July 30, 2018

The day after the last race of the regatta, I didn't know what to do. There was no point in going sailing with Véro now that the regatta was over. I could text her and see if she wanted to do something anyways, but I didn't feel up to it, and I already knew that Eden was busy. Without the regatta in my life, I felt lost. The one goal that had dominated my whole summer was gone now.

The end of the regatta wasn't even my biggest problem. What bothered me most was Grandpa's reaction to my relationship with Véro. He wouldn't even speak to me, and even my parents were becoming distant, although they weren't nearly as homophobic as Grandpa. Everett was the only person in my family who didn't hate me now, and to thank him for that, I tried to be a little bit nicer to my little brother. The night after the regatta, I bought him a pint of Chocolate Oreo Volcano ice cream, his favorite flavor, and in return, he let me have the TV for once the morning afterwards. My relationship with Everett was better than ever - perhaps the only good thing that came out of my family finding out about Véro.

After rewatching The Incredibles, I decided to go sailing to clear my mind. Sailing always seemed to make me feel better, no matter what was bothering me. I didn't want to have to choose between my family and my girlfriend, but I was beginning to realize that was a choice that I would have to make, whether I wanted to or not. I left the TV remote on the couch and went outside. I looked toward the Arkouns' hammock, but Véro wasn't there, and I was fine with that. As much as I loved her, I needed some alone time to think things over, and she probably needed some time alone too.

I set up the sailboat, hopped inside, and set sail. However, even going sailing wasn't enough to distract me from my problems. Usually, sailing made me feel better, but for some reason, this was different. I looked down toward the bottom of the lake, watching fish swim by, and I worried about all of the time that I had spent with Grandpa and my parents as a child. Were all of those memories meaningless now? I didn't know what to think, and I didn't know why I couldn't just sail away from my problems.

I sailed past Grandma and Grandpa's house, but I could hardly look at it. Too many painful memories popped up every time I saw that house, and now that I knew that Grandpa couldn't accept me for who I was, it hurt even to think about him. I turned around and started to head toward the other end of the lake, but I heard someone shout my name.

I looked toward the house and saw that it was Grandma. "Sylvie!" she called again.

"What is it?" I asked, even though I didn't particularly want to talk to her at that moment. Talking to Grandma would only make me feel worse, and if I went inside, I would probably have to see Grandpa too.

"I didn't know that you were coming by," Grandma said. "Why don't you stop and come inside?" I was about to refuse the offer, but when I hesitated, Grandma said, "I made cupcakes."

That, of course, changed my mind immediately. I sailed toward Grandma and Grandpa's pier and climbed out of the boat. "I'd definitely like a cupcake," I said, smiling.

"I thought that you might," Grandma said, chuckling. "I'm sure that I've said this before, but congratulations on winning the regatta. I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, Grandma," I said as the two of us headed into the house. Waves crashed onto the shore behind us, and my boat bobbed up and down in the water.

"You're welcome," Grandma said as she opened the door.

"Is Grandpa home?" I asked.

"He's running a few errands," Grandma answered.

Relieved that I wouldn't have to deal with Grandpa, I sat down in the living room while Grandma went to get the cupcakes. When she returned with a tray of Keep Clearwater Clear cupcakes, complete with little sailboats, I took one and quickly ate it. "This is delicious," I told her.

"Thank you," Grandma said. "I made them for the protest, but I wanted you to sample them beforehand to make sure that they taste good."

"They taste amazing, and they look great too," I said, still admiring the tiny sailboats that Grandma had made out of frosting.

"I'm glad that you think so," Grandma said. "You can have another one on Saturday." She left again to put the tray away, and when she returned to the living room, she said, "I'm sorry about your grandfather's behavior lately. I know he's treated you badly, and there's no excuse for that."

"Everyone's been treating me badly lately," I said. "It's not just him." Grandpa was a big part of the problem, but the whole family, with the possible exception of Everett, was acting distant.

Grandma hugged me and then said, "I'm very sorry to hear that, Sylvie. Nobody should have to suffer because of who they love."

"Grandpa clearly doesn't believe that," I said, wondering what he might think about this conversation if he was here.

"He'll change his mind someday," Grandma said.

"How do you know?" I asked, not quite believing her. Grandpa was one of the most stubborn people I knew - I couldn't imagine him changing his mind about anything.

"He's being a bit of a hypocrite right now, if you ask me," Grandma said. "Our families didn't support Edward and I when we first started dating. His parents wanted him to find a white girl, and my mother wanted me to date an Oneida boy, or at least another Native. Nobody thought that we would last."

"Then why can't he accept that Véro and I are together?" I asked.

