happy holiday memories?

“Welcome to Happy Holiday Memories! I’m your host Collete Brewer,” the presenter, Collete, announced loudly with a broad smile. The audience whooped and hollered their excitement. “Today telling us about their happiest holiday memories is the Nugent family from Bristol,” the camera turned to show the Nugent family sitting on a sofa smiling nervously as the audience whooped and hollered again while Collette joined the Nugent family by sitting on an armchair next to the Nugent’s sofa.

Collette then began to introduce the family members, “We have Mum, Harriet, Dad, John, and their daughters Freya and Ingrid. Harriet, I understand that you are a dental nurse, isn’t that right?”

“Yes, Collette, I work in a lovely practice called the Popewood Dental Surgery. I love working there. The people are so friendly.”

“And you John, you are in the Royal Navy, aren’t you?”

“Yes, though I will soon be leaving. It is time for me to focus on my family,” John replied sounding excited. “I need to spend more time with the ladies in my life,” making Harriet’s smile become forced.

“That means your dad will be home with you more, won’t it Freya and Ingrid,” both Freya and Ingrid nodded enthusiastically.

“How old are you, Freya?” asked Collette.

“I’m nine,” Freya replied shyly.

“And I’m seven,” Ingrid shouted out without being asked making everyone laugh and prompting a small applause as Harriet and John looked on proudly.

“So, let us see what holidays have given the Nugent’s the happiest memories,” Collette announced and three photos appeared on the monitors. Each photo had Harriet, Freya, and Ingrid in them. “You have given us Crete in 2019, The Algarve in 2021, and Tenerife in 2022.”

Harriet smiled happily, “Yes, I chose these holidays because these were the ones the children had begun to hold enough to enjoy them and we could do so many activities as a family.”

“John, do you have anything to add?” Collette asked.

John looked at the photos and had no recollection of going on any of them. He knew he had to be at sea. His blood went cold as the obvious question had formed in his brain,

“Harriet, who took these photos? I didn’t go on any of these holidays.”

Collette looked confused as did most of the audience.

“Of course, you were with us. How could you forget!” Harriet replied looking confused.

“No, he wasn’t,” Freya said quietly. “Daddy wasn’t on any of them. I’m glad Daddy will be coming with us next year,” she said happily which made some of the audience go aww.

“Don’t be silly, Freya. Of course, Daddy was with us,” Harriet told her daughter, forcing another smile.

“No, he wasn’t Mummy,” Ingrid said in a loud whisper not thinking anyone could hear other than her mother. “I remember Auntie Amber coming with us, she took the photo. You told us not to tell Daddy that she was coming with us or that she was sleeping in the same bed with you.”

“Mummy calls Amber her special friend, and not to tell Daddy. I don’t like Amber, she says mean things about Daddy,” Freya added.

At this point, the audience had gone quiet as they sensed a family crisis unfolding in front of them. Collette’s smile was fixed but her eyes were saying, “What is going on?”

“Harriet, who is Amber?” John demanded. “Why was she on holiday with you? Why was she sleeping in the same bed as you?”

Harriet started to look flustered with everybody’s eyes on her,

“Okay, I invited, Amber, from my girls’ group to come on holiday with us because she wasn’t going to go have a holiday,” Harriet told her husband.

“Three times?”

“Yes, three times!” Harriet snapped.

“Why did you sleep in the same bed?”

Harriet went quiet, unable to answer.

“I saw them kissing and Amber said she loved Mummy,” Ingrid whispered to her Daddy, moving closer to him. Freya went to sit on her Daddy’s lap.

“Ingrid!” Harriet gasped looking horrified at what her daughter said after telling her not to say anything to her father for the past few years.

“Why did you kiss Amber and why did she say she loved you?” John demanded again.

“Because I’m gay!” Harriet screamed.

The audience gasped, John looked stunned,

“What?”

“I’m gay, John. I’m sorry. I’m gay and I’m in love with Amber. Although I love you, I haven’t been in love with you for a long time,” Harriet admitted to her husband and the confession felt like a huge weight off her shoulders.

John looked like a man whose whole world was crashing down around him and found out his whole life was a lie.

“Why didn’t you say something?” John said, his voice breaking, tears filling his eyes.

“I, I don’t know. I’m sorry. I am so sorry. I should have told you. I was so scared because the girls were so young then I met Amber and the world made sense to me and before I knew it, I fell in love with her.”

“What did I do? Wasn’t I there enough for you?”

“Oh god, John! No! You did nothing wrong. It is just who I am. You are a good man, John, and a great father. I should have been honest with you,” Harriet began to cry.

“Why weren’t you then?”

“Look, John!” Harriet exclaimed, waving a hand at her daughters. “Ingrid and Freya adore you. They don’t adore me and they despise Amber. I thought if I told you I would lose them. Don’t think just because I’m gay that I don’t care for you because I do. You have been so good to me, you gave me two beautiful daughters. I lied to you because I wasn’t brave enough.”

“Brave enough?”

“Brave enough to admit to myself of who I was. Brave enough because I was too scared to lose Ingrid and Freya. Brave enough because I knew I would break your heart. I regret how you found out. I always will.”

“We should go home,” John said after several moments of silence when he noticed all the phones in the audience. I think we’re going to be all over the internet tomorrow.

“Oh god!” Harriet said burying her head in her hands and sobbing.