Episode 11 - Changing Hearts
Written by: Fun But Shy Girl
Based on Characters Created by: Mark Reisman
Many Years Ago:
A fifteen year old Emmy Mendoza was walking alone down a sidewalk on a cold winter night. Emmy then approached a house with a light on outside and soon knocked on the door. The door soon opened, and an older teenage boy appeared who said, "Emmy?" Emmy who had a sad look on her face said, "Alex. My parents kicked me out of the house yesterday and... look, I'll explain more but... you're my cousin. Can you please let me in?" Emmy's cousin: Alex, looking a bit frustrated then said, "Emmy, your parents already called us. They told us everything. They said you got yourself a girlfriend; going against all the things we were told a family is supposed to look like in church. I mean do you know how freaking disappointed everyone is with you!?" A very sad looking Emmy then said, "Look... please. You gotta help me. We're family." Then a mad looking Alex said, "How do you know what a real family is supposed to look like anymore? Until you do, you're no family of mine." Then Alex closed the door on Emmy. Emmy then began to cry as she walked away into the cold night.
Present Day:
Emmy and Olive were painting a large banner in their living room that said: Mothers That Stand With Pride. Their son Barry then stepped into the room and said, "Okay. I found the extra supplies you both wanted. Now is it okay if I go to my room and call Alisha?" A smiling Olive then said, "Sure. Oh, she's coming to the Pride Parade tomorrow with your Aunt Sydney right?" Barry looking a bit uncomfortable said, "Ma, can you not refer to my girlfriend's mother as my aunt. You and Alisha's mother are best friends; not sisters." Emmy giggled briefly and then said, "Speaking of siblings, are all your brothers coming Olive?" Olive smiled as she said, "Yep. Them and all my cousins. Your siblings and cousins are coming too, right?" Emmy sighed briefly and said, "Yeah. All except for Alex obviously." Barry looking a bit curious then said, "What's the deal with this cousin Alex I've never met?" Olive looked at Barry as she said, "He... never approved of me and your mom's marriage." Then Emmy said, "But we continue to pray for him because he is your family." A still curious Barry then said, "But by blood or marriage?" Olive then looking slightly nervous said, "Barry, we told you. We're both your mothers, and our family trees are forever your family tree." Barry then raised an eyebrow as she said, "Sure. Whatever you say." Barry then walked out of the room.
Once he was gone, Emmy looked at Olive as she said, "Olive, we have to tell him one day. He keeps getting more curious about which of us is his actual biological mother. He needs to know it really is both of us." Olive then looking more nervous now said, "But... what if he freaks out? I mean... I did an untested science experiment on your genetic material and my body and sort of created him by accident. He'll think he's a freak of nature." Then Emmy held Olive's hands and said, "No. He'll finally know he truly belongs to both of us in every sense of the definition. He'll finally see himself as the miracle child we always see him as." Then Olive looking very skeptical said, "But... it's not just our lives that will be disrupted. It'll be the whole world. Emmy... as soon as we make my research and what I did become public... everything changes. Lesbian couples, gay couples, all sorts of transgender couples... they'll all finally be able to have kids with both of their genetic material regardless of their gender and biology. And that'll cause certain groups of people to freak out. I mean the amount of hate that'll be thrown at us..." Emmy then interrupted Olive and said, "Olive... we've been receiving hate all our lives for just being who we are, and sadly... it'll never stop. Even if every country in the world made gay/lesbian marriage legal, there would still be hate thrown at us from terrible groups of individuals. Unfortunately the hearts and minds of people cannot change overnight whether you do a major shake up of society or not. However we can combat that hate if we come together by changing the hearts of each individual we slowly come across in time: with the love and peace we wish to share with them." Olive smiled as she said, "Emmy... I made be the award winning scientist... but you are the real genius in this family." Emmy smiled and then she kissed Olive.
Many Years Ago:
An eighteen year old Emmy Mendoza walked over to her cousin Alex as he was stepping out of his car. Emmy waved her hand and said, "Hey Alex." A confused looking Alex then said, "Emmy? What are you doing here?" Emmy held out a card as she said, "I wanted to invite you... to me and my girlfriend's wedding. It's in June." Alex looking frustrated said, "I think you know what my answer is." Emmy looking a bit hopeful though said, "Look, I know the way I've chosen to live my life comes as a shock. But my parents have finally come around, and they're gonna be there. Your parents are too. We're family Alex. Can you please come?" Alex then looked at Emmy with hate in his eyes as he said, "You know it's people like you and your girlfriend that are ruining this country. Society is built on the traditional family that is led by a man and a woman. It's the way it's been forever. But now our nation and it's values are crumbling thanks to people like you." Emmy looking shocked said, "Alex... I'm not trying to cause anyone any harm. If you only met Olive, and see how much she means to me, you'd realize..." An angry Alex then yelled, "You're ruining the world Emmy. Now get of my sight. You sicken me!" Tears then began to come from Emmy's eyes, as she turned her back to Alex, and walked away.
