Sam put the clock on the mantlepiece and set it to her computer's clock. She changed into a more comfortable shirt and sweats, noting that Iris wasn't home yet.
Sam turned on the television and waited. Halfway through Law and Order, Iris came in. Her hair was bleached white, and her bangs, coincidentally enough, were dyed pink. Her lipstick was smudged and she was breathing heavy.
"Oh..wow...hey Mom, what's up?"
Iris walked in and flopped down on the couch next to her mother. She was wearing a short skirt, and jacket two sizes too large for her, open to reveal a great deal of midriff, and a top that looked like a red silk scarf.
Sam took a breath. Iris was a woman now, she could wear whatever she wanted...but she didn't care for it one bit.
"Iris, have you been drinking?"
Iris actually looked guilty. "...um...yes. I'm sorry. I asked for a drink, they just handed it to me...I know I broke our promise...grounded for a week, right?"
Iris was accepting punishment? Oh boy.
"Iris...what did you do?"
"Oh what the hell, Mom! I told you I was drinking, isn't that enough for you?"
Sam held up a hand. "Dear...don't get mad. I appreciate your honesty, but I do worry about you."
Iris frowned. "You wouldn't understand."
"That you were making out with someone?"
Iris opened her mouth, and it stayed open a second. Then her eyes flashed. "You were spying on me?!"
"No honey, I wasn't, please calm down. It's just what it looks like. So who is he?"
Iris mumbled something.
"What was that?"
"notahe."
Samantha Jane blinked. It's not that she had any real issues with lesbian women, her cousin Rachel was openly homosexual, and successful. But this hit her like an atom bomb. Iris was...gay? Oh she hated the way that word was used, but right now, it just fit.
Her baby, her little girl, had been making out with another girl. How long had this been going on? How could she have missed this?
"Oh honey...I'm so sorry.."
Iris exploded. "Sorry? Sorry?! Like it's a disease? Or something is wrong with me? Fuck! It's who I am! You know, sometimes, you're just a kid!"
Iris stormed from the room, then turned back. "I love you, but I really wish you weren't my mother. If you were my sister, maybe you'd understand. Good night!"
As Iris left, Sam felt the tears come.
"...I wish I was your sister too."
Both women ended up crying to sleep...and then, the next morning...