70. Past, Present, Future - Part 1

The next day

Nicole sat on the edge of the bed with her hands in her pants pockets. She looked over at the empty opened suitcase beside her and took in a deep, shaky breath through her slightly parted lips before letting it all out. Even with the echoing footsteps of Waverly coming up the stairs, she remained still, not even bothering to turn and look.

“Baby, do you know where the—” Waverly paused as she noticed the suitcase. “What’s that for?”

Nicole finally turned her head. There were bags under her eyes from the zero hours of sleep she had gotten the night before. Her mind had been racing all night with thoughts of her mom and how she would never get the chance to really say goodbye to her. If she had just gotten on the plane when her dad had called the first time, she would have seen her one last time. It wouldn’t have been a lot of time, but with the plane ride being only 3 hours, she could’ve at least spent the day with her, giving her mom the chance to make her peace before she went. But she didn’t. She felt selfish, which made her feel no better than her parents.

“I want to go to the funeral,” she answered.

“Oh,” Waverly nodded in surprise. Last night Nicole had said that she wasn’t planning on going, and Waverly knew not to push and create another disagreement like before. She never thought that Nicole would end up changing her mind. “Did you call your dad back?”

“No,” Nicole shook her head. “Not yet. But I will.”

“Okay,” Waverly nodded as she grabbed the edges of her cream-colored cardigan and crossed her arms. “I’ll call Darren and have him cover my shifts. Wynonna can check on Calamity Jane while we’re gone. Even though they’re not the best of friends.” She chuckled, hoping to lighten the dark mood just a little bit.

Nicole pursed her lips as she looked down at the wooden floor. “I think I should go by myself.”

After a brief pause, Waverly asked, “You don’t want me to go with you?”

“No,” Nicole looked up as she faintly shook her head. “It would just be too much with my dad asking questions and giving us constant looks of disapproval, and I don’t want to deal with that. It’s too much added stress.”

“I get it,” Waverly nodded reassuringly. “But are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Nicole’s voice cracked slightly, and she quickly cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to hurt you.”

Waverly fervently shook her head and sat down beside her fiancé on the bed as she placed a gentle hand on top of her thigh. “It’s whatever you want baby. Whatever is going to help you get through this the best. What do you need from me?”

“I don’t know,” Nicole sighed. “It’s all just happening so fast, and I don’t know how I feel about any of this. I’m just kind of numb right now.”

With sympathetic eyes, Waverly replied, “Well, I’ll be here when you start feeling it all. We’ll get you through this.”

Nicole just nodded in appreciation as she leaned forward to rest her elbows on top of her knees and rub her face with her hands. “My flight is at noon. Can you drive me to the hospital?”

“The hospital?” Waverly asked in confusion.

The redhead shook her head in annoyance, “I mean the airport. Sorry, my head’s all over the place.”

“It’s okay, love. And of course I’ll drive you.”

“Thanks.” Nicole looked over at her suitcase, which was still open and empty. “I guess I better start packing.”

“Do you need to do any laundry?”

“Just the few things that are in that basket.”

“I’ve got it.” Waverly stood up and picked up the basket that was by the closet door.

“You sure? You don’t have to, I can do it.”

“I know, but I want to.” The brunette smiled. With the basket resting against her hip, she walked past Nicole and headed for the door, but felt herself being gently pulled back. She turned around and faced her fiancé.

“Hey, thank you.”

With the corners of her mouth tugged up, Waverly leaned down and gave Nicole a loving kiss before exiting the room.

---

Nicole looked out the window at the familiar neighborhood. Some of the houses looked a little different; painted or remodeled. But overall, everything was pretty much the same as when she had left it. She felt tension in the pit of her stomach as they pulled into the driveway. Nothing had changed. Her childhood home looked exactly the same as it had when she had left it – or at least the outside did. And that terrified her, considering she was hoping for at least something to be different.

