Help Me Understand

Hazel’s stepmom Jupiter comes back from the mall empty-handed. A friend mentioned ordering cookbooks online, yet Jupiter doesn’t trust herself with the buttons and screens. She asks Hazel for a lesson, and Hazel is quick to oblige. She opens her laptop, pulls up a site crammed with glossy covers, and starts walking her through the clicks. Jupiter leans closer, amazed at how many titles appear with a single search. The final step looks routine until a stubborn reminder pops up—the book Hazel left in the cart weeks ago, plain as day: How to Come Out As a Lesbian to Your Stepmother. Jupiter stares. Hazel exhales and says the words she’s practiced a thousand times in her head: she’s gay, and she didn’t know how to tell her. Guilt flickers across Jupiter’s face; she wonders if she failed as a mother. Hazel shakes her head. The problem wasn’t love, it was that Jupiter was straight, and Hazel assumed straight couldn’t understand. Jupiter insists she can learn. She knows her own heart; she wants to be here for Hazel in every way Hazel needs. Touched but still uncertain, Hazel realizes there’s only one way to show her. Jupiter doesn’t hesitate. Their mouths meet first, soft and searching, then clothes fall. Hazel guides Jupiter through each inch of skin like a private lesson, letting her feel exactly what two women sound like when they let themselves want.