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Dawn honestly couldn’t explain how she felt in that very moment, in those very few seconds which ended up feeling like minutes, yet perhaps that in itself was a place to start things off.
Waiting for Mary-Anne’s response in regard to learning that her parents divorced because her father was in fact gay felt like eons. Her mind kept going back to how her father when he sat down and explained that he and her mother still loved her even though he really didn’t have to do so along with the fact she wasn’t the reason they were breaking up even though he didn’t need to, that she’d want to be careful regarding who she told because not everyone was as understanding and loving as her mother.
In fact, the reason they’d stayed together for so long was because of Dawn, yet in the back of Dawn’s mind, she couldn’t help but feel this was unfair to both. “Don’t ever forget that Dawn, that I love you for being yourself.”
In fact, she’d not planned on telling Mary-Anne that her father was gay, but she’d felt so lonely at school without a friend and didn’t expect anyone to approach her let alone speak to her. The fact slipped, her bubbly personality getting the better of her as well as the excitement, waiting for the ball to drop and her life at school to be ruined because as her father said there were individuals not as understanding and loving as her mother and of course Dawn after he’d sat down with her for the discussion.
Except, it never came.
Mary-Anne was surprisingly cool about the whole thing, though later on Dawn would learn Mary-Anne didn’t honestly feel cool. Of course, Dawn didn’t feel at all put-together like that either, given the fact, there were other things she knew people wouldn’t be comfortable with, such as her Aunt Esme being a Wiccan and how she and her mother attended meetings with them, not to mention the sharp tongue. Then again, she learned from Mary-Anne that the neighbor kids were in fact quite leery of her aunt, suspecting she was a witch.
She found herself thankful, so much for a friend, whose father let her invite Dawn’s family over for Thanksgiving without actually having met them before.
And yet, they had indeed met, which was an interesting turn of events.
Dawn had a lot to be thankful for, and not just a new friend. Her father and mother could now both be happy now that her father was choosing to be himself, a vital message he passed on despite the fact this didn’t make her feel any less nervous about being herself. She also felt warm and welcome in the community and didn’t think anything could wrong.