Harem House Chapter 33 Part 4

Arthur walked Katelyn to her next class after their lunch. They chatted in the gazebo by the park for about an hour. By the end of their time together, they’d gotten to know one another better. They hadn’t discussed anything serious, though. He grew up in Crofton because his parents worked in finance for a large corporate entity. Her parents worked in the music industry and lived in Los Angeles for most of her childhood. They moved to Nashville right before her Freshman year of high school. She’d been a fish out of water ever since. Then they talked about Avatar the Last Airbender, and Korra, and Danny Phantom, of all things. 

Arthur still laughed to think of it as he threw some of his winter clothes into small boxes, loaded them into his car, and drove to his parents' house. Packing and moving was happening four or five boxes at a time, and he was determined to bring a load of boxes every time he came to the house. 

He remembered to bring a toolbelt, which he had in his costume closet. He also grabbed his apron in case the flowery one his mom left in the kitchen wasn’t what Rani wanted. He knew the pictures would be nude, but he wasn’t sure if Rani would want the female model to wear an apron if he wore a tool belt. His plan tonight was to let her lead at the shoot, then maybe put her on a lead afterward. Maybe Selene would join them when they came back to the apartment. 

The drive from his apartment to his parent’s house was long enough to listen to roughly half the soundtrack of the Original Broadway Cast of Wicked, the deluxe version. He sang along, laughing at himself as he sang both parts of any duet. He glanced at the passenger seat. 

He would have invited Selene to join him if she hadn't had class. She would have loved this, singing along with him. Though, if she were here, chances were she wouldn’t miss the opportunity for road head. Not that he was complaining! The road head was great. It was just that he hadn’t seen Selene in a while outside her role as his slave, and if he was being honest? 

Arthur missed his friend. He hadn’t expected her to keep the Master/Slave power exchange a 24/7 dynamic. He loved her as more than a friend now, but their relationship had been so focused on their physical intimacy that not feeling some sense of loss was a challenge. Their relationship was off-balance. Not that he’d change anything. He sighed. He supposed he could always order her to watch Lord of the Rings with him and not make it sexual. The very idea made him laugh. 

Arthur was being silly. He knew that. Selene was horny, finally allowed to pursue her sexuality with him, and did her best to be helpful. They were trying to juggle a lot of relationships right now. He didn’t need to stress himself out about trying to balance every relationship with everything. No one else was complaining, and if Selene couldn’t wait to drop to her knees and suck his cock every time she saw him, why should he complain? No one in their right mind would ask her to stop.

Still, he thought it might be nice to put some time aside soon so they could hang out and have a proper date. He’d have to figure something out. Lunch dates might have to become a more common thing. Something non-sexual but connective. He liked the idea. Each day, he could have lunch with a different girl, depending on availability, and group lunches when they could make it work. He’d try to remember to mention it on Wednesday, but he did his best not to think about the harem meeting. 

He pulled into the long driveway of his parent’s house and relaxed when he didn’t see Lynn’s car. He parked, quietly approached the door, unlocked it, entered, and turned off the alarm. The chair blocking Lynn’s basement entrance wasn’t where he left it. He sighed. She must have a key to the house or figured a way in. He would have to change the locks. Better to know now, he supposed. 

Arthur still eyed the house warily. His pulse quickened as he realized he was here alone, and there was some chance Lynn might be here too. He needed to replace the locks sooner rather than later. “Hello?” 

No response. 

He checked that Lynn’s basement door was locked and checked the garage. Her car wasn’t there either. She wasn’t here. All was good. 

He knew Rani wanted to start outside; hopefully, they’d be done out there by the time Lynn got back if she was spending the night here. She’d gotten in awfully late last night if she was living here. He wondered what she’d been doing out so late. Hopefully she was still living with her parents, at least most of the time. 

Then again, it was probably best if he didn’t wonder about Lynn. She didn’t deserve the attention. He told Rani he’d figure something out but froze whenever he thought about confronting Lynn. The only time he hadn’t was this morning when the threat wasn’t to him but to Beth and Kat. 

