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Trini had met Lauren Shiba on her first day of work at Eastland Academy. The accomplished history teacher took Trini under her wing, this was
private
school after all and it could be overwhelming to anyone straight off of the public school scene. The two were quick to hit it off, they had
so
much in common aka liking to get a beer after work and watching a game before having to come home to the Mrs. It was
nice
to have a co-worker who she could be so open with, she didn’t have to
worry
about disclosing details about her life with Kimberly. Oh, and if life couldn’t be more perfect, Kimberly and Mia hit it off as if they were best friends forever. The two couples had a
lot
in common, Lauren and Mia had even adopted a young Samoan boy named Shane. Whenever they came over to visit, or if Kimberly had a
home improvement
project, they would always bring him around to play with Emma.
On such a day, Trini and Lauren were out breaking a sweat in the backyard building a deck. Mia and Kimberly could sip pink lemonade from the kitchen, admiring their wives from afar. Something about a butch girl, a utility belt and a sleeveless shirt...really did it for the marketing executive and prosecuting attorney. Zack would have to watch Emma tonight as Kimberly had
one
thing on her mind.
With Shane being two years younger than Emma, she was the one who got to call the shots as far as their games went. Behind their moms, Emma wanted to play doctor so she had four year old Shane lay down on the couch so she could pretend to do open heart surgery on him.
“How’s the house search going?” Kimberly asked, she knew that Mia and Lauren were looking to move to Reefside now that Lauren began coaching on top of teaching. As much as they loved living in the city, it wasn’t practical. Mia wanted the peace, and quiet the suburbs gave as her job could get a bit
intense
and with Lauren’s new long hours, she wanted to be close to home.
“You know, Trini gave me a recommendation. One of your neighbors” Oh,
great,
Trini actually went through and gave the
Shibas
Rita Moran’s card. “Oh she’s wonderful”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Mm she doesn’t take any” What Mia
wanted
to say was
shit,
but her son and Kimberly’s daughter was in earshot. “Baloney. Oh and she’s so sweet. I really should thank you guys. There’s a lovely house on Panorama street, she’s just hammering out a contract for us and giving us a great deal”
“Rita Moran, as sweet?” Kimberly was in utter disbelief, but Mia wasn’t the type to lie. Kimberly knew Rita as the
worst.
A foul mouthed, no filter, douchebag...so for her to impress the likes of
Mia Shiba.
She really knew how to turn on the charm when it mattered. “How’s Lauren adjusting to coaching?”
“I think she’ll really like it” It wasn’t a secret to the four women in the house that Lauren had a rough childhood. When she was young, she and her brother were left orphans when their parents died in a car crash. It took a
lot
of healing, but because of that….she made a good teacher, she wanted to make a difference in kids lives. “She’s always been athletic...”
“Mhmm” Kimberly could agree, and somehow, despite the conversation the two women found themselves staring at the deck. It was a shame that one day it would be completed.
“Mommy” Emma tugging on Kimberly’s shirt scared the hell out of her, she was
far
too interested in watching her wife sweat. “Can Shane and I have a juice box?” The younger boy standing next to her smiled his toothiest of grins to try to win Mrs. Gomez-Hart over. A fruit punch sounded amazing after a fake heart surgery.
Mia held back her laugh until her son, and Kimberly’s daughter were happily drinking apple juice boxes in the living room. “You know, if we were straight, we’d be trying to shove our kids together” It was one of the nicest parts about knowing another queer lady couple, from double dating to raising their kids, they could joke about the craziness they’ve seen in the majority.
“Oh
god.
Once in pre-school Emma gave another kid her last cookie and Mrs. Burrows swore that they’d be the cutest couple” Kimberly never rolled her eyes so strongly in her life. “She was
four
why are people like that?”
“I don’t know…” The attorney shook her head, she didn’t want to get into the topic of socialization in parenting. “On another note, have you ever considered putting Emma into a sport?”
“She takes a tumbling class” But if Kimberly were to be honest, the brutal nature of gymnastics scared the mom. Kimberly was only a cheerleader growing up in Angel Grove but gymnastics was not only dangerous physically, it took a lot of mental strength and a strict diet. Eating disorders in the sport were
no joke,
but if that was what Emma dreamed of… “Why?”
“Maybe you should try giving basketball a shot…” Mia suggested. A competitive team sport? Trini would be all over signing Emma up. “If she’s good enough, maybe one day she’ll be on Lauren’s team”
*****
Trini wasn’t big on team sports back in her days of high school, and Kimberly had her days of cheerleading, but they both decided that maybe it was a good opportunity to get Emma out there. If she didn’t like it, they would pull her out immediately. A rec league at a young age was able to help teach Emma the fundamentals. Rita saw how close the Gomez-Hart family was to the Shiba’s...more importantly Lauren Shiba and saw that as a key to get her daughter ahead of the curve. With Gia and Emma living so close, the pair were always put on the same team and made a more enjoyable space for Emma to get the handle on it.
