Peyton stepped into the restroom for a breather. Staring into the mirror, she saw a reflection she almost didn't recognize. Gone was the curly haired teenager in jeans with the permanent brooding pout. She had been replaced with a mature adult woman who now wore a cap and gown, the product of college graduation.
She wondered if that was the end of the fun and all the other excuses that came along with being a kid. Were those days really over? Was it time to get a real job and take real responsibility? Peyton scoffed. She'd had to be responsible practically her whole life. It was like overnight she's had to learn to first take care of herself, then a ready made family. But now the cap and gown changed everything. It really was time to grow up.
"Hey you, Happy Graduation", Anna smiled as she came up from behind and snaked her arms around her girlfriend's waist.
"Same to you, baby", Peyton smiled.
"Here. I got something for you."
Peyton accepted and examined the tiny red box with the simple ribbon tied delicately around it.
"A present? Anna, you shouldn't have…"
"But I wanted to."
"No, now I feel bad", Peyton laughed. "I didn't get you anything."
Anna returned her grin.
"I'll let you slide…this time. Go ahead, babe. Open it."
Peyton untied the ribbon and carefully opened the box. Inside was a gold chain with half of a heart hanging from it.
"What's this?"
Anna tenderly swept Peyton's blonde locks to the side and kissed her neck before clasping the necklace around it. She then revealed that she was wearing an identical piece of neck jewelry.
"See? It's the other half of my heart. Just like you're the other half of my soul, Pey. Now you'll always have part of me with you."
Peyton sighed contentedly as she held her lover.
"I wish it could always be like this."
"It will. I promise."
"No. I mean this moment. Here. Right now. You and me. Life. Everything. I don't want to change or move or grow up."
"Life is about change, Peyton. We all move on and grow up and that's okay. But you and I will never change. We'll always have Wednesday nights camped out in front of the TV and lazy Saturday mornings in bed. We'll always have those Sloppy Joes you make every time it's your turn to make dinner. And we'll always have each other. The world might change but we won't."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Sloppy Joes will always be home", the blonde smiled kissing her.
Their lip lock was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"You expecting anyone?"
"No", Peyton shrugged. "Maybe it's just Brooke or Hales dropping by."
"Let's hope for Haley", Anna winked as she went to answer it.
Ever since the coming out party, Brooke had been fascinated with the details of the couple's life and seemingly everything lesbian. She didn't mean any harm and was genuinely interested in her friends' new relationship but it got annoying after a little while.
Anna opened the door and gasped. It was worse than Brooke. Far worse. It was her parents.
"Mama! Papa! What are you doing here?"
"We just wanted to see you, Mija", her mother smiled, hugging her.
"What can we say? Can't get enough of our college graduate. We're so proud of you, Anna", her father added.
"Hey Anna, the light bulb just blew in the bedroom. Are there any…"
"Peyton. What a…surprise", Mrs. Garcia said through pursed lips.
"Oh. Mr. Garcia, Mrs. Garcia. It's nice to see you."
"Yes. We were just visiting our daughter. We didn't know she had company."
Company, Peyton thought.
"Actually, I…"
"Actually Peyton stopped by but she was just leaving. Weren't you, Pey?"
Peyton was shocked and hurt. She was tired of hiding their love. She was tired of the hold the Garcia's held over their daughter. She bit her lip as she looked over at Anna's pleading brown eyes.
"Uh, yeah. Sure. I was just taking off. Um, I guess I'll see you later, Anna."
With that, she grabbed her keys and bags and headed out to her car in the parking lot. Being in a same sex relationship was indeed difficult but the difficulty wasn't stemming from outside interference and ignorance. It was Anna and her fears making the situation harder than it had to be.
Peyton drove and drove and somehow ended up across town at the Café.
"Sorry, we're closed…"
"Oh. I didn't see the sign, Karen. I'm sorry…"
"Hey Peyton", the older woman smiled. "Didn't realize it was you. Come on in."
"Are you sure it's cool?"
"I was closing up but you look like you could use a cup of coffee…and a friend, maybe?"