The Present:
A large Pride Parade was in full swing in downtown Portland, Oregon. Emmy and Olive were both wearing bright yellow dresses and walking together smiling as they held their banner together each with one hand, while waving rainbow flags with their other hands. As the two women walked together, a smiling Olive then said, "You know it's on days like these... I actually feel like the world really is getting better." Then a grinning Emmy looked at Olive as she said, "My world is always better... because you're in it." Olive smiled at Emmy, but then suddenly... the sound of a bomb going off nearby was heard. Smoke suddenly filled the parade, as the sounds of screams were heard. Then as the smoke slowly began to clear, suddenly three men with guns appeared, and suddenly began firing bullets in many directions. People everywhere began to scream and run. Olive and Emmy dropped their banner as they held hands, and ran. However in the chaos and confusion of people running everywhere, Olive and Emmy let go of each other, and suddenly Emmy found herself unable to spot Olive. Emmy turned her head and suddenly became scared as the three gun men came towards her. However then several police came out of the nearby smoke and tackled two of the gun men from behind and onto the ground where they were detained. The last gun man though pointed his gun at Emmy and said, "This ends now!" Then as the last of the smoke began to clear, Emmy could now clearly see the gun man's face as she said, "Wait... Alex!?"
Emmy could now clearly see her cousin Alex was the one standing in front of her with a gun pointed at her head. Alex with hate in his eyes said, "Emmy. Why am I not surprised you're here." A confused looking Emmy then yelled, "Alex... what are you doing here!?" Alex then bitterly yelled, "Our nation is being destroyed by all you ridiculous prideful people with your harmful ways. When you make this country not believe marriage should belong to a man or a woman, it results in this nation not wanting to believe marriage should be between two people anymore, and then it results in families breaking down, kids doing drugs, gangs rising. It's all real!" Several police then began to close in on Alex, but stood back as Emmy continued to talk to Alex as she said, "Alex, what are you trying to accomplish here? What do you think all of this will get you!?" Alex then angerly said, "We need to wake up this country. We need to get the conversations on the news back to restoring the true American family. And once we do, then all of the politicians will make traditional marriage the only legal marriage again! Then our nation will be filled with only loving families again!" A frustrated Emmy then yelled, "Love!? You're doing this for love!? Look around you Alex! Does anything you've done here represent love in the slightest!?" Alex then began to shift his eyes around, and began to see people lying on the ground in pain, while others ran away in fear. Suddenly a look of sadness went across Alex's eyes as he slowly lowered his gun. Then suddenly several police ran at Alex and tackled him to the ground. From nearby, Olive then ran over to Emmy and hugged her as she said, "Emmy! Thank God, you're okay!" Emmy then hugged Olive back, as one police officer waved to Emmy and said, "Good job m'am. No one's in critical condition here thanks to you distracting him." Emmy waved back to the officer but kept her eyes on Alex as he was taken away in handcuffs by the police.
Many Years Ago:
A twenty two year old Olive sat on her bed with a blanket over her head, as Emmy walked into the home and said, "Hey babe. How did your trip to go see Sydney go? Is she... Ummm. Babe, you okay?" Olive silently turned her head under the blanket. Emmy then sat on the bed and said, "Olive... why are you hiding under the blanket?" Olive without moving said, "I don't know." Then Emmy picked up the blanket and said, "Okay. Make some room." Emmy then put the blanket over both her head and Olive's as she said, "Okay. What's wrong?" Olive looked down with tears in her eyes as she softly said, "Emmy... I'm pregnant." Emmy's eyes widened as she said, "What? Did you get an artificial insemination without me or something?" Olive turned her head and then said, "No. You see my big science project I've been working on this whole year... it was an experiment to see if I could create artificial male reproductive material using a female's genetic code. So remember when I did that blood test on you? Well that was actually part of my experiment. I turned your DNA into artificial sperm which I injected into my body. It was only a small amount, as I just wanted to see if my body would accept it. But... it did, and now... I'm pregnant." Emmy looked astonished as she said, "Wait. You're saying my DNA knocked you up?" Tears appeared in Olive's eyes as she said, "I am so sorry I didn't get your consent. I was just so focused on making a big scientific breakthrough, that it didn't occur to me till it happened that I..." Suddenly Olive was interrupted by Emmy kissing her. Once the kiss finished, a smiling and excited looking Emmy said, "Olive, this is a miracle! We're actually having a baby that's going to have both a little bit of you and me. This is the happiest day of my life." Emmy then hugged Olive, as Olive said, "I'm so glad you're happy Emmy. I'm sorry I didn't tell you what I was doing, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Emmy then looked into Olive's eyes as she said, "It's okay Olive. I know the timing isn't perfect from our point of view, but it's apparently the perfect time in Gods' eyes."
