My Proud Heart
They had been calling him names for weeks, maybe it was even months. Sly little digs when no teachers were around. He had wanted to lash out at them, but he knew his Mom would be angry. So he just ignored it, because he figured they would get bored soon enough and move onto someone else.
But they hadn't moved on, they just got worse. Before school, during recess, lunchtime, after school. And this morning he had a note passed to him in class. That had never happened before. The bullies were getting braver. Or maybe just more stupid. All he would have to do is raise his hand and give the note to the teacher and they wouldn't be able to deny what they were doing. What they had been doing for ages. But Henry couldn't bring himself to do that.
He was embarrassed by what the note said. And he felt bad. Because maybe, just maybe they were right. He loved his mothers beyond reason and his family was special to him. But he was the only kid in his school with two moms. Everyone else had a mom and dad – even if they were separated or divorced. And Henry didn't want to be different.
"Wot your queer moms do is disgusting. You should be too embarrassed to come to skool".
Henry crumpled up the note and shoved it in his pocket. He wouldn't cry. He wouldn't let them see they had beaten him. But he couldn't hold his head up and feel proud of his family at that moment. And he had never felt that way before. He felt ashamed to feel this way, but who could he talk to. So he kept his head down and hoped it would just stop.
But it didn't. They were waiting for him after school. Emma had only just got Regina to agree to let Henry walk home from school on his own. And now he wished his Mom was there waiting in the car with Calon.
As he crossed the yard towards the gate, he could hear them calling him names.
"You should be ashamed of your parents. It's not right to have two moms. It's weird. It's disgusting. Just imagine what they do together. They shouldn't be allowed to do it. They should be arrested or something for the way they are." But the shout that had Henry finally stop and turn around was, "they shouldn't be allowed to have kids. They don't really love you"
He glared at the boys. There were four of them and they were all just slightly taller than him. But at that moment, Henry was six feet tall in his anger.
"My moms do love me. I don't care what you say. I know that's true. And I love them. And…..and I'm proud of them. So just shut up and leave me alone!" and he turned around and started walking away. The footsteps behind him were rushed and Henry braced himself for what was to come. He was grabbed by his backpack and pulled backwards. One of the boys moved around in front of him and pushed him up against the fence behind him.
"How can you stand up for those two? They're disgusting." The boy was right in his face and Henry couldn't work out why there was so much anger in the kid's face. "Why does it matter to you if I have two moms? What difference does it make to you what my family is like? You don't have to live with them!"
"My dad says it's not right and should be stopped", another boy was pushing his chest so that he banged into the wooden fence once more. "Are you saying my dads wrong?" Henry stared at him, not really sure how to answer.
Henry tried to move away from them without any more confrontation, but he was stopped again by one of the boys who held on tight to his backpack. He didn't slam him against the fence this time, but menacingly leaned over Henry's shoulder and said quietly "does that make you a cissy boy, if your moms are butch? Are you and your brother gonna turn weird too?" Henry could take no more.
He took a hard step backwards, slamming the boy against the fence and then turned around and punched him in the face. Not hard enough to really leave a mark, but with enough force to knock him over with surprise. The other boys took a small step back, but Henry was sure they were just readying themselves to fight him.
"Come on then, who else wants a slap" Henry found himself saying it without thinking about it. The boys hesitated and Henry carried on. "What? Thought I was a cissy! Come on". The boys hesitated. "My moms aren't weird and they're not wrong. They love me and my brother and I don't care what you say. I'm lucky to be their son. You've tried to make me feel ashamed to be their son, but I'm not. You are the ones who shouldn't be allowed. You are the ones who are wrong and disgusting" and he pushed over the boy who was closest to him and turned to walk away. And ran straight into David Nolan!
"Come with me Henry. Now!" And David marched him to his truck. Henry could see from the side mirror as they drove off that the boys were now arguing amongst themselves. The truck pulled up outside the diner. "Why are we here David, why haven't you taken me home to speak to my moms?" David put his hand on Henry's shoulder. "I thought you might need to talk Henry. Man to man!"
David treated Henry to a milkshake and a cupcake, but made him promise not to tell Regina or Emma why he couldn't eat his evening meal later!
"I heard what they said to you Henry. I heard the things they said about Emma and Regina". Henry looked down ashamed. "You should feel proud for standing up to them. It must have been scary, facing them down, but you stood your ground". Henry didn't look up. "What's wrong, Henry? You can talk to me".
