down again. “Her. It’s a her.”
“Yes, of course it’s a her,” Emily said fiercely. “I’m a
lesbian, so yes, I would get married to a woman.”
“And you did it now, of all times,” Peter groaned.
“She did this to spite us,” Sandra wailed. She placed a
dramatic hand at her brow. “To-to bribe us.”
“It’s not a bribe,” Emily responded, but her voice was
watery and weak since she knew that’s exactly what it was.
She’d never had the flare for acting that her mom did. She
inhaled deeply and composed herself for a few seconds. She
knew this was going to be hard and she had to stay strong.
“It’s not a bribe,” she repeated. “I got married because I
wanted to get married. I knew you wouldn’t like it, so I’ll
make you a deal. If you agree to helping me further my art
career, getting some people who have influence to look at my
work and speak to me, or even giving me a place in your show,
Mom, then I’ll keep things quiet.”
“So, it’s a bribe,” Peter muttered.
“Of course, it’s a bribe!” Sandra yelped. “I froze all her
accounts. She had nowhere left to go but to do something this
drastic.”
“You shouldn’t have frozen her accounts then.”
“So, this is my fault?”
Emily put both hands up. “Stop. Please. It’s not anyone’s
fault.”
“You’ll get that marriage annulled,” Peter said sharply,
taking charge. “You’ll get it done immediately, and this is the
last we’ll hear of it.”
“I won’t,” Emily hissed. “I want to do art. It’s the only thing
I’ve ever wanted to do. I don’t want all this pressure to have a