He took another deep breath. The empty house gave him an eerie sense of trespassing as if he was in a classroom after hours or in the office on a Saturday. This place wasn’t his home yet. He needed to make it feel more like home. So he unloaded his car. 

Arthur put the boxes into the Master Bedroom and went downstairs. There wasn’t much food here. They’d probably need to order dinner. If they ordered from Garden Wok it might be a good way to summon Mindy, if she was delivering for her parents that night. However, they might be better off ordering from somewhere closer. Katelyn and Kelly lived between the house and campus, so they might know where to order food. 

He pulled up his phone but didn’t have time to check his messages before he heard the sound of tires on the driveway. He looked up, relieved to see a car he didn’t recognize pulling in with the LYFT logo behind its windshield. He was there to greet them at the bottom of the steps by the time the car parked at the top of the loop. 

“If we’d coordinated better, I could have given you a ride.” Arthur pointed out as Rani exited the car. “I completely forgot you don’t have a car.” 

Rani shrugged. “I’ll get one eventually.” She said. “In the meantime, can you help with the equipment?” 

Arthur nodded but kissed her hello first. Then he moved to the trunk as the driver popped it from his seat. Arthur unloaded camera bags, poles, tripods, and more lighting equipment than he’d seen in his brief foray into Rani’s dorm room. She must have borrowed some from the art building. 

To his surprise, someone else emerged from the backseat while he worked. Thalia was eye to eye with Arthur in her heeled boots. The dark-haired beauty smiled at him, and Arthur smiled back, waving slightly. “Hey, I’m Arthur.” 

“Yes, I know.” Thalia said, laughing. “I’m Thalia. I’ll be your scene partner tonight.” 

Arthur nodded, knowing the term from theater rather than photography, but with enough context to know she was the other model Rani brought along. 

~~~

“Thank you!” Rani said to the Lyft driver as Arthur closed the trunk. 

Their car pulled away, leaving them and their bags in front of the house. 

“This is a nice place.” Thalia said, looking around. “Like a villa, but American.” 

Rani nodded. “It does have that American McMansion charm.” She glanced at the house, then at Arthur. He smiled at her. 

“Okay.” She said, surveying the front grounds of the property with her hand blocking the sunlight from her eyes. “Thalia, let’s get you changed and ready for the shoot. I think most of the outside shots are going to be you. Arthur - did your mom leave that flowery apron in the kitchen by any chance? And any gardening tools?” 

Arthur nodded. “The flowery apron is in the kitchen, and gardening tools are in the garage.” He answered. “I’ll get them for you.” 

“Thanks.” Rani said. Arthur sped into the house while Rani moved to the yard on the far side where the garden was. The greenery was fading below the auburn autumn leaves, and the late-blooming flowers were mostly gone, but the lighting was perfect. 

“You want to take pictures of me gardening?” Thalia asked. 

“Hmm?” Rani asked, distracted as she looked around. “Oh, no.” Rani shook her head. “Arthur will be in the garden. You’ll be… raking leaves, I think. Or mowing the lawn? I wonder if they have a leaf blower.” 

The garage door opened, and Arthur appeared on the other side with the apron over his arm and a bucket full of gardening tools. He trekked across the front of the house to meet Rani and Thalia. 

“Is there a place Thalia can get changed?” Rani asked. “And do you have a leaf blower?” 

“Sure. There are any of the rooms in the house, really. Or the poolhouse if you want to take any shots back there.” Arthur gestured to each as he spoke. 

“You have a pool?” Thalia asked, craning her neck to see around the corner. “Ooo, and a hot tub. Nice.” 

“And there’s a leaf blower in the garage. It’s gasoline, though. I don’t know if we have a gas can to run it. I’ll grab it.” Arthur gestured behind him toward the garage. “If you follow me, I can show you to one of the bathrooms so you can change.” 

“Oh, okay.” Thalia said. “Do you have a towel?” 

“In the poolhouse.” Arthur answered. “Let’s get changed there.” He looked at Rani. “I brought my toolbelt, too, and the toolbox is in the garage.” 

“Perfect.” Rani said, smiling. She put her hand on Arthur’s arm and kissed him. “Thank you, My King.” 

Thalia tilted her head, looking at them in confusion. “But he is tall.” 

“Hm?” Rani asked, turning to look at Thalia. 

“He is no short king. He is tall.” Thalia said. She held her hand to Arthur’s height, showing what she meant. 

“Oh.” Rani laughed. “No, you’re right. It’s just what I call him.” 

Arthur blushed. 

“Why?” Thalia asked. 

“Because he’s my fucking king.” Rani said, making Arthur blush more. She patted his chest, then groped his junk, making him jump slightly because he wasn’t expecting it. 

“A king who blushes. I see why Kelly likes you.” Thalia said. “Come, show me poolhouse. We’ll change.” 

Arthur nodded and led the way around the side yard and the pool. 

