We’ll have to see when she comes to pick me up.”

Perked up by the aspect of meeting her sister’s special someone, Sarah readjusted herself on the chair and said the only thing that a sixteen-year old could think of. “COOL!”

Brushing past his wife in the small kitchen, Samuel made his way toward the dishwasher with his load. “Elaine, I wish you’d give her a break.” He began loading the appliance with the dirty plates. “We haven’t seen her in four years and I’d like to enjoy this day with her.”

Elaine took the pie from its carton and put it on the table to cut into pieces. “Well, I don’t like it, Samuel. She’s not my daughter anymore. She’s…” the small woman picked up the knife in her hand and made the first cut into the pie, slicing it in half. “She’s different.”

“My God, woman!” Samuel stood up from the dishwasher and faced his wife. “She’s your flesh and blood,” he pleaded with his eyes. “She’s not different.”

“You’re right…she’s perverted. Thanks for reminding me.” Elaine brought the knife down again, slicing through the pie perpendicular to the first assault.

“DAMMIT, Elaine! She’s not a pervert.” Samuel slammed the door of the dishwasher closed, then turned and stared at her in disbelief. “The only thing that you’ll accomplish by acting the way you have is to alienate your other daughter. Is that what you want to do?”

Wide-eyed shock struck Elaine’s face. “Oh, so you’re blaming me, now.” She waved the knife that was in her hand, erratically through the air. “I’m the one who made her queer like that?” The woman’s eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. “I think not.” She punctuated her words as she threw the knife down on the table. “Do you remember who I sleep with? Who I love…”

“Elaine, God made her that way, no one else.” Samuel reigned in his anger, letting it be absorbed in his clenched fists. “Your role as her mother is to love her unconditionally, like I do, as her father.”

“Are you telling me…you accept that? You accept it that your daughter is…is…sick in the head?”

“No, I’m not.” Samuel took in a deep breath, trying to calm his growing anger. “What I’m saying is that I accept her and the wonderful adult that she has grown to be.”

“Wonderful adult,” Elaine sighed loudly, shoving the wedged shaped spatula under the crust of the pie. “You’ve seen her for what…” she glanced up to the clock above the stove, “three…no almost four hours and you know all of this?”

Samuel crossed the tiny space and put his hand on his wife’s arm, stopping her from lifting out the piece of pie. “Elaine,” he spoke softly. “The child has put herself through college with no assistance from us. She is a wonderful, amazing young woman. You should be proud of that. You helped instill that into her.”

There was an uneasy silence for only a few seconds before the small woman erupted like some long dormant volcano. “NO! This is not going to happen.” Elaine pulled her arm away from her husband’s hand and strode across the room. “She’s not ruining my Christmas.” She turned around and leveled a cold glare at her husband. “I don’t know why I let you and that Brooke woman talk me into this.”

Samuel took several steps toward Elaine until he was only two or three feet away. “No, Elaine.” His voice was filled with resolve. “You’re not ruining my Christmas with my two daughters. It’s been too many years already and I’m not standing for it anymore. I will get to know my daughter again.” His green eyes flashed with determination.

The small woman glared up at him until he turned to walk away from her. “You were always the weak one, weren’t you?”

Stopping dead in his tracks, Samuel looked over his shoulder at his wife. “I’m not weak. I’ve just realized the true meaning of being a loving parent.” His gaze fell from Elaine and Samuel continued his course through the kitchen and out into the hall.

With nary a second of hesitation, the enraged woman took off for the dinning room, walking in on the sound of shared laughter. Her eyes darted from one daughter to another, as the anger built inside her. “Sarah, say good-bye, it’s time for her to leave.” The cold stare riveted on Sam. “I suggest that you call for your ride, now. Your visit is over.”

“Mother…I don’t understand…” Sarah pleaded with questioning eyes, first to her mother, then to Sam.

“Elaine!” Samuel stood in the doorway from the hall.

“My rules, Samuel.” Elaine pointed a finger at him to halt his further interruption, then swiftly glared over at Sarah. “To your room, young lady.”

“It’s okay, Sarah… I have to be going anyway.” Sam started to get up from the table.

“No!” Samuel walked over to Sam’s chair and prevented it from moving, then he turned to his wife. “You told me that she could stay for the day… you’re the one breaking your own rules.”

“Great, just great. Now she’s going to topple the whole house with her perverted influence. I knew that this wasn’t going to work.”

“Elaine…” Samuel became flustered as he tried to think of something to say. “Go away. Go away and leave us be.” His knuckles turned white from holding onto the chair so tightly.

“Leave you to what… encourage her… to send our other daughter down a fruitless path? I think not.”

“Oh, like you’re not sending both of our daughters down a path of hate?” His words came out sharp sounding, as he looked her straight in the eye, waiting for her to deny it.