“Thank you,” she smiled at the driver before grabbing her suitcase out of the trunk and walking up the steps of the white-painted front porch. She immediately sat in the wicker chair between the window and the door as she pushed down the handle of her suitcase. With her eyes closed, she took in a few deep breaths and allowed herself to collect her thoughts for a few minutes before standing back up, grabbing her suitcase again, and giving the door a few good, firm knocks. She swallowed thickly as she heard the footsteps inside the house slowly approaching, until the door creaked open.

“Nicole?” Her dad asked in surprise.

“Hey. Um, I know I should have called you back, but I just never got around to it.”

He continued to stare at her with his thick eyebrows pushed together, his entire body completely unmoving.

“And I’m an idiot for thinking that would be okay.” She let out a short laugh as she grabbed her suitcase and started to leave.

“No, wait, don’t go. I’m just surprised, is all. But I’m glad you came.”

She slowly turned back around. “Really?”

“Yeah! Here, come on in.” He stepped back inside the house and waved her through. “Can I take that for you?”

Nicole hesitantly handed her suitcase over to her father as he shut the door behind them.

“Are you staying here?”

“I…haven’t really decided yet. I can get a hotel room if that’s better.”

He scoffed. “I won’t have you staying in a hotel room when we’ve got a perfectly good guest room.”

As she was led up the stairs, Nicole scanned her eyes around the house, taking in everything that was different and everything that wasn’t. Her school pictures still hung on the walls in the hallway, much to her surprise. When she realized which room she was being taken too, she felt her entire body become filled with slight panic.

“Well, uh, here it is,” her dad said as he wheeled her suitcase around to the side of the bed. He turned around to face his estranged daughter and awkwardly rubbed the top of his balding head. “It’s uh, it’s your old room. Hope that’s okay.” He gave a small smile as he studied her face. “Judging by the look on your face, you don’t seem too keen.”

“No, no it’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“Right.” He nodded. “Um, I’ll let you get settled. I’ll be downstairs.” He gave a quick head nod before scooting past her and shutting the door behind him to give her some privacy.

Nicole’s cheeks puffed out as a bunch of air slowly escaped. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone before sitting on the bed.

“Hey babe,” Waverly answered the video call.

“Hey,” Nicole smiled weakly.

The brunette’s face changed from excited to worried. “Uh oh. Not going well?”

“It’s just so awkward,” Nicole sighed. “I don’t really know what to say to him. I mean, what do we even talk about?”

“Maybe just talk to him about what you’re feeling,” Waverly suggested.

“But I don’t know what I’m feeling.”

“Then talk about the weather, or sports? I’m sure there’s some sort of small talk that’ll make you feel a little more comfortable around him.”

“Yeah, maybe sports are the way to go. He loves hockey.”

“See, there you go!” The positivity in the brunette’s voice was contagious, and Nicole appreciated it.

“I’m also feeling a little weird about being back in my old room again.” Nicole looked around at the updated baby blue walls and wooden furniture. It was nothing like it was when she had left. It made her wonder what her parents had done with all of her stuff. If they had put it into storage somewhere, or dumped it without a second thought.

Waverly squinted as she looked closer at the screen. “Not quite what I imagined the room of teenage you to look like, but it looks cozy.”

“Well, obviously it didn’t look like this.” Nicole playfully rolled her eyes, knowing full well that the brunette was teasing.

After giggling a bit, Waverly continued in a more sympathetic tone, “It must be difficult being back there with all those bad memories.”

“I definitely wouldn’t say it’s the best thing, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. After all, I’m going to be the new sheriff. What’s a little childhood trauma, eh?” A small smile spread across her face.

“I wish I could be there with you.” Waverly’s face dropped slightly.

Nicole sighed. “Me too.”

“Calamity and I are waiting patiently for you to come back home”

“And I’ll be there soon enough,” Nicole said with a small nod. “I’m going to unpack my stuff and then head downstairs to talk to my dad.”

“Okay. I love you, and I miss you.”