To no one’s surprise, Gia was much like her mother on the court. The little blonde was an absolute terror, she was the aggressive type, amazing ball handling and wouldn’t be afraid to get knocked down or go up against a girl bigger than her to get into the paint. Due to her all-in attitude towards the game, Gia was always in foul trouble and her mother….well...Rita was an embarrassing mom to sit near during
recreation
leagues as she would often fight the referees and get kicked out of said games.
While Gia dominated, Emma took a bit longer to find her grasp of the game. Emma was too
nice,
too gentle. She wasn’t great at defense, she was afraid to make any contact, and it took her a long while to be able to dribble the ball low enough so it wouldn’t be stolen. Trini and Kimberly would take Emma to the community park at night after work to try and perfect her skills. While Emma wasn’t the best defender, she was
quick.
Emma could get down a court faster than any of the other girls for easy layups and as she grew older and got stronger her three point game was
off the chart.
Emma had a quick release that was hard to defend. She and Gia made for an extremely lethal team.
Eastland Academy had
two
teams for every sport. The
Dolphins,
the team Lauren Shiba coached, was comprised of 7th and 8th graders while the
Sharks
were the high school varsity team. Recreation leagues that Reefside provided were great ways to learn the sport, but now the competition was on. Emma and Gia were now entering the
junior
league to go up against
other
private schools. As for
parents
it made for a lot of working around schedules and trying to get home as soon as possible to be there for every game.
As it was the first game of the season, Kimberly and Trini were approached by a Mr. Mike Fernandez. He owned the locally famous restaurant
Casa De Ava
while his wife Emily was Emma’s first grade teacher. There were some
fun
parent teacher conferences back in the day. “Hey, I’d like to introduce myself, the family. Welcome to the Dolphins” He proudly shook Trini’s hand and than Kimberly’s, “I know you’ve met Em, but the two boys over there are my sons Levi and Brody” Trini and Kimberly noticed that the
older
brother,
Levi
was a sophomore in high school. The charming young man sat away from his parents, as that was
uncool
and had the attention of
two
girls at his side. Brody, a seventh grade boy in a red t-shirt sat next to his mother, he was more into the competitive game and supporting his sister over flirting with girls. “My daughter Serena is the captain” Mike’s pride for his little girl shone through, it was endearing to see such a supportive father stick around.
Serena Fernandez, named after Emily’s late sister, led the team. An eighth grader with dirty blonde hair served as the point guard. She was the one to call all the plays, and make the big assists, she was responsible for her team doing well. Emma spoke highly of Serena to her mothers as the team captain she treated her teammates like little sisters, and because she was one of the few eighth graders on the team she definitely was seen as the
cool
one who set trends and made up all of their inside jokes. A big thing Serena did to make the girls feel included was giving everyone a dorky nickname, well, everyone but Gia. Gia
insisted
on being the
Queen G.
Serena the
hot shot,
herself went by
Caliente
while Emma earned the nickname of
Trix.
Why? Because she’s quick like a rabbit and has a surprising amount of game up her sleeve.
“Emma loves her” Kimberly insisted, of course, Emma loved practically everyone she met; but she carried a soft spot for the girls on this basketball team. Really, a group of girls like this was the best for not only their daughter...but Rita’s as well.
“Well, I have to talk to the other parents about this” As Mike was one of the only parents remaining from the previous year, “We’d like to bring once a month sleepovers back. It’s a nice way for the girls to spend time together that’s
not
revolved around a hoop. The houses would rotate, obviously, but if people don’t want to host Em and I are more than happy to take over”
“You’re offering me a free, once a month place to
not
have to watch my daughter? Sign me up” Kimberly couldn’t help but smile, “What’s that I hear? Oh is
date night
coming back?” To which Mike laughed as well...having three kids, he understood how hard it was to get some alone time with his wife. “We’d be happy to host, you can put us on your...list”
“Ah perfect!” Mike also pulled something out of his back pocket to hand to Kimberly, “And if you’re ever craving Mexican…” He wasn’t going to hesitate to hand other parents coupons to his restaurant, “Call it the Dolphin family discount”
As Kimberly and Mike chatted it up, Trini glanced behind Mike’s shoulder to see co-workers Emily Fernandez and Aisha Landsdown chatting. The two worked in the elementary school, whereas Trini and Lauren worked the high school. They were all still Eastland Academy family, technically, but Trini didn’t exactly make an effort to reach out to the primary school teachers. Maybe now was a good chance to say hi, especially since their daughters were all becoming such close knit friends.
