(My brain was being fried last week by the heat that’s why this last bit of Friday fiction didn’t make it into Pride month this is based off of this entirely unhinged and entitled story from reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/redditonwiki/comments/1smvqap/not_oop_aitj_for_wanting_my_beliefs_respected_in/)

Calvin Poulton had worked hard his entire life. He had put the money away and now he was living off the benefits of it. He took in his backyard. The day was dawning with a nice chill. He heard his daughter moving around upstairs. His son was still in bed. He would be for some time. Let them sleep, they had just finished their school year. They deserved to relax for a little bit.

He heard the dull light sound of a car door slamming in his front yard. He wandered to the big picture window. His son was saying something to his wife. She said something back. They looked at the window and he wondered if they could see him. He took a deep drink of his coffee.

“Ah, hell,” he said to no one.

He walked back into the kitchen and started pouring the last of the coffee into his cup. He put the pot back on the machine. He heard his door open. They didn’t even bother to knock. He was looking out of his window when he heard them come into the kitchen.

“Hi, dad,” Brian said.

“Hi, son, what do I owe for this visit?” Calvin said taking another sip.

“We wanted to talk to you about the vacation coming up.”

“Oh.”

He took another long sip. He really just wanted a day to himself and his daughter. Why did they have to come here and ruin everything? No, they wouldn’t ruin his day. He wouldn’t let them.

“What about the vacation?” he asked.

“Well, as you know we have disagreed with Leon’s choice of lifestyle,” Krysten said haughtily for Calvin believed that was the only way she knew how to speak.

“Whose Leon?” Calvin asked putting his coffee cup in the sink.

“I’m not calling him that,” Brian said. “That’s mom’s name.”

“Then if you’re going to disrespect your sister you can get out of my house.”

“She’s not my-“

His wife put her hand on his arm and he quieted.

“The thing is that, that kind of lifestyle is against our beliefs. It’s a sin,” Krysten said.

“Really? Which verse defines it as so?” Calvin said leaning back against his counter.

“Deuteronomy 22:15 forbids that people shouldn’t wear clothing of the opposite sex.”

Calvin cocked his head to the right.

“You’re wearing jeans. Those aren’t women’s clothing are they?” Calvin said. “Also, denim and cotton are two different fabrics. How do you square that up with Leviticus?”

She looked at him and opened her mouth but didn’t say anything.

“Don’t try and come at me with Bible verses, I’ve lead Bible study at my church for the last two decades. The only difference is that I don’t use my religion as a cudgel on other people,” Calvin said.

“Dad, there’s no reason to get so hostile,” Brian said.

“You’re the ones that came here, unannounced on a Saturday morning to dead name my kid. My patience is at its limit,” Calvin said.

“You never cared about any of this before. You’ve changed.”

“Yes, I’ve changed and I’ve grown! That’s the point of all of this! You can’t just stay encased in amber for the rest of your life. Following some dusty old book and hoping that you can force the world into it.”

His son and daughter-in-law took a step back. If he had been worried about waking up the house before, he definitely had done it now.

“Dad, you want what’s best for your children and so do we,” Krysten said.

“How does my child being trans affect your children?” Calvin asked.

“They shouldn’t need to know about sex at their age and how do we talk to them about this?”

“Lorelei was a girl that needed some help to become who she is. Boom. Done. Sex doesn’t have to enter into it.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It truly is.”

“We were thinking that for the vacation that Lorelei could stay in a different state room. We don’t mind if she’s on the same cruise as the rest of us. She can just stay in a different stateroom. Or I was thinking that you could pay for a separate cruise for us.”

Calvin stared at her for a long time. He then let out a wheezing laugh. He laughed for a long time. Brian and Krysten stood staring at him. Finally, he slapped his knee and looked at them.

“I think the simplest solution is that you don’t go at all,” Calvin said.

“You’ll really deprive your grandchildren of this memory?” Brian asked.

“I’m not the one doing it. You are. With your intolerance and self righteousness. You could have kept your bigoted opinions to yourself but instead you chose to share them with the world. Here’s a fun idea. Grow up and stop waiting for handouts. 1 Timothy 5:8 ‘but if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied his faith and is worse than a nonbeliever’. You want to go on a cruise. You pay for it. You want them to have those memories, you give it to them. And get the hell out of my house. I’ll call you when I feel like it. Right now, I’m so disgusted with the man that you’ve become.”

The two stood staring at him and then turned around and left. He locked the door behind them. When he saw them pull out and drive down the street, he went upstairs and knocked on his daughter’s door.

“Come in,” she said.

He entered the room and saw his daughter lying on her bed. She was doing something on her laptop.

“Hey kiddo,” he said.

“Hi, dad,” Lorelei said.

“Did you hear all of that?”

“No, I didn’t hear anything. I was listening to music.”

“Lorelei.”

“Yeah, I heard all of it. I was going to come downstairs when you started talking.”

“That wasn’t your fault. I want you to know that.”

“Hm. It would be a lot simpler if you didn’t have to deal with all of this.”

“Eh, my life would also be a lot worse if you weren’t in it so that argument is null and void.”

“Thanks, dad.”

“Do you want to come down for some breakfast?”

“Sure.”

She came downstairs with him and they talked while he worked. His wife came into the room and smiled as she watcheed her husband and daughter interact. She had known from the jump what kind of man he was. A man of faith and kindness. Lorelei had told her first, obvious being her birth mother. She had offered to tell Calvin on Lorelei’s behalf but Lorelei had wanted to do it herself.

It was a morning not that different from this one. She had come into the room and sat down. She had taken several breaths to steady herself.

“Morning, champ,” her father had said.

“Good morning,” Lorelei had replied.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You look about ready to vomit.”

“I need to talk to you about something.”

“Uh oh. Something happen my handsome little man?”

“Yeah, that’s… that’s kind of the thing.”

“What?”

“I don’t like being called a man.”

Calvin had been unscrewing the top of the orange juice to pour his child a glass. He stopped and looked at Lorelei.

“It makes me upset,” Lorelei continued.

“Why?” Calvin asked. “I’m not trying to talk you out of this, I just want to understand.”

“I’m trans.”

“Okay, okay.”

He poured her a glass of orange juice and handed it to her. She looked at it, confused that that was his reaction. He walked around the kitchen island and kissed her on the top of her head. He hugged her to him and she hugged him back. The tears were starting in her eyes.

“You’re not my handsome son, you’re my beautiful daughter,” he said. “We’ll talk about the steps we’re going to take for your safety but know this, the rest of the world might stand against you but I’m with you. I love you.”

She wiped at her eyes as he let her go. She drank her orange juice.

“Have you thought of a new name? Is that how it works? I’m completely lost. We’ll have many discussions about this,” Calvin said.

“I was thinking that I would go by the name Lorelei,” she said.

Calvin sat up.

“Is it after my late wife?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “You’ve always spoken so highly of her and I always thought it was a beautiful name.”

“You know that’s the first thing I said when I met her.”

From that day until his last day Calvin stood by his daughter. The way a father did without question or hesitation.