Henry swirled the straw around in his drink before looking at David. "I don't feel proud at all. They've been saying stuff like that to me for weeks and I haven't stood up for Mom and Ma until today. I started by ignoring them, but then I started to listen to them and even started thinking they may be right. That I should be ashamed of having two moms instead of a mom and dad". Henry fell silent and pushed his drink away. He could feel tears starting and he felt stupid crying in front of David.
David nudged his foot under the table. When Henry reluctantly looked up, David was sliding a serviette across the table, all the while looking away towards the other customers in the place. "So how do you feel about having two moms now, kiddo? You seemed to be sticking up for them back there". "I've never thought it was wrong. I've never thought it was weird. When I was little and it was just me and Mom, I always wished I had a dad. But then Emma came along and she's my birth mother and she loves me. And having a dad didn't seem so important. And now that she loves Mom and Calon is there too, I feel really happy in my family. Like I'm safe and there's nothing to be scared of". Henry blushed and looked around the diner.
"Then that's all that really matters Henry", David said kindly. "unfortunately, this probably wont be the last time you have people call your moms names or tell you that your family is weird or wrong, but you just stand strong, be proud and stand up for yourself. Maybe without hitting anyone though!" Henry and David laughed together. "Something you need to think about Henry is that your little brother will grow up looking to you for advice and watching how you deal with situations. Anyway, come on kiddo, I'd better get you home or your Mom will be worried!"
When Henry got into the house, his Mom and Ma were in the kitchen. Regina was preparing their evening meal and Emma was helping to cut things up. Calon was sitting in his highchair waving his arms at his moms and blowing bubbles. His Mom was laughing at something his Ma said and then his Ma threw a tea towel at her. Calon laughed when it landed on her head and she used it to play peepo with him. Henry walked further into the room and Emma spotted him. "Hey kid, you're late home, is everything okay?" He contemplated what he should tell them. Should he tell them what the boys said about them? How would they react to him telling them about the fight? "Yeah Ma, I was talking to David after school and we didn't realise the time, sorry". Emma's eyes narrowed and Henry was sure her super power had detected his lie, but she said nothing. "Anyway, I've got some homework to do, so I'm going to go do it before dinner". And he was off up the stairs.
He had just finished his homework and was deciding which comic to look at when his Ma shouted up the stairs for him to join them for food. He flew down to the kitchen and helped his Mom bring the food to the dining room while Emma got Calon strapped into his high-chair next to the table.
"So Henry, we thought we'd have a movie night tonight. What do you think honey?" Regina looked lovingly at her son. "Ma and I thought we'd get some popcorn and milkshakes and you can choose what we watch. Just spend time together as a family. You interested?" Henry felt he didn't deserve the treat. He had betrayed his family just that day. "Aw hey, come on kid, it's not like your Mom lets us have popcorn everyday. Even if you don't want it, think of your Ma here and do it for me". Emma stuck out her bottom lip, pretending to pout and used her puppy dog eyes on him. The same ones that Henry often used to get his own way.
A slow smile crept onto his face and he nodded his head.
Regina sat on the sofa with Calon nestled on her lap. He wasn't quite sleeping, just enjoying being close to his Mommy. Henry was loading the dvd into the player and Emma was just bringing in the food and drinks. Emma plonked herself down next to Regina and put her arm around her shoulder. Regina leaned into her and put her head on her shoulder, pulling Calon closer to her. Emma ducked her head and captured Regina's lips. Their soft kiss lasted and lasted. They had forgotten that they weren't alone. Henry turned from the TV and looked at them. Normally he would have made some comment about how gross it was to watch your parents kiss, but today he remained silent. When they broke the kiss and leaned their forehead together just gazing at each other, Henry realised just how lucky he was. They were in love. They loved each other and they loved him and his brother. They were happy because they made each other happy. Regina suddenly broke away and looked at Henry. "Darling sorry, we know you'd rather not see that" and she blushed. "No Mom it's fine" and he went to sit next to Emma, on the cushion she was gesturing to.
Emma put her arm around Henry and cuddled him close to her. Halfway through the movie, Calon badly needed his diaper changed, so they paused and all agreed to take a break. Henry and Regina went to put night clothes on while Emma sorted out Calon. Once everyone was back and ready, resituated on the sofa, Henry went to pick up the remote. Emma stopped him.
"So Henry, anything exciting happen in school today? She still had her arm around him, so he was hunkered down against her side as he mumbled "no, not really".
"No? Well I heard a story earlier. It's about a young boy who gets made fun of cos of his family situation. And then it goes further and it becomes bullying, where they attack him physically as well as saying horrible cruel things to him. Horrible things about his family. He ignores it at first, but then he can't take anymore and he fights back. He tells them they're wrong and when they get a bit physical and try to hurt him, he stands up for himself. He defends his family" Emma lifted Henrys' face so that he had to look at her, "he defends his two moms Henry". Henry looked away again, sure that he would have a row for hurting that boy.
