Christmas couldn’t have gone better. For the first time, my partner and I hosted her entire family under our roof. To them, we’re just two really great friends who happen to live together. It’s not the whole truth, but for now, it’s the story that lets us share these moments with the people we love.

And what a moment it was. We poured coffee from the jebena, the rich aroma of the coffee and the etan filling the room, and shared doro wot, kitfo, and all the flavors of a traditional Ethiopian Christmas. For those few hours, laughing and eating around the same table, we felt like any other family. They may not have called me her wife or even her partner—but as her “best friend,” I got to do everything a partner does. I got to host, to care for them, to build a home with her.

It was more than just a lunch; it was a quiet testament to our life together, even if the words for it were left unspoken.

So I have hope. Maybe in a few years, we’ll host them again. And next time, maybe—just maybe—it will be as openly, and as fully, as the couple we already are.