~~~

Mindy emerged from her last afternoon class with the weight of her class notes in her bag slightly heavier, but her burden for the day was easier. Work was behind her. Apparently, she couldn’t report to Arthur anymore, but she would still call him Boss whether he liked it or not. Tara and Sarah had made a stink about her being promoted, those bitches, but Beth was adamant this was a lateral move, not a promotion. 

According to the guidelines, she couldn’t date Arthur if she reported to him, so her options were limited. Mindy didn’t like the idea of moving her workstation into Beth’s office, but neither had Beth, so she worked with the others for today at least. 

Class was also behind her. She could focus on dinner and homework. It seemed so unfair how much of it piled up between classes. She walked from the science building toward the cafeteria, pulling out her phone to catch up on the chats for the afternoon. 

She had her phone on Do Not Disturb during class and work hours, but the notifications were there for her to read. 

Twenty missed calls. 

Mindy sighed. Her mother had a habit of calling back instead of leaving a voicemail, but this was excessive even for her. Something must have gone horribly wrong at the restaurant, and Mindy sighed. The peaceful night of homework she’d had planned vanished in her mind’s eye, replaced with delivery driving, or worse. Working in the kitchen with her Appa wasn’t too bad, even if it was uncomfortably hot. Waitressing with her Umma was a fate worse than death. She could never do anything right with her Umma there to criticize. 

Taking a deep breath, she deliberated on her choices. She could text her mother and tell her she couldn’t take a shift tonight. She had homework. Schoolwork was usually a ‘get out of jail free’ card with her parents. It hadn’t worked last night, but as a student, they saw homework as her full-time gig. Her studies as a business major should overrule any schedule they might impose. 

Or, she could make some extra cash for this weekend and spend some money at the Ren Faire with the girls. Even if it meant misery tonight or facing her mother and apologizing for being in a bad mood last night after Rani left. 

She didn’t have long to consider her choices; her mother rang her again as she walked with her phone in her hand. The picture of her mom sitting beside her father at a church fundraiser, holding his arm and smiling at the camera consumed her screen. The word “Umma” made her sigh as she answered. 

“Eomeoni.” Mindy said, greeting her mother in Korean. 

“Ji-Min!” Her mother’s voice sounded relieved, more than angry or desperate. “Where are you right now?” 

“Uh… I’m on campus.” Mindy said. “Why? What’s wrong? Did something happen at the restaurant?” 

“I’ve been calling you for hours! Why didn’t you answer your phone? Are you with Rani?” 

The barrage left Mindy confused. She paused in her walk and looked around, gauging where she stood versus the destination of her car, the dining hall, and the dorm. No one gave her a second look as they walked past her, except to make sure they didn’t collide with her. 

“I had class, Umma.” Mindy said defensively. “Why? What’s wrong? Is Appa okay?” 

“Appa and I are okay. Come to your dorm room, Ji-Min. Now.” Her voice stiffened at the end, solidifying the command. 

But what did she mean to come to her dorm room? Was her mom there? Of course not. Her mom was at the restaurant. The only way her mom left the restaurant during business hours was… Jun-Ho’s wedding. That was the only example she could recall. Still, her mother’s English wasn’t that bad. Maybe she was slipping in her frustration over whatever happened. 