“I love you and miss you too, babe.”

They waved to each other before ending the call. After putting her phone back into her pocket, Nicole crouched down in front of her suitcase and pulled her toiletry bag out before setting it down on the bed. She then unzipped the main part where her clothes were and pulled out the white garbage bag on top containing her white button up shirt, black tie, and black slacks which were all on a wooden hanger. After hanging it on the rack in the empty closet, she looked at the rest of her clothes, debating whether or not to take them out and put them in the dresser, but ultimately decided against it. It felt too weird using furniture that didn’t feel like it belonged in that room. She zipped her suitcase back up, leaving her clothes inside, and rolled it into the closet where her funeral outfit was. After taking a step back, she took in the sight of her things inside the small closet, and let out a breathy chuckle.

“Well, I guess it’s only fitting, considering I spent my entire childhood in here,” she mumbled to herself in amusement. With a small shake of her head, she turned on her heels and headed for the stairs, taking every step with caution as if not wanting her father to know that she was approaching. Which was ridiculous considering she was going to the living room to converse with him. It was a habit she knew she’d probably never get over; quietly existing so that she wouldn’t be noticed.

“Did you get settled in?”

“Yes, thank you.” She nodded as she hesitantly sat down on the couch opposite from where he was sitting.

“Good, good.” Her father looked down at the burgundy oriental patterned rug covering the floor while gently rocking in the gray recliner. 

“That’s pretty.” Nicole nodded her head at the rug. “Have you had it for long?”

“Only a few months. It had been out of stock for quite some time, but we were eventually able to find one and snag it.”

“Well, it really completes the room.” Nicole gave a casual smile.

“I agree.” The middle-aged man smiled back. “Your mom had been eyeing it for about a year. Made such a fuss about how much she wanted that damn rug. Said it was the perfect one to match the curtains.” He slowly nodded as he stared at nothing while the corners of his lips twitched in an attempt to keep the small smile from dropping. “She was right,” he added in a much softer tone.

Nicole swallowed, and she winced at the seemingly loud sound it made in the silent room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“No, it’s okay.” He calmly held a hand up. “We can talk about her. We should talk about her.”

With her head down avoiding eye contact, she nodded with pursed lips before bringing her head back up to look at him with curious eyes. “Was she in any pain when it happened?”

“No,” he slowly moved his head from side to side with a furrowed brow. “She passed in peace. I was there with her, and we had some of her favorite music playing.”

She clenched her jaw and fought so hard to fight back the tears that it physically pained her. Hoping that her dad wouldn’t notice, she blinked a few times. She never liked crying in front of her parents, and especially not now as an adult. It made her feel too vulnerable.

“I wanted to be there,” she finally said after a long pause of silence. “I was thinking about it. Trying to decide if I wanted to come here or not to see her. I only said no at first because I was just so angry and hurt, about everything. But I was eventually going to come.” She swallowed as she shook her head. “I didn’t think she would– …I mean, I thought there would be more time.”

“I know. We all thought there was more time.” He lifted one of his hands from the arm of the chair to cover his mouth, tilting his head slightly so that he could rest his elbow on the arm. “But you’re here now.”

“I’m too late.” She sighed as the guilt began to build up, causing her throat to feel uncomfortably tight. “We’re never going to be able to make it right again. It’ll always be left at this horrible war that never should’ve gone on for this long.”

With his hand still covering his mouth, he closed his eyes and breathed out his nose. Guilt washed over him as well. It had been eating him up for years, but he could never find the right words to fix it. And so instead, he opted for distance and disaffection, because that was the easiest option. He was never good at the emotional stuff; a trait he had passed down to his daughter.

