Article content“I had the undercut and I dyed my hair different colours. I was in the GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) … and I was very active in the very tiny queer community that I could access.”Article contentIn high school, things changed and Grace started pretending she was someone she isn’t.Article content“I had a really difficult time with bullying and feeling ostracized. And I didn’t do it on purpose, it was sort of subconscious I would say because I ended up reverting back into the closet.”Article contentShe moved to Halifax with her boyfriend and was with him for five years. But she began feeling more like she was watching a life instead of living hers.Article content“It got to a point where I really couldn’t ignore it,” Grace said. “During COVID, I became very aware … nothing feels right. Like, I feel like I’m doing things wrong. Like, this doesn’t feel like my life.”Article contentGrace quit her job and moved home, single and no longer in the closet. When she got hired at Doktor Luke’s, she was excited to be working downtown in a queer business.Article contentArticle contentTwo weeks later Hubbert was hired and their love story began.Article content On the Same Page has a wide selection of new and used books. One on sale now, which is a special advance shipment the bookstore was given permission to sell by the publisher, is Cape Breton author Donald Calabrese’s graphic novel “Coady”. NICOLE SULLIVAN/CAPE BRETON POST Nicole Sullivan/Cape Breton PostArticle contentBEST FRIENDS TO BUSINESS PARTNERSArticle contentWhile Hubbert didn’t experience the bullying Grace did, she did experience bigotry from adults and environments she had to be in regularly outside her home.Article contentFeeling unaccepted and unable to be fully herself, Hubbert kept a part hidden until she met Grace.Article contentHubbert started two weeks after Grace and she laughs when asked what her first thought of her now fiancée was.Article content“I thought you looked so gay,” said Hubbert, who was from North Sydney.Article contentGrace had her walls up, unsure what Hubbert’s views on the 2SLGBTQ+ community were. In a couple of weeks, the walls started to come down and the two quickly became close friends.Article contentAs the months went on, their feelings for each other grew but both thought they weren’t reciprocated. They kept their crushes secret from each other until Hubbert couldn’t anymore.Article content“I got very nervous because I thought that she was going to say, ‘So, it seems like you have a crush on me and I don’t like that,’” Grace said about the conversation in 2023.Article contentArticle content“That’s not what she said. We both confessed our feelings and talked for a couple of hours about that.”Article contentWithin the first year, the couple moved in together three months later and shared many life-changing events.Article contentThey travelled overseas, backpacking for four months. When Hubbert’s chronic illness started, Grace took care of her and became her advocate. Through deaths in the family and holiday celebrations, Grace and Hubbert fit perfectly into each other’s lives.Article contentHubbert and Grace’s moms are best friends, sharing wine and conversations that Grace isn’t always privy to.Article contentTaking over On the Same Page bookstore in 2025 was a spur-of-the-moment decision and since opening the doors in June of that year, it has been a whirlwind. They thought running a business would be like working together.Article contentIt isn’t. They hadn’t expected it to take over every part of their lives.Article content“Every date night becomes a business meeting,” said Hubbert.Article contentHowever, it is worth it for the couple, who are happy their queer-owned business is providing an inclusive space for everyone.Article contentIt’s the type of space that was missing in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality when they were growing up.Article content
Cape Breton Parade grand marshals celebrate story of love and acceptance
