Dad came home fromwork a little early and "caught" Mom and me in the kitchen. Well, weweren't doing anything bad, just kissing each other, but I guess...thatwas the last straw for Dad. After a couple of hours or yelling andscreaming he packed up a couple of suitcases and moved out of the house.Mom was pretty depressed the next day and when we got ready to go to bedat night, she asked me to sleep with her to keep her company and cheerher up. So since that night, I've been sleeping with her every. Dad has been saving up for years, and this is the year that he could afford the boat (or, "ship", as he insists we call it) and supplies that they need. Just ten minutes ago, I saw their tail lights heading out the driveway, around the corner, and not to return for far too long. Someone has to watch the house, and mom tells me it might as well be me, considering I don't have much better to do. Luckily, they set me up with a small weekly allowance for food, entertainment, and that sort of. It was late at night, the pale glow of my computer monitors the only thing that illuminated the room, discarded food containers and soda cans littering the desk upon which they were perched. I had been at it for hours, the sun had still been shining through my windows when I had begun, but now all that I could see through the panes was the night sky and a few solitary flakes of snow as they drifted lazily towards the ground.My hand was starting to cramp, perhaps it was time for a break. I bade. "Hey, I've heard of that one. That's a lesbian movie, isn't it?" Her tone of voice made it clear that she didn't consider that a particularly good thing. Melissa would divulge just how she knew that."What? No," Satsu lied, and tried--unsuccessfully--to pull it away from her."It is! Wait a sec--are… are you a dyke?!" No!" This was stupid. She'd been out for three years, and had made her peace with who she was, and was proud of it, even… most of the time. But she was also scared to be living here.