Teach Me 12

Teach Me 12

A month later, they finally catch the man who threatened Mellissa, and by now the pandemonium surrounding her "outing" has slowed down, seeing as how she's refusing to resign and the school is refusing to let anyone bully her out of it. The schoolboard has had plenty of meetings that parents have been invited to that have discussed the importance of equality both in and out of the classroom, and why it's important to show our students that it's all right to be themselves. Several students have been relocated to different schools, even different towns. But the parents that have stayed seem determined to prove that they're different, and I'm actually impressed that they're willing to try to change their views. Their kids, however, just seem to only care that they can still see their friends.

Graduation. My little girl is graduating kindergarten! She's got a little cap and gown and she decorated it and everything! I can't stop taking pictures!
"Mommy, we gotta go!" Abby pouts after posing for what might be the twentieth picture. "Mama's already there!"
"Oh, I know, honey! I'm just so proud of you!" I smile, pulling her into a hug. "You made it through your first year of school and survived. Now the rest of school is gonna be a breeze!"
She rolls her eyes at that, something she's definitely learned from me. "Mommy, Hannah says high school is super hard. Her big sissy's in high school and she's always complaining."
"Well, she's probably just not working very hard, then," I tell her. "But you'll have me and Mama to help you if you get stuck, ok?"
"Always?" she asks.
I tuck her curls behind her ear and kiss her cheek. "Always. Come on, let's go see Mama."
The elementary auditorium is covered in streamers of gold and green, and there are matching balloons everywhere. There are already parents waiting in their seats with cameras just like me. I'm so excited. My baby girl graduating her first year of school! I'm so proud! And next week, we're going to Disney World to celebrate! She and Mellissa are so excited! They both jumped around and screamed when I told them I bought our planet tickets.
The audience lights dim, and everyone hushes as Mellissa and the other kindergarten teacher, Mrs Briggs, lead their students up onto the risers on the stage. Mellissa is wearing a long, dark green dress that probably looks casual to anyone else, but to me, it makes her look like royalty. She smiles at me when she meets my eyes before walking to the podium.
"Well, I know you're not here to listen to me talk, so I'll make this quick," she grins, making us laugh. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to kindergarten graduation. Your children have made it through their first year of elementary school and now they're onto first grade and it's only gonna get tougher from here. They'll encounter more than fingerpaint in their hair and strange stains on their clothes when they get home. But school isn't just a place where you're forced to sit down and repeat what you've been spoonfed; at least, I hope that's not what it's become. School is a place where you're taught that learning is a neverending process. That life is about learning and learning from mistakes and past mistakes and new mistakes and planning for future mistakes and being spontaneous and ridiculous and that's what school is meant to teach you."
She turns to all her kids and smiles. "So, as we hand you your diplomas, I hope you realize that no matter how old you squirts get, school never stops."
A couple of kids groan, but I don't think they were in her class. Everyone in the audience claps, and I wipe my eyes as Abby claps the loudest on the risers. Mrs Briggs goes first, handing out the little diplomas to her students and patting their back as they head back to their spot. Then it's Mellissa's turn, and her students each give her a high-five before they return to their spot. I record with a smile as she calls "Abigail Cunningham", and our daughter runs over and gives her a hug. Once everyone has their diploma, they throw their caps into the air as we cheer. It's almost exactly like how I imagine Abby's high school graduation to be like, except Mellissa will be by my side -and she'll probably be shouting while I'll be crying.
After the ceremony, there's cake and punch in the cafeteria, but Abby just wants to go home, so Mellissa bids "good-bye" to her kids and pulls Abby up on her shoulders, and we head home.
"Mama, are you gonna stay the night?" Abby asks while I change her into pyjamas.
"Yeah, babydoll, I'm gonna stay the night," Mellissa smiles, hanging up Abby's cap and gown in her closet. "Want me to make pancakes in the morning?"
Abby yawns and nods her head. "With blueberry syrup?"
Mellissa chuckles and nods her head. "Sure, sweet girl. With lots of blueberry syrup."
We tuck Abby into bed and kiss her forehead before we head to our bedroom. She still hasn't officially moved in, but by now we consider everything "ours".
"So, ready to have a hyperactive first grader next year?" she asks as we change into our own pyjamas.
"I don't even remember first grade," I smile.
"Yeah, me neither," she smirks. "Hopefully, Abby will."
I climb onto the bed and wrap my arms around her, kissing the side of her neck. "I really, really, reeeeally love you, Mellissa."
"Whoah, three 'really's'? You DO love me!" She turns around and tackles me to the bed, smothering my neck in kisses. "I really, really, really love you, too, Olivia," she murmurs into my ear. "God, I love you. You're amazing."
We hold each other for a little while. I love feeling her above me, solid and warm, and she still smells like flowers all the time. And I love when all she does is rub my side under my shirt and kiss my neck and shoulder, like she's worshipping me. The knight and her queen.
"Hey, babe?" she starts softly after a few minutes.
"Hmm?" I hum.
She's quiet for a moment, and I feel her tense above me. "My, um, my mother called me yesterday. She saw our little video on Facebook, and...wanted to make sure I was ok."
"Oh, honey," I coo, rubbing her shoulder.
"We talked about a lot of things," she goes on. "What I've been up to since I...left. Y'know, kindergarten teacher an' all that, meeting you and Abby." Her hold on me tightens a little. "She actually sounded HAPPY, Olivia. She sounded happy that I have a family of my own, that I have you and Abby and that I'M actually happy. She didn't apologize for what happened, but she said that...maybe she could come up here sometime to meet you guys? I promise, she's actually one of the nicer family members! She can be kind of snippy sometimes, but she's really just insecure because she can't keep hold of a man, but she really is nice-"
"Mellissa," I interrupt, sitting up so she's in my lap. Her cheeks are red, her eyes already full of tears. "Honey, if this is important to you, then it's important to me. And I'd love to meet the woman who raised you to be this amazing."
She sniffles and buries her face in the crook of my neck. "Fuck, I love you, Olivia."
I can't help but smile as I rub her back. "I love you, too, Mellissa."

Two weeks later, I meet Rebecca Moore, Mellissa's mother. We go out to dinner at a decent family resteraunt, and I grip my partner's trembling hand as we talk lightly about Abby and how Mellissa and I met and fell in love. I find that this is the mixed woman Mellissa has a picture of in her house, and that the reason they have different last names is because Mellissa took her biological father's last name while Rebecca retains her last husband's surname. Rebecca does seem to be a nice enough woman, funny and even a bit awkward at social situations. She doesn't seem to be as disturbed with mine and her daughter's relationship as we'd feared. She even jokes about when she expects a wedding invitation and claps excitedly when Mellissa and I flush and tell her "soon". Mellissa's already told me to watch my back, "because you just don't know when I'll pop the question, baby".
So, yes, the dinner is a success, and Mellissa now has a healthy relationship restored with her mother, which we're both more than relieved about. Now we just have one more thing to worry about:
Disney World.