“If you need me to cover a shift tonight, I can move some things around.” Mindy said as she resumed walking. 

“No.” Her mother said. “I need you to come to your dorm room. Now, Ji-Min.” 

Mindy wasn’t sure what was happening, but her mind did a speed-run through the worst-case scenarios as she turned toward her dorm building. Appa had a heart attack and died? Something happened, and the restaurant exploded? Jun-Ho was shot on duty and in the hospital? Or Judy? Her walk quickly became a run despite her heeled boots and short pleated skirt. She gave more than one person a show when she ran through the lobby and turned too sharply for the hallway toward her suite. 

She slowed to a trot and entered to find her Umma sitting across from Rachel in the suite’s common room. She glanced back and forth between the two of them wildly. Her mother had been crying. She could see it in her eyes. She was clutching her purse in her lap like a lifeline. The weary look on her mother’s face. She dropped her bag and rushed forward. 

“Umma? What’s wrong?” Mindy asked, rushing to her. “Is Appa okay?” She asked as her mother crashed into her in a hug, and the two collided and fell to the sofa. 

The momentum nearly knocked over her mother, a small woman. She’d never been overly affectionate or physical with Mindy but hugged her daughter back with strength enough to break her heart. Something terrible had happened, she knew it, and she started to cry before she even pulled apart. 

“Is it Jun-Ho?” She asked, nearly choking on his name. “Or Judy?” 

“No.” Her mother said, also crying but reeling them in and straightening her spine as Mindy pulled away. 

“I’ll let you two talk.” Rachel said, rising from her seat. She glanced back at Mindy before she left the suite with an unexpected expression of sympathy. She glanced at the coffee table and left. 

“Umma?” Mindy asked, wiping her eyes. 

Her mom let out a shaky breath. “Ji-Min.” She said. “We have a lot to talk about.” She gestured to the coffee table, and Mindy’s eyes turned to see her sketchbooks. The sketchbooks she left under her bed in a box. Sketchbooks that contained penciled drawings in Manhwa style of her, Arthur, and many of the girls from the office in naked, compromising positions in graphic, uncensored drawings of sex scenes and daydreams she’d had over the semester. The most recent contained several sketches of the harem members, including Rani, but all in different styles. Her mother should never see these. No one should. Had Rachel shown them to her? How had Rachel found them? Was she snooping through her stuff?

There were more drawings than the lewd and nudes, of course, but they featured pretty prominently. 

Mindy went pale, trembling as she looked at her mom. “I can explain.” She said out of reflex, though no explanation jumped to mind. She couldn’t exactly claim that they belonged to Rachel, after all. “These are Veronica’s. You remember? My friend from high school. I was holding them for her because she didn’t want her parents to find–”

“Ji-Min.” Umma’s voice was devoid of anger, which surprised Mindy more than a slap across her face would have. 

“Umma.” Mindy said, her voice almost a whisper. 

“Do not lie to me. It is an insult.” Umma stiffened and wiped her face. “You have lied enough for one lifetime.” 

Mindy swallowed. “What do you–” 

Her mom held up her hand for silence, and Mindy fell quiet. Mindy’s shoulders slumped from the weight of that silence. She wished Rani were here, but there was no way to call her. She could always run away, but her mom was sitting too close. 

“You have not been honest with us for some time, I think.” Her mom said. “About who you are and who you want to be.” 

Mindy sniffled. “I’m–” She cut herself off at a look from her mother. Her mother was speaking now. It was time for her to be quiet and listen. 

“You have lied to your Appa and I. You have snuck around. You have come to live on campus to make such sneaking easier. Where you have gone wild with…” She swallowed. “With all kinds of depraved, sexual sins.” 

She paused to let her words sink in, and Mindy remained quiet. 

“Do you deny it?” Her mom asked. 

Mindy couldn’t bring herself to speak. She shook her head no. No, she didn’t deny it. She couldn’t. Rani was right. She had to be honest, or she should have been. Now, she was facing the consequences alone. Her mother was going to scream at her, disown her, and she’d never have a family again. 

