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Julie Patterson didn't know what she expected when Luke Molina brought her to his family's garage. Probably for it to look like her family's garage.
It didn't.
Instead of tools, the lawn mower, and a space for the car, it had been converted to a space where you would actually want to spend time. It was more than storage. It was a sanctuary. The seating, the fairy lights, and the outcropping of plants all gave it a welcoming air.
It helped that there was a baby grand piano toward the back.
Julie rushed to seat herself at the bench, running her fingers appreciatively over the keys.
"You like it?" Luke asked.
"Are you kidding? It's beautiful!"
She looked up in time to see his sad smile. "Mom would have loved to share it with you."
"She played?"
Luke's breath hitched. "She taught me everything I know."
Julie didn't know how to respond to that.
One of the few things she knew about Luke Molina was that his mom passed away not that long ago. She also knew that he used hearing aids due to being hard of hearing, that he learned sign language from his Deaf friend Alex, and that he had a strange, visceral reaction to her name when she introduced herself.
"You can play something, if you want," Luke said. "Dad won't mind."
Julie was glad she got to meet Luke's dad. He was really nice, and he had a calming presence that Julie wasn't used to, especially compared to her own parents. He welcomed her with the same warmth he greeted Luke with when they got home. She had known him for less than an hour, and she already felt safe with him.
She believed Luke when he said his dad wouldn't mind her playing.
She warmed up with some scales and arpeggios, conscious of Luke's eyes on her. "It's so nice to play on an actual piano," she said.
"You don't have one at home?"
"No," Julie answered. "I practice on the electric keyboard my parents got me when I was seven. I ask them for a new one every year for Christmas and my birthday, but they refuse to replace it because 'there's nothing wrong with it.'"
Luke looked horrified. "But don't they understand how important music is to you?"
"Not really," Julie said. "I had to beg them to let me transfer to Los Feliz. I think the only reason they let me audition was so that I would shut up about it. But when I got accepted, they were so surprised, like they didn't actually think I would get in."
She didn't tell them how their reaction to her acceptance made her doubt her talent. She didn't tell them how nerve wracking it was to wait for them to decide if they would let her transfer. She didn't tell them how much their reluctance to say, "Fine," hurt.
"That's horrible," Luke said, as if he could read her mind and feel her heart. "I don't know what I would do if my parents," he gulped, "I mean, my dad," Julie imagined how painful that correction must be, "wasn't supportive of me."
Julie sighed. "It's so hard. I just want them to believe in me, you know? But they don't. They think I'm wasting my life on a pipe dream. It's like they're waiting for me to get over this 'phase' so I can move on and do something practical with my life."
"What, like some soul-sucking nine-to-five?"
Julie nodded.
Luke made a face like he bit into something gross. "That sucks." His face relaxed into a look that was more pensive. "I wouldn't be able to stand having parents like that."
"Yeah," Julie said. "You're lucky they're not your parents."
Luke flinched. He dropped his gaze and stared at the ground, not speaking for long enough that Julie wondered if she should change the subject. Before she could, Luke said, "You don't have to stay there."
"What, you mean, like, run away?"
Luke nodded.
Taken aback, she laughed at his joke, until the earnest look on Luke's face made her realize it wasn't. Apparently, they were seriously having this conversation. "Where would I even go?"
He scuffed the toe of his shoe against the floor. "What about here?"
Julie gaped at him, unable to believe what he said. "Here?"
He shrugged. "Why not?"
Why not? Because her parents would never agree to it. Because she and Luke barely knew each other. Because it would disrupt her entire life as well as Luke's family. She literally just met his dad less than an hour ago!
The suggestion was ridiculous.
(So why did it sound so tempting?)
After recovering from her shock, Julie said, "There's no way my parents would let me."
"Yeah, that's kind of the point," Luke pointed out.
"Fine," Julie conceded, switching tactics. "There's no way your dad would let me."
"He might," he insisted. "He knows. We've talked about it."
She squinted at him. That was literally impossible. Luke came up with this idea during this conversation. How would his dad have any way of knowing they were talking about it? "About me running away to live with you guys?"