Nicole couldn’t hold back anymore. She felt herself begin to cry, and excused herself to the bathroom. As soon as she shut herself inside the safe space, everything forced its way out of her body. Every regret, every painful memory, every negative emotion in her body from her past and present poured out in the form of hysterical sobs. She sat on the edge of the bathtub and covered her mouth with the sleeve of her sweater as her body convulsed. The last thing she wanted was for her father to hear her, considering she was just down the hall from where he was. This was the first time she had cried about it since that initial phone call from her dad saying that her mom was sick, and her body was quickly making up for lost time.

After a few minutes of allowing herself to feel everything, she picked herself up into a standing position and splashed some water on her face in an attempt to make it less puffy. She gave herself one good look in the mirror as she focused on her breathing before calmly walking back out.

As she approached the living room from behind the recliner her dad was sitting in, she noticed him crouched over with his face buried in his hands, quietly shaking – much liked she had just been moments prior. “Dad?”

He quickly sat up, clearly startled by her unexpected return as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand that was holding his glasses. “Nicole,” he put the frames back on his face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were there.”

“It’s okay,” she replied in a reassuring tone as she stood beside him with her hand on the back of the chair. It was just close enough to support him without actually touching him.

“I just miss her so much,” he whined as fresh tears spilled. He didn’t even bother trying to hide them. He wasn’t even sure if he could with the amount of grief he was feeling.

She looked at him with sad eyes. “I miss her too.” Timidly, she reached out her hand, pulling it back for a brief moment in hesitation, before reaching out again and resting it on his shoulder. She was surprised when he didn’t even look at her before bringing his hand up across his chest to rest on top of hers.

“I screwed it up, Nicole.” He bit his upper lip while shaking his head slowly in disappointment. “I screwed it up real bad.”

Just when she was about to ask what he was talking about, he continued…

“After you left, I isolated myself from everyone. I became cold, and bitter. Nobody wanted to be around me because I would just push them all away. Your mom was the only one who stayed. And now she’s gone, and I have no one. I always thought that I would be the one to go first, and so I was okay with just having her, because she was more than enough. But I took up all her time. She stopped seeing friends and family. She lived in the isolation with me, and it wasn’t right.” With his hand still holding onto hers for support, he looked up at her, and for the first time ever Nicole saw remorse in her father’s eyes. “You’ve always been the most like me. Don’t let yourself become what I have. Keep everyone close, no matter how difficult it may be. In the end, it’s easier than ending up alone.” He slowly turned his head back to look at the rug as he removed his hand.

Nicole had no idea how to respond. Any words she thought to say didn’t feel right, so she just silently nodded her head.

“And I know this might not be the answer you’re looking for, but just because you can’t hear her doesn’t necessarily mean she can’t hear you. Maybe it’s not too late to make amends. Maybe it never is.”

She was never one to really believe in any sort of afterlife, but the words were comforting nonetheless. She gave him a small smile as she walked around to sit in the chair beside him. “Thanks, Dad.”

“You’re welcome, kiddo.” He leaned over and patted her knee before sitting back in the recliner and rocking it again. “So, you watch any sports?”

A wide grin spread across her face.

---

Waverly sat her purse down on the empty stool beside her as she slid into the seat. “Wynonna,” she beckoned for her sister.

“Oh, hey baby sis,” the older Earp greeted as she walked over to where Waverly was sitting. “What can I get for ya?”

“A rum and Coke.”

Wynonna quirked an eyebrow. “Uh, you sure? You’re kind of a lightweight…”

“Excuse me, but I am a grown woman. I can order whatever I want, thank you very much,” Waverly replied defensively.

The taller brunette held her hands up as she slowly backed away. “Okay, but if you puke, you’re cleaning it up.”

“I don’t puke.” Waverly remarked as she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Wynonna placed the lime on top of the cocktail she had just finished making before placing it in front of her sister. “Yeah, well that might be the last time you can say that.” She raised her eyebrows briefly before dropping them back down. With surprised eyes, she watched as the petite brunette gulped down the glass as if she were dying of dehydration. When she slammed the empty glass back down on the counter, Wynonna gave her a look of concern. “Jeez, I haven’t seen you drink like that since your first date with Nicole.” She chuckled at the memory before mindlessly adding, “Look out, Champ might show up again acting like a jealous asshat.”