“Hey” Trini started stepping in the direction of the two teachers, Aisha and Emily both welcomed her with a smile. Because Hazel and Emma were in the same grade, Trini had brushes with the esteemed Landsdown family. Usually to drop Emma off at one of Hazel’s big birthday bashes. “Congratulations, Emma told me Hazel was one of the girls at tryouts”
Hazel Landsdown, aka,
Money
to the girls. Summer Landsdown and her loving wife Aisha were easily the richest people in Reefside. There was even a building on campus named Landsdown Hall as Summer’s grandfather was the first to donate a copious amount of money to the institution. While Summer and Aisha may live in the biggest house in the neighborhood, Aisha keeps their family humble. Summer donates a
lot
of her earnings and creates multiple scholarships for underprivileged kids and to the women’s credit, they were raising a well mannered little girl. Hazel never showed a
bratty
side, she never came off as
entitled.
Which said a lot, as Summer took her wife and daughter to Disneyland
Paris
for their
magical pride
event; only to use their time away as a way to build a basketball court in the backyard without Aisha knowing about it. That was a fun surprise for the elementary school teacher when they got home.
Hazel shared a lot of classes with Gia and Emma as they were in the same grade. While Hazel liked basketball and sports, she was a creative soul at heart. She and Emma
really
hit it off with their love for the art world. Emma was more of a photographer, and now that she had other friends, she often used the likes of Gia, Hazel, Serena and Shane as models. Hazel on the other hand was less digital more hands on. The down to earth girl loved to draw and paint. Not to let the artistic side fool anyone, this girl could make any sort of bank shot and hustle the best of the boys team.
“Oh, if my wife thinks she can sneak a
basketball court
in our backyard...my daughter better be
using
it” Aisha leaned forward, smiling sweetly as she waved to her wife sitting further away. The business blonde was speaking on her cellphone but made it an effort to smile and wave back in the direction of the three women. “Hazel expressed interest in bowling for two weeks and I swear she had our basement renovated. I love her, so much, but she can get a little excessive”
“...Are you saying you have a
bowling alley
in your basement?” Trini asked, her eyes wide. Holy shit.
“It’s only two lanes” Aisha tried downplaying it as much as possible, but it was a bit hard to do
considering.
Emily didn’t seem to be unphased by this, as Aisha’s co-worker it wasn’t brand new information for her. “Perfect for girls night” With a house like the Landsdowns why even bother going out, “The men outnumber the women in my house, I
need
a good girls night every now and again.”
“If Emma ever needs any extra practice, she’s more than welcome to come over” With Hazel being an only child, Aisha was very open to allowing the other kids to come over and spend time with her.
“Ha” Trini used this opportunity to brag, “Emma could give Hazel a run for her money in a game of horse” While Hazel was a bit better of an all around player, no one could deny that fast hands Gomez-Hart had the best outside shot in the game.
A little bit of small talk, and all three women politely excused themselves from the conversation so they could sit with their respective significant others. Kimberly could lament on how nice and inviting Mike was, while Trini could say they officially had an in at the Landsdown’s house. All and all they could agree that because of this group of caring parents, the girls were going to be growing in a nice and safe environment. How nice it would be for
Gia
especially to have a support system of
sane
parents…
Rita sure loved to make an entrance, despite it being an indoor gymnasium the real estate agent wore sunglasses. Kimberly and Trini could
guess
it was due to a hangover and the lights would be a bit much,
or
she just wanted to draw even
more
attention to herself. The Gomez-Hart family shrunk in their seats, hoping,
praying
that the she-devil across the street wouldn’t see them. Poor Mr. Fernandez didn’t understand what was coming to him when he first approached Rita, making the correct assumption that she was Gia’s mother.
Upon receiving a coupon, Rita turned to Trini and Kimberly with a grin fit for a kid at a candy store. “Looks like we’re going out for
tequila!”
Mike did
not
invite Rita Moran to ever
host
a girls sleepover as he did with Trini and Kimberly.
Trini buried her face into her hands and let out a groan, she was trying to make a good impression on the other Eastland teachers,
Mike,
she did
not
want to be associated with the trash across the street. “God...don’t sit next to us, don’t sit next to us…”
Kimberly had a bit more of a positive attitude, and a natural curiosity, “I wouldn’t say no to drinks with Rita after work” On a Friday night, with Emma and Gia safely somewhere else. Trini simply glared at her, “What? You’re not a
little
bit curious to how she parties?”
