It was Thanksgiving day. Because we were in Florida, I tried a lot harder to suck up my annoyance with holidays. This was supposed to be a good trip. I was sure that I would get distracted and end up having fun.

The first new person we were introduced to was Callie's sister- Aria.

"Aria! This is my girlfriend, Arizona, and her daughter, Olivia. This is my older sister, Aria." Callie had an excited smile on her face.

Aria had that same type of smile, and she hugged Mom, then me.

"It is so nice to finally meet you two! Wow, she is a spitting image of you," Aria looked at me, then at Mom.

Mom laughed, wrapping her arm around my shoulders, "It is very nice to meet you too! She definitely looks at lot like me."

I just smiled a little, "Nice to meet you." I wasn't usually all that shy of a person. But, all these new people was a little nerve wracking.

Aria looked behind her, "Come here honey." She said, making a little boy come out and run up to her. "This is Elijah! Can you say hi to Arizona," She pointed to Mom, "And Olivia," She pointed to me.

He waved as Aria lifted him up. "I have no clue where my daughter is. You'll know when you see her, she's crazy for her Tia, once she knows Callie is here she won't be out of your sight," Aria laughed.

Mom smiled, waving at the little boy. He was probably around two years old. He was insanely adorable, too.

"Hey, Elijah! Look at you all cute in your bow tie." Mom said, making the boy giggle.

I watched as Callie kissed the little boys head, and then looked at us, "Come on, I want to introduce you to everyone."

I waved at Aria and Elijah as Callie led Mom and I through the house. She said this was her father's parents house. So, her grandparents. It was also a rather large home, like her parents. It was a little fancy, and all I could hear was the sound of people talking, even though I didn't really see that many people.

"Oh, Calliope, dear! Look at you!" A woman approached us, hugging Callie.

When they stopped hugging, Callie smiled brightly, "This is Arizona, my girlfriend, and her daughter, Olivia. Guys, this is my Tia Dania!"

"It's nice to meet you" Mom and I spoke in sync, and I giggled a little at that.

"Oh look at you two! So beautiful!"

"Aw, thank you." Mom smiled.

I just smiled too, I didn't know what really to say.

We moved through the house, meeting an insane amount of people. The majority of people greeted us with smiles, but I noticed how some people didn't really seem as enthusiastic. Callie didn't always say Mom was her girlfriend. She seemed a little nervous around some people more than others. I assumed maybe she wasn't close with all of them- there were a lot of people in her family.

One woman pulled Callie aside after we were introduced. I think Callie said it was one of her cousins. I was having trouble keeping track.

I heard the woman say, "How dare you bring them into Abuela's home?" And then their voices faded into the mixture of other people.

I looked up at Mom, who just shrugged a little. Neither of us knew what to do.

We just waited.

Callie came back over to us, that usual sparkle a little dimmer. She looked upset. Mom didn't ask. So, I stayed quiet.

Suddenly, a little girl with pigtails ran over to Callie.

"Tia! Tia! Pick me up!"

Callie smiled, but she still seemed a little upset. "There's my munchkin! I was wondering where in the world you were!" Callie exclaimed, picking up the girl.

"I was with Abuela! We were eating snacks!" The girl giggled.

"Oh, how fun! I have two people I really want you to meet!"

"Who? Who?"

Callie laughed, turning to fully face Mom and I. "This is Tia's special friend, Arizona. And Arizona has a daughter, Olivia!"

"Hi! I'm Lexi!" She bounced excitedly on Callie's hip.

"Hi Lexi! It is very nice to meet you, I love your dress!" Mom said. Lexi was wearing a brown dress, with dark red tights. Very Thanksgiving-y.

"I picked my own outfit! Mommy let me but she said that I had to make sure it matched!" Lexi had a lot of energy. She was young, though, understandable.

"You did a great job! It matches very well." Mom laughed a little.

Lexie smiled proudly.

"How old are you?" Mom asked.

"I'm..." Lexi held up four fingers. "One, Two, Three, Four!"

"Good job, Lex" Callie said, giving the girl a squeeze.

"Oh wow! And you are very good at counting!"

Lexi nodded, "I can count to twenty!"

"Woah! That's awesome!" Mom made a shocked face, and Lexi giggled.

I looked around the room. The woman from earlier was staring at us. I accidentally caught her eyes, and quickly looked away. Hopefully she didn't notice. I was pretty sure she didn't like Mom and I too much.

Within a few minutes, a different woman came up to us. I had already forgotten her name too. Oops.

"Alexandra, come with me, your Abuela wants to see you." She didn't look at Mom or I, and her voice was very firm.

Lexi pouted, but Callie put her down.

Callie laughed, "I'll see you soon Lex." She told her niece, who smiled and then ran off with the woman.

As if it was planned, a man came up to us next.

"Calliope, can I speak with you?"

"Sure!" Callie stepped closer to Mom.

"Privately?"

"It would be rude to leave my guests standing here alone. I'm sure what ever you have to say you can say now." Callie's voice was calm, but she still seemed nervous to me.

The man rolled his eyes, only glancing at Mom for a second. "I believe it is wrong for you to be showing your nieces and nephews that something like this is okay."

Something like this? I didn't know what he was talking about.

"Something like what?" Mom looked at Callie.

Callie glanced at Mom, and then I heard Mom say "Oh."

I still didn't get it.

"It is one thing for you to chose this lifestyle for yourself, but to force your family into it as well?"

Oh. I got it. I bit my cheek.

"I'm not forcing anyone into anything." Callie said simply. Sadly.

"It is very inappropriate. I hope you rethink your actions." The man walked away.

I saw Mom take Callie's hand in hers.

Callie looked hurt. So hurt. But, she took a deep breath, looking at Mom and I. "Are you guys hungry?"

"Calliope..." Mom started.

Callie shook her head, "Lex said there were snacks. Let's go get something to eat, yeah?"

Mom nodded, and I just followed behind.

It was awkward after that. Mom and I both knew what he had meant. Callie didn't want to talk about it.

They said a prayer before the meal, which I had never experienced before.

The meal was good. Lexi got a seat next to Callie, and talked to the three of us the whole time. She was a really sweet and happy kid I noticed. She made it a lot less awkward.

After the meal, though, the woman who took Lexi away earlier approached us.

"Calliope."

The way she said Callie's name wasn't happy or in a greeting type way. More of a statement. A firm, unhappy statement.

"What?" Callie asked. Mom grabbed her hand again. Which didn't go unnoticed by the woman. I forget if she was an aunt or a cousin- again, too many people to keep track.

"Did you not take anything your Tio said into consideration?"

Callie shrugged.

I stepped closer to Mom. Some sort of comfort. I didn't like this, it was making me feel anxious. The tone of voice, the confrontation.

"You are allowing the children to think this is okay."

"It is okay," Callie said quietly.

"What has gotten into you, Calliope?" The woman was mad.

I was worried. Mom seemed stiff. I knew she was worried, too.

"And you," She turned to Mom.

Please, no.

"To come into someone else's home and act this way. Your poor daughter being constantly exposed to such behavior. Disgusting."

"Don't talk to her that way!" Callie got mad.

I felt tears fill my eyes. I couldn't cry. I couldn't do it.

"Don't you disrespect me." The woman looked at Callie.

"No. Don't you disrespect me. Or my girlfriend." Callie looked at both Mom and I. "We're leaving." She said. Tears were also in her eyes. Her voice threatened to break.

Mom didn't say a word.