Chapter Six

"So, Jane, tomorrow's the big day. The big one-eight." her friend, Natalie, said to her as they walked towards the locker room from their last period class to get ready for softball practice.

"Yeah. And?" Jane responded.

"Are you going to tell them?"

"Sure, because then I'll be eighteen and suddenly I'll grow balls and be able to come out to my family." Jane said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I just can't believe you haven't told them yet."
"Look, Nat, there are a lot of things my family doesn't know. I didn't tell them after I figured it out after that date with Grant or when I started dating Lily. Or when she broke up with me a year later because she didn't like that our relationship was such a secret. No, I didn't tell them even then. I cried in my room, alone." she paused for a minute, allowing what she had just said sink into her friend's head. "I haven't even told Frankie, and you know how close we are."

"He is almost sixteen. I'm pretty sure he'd understand."
"Yeah, I know he would. But who knows how he'd react? What if he stops looking up to me? What if he hates me or never looks at me the same way? And I'd hate for him to have to hide things from my ma and pop."
"Well, maybe you could start by just telling Frankie. And maybe Tommy."

"Tommy's only thirteen. He may not understand."

"I'm pretty sure he understands what a lesbian is."

"Natalie, just stop. I'll tell them when I'm ready."

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Janie! Happy Birthday to you!" her family sang the next morning as she came into the kitchen to get breakfast.

"Here, Janie. I made a special breakfast just for you." Angela said, kissing her cheek and setting the plate down in front of her.

"Chocolate chip pancakes?! Thanks, Ma!" Jane replied, shoving a forkful in her mouth.

"So, what are your plans for today?" her pop asked, taking a sip from his coffee.

"Well, Natalie and Jeremy are throwing me a little party tonight at Natalie's house. But, I promised Frankie that we'd go to the park and play a little one-on-one so he'll be ready for basketball tryouts. Right, Frankie?"
"Yeah. Just you and me. Be prepared to lose!"
Jane laughed. "Okay, you keep telling yourself that, bro."
"Jane, why don't you take Tommy with you?" Angela asked.

"Ma, I promised Frankie it'd just be the two of us." Jane replied, calmly.

"Yeah, Ma." Frankie added.

"But Ma! I wanna go, too!" Tommy whined.

"Oh, stop your whining." Pop told him. "We'll do something together."

Jane and Frankie choked back laughter, knowing all too well what a day with Pop entailed. It meant a lot of cursing and yelling as he tried to fix a pipe or something. And then a two hour lecture on proper house maintenance. They both knew it was hell.

"Yeah, Tommy! You and Pop will have a great day together!" Jane teased, not letting her parents catch on to the sarcasm in her voice.

"C'mon, Jane. Let's go." Frankie said, walking towards the door.

"Alright, Frankie, let's take a break." Jane said between gasps of breath. She wiped away the sweat from her forehead. "You wanna get a hotdog?"

"Yeah. And water." Frankie added.

After they got their lunch, they sat down on a park bench. They sat in silence for several minutes, both waiting for the other to speak.

"Uh, Frankie?" Jane started.

"Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you about something for a minute? It's kinda serious."

"Yeah, sure. Is everything okay?"

Jane nodded and swallowed hard. She took a few deep breaths to try and calm her nerves. "Do you remember my friend Lily?"

"Yeah, you guys were super close for like a year and then never talked again."
"Yeah, well, um, the thing is…um, we stopped talking because…well, I'm…we were…it's just that…" Jane trailed off.

"Janie, I'm your brother. You can tell me anything. I don't say it enough, but I love you and look up to you. Nothing could ever change that. I'd never judge you, because I know you'd never judge me. So, just tell me."

"You're right, Frankie. Okay, here goes. Frankie, I'm gay."

"Yeah, I know."

"You know?! How do you know?!"

"I'm a sophomore. Not an idiot or oblivious. You're my sister, so I know you pretty damn well."

"No! There's no way you could have known! How long have you known? I only figured it out like four years ago."

"Well, you were never really girly, but I don't stereotype. But you never talked about guys. The only guy I remember is one date with Joey Grant. And then you started hanging around Lily. I saw the way you looked at her. She always made you smile. Then, I heard you crying in your room one night and after that Lily never came over. I had a feeling you guys had broken up. And then there's the fact that I saw you kiss her in her car one night when she dropped you off. Don't worry, though. I didn't tell Ma or Pop or Tommy. That's not something I would do."

"When did you get so smart?" Jane asked wistfully, pulling Frankie into a hug.

"I've always been smart."

"Oh, shush."

Frankie pulled away from her hug. "You gonna tell them soon?"

Jane shrugged. "I'm just glad I had the courage to tell you." Jane felt a tingling on her wrist and looked down to see the the black "R" that was forming. "C'mon, we gotta get home. I need a shower."

"You really do." Frankie said, making a face.

"Shut up!" Jane replied, shoving him playfully, suddenly feeling giddy. It was as if a little weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. "Race ya!" she screamed, taking off in the direction of their house.

Frankie smiled and shook his head, dashing after his older sister. Nothing had changed.

AN: Hope you enjoyed that! As always, reviews are welcome! One more chapter after this and then we meet Maura! I know that's what you've all been waiting for!