“Why did you lie?” Her mother answered. “Do you not love us? Your parents? Do you not respect us?” 

Mindy looked at her mother with tears, trying to gauge whether it was her turn to speak or whether the questions were rhetorical. Her mother nodded, and Mindy sobbed instead of answering. She brushed her tears away and quaked with the effort of thinking through her emotion-clouded fog to words that might save her and salvage this situation. 

“I love you and Appa very much.” Mindy said. “I respect you.” 

Her mother waited. 

“I lied because... I'm scared. I knew it was wrong. I knew it would upset you and Appa.” Mindy said, not elaborating but gripping her skirt over her thighs so tightly that her knuckles turned marble white against her normally tan-colored skin. 

“Geuraeyo?” Her mother asked. Is that so? “What do you believe is so wrong you had to lie about it?” 

Mindy sniffled. “Who I am.” 

Her mother broke, but not in the way Mindy expected. She’d expected outrage. She’d expected a slap or something thrown at her. Hollering, yelling, and shouting in Korean so fast and angry that every guttural utterance became a punch or a slap. Instead, her mother collapsed over her, pulling her into the fiercest and longest hug they’d ever shared. 

Mindy’s confusion and surprise overtook her sorrow and self-loathing until she came to terms with what was happening and fell apart. She was a wave from the ocean crashing against the rock that was her mother, and she broke in waves of tears that soaked her mother’s sweater. 

Her mother’s tears soaked her hair, and they clung to each other on the sofa. It was nearly ten minutes before either of them spoke again. 

“Ji-Min.” Her mother said, speaking softly now and in Korean. <“Never be ashamed of who you are. You are my daughter. And I love you.”> 

“But…” Mindy responded in English. “I thought you were mad at me.” 

“For the lying, yes.” Her mom responded. “But… I am not mad at you because you are a lesbian.” 

Mindy hid her face in her mother’s sweater, crying still. 

Her mother held her. 

“I’m…” Mindy sniffled when she pulled away. “I’m not a lesbian, Umma.” 

“Do not lie to me.” Her mom said. “I’ve seen your drawings. Rachel showed them to me. I know you love women.” 

“No, I mean… I do like girls.” Mindy said, drying her eyes. It felt strange and oddly wonderful to say that while looking at her mother’s face. Her mother’s tear-stained, splotchy face, but not angry or hate-filled face. “But I like boys too. I’m bisexual.” 

“Oh.” Her mother paused. “That is better!” 

Mindy laughed, surprising herself as the giggle caught in her throat and became a cough. She turned her face aside and coughed into her elbow, sitting straight again. 

“Umma…” Mindy said. 

“As for the rest. The drawings and the…” She couldn’t bring herself to say whatever she was about to say. “Your roommate said you had some… toys in your room?” 

Mindy blushed, her face darkening as she tried to hide behind her hair. 

“It is normal, I think, for a woman to be curious and… interested in such things.” Her mom said. “But do not act on them.” 

Mindy frowned but didn’t try to fight it. She just nodded and took a deep breath. Her mother accepted her. She’d found out, somehow, and accepted her. They both had a lot of questions for each other, but her mother went first. 

“Your roommate said some… confusing things about Rani and her boyfriend.” Her mom said. “I see them in your drawings…” She gestured to the sketchbooks. “Are you… in a menage et trois?” 

Mindy’s eyes went wide. “How do you even know what that is?” 

Her mom laughed her familiar derisive laugh. “Ji-Min…” She held her daughter’s hands. “When I was young, I grew up in South Korea. You know this. Very different country. Very different culture. Everything was stiff. Formal. When I was in college, I had the opportunity to study abroad, and I spent a semester in France, where I met Appa.” 

Mindy nodded. She knew that part, though her parents had just said college when they discussed where they had met. Their romance, which she imagined happened in Paris, sounded so romantic to everyone in the harem, but they were her parents. She couldn’t bring herself to contemplate them being cute together. She always got grossed out whenever they hugged, kissed, or flirted. 

