Once Upon a Time in December: A Sapphic Holiday Romance of Self-Discovery and Second Chances

“Shit, Whitley. I mean, thanks for asking…but no. Um, I don’t want to marry you.”

“I didn’t think you’d do it tonight, Whit.”

“Anthony, you need to explain what’s going on. I…I thought you wanted me to ask you to marry me?”

The man who only last week confessed how much he wanted to make things permanent between them, his eyes bright with what she’d thought was love and excitement, and that he’d like it if Whitley was the one to propose because it would be “so romantic and modern.” That man was now standing in front of her, fidgeting with his bow tie, telling her he’d met someone else.

“Maybe…I don’t know…we could try an open relationship for a while?”

She had responsibilities and an image to uphold—expectations that had been drilled into her since childhood. Not that her parents would expect it—they’d probably be shocked to see her return to the party after such a public humiliation—but Whitley wouldn’t let them down. She couldn’t.

in America no less, where anything seemed possible if you worked hard enough.

. Well, that didn’t make Layla feel particularly great, but then again, seeing a beautiful woman with a man always left her feeling vaguely disappointed, even when she had no claim or expectation of anything different. Such was the life of a lesbian in a predominantly straight world.

“Regular meals and safe housing do wonders for a person’s entire outlook on life,”

Why were lesbians cursed with constantly catching feelings for straight women? Maybe it was the universe’s way of balancing out the fact that women were just so inherently awesome. That’s what Layla reasoned, anyway, though it didn’t make the situation any less frustrating.

“Fine, I’ll agree to your terms, but only if you say you’ll attend the family party with me as my date.”

A platonic date with a gorgeous straight woman. Remember that, you disaster lesbian!

The King

“the Layla situation”

we could afford to buy the fancy ramen with the weird flavors. Wouldn’t that be nice!”

“Tonight is about much more than just a spectacular show celebrating the upcoming festive season, even though it was fucking epic!” The crowd laughed, appreciating her unfiltered commentary. “Tonight is fundamentally about raising money for the DuPont Foundation, which works tirelessly to help battered women and children find safety, hope, and new beginnings. So, with that critically important mission in mind, let’s not pretend that you’re all not totally loaded and perfectly capable of digging deep into those designer pockets.”

Whitley had never missed Christmas

Beverly eyed them both with a knowing twinkle in her eye. “Well, now that you’ve finished thanking Whitley properly, I wouldn’t mind a trip to Marks & Spencer.”

“Guilty as charged. We discovered we have quite a lot in common, including a shared appreciation for fine Champagne and embarrassing stories about our children, isn’t that right, Bev?”