"I don't know," Grandma said. "It's really not that different from our relationship when we were young. He just doesn't recognize that."

"I wish that he would," I said. "I don't want to have to choose between Véro and my family."

"Sylvie, you don't have to choose," Grandma said. "I'll always support you, and I'm sure that I'm not the only one in the family who feels that way."

"Everett doesn't seem to care that I'm gay, but he's the only other one," I said.

"I'm sure that you have friends to support you too," Grandma said.

"Eden's always been there for me," I said.

"There you go," Grandma said. "If you decide to stay with Véro, you have plenty of people to help you out."

"I guess you have a point, Grandma," I said.

"Even if your grandfather doesn't change his mind, you still won't need to choose," Grandma said.

"I still want him to accept me," I said.

"I think he will, but it might take him a little while," Grandma said. "In the meantime, I'll try my best to stand up for you."

"Thank you, Grandma," I said.

"You're welcome, Sylvie," Grandma said. "I know that everyone tells you that you look like Holly, but you remind me more of myself when I was younger." Grandma got up from her chair, left the room, and returned with a scrapbook. She showed me a picture of herself when she was a teenager and then said, "Don't you see the resemblance?"

"A little bit," I said, although I didn't see at all how I looked like the girl in the picture. Grandma flipped to another page and showed me a picture of her and Grandpa at their high school prom. "That's kind of a cute picture," I told her.

"I think so too, but a lot of other people didn't," Grandma said. "Your grandpa almost didn't go to prom, but I insisted that we should go together. I even got to dance with him that day." When I gave her a strange look, she said, "Your grandfather really doesn't like to dance, even though I love dancing with him. Occasionally, I can get him to agree to a dance, but it's only once in a blue moon."

Grandma closed the scrapbook and put it away. "That's enough family history for today," she said. I would have liked to hear more of Grandma's stories, but clearly, she didn't want to further discuss her teenage years. "Are you excited for the protest on Saturday?"

"Kind of," I said.

"I'm very excited," Grandma said. "I think that we'll finally convince Pigglyville to stop dumping chemicals in Clearwater Lake."

"I think so too," I said.

"Have you made signs yet?" Grandma asked.

"Yeah, we made them a while ago," I said. "What about you?"

"We made a few yesterday," Grandma said. "Edward and I were thinking of making more tomorrow. Would you like to help?"

I considered the offer, uncertain if I wanted to face Grandpa again, even though I knew that Grandma would help me out. Grandma may have been okay with the fact that I was gay, but Grandpa definitely wasn't. Then, I remembered that Mom wanted me to help her run errands that day. "I already have plans," I said.

"That's too bad, but you'll see the signs at the protest," Grandma said.

"You should see the signs that Mrs. Reinhart made," I said. "They're really cool."

"I'm sure they are," Grandma said. "I'm always impressed by the murals that she made in your bedroom."

"Me too," I said, smiling as I thought of Mrs. Reinhart's paintings.

Grandma looked toward the clock and said, "Your grandfather's going to be home any minute now."

"I should probably go then," I said. "I'll see you soon, Grandma."

I headed for the door, but Grandma said, "Before you go, I should give you some leftover Three Sisters Soup. I know how much you like it." She ran into the kitchen, came back with a plastic container filled with soup, and handed it to me.

"Thanks, Grandma," I said as I took the container.

"You're welcome," Grandma said. "See you soon, Sylvie."

I left the house with the leftover soup, climbed back into my sailboat, and sailed home. After my conversation with Grandma, I was feeling a little bit better. I felt like I had the strength to love Véro and my family at the same time, and I let myself enjoy the trip back to shore. The wind was almost too strong for me to handle on my own, but it was a nice challenge, and I enjoyed watching the waves crash against my boat. It all felt even better knowing that Clearwater Lake would soon be crystal clear.

When I reached the shore, I climbed out of the boat, took down the sail, and headed inside. On my way to the house, I spotted Véro lying in her hammock, and I waved to her, but she was asleep and didn't notice me. Once I realized that she was sleeping, I went inside. Dad stopped me to ask what was in the container, and I explained that I had stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

"That's nice," he said. "How are they doing?"

"I only saw Grandma, but they're both doing fine," I said. "What's for lunch?"

"We're just having leftovers," Dad said.

I heated up the soup and ate it for lunch, and as I ate, I thought about Véro. It had only been a day since the regatta ended, but I already missed spending my day sailing with her. I sent her a quick text asking her if she wanted to hang out later - I didn't want to wait all the way until the Pigglyville protest to see her - but I didn't expect her to respond right away. For now, I was feeling better, and even if Grandpa didn't approve yet, I knew that my relationship with Véro could survive.