Waverly’s eyes went wide for a moment as she hastily looked behind her, before looking back at an apologetic Wynonna.

“Sorry, sorry. Bad joke. I wasn’t thinking, sorry.”

She relaxed in her seat as her body slowly went out of defense mode. “It’s fine. Just get me another one of these.” Waverly slid the empty glass over to her older sister, who looked at her with a quirked eyebrow as she refilled the glass.

“What’s with the drinking anyways? I thought I was the alcoholic one.” She placed the newly filled glass back in front of her.

While running her fingertips up and down the glass, leaving a few streaks in the condensation, Waverly sighed. “Nicole’s mom passed away last night.”

“Oh, wow. That’s…heavy.” Wynonna replied with slightly widened eyes. “Is Nicole okay? I know she doesn’t have the best relationship with her parents.”

 “I think she’s doing alright with it. More than I thought she would, anyways.”

“So why are you here and not her?” Wynonna slung the rag over her shoulder as she leaned across the bar to get closer to her sister.

“Because she went home for the funeral and didn’t want me to go with her. And I’m trying not to be selfish about it but that’s really difficult when I just really want to be the person who makes her feel better about it.” She brought the glass up to her lips and took a swig before swallowing.

“Why didn’t she want you to go with her?”

“She didn’t want the added stress. Her father is still pretty homophobic and she figured it would just be easier if I wasn’t there.” She pursed her lips before taking another sip.

“That sucks!” Wynonna shook her head. “You know that’s because of her old man and not you, right? You’re not the problem here, he is.”

“I know. But it still feels crappy.”

The darker brunette looked at Waverly in thought. “Hey, how about we have a sleepover tonight? Just you and me.”

“What about Doc?”

“I’ll put him on babysitting duty. I’ve got a couple of bottles already set up anyways. We can do it at your place.”

“Are you sure?”

“As sure as whiskey!”

Waverly looked at her sister in confusion. “What does that even mean?”

“I don’t know, I’ve been here all day.” Wynonna sighed as she rubbed her eyes with her fingers. “I get off in a few hours. You going home soon?”

“Actually, I think I’m going to stay here for a while. I’d rather be in a bar surrounded by people than in an empty house.”

“That’s the Earp spirit,” Wynonna winked. “Let me know if you need anything.

A few levels of Candy Crush later, Jeremy walked into Shorty’s and walked straight towards the bar to put on his apron when he noticed the brunette slumped over her phone. “Hey Waverly!”

She looked up and closed the game. “Hey Jeremy. You starting your shift?” She asked with a weak smile.

“Yeah, just getting ready to serve the fine citizens of Purgatory!” As soon as he finished his sentence, a man in his early 30s fell backwards in a drunken stupor. “And hopefully I won’t have to call the cops this time.” He looked at the man attempting to get up off the floor in disapproval before turning his attention back to Waverly. “Speaking of which, what does my favorite couple have planned for tonight?”

“Nothing, unfortunately. Nicole went to her parents’ house. Her mom passed away.”

Jeremy’s face dropped. “Oh no! That’s awful! How is she doing? I honestly don’t know anything about her parents…or her family in general, for that matter.”

“That’s because they’re a little on the homophobic side.” She slurred her words a bit. “Didn’t take her coming out too well. But I think the hardest part for her is that her mom wanted to make amends and Nicole refused to go see her, and then she passed away the next day.”

“Poor Nicole,” Jeremy said sympathetically.

“Yeah. I think she’s really beating herself up about it. But she’s dealing with her dad now, which is why I’m not there supporting her. She doesn’t want me at the funeral making things worse.” The bite in her voice was a little more noticeable with the alcohol in her system.

“You sound a little upset about that.”

Waverly shrugged. “it is what it is.” With a tense grip, she downed the rest of her drink.

