Julia's mom initially lied about her age so she could join the same peewee soccer team as her older sister. The lie became difficult to retract over time, leading to years of maintaining the false age.
Tessa's parents would open each other's gifts in front of the family and perform a mock argument about how impractical and disliked the gifts were, which made everyone else uncomfortable.
Tessa's dad believed the ham bag was a high-quality, hand-embroidered, and practical gift that his wife would love, despite Tessa's skepticism.
Tessa's attempts to avoid Erica by staking out the shop and waiting for her to leave resulted in multiple trips to town, spending money on unnecessary items, and ultimately having awkward interactions with Erica.
Tessa's mom loved the ham bag and was thrilled with the gift, much to Tessa's surprise and relief, as it validated her dad's choice and ended the family's discomfort over the gift.
Tessa and Erica became friends, and while there was no romantic chemistry, Tessa found relief in having a queer friend in her hometown, which helped her move on from her past crush.
Tis the damn season for hometown crushes! Carson Olshansky joins us for a story about running into your high school crush while holiday shopping.
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Normal Gossip is hosted by Kelsey McKinney (@mckinneykelsey)) and produced by Alex Sujong Laughlin (@alexlaughs)), Ozzy Llinas Goodman (@ozzy_llinas)), and Jae Towle Vieira (@jaetowlevieira)). Abigail Segel (@AbigailSegel)) is our intern. Justin Ellis is Defector's projects editor. Credits read by Madeline Carey. Show art by Tara Jacoby.
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