Family Time

 

We always watched the television while we ate our dinner, usually the CBS evening news. That's how we knew when it was time to eat. During the commercials we'd talk about what we'd seen in the previous eight minutes. I guess we were like any other family that way.

"…and in medical news, the FDA announced it will approve the prescription sale of Xycol-Z, the so called anti-gay drug…"

"Have to make Steph a doctor's appointment," Dad said a minute later and Mom smiled at me.

"Did you hear that, Steph?" she asked. "There's a cure."

"I didn't know I was sick." I shrugged, stabbing a meatball and watching the Ford commercial out of the corner of my eye.

"Well, you're not sick," Dad told me. "You're just a bit queer, that's all."

"A lot queer." Suzy giggled, sounding more like a little sister than a big one.

"I'll call the clinic tomorrow," Mom decided, reaching over to pat my hand. "You won't be any kind of queer much longer, dear."

"I kinda like being queer though," I told her.

"That's the third symptom," my younger brother, Todd, informed us seriously.

"What's the first two?" Dad wondered.

"How would you know?" Mom narrowed her eyes.

"Todd's queer!" Suzy laughed and clapped her hands like a trained seal.

"We were drinking from the same glass last week," I said, sort of joking, but they weren't paying attention.

"I am not!" Todd rolled his eyes at Suzy and turned to Dad. "Denial is the first symptom."

"Oh," Dad nodded with a glance at Mom.

"Don't deny it, Todd!" Suzy rolled her eyes right back at him.

"What's the second symptom?" Mom asked.

"Bad breath?" I guessed.

"What?" Todd gave me a look. "Acceptance is the second symptom."

"Sounds familiar," Dad agreed. "Isn't bargaining in there someplace?"

"Oh yeah." I nodded. "Lots of bargaining, Dad."

"Not that kind of bargaining," Suzy said. "He means like with God or whatever."

"God's queer?" I teased her, trying to look serious.

"I don't understand any of this." Mom shook her head. "Oh! The commercials are done."

We didn't say anything else for another eight minutes and by then the television had changed the subject to the Chinese panda bears visiting San Diego Zoo.

"Aren't those bears cute?" Mom asked us with a smile and we all agreed that Chinese panda bears are very cute.

 

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