Thursday 10th January 2030
Sam was parked outside of Ella and Daniel's secondary school with the intention to pick her daighter up because it was freezing cold outside and it was also very icy and she didn't want any accidents. Daniel, who was 15 years old, had already gone home earlier though, and she was only there because Ella, who was 11 years old, had stayed behind for astronomy club and finally, Sam spotted her daughter coming out of the front gates with a female friend. Ella obviously hadn't seen her mother as she and her friend paused and looked at each other and Sam frowned as they talked for a few moments, before they both very slowly leant in and their lips touched briefly before they pulled away.
"See you on Monday." The girl waved before she walked away and Ella smiled to herself before her eyes flew open as she noticed her mum looking at her through the car windscreen. Slowly, she walked over and then unusually got into the back seat rather than the passenger seat.
"Who was that?" Sam asked slowly as she grinned at her daughter's uncharacteristically shy behaviour.
"Ivy. I said about how I hated going to astronomy club because I was the only girl there, and she offered to come with me." Ella explained simply.
"And?"
"And what?"
"And do you know now?" Sam asked as though it was an obvious question. "You've said before about how you didn't know about your sexuality, but you haven't said anything else to me about it." Sam explained but Ella remained silent. "So you are lesbian then?" Sam asked.
"I think so, yeah." Ella nodded.
"And have you told anyone except me and that girl?" Sam asked.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I've only just realised I suppose. I've always been unsure until now but..."
"But now you know." Sam concluded and Ella nodded. "Are you going to tell your dad and your brother?" Sam asked.
"Um..."
"Trust me Ella, look I know your dad can be immature at times but he will accept you for who you are. I saw him today, trying to convince a patient's relative that his son wasn't an attention seeker just by saying that he was gay." Sam stated.
"Ella's got something to tell you." Sam said casually as though it was no big deal as she walked into the living room where Tom and Daniel were watching the TV.
"Yeah?" Tom questioned as his daughter stood in front of him and stuttered as she tried to find the right words.
"I um... For a while I-I've known that I'm not really attracted to boys but now I realise that I'm... I'm gay." Ella said quietly.
"Well done on coming out sis." Daniel smiled.
"What?"
"Oh come on, you think I haven't noticed that you're probably one of the few girls in your year group that's got posters of Jessica Ennis-Hill, Rebecca Adlington and Heather Peace on your wall instead of one direction and the vamps?" Daniel grinned.
"So you're okay with it?" Ella asked nervously.
"Yeah, of course we are. It takes a lot of courage to come out and I'm proud of you for doing it." Tom said as he got up and hugged his daughter. "Though I must admit this is the first I've known of it, I didn't think anything of those posters." He added humourously.
"Told you he'd be fine with it." Sam said smugly. "Right, seeing as you two have been home before us two I'm sure you've already got dinner planned and started haven't you?" Sam said sarcastically to her husband and son.
"Yeah it's called ordering a pizza." Tom quipped.
"Haha." Sam said sarcastically.
"I'm being serious, come on we haven't had a takeaway at all this year." Tom pleaded.
"That's because we're only ten days into the new year you moron." Sam replied.
"Please mum?" Daniel begged.
"Fine, we can have a takeaway but we're not having a pizza."
"Indian?" Tom suggested.
"No because we can't have any of the spicy food because of you two being wimps and you can only have a chicken korma so many times before it gets boring." Ella stated bluntly.
"We're not wimps. Some people can tolerate spicy food, others can't. It's not my fault it's the way I was born and I can't help it." Tom protested.
"How about Thai?" Sam suggested.
"No I hate Thai food. Their green curry tastes like washing up liquid." Tom complained.
"How would you know what washing up liquid tastes like?" Sam questioned.
"You don't?" He joked.
"How about we just get a Chinese?" Daniel suggested.
"Or even better, a Chinese buffet." Ella smiled.
"No no no no no, I'm never having a Chinese buffet ever again in my life." Sam protested.
"Why not?" Ella asked innocently.
"Because when she was pregnant with you, she got food poisoning from a Chinese buffet and she got very ill." Tom explained to his daughter.
"Well we won't go to that one then, we can go to a different restaurant." Ella stated.
"No, it's not just that Ella. She doesn't want to risk it. Imagine if you were pregnant, waddling about all day and then you got stuck down with food poisoning." Tom said on behalf of his wife.
"But yet she'll still eat a Chinese takeaway?" Daniel pointed out. "I do not get women."
"Neither do I mate." Tom grinned. "In fact, speaking of women, when are we gonna meet this 'Elodie' that you're forever texting and talking about?" Tom asked his son.
"Unfortunately, she wants to meet my family." Daniel admitted.
"Well considering you've been round her house god knows many times why don't you invite her around here?" Tom grinned.
"Because I know you're going to embarrass me." Daniel stated bluntly.
"Like I'd ever do such a thing." Tom said innocently.
"Invite her round tomorrow and I promise he'll bite his tongue." Sam ordered.
"Oi, you can't promise on my behalf." Tom protested.
"Tom." Sam said sternly.
"Fine. I promise to behave." Tom said like a naughty school boy.
"I'll cook my famous spaghetti carbonara from scratch." Sam stated.
"You'll have to do it without the pancetta, she's a vegetarian."
"Ooooohh." Tom said mockingly.
"Right that's dinner for tomorrow sorted but can we please sort out dinner for tonight because I'm starving." Ella declared.
