"But Mooooom, why do I have to go over to Carl's house to spend the night? Not only is my average caloric intake probably going to triple at dinnertime, the only program he has for his GameStation is Llamapalooza One through Six!"
Jimmy's mom handed him his overnight bag and began to guide him towards the door. "Now, Jimmy, you know that every once and a while your father and I try to have a night all to ourselves. I don't think its too much of a hardship for you to stay at friend's house for one evening."
"Can't I just sleep in my secret-, er, my clubhouse?"
His mom shook her head. "Not with the amount of surveillance equipment I know you have, dear."
He glanced over to see if his dad was anywhere near. He wasn't visible, but since Dad had said he was A) Busy trying to alphabetize his wooden decoy collection, and B) None too sure what order the letters of the alphabet went in the first place, Jimmy was fairly certain there was no chance of him arriving to interrupt any time soon. "Mom, could I ask you a kinda personal question?"
"Why that depends, dear. What do you want to know?"
"You're an intelligent woman. I mean, you're not as intelligent as me (who is?), but at least you know the difference between a multi-state differential flux capacitor and a carburetor, right?"
"Hey, Sugarbooger! Does the letter C come before or after A"? his dad's voice called from down the hall.
"Anyway, what I wanted to know is, why on earth did you ever choose Dad to join in a long term monogamous heterosexual legally recognized by the state domestic partnership with?"
His mom smiled at him gently. "Jimmy, there's a lot more to choosing a partner to live your life with than... er..."
"The ability to find your way out of the bathroom without getting lost?"
"He's been working very hard on that, dear. Anyway, I have my reasons."
"What reasons?" Jimmy demanded.
"Oh, Sugarbooger! I've got all my ducks in a row, and now Mr. Happy Jackhammer wants to do some road work!"
Jimmy blinked. "This is one of those 'You'll understand when and if you survive to adolescence' things, isn't it?"
"Enjoy your stay at Carl's, dear," Mom said, and shoved him out the door.