"No." Luke took a deep breath. "That you're his real daughter."
Julie gasped. What was that supposed to mean? "Real daughter?"
"Yeah."
"Like, I'm adopted?" It was the only way she could make sense of Luke's words. It was such an absurd idea. How could she be related to this man she just met? And, even if it was true, how would Luke know?
Yet, there was something about it that felt true in a way she didn't understand yet.
Luke crossed his arms and leaned against the piano. "Julie, I'm trans." He bit his lip before he said, "Guess my dead name."
Julie tried to process several things at once. Luke coming out was massive. It explained several things about him, but it changed nothing at all. Trans or not, Luke was who he was. She was honored that he trusted her enough to tell her.
However, him coming out didn't answer her question. What did his gender identity have to do with her potentially being adopted?
And then there was the non sequitur about guessing his dead name. She didn't see how it was relevant. Why did he think she would have any way of knowing? Why was he even asking her to guess in the first place?
She shook her head, confused beyond words.
"I'll give you a hint," Luke said. "You were born on May 18, 2005, right?"
She froze. "How did you…?" She never told him. There was no way he could have known. She supposed he could guess the year based on the fact that they were in the same grade. But month and day? No way. Was it just a lucky guess? Or had he stalked her socials? Yeah, that was it.
"Because that was also the day I was born. And that's not a coincidence."
Not a coincidence.
Not a coincidence.
Not a coincidence.
He lifted his head, but only to stare past her. "I could guess what hospital you were born at, too."
Finally, she started to put the pieces together. Luke was assigned female at birth. On the same say as her. In the same place.
Her head was spinning. "Because you were born there, too." Julie realized, "Your dead name is Julie."
Luke just nodded.
"You parents are mine, and my parents are yours."
"Yep."
She felt the need to sit down despite the fact that she was already seated. This was huge. This was beyond mind blowing. How was she supposed to believe that her parents weren't her parents at all? That she was supposed to be part of the family of this random boy in her music class? That they were switched in the hospital after they were born?
Yet, it explained so much. Specifically, it explained why she didn't look like her parents. Why they were white, while she… wasn't. She never really knew what she was.
But if she really was related to Mr. Molina, all she had to do was ask.
Then, it occurred to her, "How did you know?"
"Besides the fact that you have my dead name?" Luke said. He hugged himself. "You look just like Mom."
Julie felt her cheeks heat up. "I do?"
"You do."
She looked like her mom. Her real mom. After going her whole life feeling like an outcast in her own family, the truth was that she resembled one of her parents.
Luke continued, "You even sound like her, sometimes." He sighed and finally looked back at her. "I don't know whether being around you makes me happy or sad. I miss her so much, and every time I look at you, it reminds me of her, and that's hard. But in some ways, talking to you feels like getting her back." He shook his head. "I know that's not fair to put on you."
"It's okay." If she could ease his grief just by existing, how could that be a bad thing? "I just want to know why you didn't tell me sooner."
"This is me telling you," Luke explained. "I didn't know for sure I was right—I mean, being switched at birth is crazy!—and I wanted to be sure before I told you."
That was fair, Julie supposed. If it had been her who realized before him, she probably would have waited, too.
"How are you doing?" Luke checked. "I know this is a lot to dump on you."
Julie took a deep breath and let it out. She'd certainly have to come to terms with it, with being raised by people she wasn't related to. At least she finally had an explanation for all the ways she felt different her whole life, even at home. It was because she was different. Learning that there was a reason for the ways she struggled to relate to her family—and for them to relate to her—was a relief.
Really, all she wanted to do now was talk to Mr. Molina and learn more about her family. Her real family. "I'm okay."
"Good."
Julie spaced out as she processed everything this meant. She could learn where she came from. Luke said he had a brother, which meant she would have a sibling for the first time in her life (assuming they were going to tell him; she didn't see why they wouldn't). She was excited to explore with Luke's family which traits of hers were biological. Her interest in music might be, due to…
Luke's mom.
