"You know, your mama probably never told you this but I have a bit of a temper." Dana said to her granddaughter the day after her party. It was Sunday and Dana had taken Callie out for some frozen yogurt just to spend some time together before they left that evening while Lena spent some time with her father. "And once when she was just a little older than you she was trying to straighten her hair." Dana explained. She reached out to stroke Callie's hair affectionately. "What she would have given to have hair like yours. Anyway, she was trying some new frizz-be-gone rubbish in her beautiful hair and ruining it. It was already looking so dull and brittle from all the ironing she'd been doing and I wanted her to just stop. I wanted her to learn to love her hair the way that I did but she disagreed - she told me that it was my fault that she had hair like that and she asked me to just leave her alone and we argued back and forth and we were both getting so angry with each other and she was crying and she told me that she hated me." Here Dana paused for a moment, for the next part was something she regretted to this day. "And in my anger I told her that I regretted ever even having a daughter like her."
Callie looked at Dana in surprise, even though she knew that Dana didn't meant it like it really sounded she never expected her grandmother to ever say such a thing.
"I didn't mean it." Dana confirmed. "And Lena knew that I didn't meant it just like I knew that she didn't really hate me but she was still hurt and I will never ever forget that look of pain on her face." Once again Dana paused as she held Callie's hand affectionately. "Even grown-ups make mistakes, parents make mistakes. The reason that those mistakes hurt us so much more than others is because they are the ones who are supposed to do everything for us and when they let us down it hurts us more than anything. But we aren't perfect and sometimes we say or do things that end up hurting us more than they intended but sometimes what you have to look at is their intentions, not their actions."
By now Callie knew exactly where this was leading and while she was dreading another lecture about giving Stef a chance, she was curious to hear more about Dana and Lena when Lena was young.
"Honey Stef made a mistake and you got hurt, I'm not denying that." Dana finally got to her point. "And my story isn't exactly the same as yours but the end result is that two mothers hurt their children but I can assure you that it wasn't intended. Stef was trying to do what was best for you honey. Unfortunately it didn't work out like that but she didn't just decide that she didn't love you or want you and hand you over to social services. She gave you to people who were supposed to give you what she couldn't. She was also just a child and she was also hurting so much but she did what she had to do for you. I'm not asking you to love her or even have a relationship with her if that's not what you want but I do think that you owe her just a little bit more respect than you are giving her. She is trying and from what I can see she's being very respectful of your space and you have not behaved in the manner that I know your mama has taught you. Everyone is trying, everyone but you and I think it's now time for you to do your part."
Dana was looking at her the same way that Lena had after Callie had destroyed the bracelet and she hated it. She didn't like Stef and she didn't want to have anything to do with her, despite what everyone was saying but she realized that she wasn't just hurting Stef, she was also disappointing her family - the only people to truly ever love her and for them she decided that she would take it down a notch.
Lena was surprised when Callie didn't put up much of a fight but she didn't question it. Dana had mentioned their talk briefly and Lena was glad to see that it had made some difference in the way that Callie was viewing the situation. The two of them were meeting Stef at an art exhibition that Lena figured would interest Callie enough to stay civil and Stef found a small Italian restaurant that was open all day where they could get a snack afterward. Callie was busy looking at all the exhibits carefully, surprised by what she was seeing - she'd imagined paintings and photographs but the room was filled with not only that but also sculptures made from trash and metal and other such materials, hand drawings in pencil and charcoal, actual people painted to look like animals - so perfectly done that you couldn't even tell until the person actually moved.
"Come look at this." Callie called to Stef and Lena, pointing to an odd looking sculpture made from trash. There was a hoola-hoop and some empty bottles and cans, pencil shavings and plastic bags, newspaper and old cardboard boxes and rope.
"What is it?" Stef asked, studying the sculpture carefully, trying to figure out what it meant exactly.
"Clean Up The Earth." Lena read out the plaque in front of the exhibit as she too tried to make sense of it.
"So they put some trash together and said clean it up?" Stef offered humorously.
"No, look." Callie explained as she pointed to a button beside the plaque. She hit the button and a light was shone on the exhibit from the front. "Look on the wall." She instructed. "Look at the shadow." And there on the wall was a beautiful image of the earth surrounded by plants and animals. The hoola-hoop formed the earth and all the various bits of trash formed trees and animals and birds. "That's awesome." Callie smiled and hit the button again when after exactly sixty seconds the light went off.
For a moment Stef watched the exhibit but her attention quickly moved on to Callie - this was the first time she was actually watching the girl smile and enjoy herself. For just a while Callie seemed like any normal teenager with no heart condition, no depressing history and no hatred for the woman in her company and this is the Callie that Stef was craving for and this moment is what made all the heartache and all the disappointment worth it for she would give anything to keep watching her daughter smile the way that she was right now.
The trio spent a few more hours together enjoying a snack at the Italian restaurant a block away from the art exhibit and then they went their separate ways but not before making a plan to meet again in a few days at the pier - an outing that proved to be just as successful. For the next few weeks they would meet every few days or so and while Callie still kept Stef at a distance she was enjoying the outings and Stef was keeping things as light as possible for Callie. She refrained from questioning her too much about her life but instead learned as much as she could through observation. Stef was content with the way things were going for all of them but she really got a good insight into their lives when she ran into Lena at a bank just a few days after their last meeting and Lena suggested they grab some coffee if they both had the time which Stef of course accepted immediately.