“At the time, I was like you. Young. Confused.” Her mom continued. 

“I’m… not confused, Umma.” Mindy said hesitantly. 

“I know. I’m sorry. I mean… I was confused.” Her mom said. “I was… there was this girl in Paris. Sandrine. Sandy, we called her. She lived below us in the apartment building and was very beautiful and very… adventurous. She swept me away in what I thought was the most forbidden romance.” 

Mindy’s eyes went wide. “Umma…” She couldn’t process this. Her mind wouldn’t process this. “Are you… are you telling me that you’re gay?” 

Her mother laughed. “No.” She said. “I am telling you that I thought I was gay once when I didn’t even have the word in English for it.” 

“So… what happened?” Mindy asked. 

“I thought I was in love with Sandy. I was so enthralled and infatuated by her and the world she opened for me that the river swept me away. She was my world.” Her mom nearly started crying again. “But to her, I was just another place within the world.” She swallowed. “She moved on, and we did not see each other again.” 

Mindy’s heart broke. 

“After that. I met Appa, and we fell in love.” Her mom said. “You know the rest.” 

“Umma…” Mindy said, realization dawning. “You’re bisexual! Like me!” She bounced on the sofa and hugged her mother again. 

Her mother laughed and patted her back. “No, no.” She shook her head. “I… I love your Appa. I am not in love with women.” 

“It’s not about that. You can be bisexual and still monogamous. It’s about who you find sexually appealing.” Mindy explained, even as all the times her mother commented on the beauty or attractiveness of the women in the K-dramas they watched came crashing into her skull. “Holy shit!” 

“Language Ji-Min!” Her mother’s sharp tone slapped the curse words down out of reflex more than enmity, making Mindy giggle. 

“Sorry, Umma.” Mindy said, shaking her head. She let her thoughts coalesce and then asked the first question that came to mind. “But… how does that work with the whole religion thing? When did you and Appa become so Christian?” 

“Ah, that was when we moved here.” Her mom explained. “Living in France was temporary for us. We married but couldn’t live there after graduation. Your father got a job, but we came here when your grandpa got sick.” She gestured to the ceiling. “I was homesick, and all the other Koreans in the area were part of this church, so we started going.” 

That made sense. Mindy didn’t know any Koreans outside of her church. They’d been scarce at school, but there were more here at college. Though, after graduation, it wasn’t like they’d keep in touch forever. 

“For a while, it was more for the community and culture than Jesus.” Her mom said, holding the cross necklace she wore. “It was the only time we could connect with others from South Korea. When Jun-Ho was born, and later when you came, they helped us. They were good to us, and their teachings were good. We wanted to raise you right, with some sense of your cultural heritage and traditions, and Jesus has good morals, so we stayed in the church over the years.” 

“But doesn’t the church hate gay people?” Mindy asked. 

“Bah.” Her mother shook her head. “People in the church hate gay people. That’s not the same. There are people in the church who love gay people. Even pastors who are gay, in some churches.” 

Mindy considered that. 

“Who you love does not matter. Love is love. God is love. So it’s impossible for love to be evil.” She glanced at the sketchbooks. “Lust, on the other hand…” She sighed. “You need to be responsible, Ji-Min. You are a good girl. You don’t need to make the mistakes I made when I was young.” 

“Loving Sandy was a mistake?” Mindy asked. 

Her mom paused, frowning. “Maybe.” She said. “But the things I did with Sandy? Yes. I have felt much shame and guilt over that for many years. I don’t want you to carry that same burden. You need to wait to act on these… impulses until marriage.” 

Mindy started crying again, ignoring her mother’s no-sex-before-marriage moral. If anything, she found the idea amusing. Apparently, being gay was fine. Acting on her sexuality before a legal document was signed wasn’t. Why God might care about that didn’t make much sense to Mindy, but she knew better than to ruin the moment by saying it. 

“Does Appa know? About you and Sandy?” Mindy asked. 

Her mother nodded. “I… told him about it long ago.” 

