I was raised by my mom and my grandma. I knew I was a lesbian since early childhood but never told them about it. My partner and I have been together for 10 years, but Mom and Grandma always thought that the girl I lived with was just my roommate. 

I was okay with this for a while, but towards my late 20s, I got tired of hiding my true identity and decided to tell my family. My partner and I were also planning to become parents soon.

My mom, grandma, and I gathered in the living room. I told them that Marina and I were a couple and that our relationship was serious. They were silent for a bit, before my mom started screaming at me, telling me that I was “protesting like a teenager.”

“A child needs a father! That baby will grow up without a proper family!” — such were the stereotypes my mom threw at me, but I was ready to hear them. Her words were even kind of funny because I was also raised without a father in a same-gender family, but my mom said it was “different.” 

“Larissa, enough! Calm down and leave us alone so I can talk to my granddaughter.” Granny took my hand and smiled.

The dialogue that we had right after shocked me.

“Do you remember our neighbor Sveta who helps me around the house? Well, she is not a relative.” 

I did not understand what she was trying to say.

“Sveta and I have been together since the death of your granddad.”

“What?” 

It turned out, my grandma had been in a romantic relationship with our neighbor Sveta for 25 years. My mom suspected something but never gave it a second thought. 

Ever since I was a child, I have considered her a relative who was just helping our family — never anything else.

From that moment on, Grandma and I became close. I felt seen. She supported us through every step of the pregnancy. 

We had an amazing baby named Agatha, and Grandma and her partner Sveta visited us at the hospital.