Peyton managed a smile.
"Thanks."
"Now what's up? Talk to me."
"It's nothing really. Just uh…relationship problems."
"Everything okay?"
The younger girl blushed, not knowing how Karen would react.
"Um, I don't know if you know and I don't know how you feel about this sort of thing but uh…I…I'm dating someone new and uh…it's…it's, it's another girl."
"Anna?" Karen asked, not missing a beat.
"Yeah. Wow. How did you know? Lucas?"
"No. It wasn't that hard to figure out seeing you two together."
"That obvious, huh?"
"We can't help who we fall in love with, Peyton. That's both the beauty and the downfall of love. It sees no gender or age or color. Sometimes it creates a problem but only if we let it."
"I love Anna and she loves me and when we're together, it's great but…"
"But?"
"We told our friends and everyone was cool with it, even Brooke. And I totally plan to tell Dad when he comes back in a few weeks. He'll be surprised but it's not like he's going to disown me or anything. I'm his daughter."
"Okay, so I take it Anna hasn't told her folks yet."
"No. And they just showed up at our place, our one bedroom shared apartment and seemed less than pleased to find me there so Anna told them I was just visiting and on my way out."
"I'm sorry, hon."
"It hurts. It's like she's ashamed of me."
"It's tough. I'll go out on a limb and play Devil's advocate for a bit but she's probably scared. Not all people are liberal or tolerant and parents can tend to be overprotective of their children. Sometimes you have this vision of what your child is supposed to be or do and when they defy those expectations, it can hurt."
"I understand that but I can't be with someone who won't acknowledge me at certain times, Karen. I know we're up against the world. I'm willing to endure whatever because I know I'm not doing anything wrong and because that's how much I love Anna. If she's not with me on this, then…I don't know."
"Talk to her, Peyton. You guys love each other. Tell her how you feel. Try to work it out. This is the beginning of the rest of your life. This should be the happiest and most exciting time right now."
"I know. It's just that crap with Anna and now school is over and…"
"You graduated and you have a degree and you're gonna find a great job."
"Maybe. I don't know. Karen, my heart's not in it. I made a mistake. Business isn't my passion. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. Even if I find a good job that pays well, I know I'll never be happy being some paper pusher stuck behind a desk doing the nine to five thing."
Karen smiled as she put away a rack of dishes.
"A light bulb just went off in my head."
"Uh oh."
"I'm serious. I have this idea. Deb and I have been going over it. I want to open a club here in Tree Hill. We could use that space upstairs in the back. Tric is a name I thought of."
"Sounds good", Peyton nodded. "What's stopping you guys?"
"Well, we're busy with the café for starters plus there's a lot of work to start your own business. Finances and accountants and investors. Then there are ideas for setting it up and decorating and all kinds of stuff."
"It would take a lot of Internet research and probably lots of meetings with your backers. But you could set up the bar and like maybe one night of the week could be Salsa night, one night Country, one night, Rock, one night Hip Hop and oh and All Ages Night, you know to give the kiddies a cool, safe place to party."
"Peyton, those ideas are excellent."
"Thanks."
"Which brings me to why I brought this up. Like I said, Deb and I need help. What do you say you come in with us as an equal partner?"
"A partner?" Peyton nearly spit out her coffee. "Seriously?"
"Sure. It beats being stuck in a stuffy office all day. Why don't you think about it and get back to me? If you choose to, we draw up a legal deal making us partners. If not, then that's perfectly fine. No hard feelings."
Peyton grinned. It was like a direct answer to all her prayers. Suddenly a bright spot at the end of a very dark tunnel.
"Yes!"
"Excuse me?"
"Yes! I'll do it, Karen. I'm in."
Karen laughed.
"Okay. Deb and I would love to have you but are you sure you don't need a few days to think about it?"
"No. No, I don't. My mind is made up."
"Good", Karen smiled, extending her hand. "Welcome aboard, partner."
Peyton shook it with happiness and confidence.
"This is the best decision I've made in a long time. Thanks…partner."