“Her sister is a stripper.”
“I think the preferred term is
exotic dancer”
Kimberly tapped her chin, “Or is it performer...entertainer?”
Rita clomped up each riser step until she sat herself down next to Trini, sandwiching the shorter women between Rita and Kimberly. She lowered her voice as she leaned forward, “I have some
water bottles
if you guys get thirsty” Rita winked, and Kimberly felt like she was in high school again. It wasn’t passed the cheerleader to sneak something she
shouldn’t
to a football game.
“Seriously?” Trini narrowed her eyes, harshly whispering at her off the wall neighbor. “I’m a
teacher
at this academy. You can’t
offer
me this, you can’t
have
this.”
“It’s just "water", jeez.” Rita was
so
lying, but Trini didn’t want to
deal
with it. Not at the
first
basketball game. “God, these little games are
so
boring. Shoot me now am I right? Back and forth, back and forth. Blah, la, la. They’re not even allowed to fight”
“And, may I remind you,
you’re
not allowed to fight either” If Rita
insisted
on sitting with them, Trini did
not
want to be embarrassed by her attitude, “This isn’t rec league anymore. You can’t be aggressive with the refs because you don’t like a call”
Rita put a hand on each of Trini’s ears, “Is your wife
always
such a stiff ass?”
Kimberly laughed, she at least had the social poise to
handle
their neighbor, “We’re basically the new kids around the
popular crowd”
“Ah” Rita slowly nodded, releasing her hands from Trini’s hears. She could understand, high school politics. Even if they were still adults, there was no leaving a social jungle. Here in the private academy world it was all about money,
connections,
a family name. Emma, and Serena were only here because their mothers taught at the school. While Rita, well, she found ways to pay for Gia’s expensive tuition. The realtor noted Mia greeting her wife, Coach Shiba and giving her a quick pep talk, their 6th grade son dopely standing behind her. She then lowered her sunglasses, eying the happy couple in the Landsdowns. “Lesbian politics, I understand”
“What?”
Trini couldn’t just let have Rita have this one, she knee jerk reacted with a question. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“This is basketball sweetheart” Rita laughed,
“Girls
basketball, this is where you gays
thrive,
I’m sure. The Landsdowns over there are the
it
couple to impress, am I right?” Because Summer raked in millions of dollars, not because of her overwhelming bi energy and marriage to Aisha. “And
Coach Shiba
mm. I wouldn’t kick her out of bed” Kimberly and Trini both frowned, “What? I’m only saying if I
had
to sleep with a woman...might as well have money, or a body like that.”
“Please,
please
stop talking” Trini sighed heavily. This only confirmed that Rita did
not
want to sleep with either herself or Kimberly. That was a plus? “You know other people can hear you right?”
“Oh right.” Rita took a swig of her water bottle, not even making a flinch as the vodka hit her tongue. “I
love
the gays”
“Stop”
Kimberly had to cover her mouth with a program to hide her laughter,
not
helping Trini in any case. That earned her gentle elbow to the ribs in an effort to get her to stop making this worse, or entertaining their psychotic neighbor.
With there only being five minutes left, two more sets of parents came up with their kids. Only
they
didn’t have a girl on the team. Adam and Tanya Park as well as Jason and Billy Cranscott arrived with their kids. Tanya immediately went to sit next to Aisha while the three men sat in front of them. Hayley Park and Shelby Cranscott were only in 6th grade and too young to play, but wanted to come out and support their close friend Hazel. In doing so they had to drag their whole families out. Ethan Cranscott didn’t look very thrilled to be there, it was only until Billy introduced him to the idea of mental statistics and score keeping to when the boy got excited.
“Jeez, it’s practically freaking pride float” Rita commented upon seeing the gay couple Jason and Billy.
The whistle blew, the loud horns sounded and last but not least Zack Taylor rushed in to take a seat next to Kimberly and Trini. He
barely
skated in on time. “Sorry, sorry” He waved to Emma from the stands when he got the seventh grade girl’s attention, “I wasn’t going to miss Emma’s first game”
“And
now
it’s a pride float” Kimberly couldn’t help but add to Rita’s little joke, it was refreshing to see this many out and open parents, and friends of the family coming to support their kids. Trini and Kimberly waved a far away greeting to both Tanya and Adam as well as Jason and Billy. If their daughters Hayley and Shelby made the team
next
year, it meant seeing much more of them and it was best to get on the right foot. After all, when it came to being a
parent
of a kid in athletics it meant spending a
lot
of time with these adults. At games, at faraway hotels during tournament seasons, long
long
hours. They had to make the most of small interactions, it was all apart of being in
Dolphin’s Family.