Friday 11th January 2030
After pleading with Sam to no avail, Daniel was forced to sit at the dining table with his girlfriend, Elodie, rather than being able to go and eat up on his room with her because he knew Tom was just waiting for the right moment to embarrass him.
"Thank you Mrs Kent." Elodie smiled as Sam placed a plate of steaming spaghetti carbonara in front of her and then Sam sat down herself. She had done the recipe without pancetta for everyone because she didn't want to do a special dish for Elodie and make her feel awkward.
"Please, call me Sam." Sam smiled as the family began eating until Tom spoke up.
"So Elodie, Daniel tells me you've got a French background." He began to make conversation.
"Yes, um, my mum is French, born in Lille, and she came over to England when she had graduated from university because she had a job lined up over here. My mum can speak fluent French and English and she tries to speak French as much as she can at home with me to help me learn." Elodie stated.
"That must be useful with your studies." Tom pointed out and Sam and Ella were just trying not to burst out laughing at how civilised he was being.
"Yeah it is a lot actually, and I'm doing French and Spanish so it can be hard but learning one new language actually makes it easier to learn another so..." She replied.
"And what are your plans after you leave Holby Secondary?" Tom asked.
"I've got an offer for Holby Community College to study further maths, French, physics, chemistry and geography."
"You're taking 5 a-levels? That sounds quite a lot of work." Sam pointed out as her son was only doing 4.
"Considering she gets A*s in her GCSEs without even having to revise, I'm sure she can handle it." Daniel smiled.
"Can I be excused from the table to go and puke?" Ella requested.
"Oi, you'll be like this one day with your girlfriend." Tom pointed out.
"Um, girlfriend?" Elodie questioned.
"Yeah. That's not a problem is it?" Tom demande.
"No, no of course not. My best friend is gay." Elodie replied quickly.
"Ignore him, he's just way too protective." Sam stated as she discreetly kicked Tom under the table.
Later on, Daniel and Elodie were lying on their backs on the trampoline in the garden, looking up at the stars in the dark winter sky.
"You do realise that my mum and dad are probably watching us through the net curtains right now, right?" Daniel asked.
"Well then, let's give them something to watch." Elodie replied as she turned to the side and kissed Daniel on the lips. After pulling apart for a few moments, she leant back in and lingered against his lips for a little longer before she pulled away and then she laid on ever side next to him and put one arm across his torso. Daniel knew if Tom was watching at that moment, he would be going ballistic so he put one arm around her shoulders and smiled to himself as he looked back up at the stars. "Is it true? What all the boys say about you?" She asked eventually.
"Depends what they say about me." Daniel smirked before his face fell as he realised she was being serious.
"That you don't do relationships; you just sleep with a girl and then dump her and grab the next one."
"Of course not. Look I let the boys had their fun but I'm nothing like that. I've never even slept with a girl before. I'm 15 and I bet 3/4 of the people in our year group haven't slept with anyone yet, everyone just says they have because they think they're cool."
"It's so weird. You're so different to who you appear to be at school."
"And is that a good thing?"
"Definitely." She smiled as she rested the side of her face on his chest. "Are you wearing aftershave?"
"Yeah, I always do." Daniel stated.
"I've never noticed."
"Well maybe you just never get close enough to smell it."
"Then maybe I should get closer more often." Elodie whispered.
"Can't you just go out there and offer them a hot chocolate or something?" Tom moaned as he watched his son outside whilst he knelt on the ensuite bathroom's toilet, looking out into the garden.
"Tom they're only cuddling." Sam stated from the bedroom whilst her daughter also looked out the bathroom window.
"And snogging." Ella added.
"They kissed, trust me Ella you'll know snogging when you see it." Sam stated bluntly. "Oh, I've just remember you need your clotting factor infusion tonight don't you?"
"Yes." Ella huffed.
"Don't huff at me like that, if you didn't have your infusion you'd bleed a hell of a lot heavier than you do normally, is that what you want?"
"No."
"Well, then come on. I'll hook you up now." Reluctantly Ella left the bathroom and followed her mother whilst Tom continued to watch his son and partner.
"Bye." Daniel waved as his girlfriend walked out to her mum's car and then drove off so Daniel closed the front door. "You are so embarrassing!" Daniel exclaimed to his father.
"Why? I didn't do anything!"
"First you sang in the shower so that we could hear you, then you came out and started showing Elodie how you could twitch your 'pecks'-"
"Oh c'mon, you gotta admit that was funny." Ella grinned.
"Look Daniel at the end of the day if she loves you then she's not gonna let an embarrassing father get in the way of your relationship." Tom stated.
"Well, whatever. I'm going to bed." Sam muttered before she went upstairs and Tom frowned before he ran upstairs and chased Sam upstairs.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Tom asked softly.
"Who said anything was wrong?" Sam protested innocently.
"But the way you said you were coming up I thought... Well you sounded upset." Tom stated confusedly.
"I'm fine, I'm just tired so I'm gonna have an early night." Sam stated.
"Alright well, night night. I'll probably just take the dogs out and then come and join you." Tom admitted as he leant over his wife and pecked her on the forehead as she got comfortable in bed. "Night night." He whispered.
Coming up : Sam and Tom talk to their children about funding their university education, and then they book a family holiday with their kids partners.
Thanks for reading, please review :)