“Do you want to talk about it some more?”

“Not really. I mean, I probably shouldn’t. It’s Nicole’s business, and I’ve already said too much.”

“Okay.” He nodded before heading behind the counter to grab a rag to clean some tables.

“It’s just,” Waverly quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “It’s not fair that he’s the one that has an issue with us, and so Nicole can’t have her loving, doting fiancé with her to help her get through this troubling time.”

“Maybe her dad has gotten more accepting of it? He did reach out to her, after all. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have thought about her. And her mom was trying to make it right, so maybe he was too.”

“Could be,” she replied as she looked up in thought. “But either way, they were really horrible to her. She had to live with Sam during the end of her senior year after she came out to them, and they didn’t even go to her graduation because of it. And not to mention the whole replacement child thing.”

“Replacement child?” He asked in curiosity as he sat down in the stool on the other side of her purse.

“She had an older sister who died before she was born; Natalie. They had Nicole to kind of replace her, and when she ended up being nothing like Natalie, they treated her like crap for it.”

He looked at her in shock. “I—I had no idea about any of this.”

“So you see, he doesn’t get to make her feel bad for being with me. I should be there, end of story.” She gave a firm head nod.

“I agree, but that’s up to Nicole, unfortunately.”

“Yeah,” Waverly sighed.

“Maybe just stay on standby in case she calls asking you to come.”

She looked at him with hopeful eyes. “You think she’d do that?”

“It’s possible,” he shrugged. “But the whole reason you want to be there is to support her, right?”

“Of course.”

“Well, maybe supporting her is doing exactly this; giving her space to deal with it the way she wants to.”

Waverly groaned as she dropped her head on top of the counter. “I feel so useless,” she mumbled into the laminate countertop.

“Well if you want to feel more useful, you can help me clean up some tables.” He grinned.

She lifted her head and gave him a knowing look. “I’m too tipsy for that.”

“Yeah, you’re right. You’d end up doing a worse job than Wynonna.”

“Hey!” Both of the sisters exclaimed defensively in unison.

“I heard that!” Wynonna added from where she was standing on the other side of the bar where the cash register was.

Jeremy held his hands up in defense. “Sorry.” He chuckled at the inevitable eye roll he received from the older Earp before turning back to Waverly. “So, I guess this means we’re taking a raincheck on our double date Saturday?”

Waverly’s eyelids opened a little wider – which was to their usual level of wideness when she was sober. “Shit. I completely forgot.”

“It’s not a problem,” he waved his hand in dismissal. “I just wanted to make sure.”

“Yeah,” she looked at him apologetically. “But next Saturday for sure.”

“Sounds good to me.” He smiled as he stood up from the stool. “Now, I really do have to get to work.”

“Yeah, go ahead. I’ve got Candy Crush to keep me company.” She picked up her phone and waved it.

“I’ll come get you when I’m on my break though. Maybe we could play some bill—I mean, pool? I might actually beat you, if you get drunk enough by then.” A playful smirk formed on his face.

Waverly scoffed as she pushed him in the arm. “You wish.”

---

Nicole looked around the tavern as she held the menu in her hands. It was a place they used to go to whenever her mom didn’t feel like cooking.

“You still like this place?”

She looked up at the worried look on her dad’s face. “Yeah, I just haven’t been here since we were last here. There’s not one in Purgatory.”

“Ah, right.” He nodded while fiddling with his straw wrapper in his hand. 

If Waverly were here, she would’ve explained to him why straws are bad for the environment. A small smile crept onto her face at the thought of Waverly being all cute, ranting about something that she was so passionate about.

“So, what’s Purgatory like?”

“It’s nice. Small town, but nice. There’s not as many officers as where I was before, but I like that. I’m able to build stronger relationships with my co-workers, and they’re not assholes.” She paused. “Well, I guess they’ll be my employees now.”

Her father nodded. “So, sheriff huh?”