"Henry darling" Regina joined in, "you know I never want you to fight and get hurt, but we're so proud of you for what you did".
"Yeah kid, it must be hard for you being the only kid with two moms, but you made us real proud today with what you did".
Henry shuffled away on the sofa and picked at the edge of a cushion. "How…how did you find out about today?" he asked quietly. Regina shifted slightly so that she was facing him. She held out her hand to him and waited for him to take it before she began to speak. "When you were upstairs doing your homework, David Nolan rang us. He told us what happened after school. He's going to talk to Miss Blanchard tomorrow and those boys will be punished. He thought we should know because a) you are our son and we need to know when you are having problems and b) he wanted us be proud of you standing up for us. And we are Henry, we really are proud of you".
Henry tried to pull his hand away, but Emma joined her hand to his moms so that he couldn't move. He dropped his head down and started to cry. Not great big sobs, but sniffing and ragged breathing. He spoke in a low voice, quiet, almost croaking.
"You shouldn't feel proud of me. You should feel ashamed. I feel ashamed." He pulled his hand away and got up from the sofa. He sat on a chair on his own and looked down. Just as Regina took a breath to begin to ask what was going on, he resumed speaking.
"They started being horrible to me weeks and weeks and weeks ago. They called me names and called you two names. And I thought, if I just ignore them, they'll stop. But they didn't. And they used worse names about you two. But I still didn't do anything. And then today, they said some really horrible things and they pushed me about a bit". Regina gasped, imagining what they did to her little boy. "Listen kid", Emma began, but was cut of by Henry speaking again. "I believed them….." and he started crying. Fat tears rolling down his cheeks. "I'm sorry Mom, Ma…".
Regina got up and handed Calon to Emma. She moved over to Henry and in a way that only a mother can, she picked him up and put him on her lap, rocking him as he cried, smoothing circles on his back and making a shushing noise in his ear. She began to whisper in his ear. "Tell me baby; tell me what's making you cry. I love you Henry and nothing will ever make me stop."
Henry started speaking again. "I listened to what they said, Mom, and I thought they might be right. Having two Moms makes me different and they said it was wrong and I got embarrassed. I felt ashamed Mom and I feel horrible about that."
"Oh darling, you're just a boy." Regina had tears in her eyes as she looked at her eldest son. "Yes, you're growing up – much too fast for my liking, but you're still just a boy. You can't be expected to get it right all the time. You can't be expected to say and do the right thing. But the important thing is that it's ended the right way. You chose us and that's all your Ma and I care about. We love you Henry." She hugged him tight to her.
Emma had been silently watching two of the three people she loved the most. Calon was sleeping now, but, honestly, she was using his state as an excuse not to interrupt Henry and Regina. Now they sat silently, Emma felt she should say something. "Hey kid, I'm real proud of you". Henry and Regina looked up at her. "It's not fair that our life and our choices have this impact on your life. You shouldn't have to go through all this sh…..rubbish because of your Mom and me. And there's probably going to be more of it in the future I hate to tell you mate. But I'm so proud of you for standing up to them today. Its not how it started that matters, it's how it ended. We're family, kid, and family sticks together. Now come back over here you two, I need to hug you both."
Regina and Henry went back to Emma and after passing Calon back to his Mom, Emma put her arms around her family and squeezed. "Ma?" Henry looked up at Emma through red-rimmed eyes. She laid her head on his, "hmmm?" "I'm not embarrassed by you and Mom. I know that I'm really lucky to have two parents who love me. If those bullies were here tonight, they'd see how normal our family is and I think they would be jealous of me. Cos I've got the best moms in the world….. and if Calon ever has this happen to him, I'm going to help him stand up to them and show him that our family is just the best."
Emma kissed the top of his head and then looked at Regina who had tears in her eyes. Emma kissed her cheek and looked back at Henry. "You know kid; this is a beautiful family moment. But I need you to look away or maybe even leave the room. Cos I'm so happy and I need to kiss your Mom and I know that you're not gonna want to see this one." Emma kissed the top of his head again and then turned back to her love. Regina smiled sweetly and lifted her face. A peck on the lips became a slow meeting of lips and tongues and small moans. Henry got up and moved to the chair putting the film back on as he went. "You're right Ma, I really didn't want to see that." He repositioned his body to try to keep them out of his sight. "…awwww Ma, Mom," he whined, "Calon and I are going to have to have therapy if you keep up with all this kissing in front of us". A cushion hit the side of his head.