Present Day:
Emmy sat in front of a window in a prison. Soon she saw her cousin Alex approach her from the other side of the window. The two both reached out, grabbed a nearby corded phone, and began to talk to one another. Emmy looking a bit uncertain of what to say, then said, "So... how you doing in here?" Alex looking uncertain of how to respond, then said, "Well... you're the first person to visit me since I got thrown in here." Emmy looking confused then said, "No one else has visited you?" Alex sighed and said, "Nope. Not anyone from the family, and not anyone from my... group I belonged to. You know... those guys said they'd always have my back and would be ready to help me out no matter what. But as soon as I got thrown in here... they all decided to act like they don't know me now. You know... I did everything they ordered me to do. And now..." Alex found himself unable to finish his last sentence as he looked down. Emmy then looked right at Alex as she said, "I'm sorry you weren't surrounded by the right kind of people." Alex then looked up at Emmy as he said, "We... we just wanted to change the minds of the people in charge of our country. We... we just wanted to do what was best for our nation. We... we honestly believe we were on a holy mission, and that meant nothing could stop us." Emmy then said, "I get you may have believed you had good intentions. But holy missions don't involve using bombs and guns on the defenseless. And even if you changed the laws of our government in one swift action, you wouldn't change the hearts of all the people. People's morals and values rarely shift with the changing of laws. However if you want to change the moral and ethical compass of a nation... well that only happens slowly... through one peaceful interaction or event at a time."
Then Alex looked up and said, "Well... maybe my group didn't think things through clearly. If I ever get out of here, my hope is I'll be able to make up with my group and get a chance to smooth things over with them." A confused Emmy then said, "Wait. Why? You just said they turned their back on you. Why would you want to try to fix things with them now?" Then Alex with a straight forward tone said, "Because... they were my brothers in Christ. They were Godly men. They deserve to hear that I forgive them. They were..." Then Emmy interrupted Alex and said, "They were not Godly men. If they were, they would've continued to support you, and more importantly: not lead you to prison! You don't need validation from them. You don't need to approach them with forgiveness. They need to approach you and apologize for what they did first. And if they never reach out and sincerely apologize to you, then they should never have a place in your life again." Alex then looked down for a minute with a silent look. Then Alex looked right at Emmy as he said, "Emmy... I... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I... I hurt you... in so many ways. There's nothing I can do to make up for it." Emmy then took a deep breath, and said, "Alex... you're family... and if you really are sorry... then I'm willing to help you repair our family."
Many Years Ago:
A twenty two year old Olive and Emmy lay alone in their bed as their eyes were wide awake. As the two young woman turned on their sides to look at each other, Olive said, "So... you're still excited about the baby we're gonna have?" Then Emmy said, "Of course I am. Are... are you? I mean I hope Sophia coming over didn't spoil the mood." Olive turned her head and said, "Of course not. Honestly, it was nice to take my mind off all of this for a few hours. But now that we're thinking about it again... when are we gonna tell everyone?" Emmy with an excited look said, "Olive, we have to tell the world! You're the first woman in history to get pregnant from another woman!" Then Olive held Emmy's hands and said, "But Emmy... if we tell the world... then our family is going to be examined and watched for the rest of our lives. I may have done this experiment at first to bring myself fame. But now... I want our miracle to just be our miracle. We need it to be our secret... except from our families and closest friends of course." Emmy nodded her head as she said, "Okay. But... is it okay if I tell the whole world I love you so freaking much. Because Olive... I love you more than I ever have before today." Olive grinned as she said, "That's okay with me."
Present Day:
Olive stood in a small room wearing a long black dress looking nervous, as Emmy sat in a nearby chair. Olive began to pace back and forth as she said, "Oh my God. I am a nervous wreck. I am such a nervous wreck." Emmy with a little smile said, "You're gonna be great babe." Then Olive looked at Emmy as she said, "But once this announcement happens... Emmy, our lives will be forever changed. People may try to attack us again for changing society too much, our family will be over examined, I may go down in history as an insane mad scientist..." Then Emmy stood up and held Olive's hands as she said, "And if you do, they'll have to note you were also madly in love with me. And the research you're about to share... it'll allow other couples like us to finally experience the same miracle we experienced. Plus, you said it yourself: this research could also lead to the beginning of another miracle: ending most forms of genetic diseases. Lets not hold these miracles back any longer. It's worth the risk." Then a door opened, and Barry stepped in as he said, "Ma, they're ready for you." Olive looked at Barry as she said, "Okay. You ready for this too Barry? I know the conversation we had the other night was a little weird for you." Then Barry said, "Yeah, it was. But... you two are my moms. You'll always be weird to me. But knowing my name is going to be forever in every biology book for the rest of time is a pretty sweet deal." Olive smiled, and then she, Emmy, and Barry hugged one another. Olive then walked out of the room and towards a stage where she stood before over a thousand people. Olive went over to a microphone and then spoke into it as she said, "Ladies and gentleman. My name is Olive Rozalski, and have a special announcement today that is going to change the scientific world forever..."
THE END
*Author's Note - Thank you to all who have continued to read and support my work. Apologies that it took awhile for this episode to come out. After the very well received and personal favorite story I wrote last episode, I was uncertain that I could ever again write another episode that could properly top/maintain the quality of the previous one. I can only pray I've created another episode that will be enjoyed by the masses. Moving forward with my Sydney to the Max stories, you may see a decrease in content over time. This is due to personal reasons, and due to my desire to only create the best of the best content going forward (which means it'll take longer to make any new stories, period). Please be patient, and please enjoy reading my large back log of stories in the mean time if you haven't already. Lots of love - Fun But Shy Girl