“Yeah, it’s a new thing. I start in a couple of weeks.”

“Well that’s really something.” He smiled. “You being like the big boss and all. How are the guys taking it?”

“Well my partner who was also being considered for the job, Officer Dolls, he thought I should get the job. And Lonnie is just...” she shook her head as she sighed. “Well, you have to know Lonnie to get it.” She chuckled.

“So they’re okay with it? You know, with...” He waved his hand around her in gesture.

“With...what?” She quirked an eyebrow, not understanding what he was on about.

“You know, with you being a woman. I’m sure that’s tough for them.”

She clenched her jaw. “Actually, they don’t see me as a woman, but as Nicole Haught — badass cop. Some men don’t feel the need to be threatened by someone with less testosterone than them.” She scoffed as she folded her arms.

He held his hands up, realizing his mistake. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Well that’s going to happen with sexism. Women get offended by it, believe it or not.” Her tone was dripping with snarky sarcasm.

“Okay, you’re right,” he pulled the corners of his mouth down in a grimace for a split second. “I guess I need to work on that.”

Nicole was surprised by his reaction. She was expecting a full blown argument, because that’s usually what happened whenever she disagreed with her father about something. The only person more stubborn than her was him. “That’s it?”

“Well it’s new times now. Women are doing things men are doing. So I guess it’s time I change my thinking on that stuff. Equality and all that.” He casually shrugged.

She stared at him in confusion. “Who are you and what have you done with my father?”

He laughed as he crumpled the straw wrapper into a ball and set it down on the table by the ketchup bottle. “I’m just trying to be better. Especially if I have any hopes of having a relationship with you again.” He glanced up at her before quickly looking back down at his menu.

Nicole wasn’t sure what she wanted, but she never envisioned them having a relationship again. Even now, she had it in her head that she would leave here and go back to never speaking to him again. But she realized that there was a possibility of him being in her life again. He seemed to be a changed man, but she wasn’t sure if she could trust him. She had to test the waters.

“I could invite you to the wedding.”

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “You’re engaged to...that girl, right? The one who left the voice message?”

“Waverly. Yeah.” Her voice was sharp, as she didn’t want to let her guard down.

“Is she like you too?”

“A cop?”

“No, a uh, a...” he leaned forward and whispered, “lesbian.”

The fact that he was so uncomfortable letting others even hear him say that word made her feel like he was embarrassed of her. And suddenly she felt right back where she was nearly 10 years ago – a disappointment for something she couldn’t change.

“Yeah Dad. She’s gay.”

He looked around in a slight panic. “Shh, people are going to hear you!” He loudly whispered.

“And that’s a problem?” She folded her arms across her chest.

“Of course it is. I have to live here, you know. I don’t want people finding out that my daughter is a lesbian.”

“People already know! They know that you and mom practically kicked me out of the house because of it!”

He shook his head as he looked at her up and down in abhorrence. “You needed help then and you need help now. You’re sick, and this Waverly girl is only feeding that illness. I figured you would have come to your senses by now and realized that you’re made to be with a man, but clearly I was wrong. You’ll never change.”

“Why can’t you just love me?!”

He aggressively stood up in his chair. “Because, you’ve betrayed us! You’re not my daughter anymore, and you never will be. Now leave! I don’t want you here, your mother wouldn’t have wanted you here, now go!”

Just then, Nicole was brought back to reality with the sound of her father’s voice. 

“Nicole? You okay?”

She looked around the tavern at the people eating their food, not paying any attention to them, before looking back at the calm man sitting across from her. “Huh?”

“I asked what she does. What’s her job?”

“Oh.” Nicole took in a few deep breaths to shake the negative thoughts from her head. Things were going well so far and she was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. “She’s a barista. But she’s thinking about getting another job.”

“What kind of job?”

“She’s not sure yet. She has a degree in ancient languages, so maybe something with that. Or something completely different. It’s a work in progress.”