“What did he say?” Mindy asked. 

“He said he was glad Sandy was an idiot because if she’d been smarter, he never would have met me.” 

“Aw.” Mindy wiped her face again. “That’s sweet.” 

Her mom nodded and held Mindy’s hands in hers. She took a deep breath. “We need to tell Appa you’re gay.” 

“Bisexual.” Mindy corrected. 

“Okay, okay.” Her mother said. “And Rani should meet him, especially if she leaves her boyfriend, but she needs to ask Appa’s permission to date you. The rules still apply even if you’re dating a girl.” 

“Oh…” Mindy said, hesitating. “Uh… about that.” 

Her mom raised an eyebrow. 

“I… um… I’m kind of dating a few girls?” Mindy said. “And one guy.” 

Her mother stared at her. 

“We’re… we’re a menage et whatever the French word is for six?” Mindy tried to turn it into a joke, but her mother didn’t laugh. If her eyes opened further, they might pop out of her head. 

“Rachel said you are part of a sex cult with this boy, Rani’s boyfriend?” Her mom said. “I didn’t think she was right, but… Are you in a cult, Ji-Min?” 

Mindy shook her head immediately. “No, no, it’s nothing like that. He’s not our religious leader or anything. He’s… he’s our boyfriend. He looks out for us, keeps us safe, and guides us… Okay, when I say it like that, it sounds like a bit of a cult, but it’s not!” Mindy added quickly. “It’s a different kind of relationship. I’m not just bisexual. I’m polyamorous.” 

Her mother’s forehead scrunched in concentration. “I don’t know this word.” She shook her head. “What do you mean?” 

“I mean… I love Rani, but I also love Arthur, Selene, Kelly, and even Kat.” Mindy said. “We’re all in a relationship with Arthur together and each other. Kind of.” She didn’t feel like explaining Kat. 

“That is…” Her mother didn’t seem to know how to understand what she was saying. “That is too much. Too many people. You can only date one person at a time. One relationship. Marriage is between one man and one woman. That’s in the Bible. If you’re gay, it can be one woman and one woman or one man and one man. That’s fine.” 

“Well, technically, a biblical marriage is between one man and as many women as he can buy.” Mindy said, trying to turn it into a joke. Her mother didn’t laugh. 

“Ji-Min.” Her mother said. “These girls you mention. These are the ones you want to move in with?” 

“Y-yes.” Mindy said, realizing how badly she’d just fucked up by being honest. “But–” 

“You can’t move in with people you are dating!” Her mom said. “Whether it’s Rani or Arthur, you must live apart until marriage.” 

“Umma…” Mindy groaned. “Things aren’t like that anymore…” 

“No.” Her mother shook her head. “My answer is no.” 

“What do you mean your answer is no?” Mindy asked. 

“You are gay. Fine. You are Polyangelus… eh. I have to research. But you want to live with your partner outside of marriage? No. We raised you better than that! What if you have a baby? What if you drop out and don’t pursue your business degree? What if you catch a disease? You know better than to live in sin. No. You can live in the dorms or at home, and you study. After you graduate, you can get married and live with your husband or wife, whichever you choose. Even if they’re not Korean.” 

Mindy sighed. All in all, this conversation had gone better than she’d expected. Total understanding, however, was outside her reach. Her mother had accepted her for being bisexual. Her mother was willing to learn what Poly was and, hopefully, how to pronounce it. There had to be a line somewhere, and her mother drew it at moving in with her potential romantic partner(s). She put her head in her hands and groaned. 

That was okay. She had time to change her parent’s minds. Maybe Arthur, Rani, or Deb might be able to help. She felt some relief at the thought. 

“Come on.” Her Umma pulled her to her feet. 

“What?” Mindy asked, startled by the gesture. 

“We’re going to have dinner with Appa. You should tell him face to face so he doesn’t find out from a stranger like me.” Her mother said. 

Mindy rose to her feet and collected her sketchbooks. Then, what her mother said struck her. “A stranger?” She asked, looking at her mom for answers.