Luke's dead mom.
"Julie?"
When she zoned back in, his expression was sheepish, and he was rubbing the back of his neck. "On the subject of the whole 'you sound like my mom' thing, I was hoping I could ask you a favor."
"What is it?" She didn't want to agree before she knew what he was thinking. Not aloud, anyway. She already knew she probably would.
He rounded the piano to get to the bench. "Can I open this?"
"Oh." Julie stood. She watched him lift the seat and take out sheet music.
He handed her the pages. "This was the last song Mom wrote before she passed away. It's written for piano, but I only play guitar. I've played it through with the chords, but," he hesitated, "I want to hear it the way it was meant to be played."
Julie looked over the sheets. It was written on staff paper by a practiced hand. Even just on first glance, it was clear that Luke's mom knew what she was doing. Julie played through the notes in her head and hummed the melody of the vocals. It seemed doable. "Sure."
Luke bounced a little. "Cool." He made his way back to the other side of the piano, giving her room to sit down and work her magic.
She played.
Here's the one thing I want you to know…
It wasn't perfect, the way she played. She was sight reading, after all, but she thought she managed it pretty well. Her voice soared through the lyrics, taking the message about grief, about living and growing through it, and weaving it into a tapestry that brought it to life. This was the kind of thing she was born to do. The song spoke to her in a way she wasn't prepared for. She felt the presence of a mother she had never known, guiding her through a grief that wasn't hers.
She hoped Luke was getting half as much out of it as she was.
Time to come out of the dark
Wake up
It wasn't until after she played the final chord that she took her eyes off the sheet music to look back at Luke.
Flynn, the first person she met at Los Feliz and the first person she played for after she transferred, told her she had the power to move people. At the time, she didn't believe it. Sure, she was talented, and she practiced her butt off, but moving people? She wasn't that good.
She would have thought, at most, Luke would be tearing up. The lyrics were beautiful, and the song was written for him. Of course that would make him at least somewhat emotional.
But when she looked up, there were tears tracks down his face, and he was biting his fist to hold back a sob.
Normally, seeing someone upset in front of her would have caused her to react with alarm. She would have rushed to apologize, even if she didn't know what she was apologizing for.
Instead, she was overcome with calmness, something still and gentle. She gave him the kindest smile she could manage. "It's okay. It's going to be okay."
He broke down, leaning heavily on the piano, gripping it to keep himself upright. Julie waited, turning her head to give him privacy. Whatever this moment was for him, it should be just his. She wanted to reach out and offer comfort, but they didn't know each other well enough for that. She wished they did. She wanted to hold him through this.
Slowly, his breathing evened out. When she looked back at him, his eyes were rimmed red, but they were dry, and he looked more stable. "Sorry," he said.
"Don't. No toxic masculinity here."
He let out a startled laugh. "It's just," he took a shaky breath, "it was like Mom was here with me again. It was so easy to feel her. It was like she was playing through you. And then, when you said it would be okay," he squeezed his eyes shut, "I heard it in her voice."
At school, it was easy to forget that he was grieving. He hid it well. But he was grieving. Julie didn't realize just how much until now. She was touched that she could give Luke back what he lost, even for just a moment. "I felt something. Like comforting you was the most important thing in the world." She shrugged, even though Luke wasn't looking. "It wouldn't surprise me if that was her."
Luke opened his eyes and met hers with an expression more intense than any he'd ever given her (and that was saying something). "Thank you."
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. "Of course."
Julie was still until the moment pass. For once, so was Luke.
Once the tension in the space eased, Luke cleared his throat. "So," he said, as if he hadn't just broken down, "what do we do now?"
Julie could barely contain her excitement when she said, "We go inside so I can ask your dad a million questions. I want to know everything about your family history."
"Your family history," Luke corrected.
She beamed at him. "Our family history. I may be a Molina by blood, but you're the one who grew up with them."
"But—"
"We could argue about nature versus nurture all day long," Julie interrupted. "I don't care."
Luke beamed back. "Me neither."