“Well, she’s got time to figure that out.” He paused, realizing he was just assuming she was the same age as Nicole. “How old is she?”

“22.”

He raised his eyebrows a little. “She’s on the young side.”

“Yeah, but she seems way older than she is. We don’t even notice the age difference.”

He nodded for a moment as he looked at his daughter. “And she makes you happy?”

“More than anyone,” she replied with the utmost confidence.

He nodded again in acceptance before looking around behind him. “Where’s that waiter of ours? I’m getting hungry.”

Nicole slowly stood up from her seat and closed her menu before placing it on top of his. “I have to make a phone call. Can you order for me? I’m just getting my usual.” 

“Sure,” he nodded. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, won’t take long.” She gave a small smile before walking towards the door and out into the coold, moonlit parking lot to call Waverly.

“Heyyyyyy smexy lady!” Waverly sang in a loud voice.

Nicole winced as she pulled the phone slightly away from her ear before putting it back. “Are you okay?”

“I’m so good! Mayyybe just a liiittle bit drunk. But it’s fiiine! I still beat Jeremy at pool.” She giggled and quickly covered her mouth as she stumbled up the front porch stairs of their house, with Wynonna trailing behind with Waverly’s purse in her hand.

“Oh wow, that’s great babe.” Nicole was slightly disappointed. She really wanted to rant about how she was confused by what to do about her father — let him back into her life or play nice for now and never see him again after the funeral — but the brunette obviously wasn’t thinking clearly enough to give her any sound advice. 

“I need to tell you something though...” The brunette whispered into the bottom of her phone.

Nicole could tell that it was something serious, even through her slurred words. “Okay, tell me.”

“I was venting to Jeremy and told him about your parents.”

The redhead felt her knees stiffen. “What about them?”

“Uh, kind of everything.”

“You mean about the funeral?”

“Yeah...and about when you came out to them and you lived with Sam...and, uh, about Natalie.”

Nicole gripped the phone a little tighter as she felt her stomach drop. “You told him about that?” She sounded more hurt than angry.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have, but—”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t have. It’s my business to tell, Waverly. I didn’t want anyone else to know.”

“It was just Jeremy anyways. He won’t tell anyone.”

“That’s not the point. You shouldn’t have told anyone. How am I supposed to trust him when I can’t even trust you?”

Waverly paused in the middle of taking off her shoes from where she sat at the bottom of the stairs. “You don’t trust me anymore?”

With her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose, Nicole sighed. “I’m just hurt, is all. I don’t have time to think about this right now. I’m having dinner with my dad. I’ll talk to you tonight when I’m in bed.”

“Okay.” The brunette’s voice was small. “I love you.”

“You too.” Nicole quickly hung up and shook her head in annoyance as she went back inside the tavern.

Waverly’s phone made a thud as she dropped it on the wooden step beside her, and she dropped her chin in her palms with a huff.

With pursed lips, Wynonna walked over to her baby sister and slowly crouched down in front of her, bracing herself with her hands on top of Waverly’s knees that were pressed together. “Trouble in paradise?”

“I messed up and told Jeremy some of Nicole’s personal business and now she hates me.”

“Ah, you mean that stuff about her parents comparing her to her dead sister?” 

Worry instantly spread on her face. “You heard that?!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Waverly looked at her in doubt.

“Or give her shit for it. She doesn’t even have to know that I know.”

“If she knew that you knew, she’d kill me.”

“She’s not going to kill you, because she won’t find out. And she doesn’t hate you. She’ll get over it. Being with her dad is probably heightening her emotions and stuff, making her extra touchy. And Haught-tempered.” She laughed at her own joke, but when she saw that Waverly was unamused, she rolled her eyes and groaned. “Don’t stress about it, because it’s all going to be fine.”

“I hope so.” Waverly sighed as she dropped her chin further into her hands.

“Come on.” Wynonna held a hand out to help the smaller brunette up. “Sister bonding night has officially started.”