Summer's End Read Online Free Page A

you ever told anyone about this before?”
    Slowly, Emily shook her head. The tears started streaming rapidly now, painting tracks on her cheeks that reflected in the flicker of the candlelight.
    Marianne moved out of her chair to give Emily a hug.

    EMILY

    Embarrassment was not the right word to describe how Emily felt, it was more a mixture of quiet shame for rambling on like that and an enormous sense of relief. Marianne’s arms around her only acted as more of a catalyst to let her emotions run free—mostly in the shape of tears raining down her cheeks.
    But what was this? Three months of endlessly mulling it over in her head and she still couldn’t say it? Was she that afraid of who she really was? Could she even say the word out loud?
    “I know I’m a complete outsider on this matter.” Marianne’s mouth was very close to Emily’s ear. “But it sounds to me as if you’ve made the right decision.”
    Emily nodded. She knew that much, but that decision was only the beginning. Walking away was hard, but going back and starting anew would be even harder.
    “I’m sorry for blubbering like this,” she managed to say. “Trust me, I’m not usually like this.” She felt a chuckle make its way through Marianne’s muscles.  
    “There’s no one here to judge you.”  
    This simple remark from Marianne set loose another round of tears, because that’s exactly what it came down to in the end. To be free from any judgement and all the expectations heaped upon her from the day she was born. It was the reason why Emily had hopped on that plane and had flown all those miles.
    “I—” she started. “I like…”
    Marianne’s arms hugged her tighter, as if wanting to squeeze the words out of her.
    “I like girls… women, I mean.” The words tumbled clumsily out of Emily’s mouth. She was on a beach in Thailand in the company of a woman she barely knew—a kind stranger she had just happened upon—and Emily didn’t know what she had expected to occur the instant she finally dared to say it, but the moment could not have felt more right. She’d reached the end point of her journey and soon she’d be ready—really ready—to go home.
    “And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.” Marianne’s grip on her loosened, her hands snaking to Emily’s neck. A ball of fire seemed to come alive underneath Emily’s skin, as if, now that she’d finally said it—confessed her secret to a perfect stranger—she was allowed to feel it too.
    As if she had no choice at all, she stopped thinking and placed her hand on Marianne’s. She snuck her fingers around the woman’s palm and held on for dear life—as if her body was convinced she’d never meet anyone as sympathetic as this again.
    “It’s going to be all right.” Marianne briefly dug her fingers into the flesh of Emily’s shoulders, sending a jolt of lightning through her body, before retreating. She let her hand slip out of Emily’s grasp and kneeled beside her. “Believe me, I’ve been where you are and I know.”
    “W-what?” Emily felt her eyes grow wide.
    “I received my toaster oven a long time ago.”  
    Emily pinched her eyebrows together and, confused, repeated, “What?”
    “Silly inside lesbian joke, never mind.” Marianne patted her on the thigh and returned to her seat.
    Clearly Emily was not enough of a lesbian yet to get it.
    “I’ve never…” She felt heat rise from her neck to her cheeks. “You know.”
    “What?” Marianne tilted her head, clearly adamant to not cut Emily any slack with this part of her impromptu confession. “Had a slice of toast before?” Her lips curled into a smile, breaking her face into a kind, gentle expression. The crow’s feet around her eyes crinkled beautifully.
    Emily smiled back. Marianne’s words started to register at last.
    “Hey, we’ve all been there at some point.” Marianne broke the silence. A sudden darkness seemed to take hold of her face, her confident smile fading