Sam turned to her father. “Dad, I don’t hate anyone.” Her stomach was churning, as the argument grew more heated. Sam swallowed, trying to keep the food she ate from coming up. “I’m sorry for all this.” She looked from one parent to the other. “I never wanted to be the source of your troubles.”

The young woman looked over to the doorway where her younger sister stood, worry written all over her face. Sam’s mind brought back the feelings of five years earlier, when her mother had started on her ‘holier than thou’ campaign, calling her a pervert. Dear God, I wasn’t much older than Sarah when…her mind trailed off suddenly. In the blink of an eye, Sam knew what she had to do. She moved away from the table, then turned to look in the direction of both her parents. “I’d better leave. I can see that this isn’t helping any of us now.” She stole a glance out into the hallway where her younger sister stood.

Samuel took a step forward in eldest daughter’s direction. “Sam, it’s okay. It’s not your fault, Honey.”

With determined movements, Sam’s hand went down to the cell phone on her belt. “Don’t worry, I won’t let it be.” She unclipped the phone and brought it into her view, punching in Brooke’s number on the speed dial.

An uneasy silence had descended over the house during the little more than an hour that it took for Sam to receive the incoming call on her cell phone. Hearing the tiny device calling out to be answered, Samuel moved away from his daughter to give her some privacy. He stood in the hallway with his eyes closed, faintly making out the one-sided conversation.

“Hello?”

He held his breath, feeling his daughter’s hurt in that shaky sounding greeting. There was a pause, then he heard the change in Sam’s tone of voice and knew that Brooke was on the other end.

“Yeah, it’s good to hear your voice, too.”

He could hear the life being slowly absorbed back into her being as Sam let go with a little giggle, and he imagined her smiling with green eyes set aglow.

“No, don’t come in. I’ll say my good-byes now and be waiting for you outside.”

Samuel felt the pain stabbing into his heart as he heard Sam trying to protect Brooke from the pain that his daughters had endured.

“Okay, I’ll see you a few.” Sam’s voice grew quieter. “I love you, too.”

He heard the words spoken, without hesitation, and knew that it was true. Samuel stood there, deep in thought, when the sound of his daughter’s voice directly behind him, startled him.

“Dad…” Sam said from the doorway with her coat in her hand. “I’m really sorry for the way this day turned out, but I’m not sorry for seeing you and Sarah again.” She wrapped her arms around her father and gave him a hug.

“It’s okay, Sweetheart.” Samuel buried his face into her short, blonde hair and whispered, “I will see you soon. I promise.” He hugged her even more tightly. “I have missed you so much, Baby.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Sam quickly committed the hug to her memory, not quite sure when she’d ever feel it again. After a moment of silence, she opened her eyes to see a truck slowing down as it came down the street. “Oh look, I think that’s Brooke’s truck.”

Looking up to the top of the stairs, Samuel caught a glimpse of Sarah as she hid in the shadows. Turning to see the large truck as it pulled into the driveway, he motioned for Sarah to come down. “Sarah, come say good-bye to your sister.” The man pulled Sam toward him and whispered in her ear. “I’ll go tell your friend that you’re coming while you say good-bye to Sarah.” He winked, then kissed Sam on the cheek as he let her go. Grabbing his coat and pulling it on, he went out the door.

After zipping his coat, Samuel looked up to see the tall figure getting out of the truck and heading toward him. When she was close enough, he began to speak. “I’m sorry that it didn’t last as long as we’d planned.”

“What happened?” Blue eyes showed her concern. “Is Sam okay?”

Samuel stared off into the distance for a moment before he could bring himself to tell the truth. “Nothing short of a near disaster. I’m afraid that Elaine is just not very forgiving… or open-minded.”

The tall woman bowed her head as she gazed down to her feet with thoughts of Sam’s misadventures running through her head. “Oh God…” she muttered out in defeat.

“Sam…” he started, “She’s fine. In fact, Sarah and I are very thankful to you for giving us this time together with her.” Samuel studied the woman closely for a moment before continuing. “We’ve all learned a lot about each other.”

Slowly, Brooke brought her eyes up to look into Samuel’s, trying to ascertain just how much he was aware of. “You know about us, don’t you, Sir?”

The man took stock of his feelings as he turned slightly from her and looked off down the road. Samuel’s voice was soft as he gave his answer, nodding his head once or twice in the process, “Yes…I know.” He didn’t wait for an answer. He turned to look at the tall woman and demanded more. “Do you love her, Brooke? I mean, do you…really love her.”

Brooke returned his direct question the only way she knew how. Without any hesitation, she declared her love. “More than anything in this world.” The corners of her mouth tugged upward into a smile as she thought about what Sam meant to her, then she confided, “I’m lost without her. I love her with everything that I am.”