"Ruthie! You're going to miss the bus...again!" Annie's piercing
voice rang through the halls of the Camden home. As of late, Ruthie
hadn't been on time for her fifth grade class. This act of truancy
came to a complete shock to Annie. She always thought that she had
raised the four others to believe that if you arrive somewhere on
time, you will look professional, conservative...and most of all,
responsible. Ruthie seemed to lack each of these qualities.
Interrupting the thoughts of her mother, Ruthie walks down the creeky steps sporting an outfit that she may have borrowed from Britney Spears.
"I'm ready." Ruthie said as she grabbed her lunch. Her tan belly starring Annie right in the face as if to say, "Go ahead. Try to cover me up, MOM."
"No. You're not ready." With a slight look of shock and disgust in her face. "Go upstairs and change for school."
"Mom, I have to impress Amber with my new threads! Its very important to a fifth grader!"
"Well, I guess I don't understand, right? Go upstairs and put on that sweater grandma bought you for Christmas." Ruthie didn't move. She didn't even budge. "NOW!" Annie yelled pointing at the steps.
"I hope you're happy! Amber is going to break-up with me now!" Ruthie said as her tall boots clicked all the way up the steps.
"Break-up with her?" Annie thought. It wouldn't shock Annie if Ruthie already had a boyfriend. But what parent would name their son Amber?
The car ride to school was tense. Ruthie had regretted missing the bus, because she was now stuck with her mother the whole way to school.
"Ruthie," Annie began. She felt a small lump rise in her throat. Surely she wasn't afraid to talk to her daughter. After all, she was her daughter. "Who is Amber?" Annie looked down at Ruthie to see her big brown eyes glaring right through her's.
"Who do you think?" Ruthie asked sarcastically. Any chance she got to drive her mother crazy, she took.
"Well honey...I don't know. Thats why I asked."
"Amber is my girlfriend." Ruthie said as she grabbed her pink Jansport and headed for the halls of John Adams Elementary. Annie couldn't think of a response quick enough, for she was in such deep shock.
"W-wh...girlfriend?!" Annie gasped. The only response she received was the slamming of the car door. Girlfriend? She thought the whole way home. Was Ruthie just joking? Surely she can't be gay! What if she is, though? What in the hell did Eric do wrong?
Slamming the door shut behind her, Annie yelled for her husband Eric. Calm and collected, Eric came out of the den, removing the spectacles from his face.
"What? What is it, Annie?" Eric asked nervously. He wasn't sure if one of the kids were in trouble or if he was in trouble with Annie. Secretly, he hoped it was one of the kids.
"What did you do wrong with Ruthie?" Bingo. Once again, Eric Camden was in trouble. He couldn't think of a quick answer and he wasn't really sure why Annie was pestering him with this question.
"What do you mean what did I do wrong?" Eric asked, afraid of the answer. This was a waste of time. He could be back on his computer looking at the newest porn site that Matt had sent him over e-mail.
"Not only is Ruthie late everday for school, but she is a lesbian!" Annie yelled as if Eric was next door instead of right next to her.
"A lesbian?"
"Yes, a lesbian. Your daughter is a lesbian. She is dating a girl named Amber, who I am sure is a darling girl, but she should be dating one of our sons! NOT our daughter!" Before Eric could bring the words to his lips, Mary, the oldest girl, walks through the door. Both of her parents stare straight at her.
"Whoa. Whats going on?" Mary asked switching glances back and forth between her mom and dad.
"Whats going on? Whats going on? I'll tell you whats going on! Your sister is a lesbian!" Annie furiously snipped.
"Lucy?! I always knew that she didn't really love Robbie like I did! You know, I could sense this, Mom! Once she started to become best friends with Jenny Sawyer in-" Mary began. She was cut short by the anger of her mom.
"Not Lucy! Although, she better not be either. I'm talking about Ruthie!"
"RUTHIE," Her eyes reaching the size of saucers. "No way...I don't believe it." Mary said as she crossed her arms.
"Well you better believe it! She is dating a girl in her class!"
"I think that we better reach the parents of this Amber girl and see if we can't, well...work things out." Eric offered. Annie just shot him a glare.
"I don't care what you do. This is your problem, so you better find a way to fix it." Annie walked out of the room leaving Mary and Eric to exchange glances.
"I'm home!" Lucy, the middle Camden girl, yelled through the house as she set her keys down. She peered into the den to see her father searching through the phone book with cordless in hand. Walking down towards the kitchen, she saw her mother sitting at the table with her head in her hands.
"Did you know about Ruthie?" Annie asked, looking quite stressed.
"Know what?"
"That she is-"
"A lesbian?"
"You knew?!"
"Of course I knew. What do you think we talk about on the way home from school?" Lucy said as if her mother should've known.
"You didn't do anything to stop this?!"
"No. Does it matter?"
"Of course it matters! Do you know what the church will say about us, Lucy!"
"You're unbelievable!" Lucy said as she stormed out of the house. It was 3:00, so Annie assumed she was going to pick Ruthie up from school.
"School was so great today, Lucy!" Ruthie said as she hopped into the car.
"Why is that?" Lucy asked, admit tingly interested in the conversation with her 10-year-old sister.
"Well, Amber told me that she loved me!" The words stung at Lucy like a bee. At first she was supportive of Ruthie's choice to be a lesbian, but now it seemed weird. Almost too weird. Lucy decided maybe it was best just to drive Ruthie home and let mom and dad deal with this problem.
"Ruthie, go see your father." Annie said calmly as Ruthie walked through the door. Ruthie simply shrugged her shoulders and headed to the den where her father searched vigorously through the yellow pages.
"Hey pops!" Ruthie said as she plopped herself on the burgundy chair in front of her dad. Eric removed his glasses and looked at his daughter.
"Hi there Ruthie. How was school."
"A total bore. But hey, I got to see my girlfriend!"
"G-g-girlfriend, eh?" Eric stuttered.
"Yup. Thats what I said, Daddio."
"Well Ruthie, thats sort of what I wanted to talk to you about. You know, girls should love boys. Not other girls."
"Thats what I thought, too. But than I saw mommy making out with the mailman and I was just convinced that boys were gross!" Without even realizing what she had just said, Ruthie had let her mom's secret slip. "Ooops." Ruthie said as she placed her tiny hands over her mouth.
"What?" Eric could barely speak. Was it true? Had Annie been cheating on him? "I think that we have a bigger problem here, Ruthie. Excuse me." Eric patted Ruthie on the head and walked to the kitchen where Annie was cooking dinner.
"Did you make Ruthie straight again?"
"No. We have bigger problems here." Seriously, Eric grabbed Annie by the shoulders and sat her down at the kitchen table.
"What? What is it, Eric?" Annie was nervous. Had Simon turned gay as well? Ruthie and Simon?
"The mailman." Eric watched as Annie's eyes began to widen. He could see the shadows of Lucy, Mary, and Simon as they listened to the conversation in the kitchen, but he didn't care.
"Eric, I-" Annie stammered for her words.
"Answer me this...is it true?"
"Yes." Annie said tilting her head to the side.
"Why?"
"It all began ten years ago. I had never been with a black guy and Lamont seemed so intriguing. He always brought our mail on time, which meant that he was responsible, professional...conservative. I fell in love with him. And I even had a child with him." Annie said as she peered over to Eric.
"You have another child out there?" Eric asked in disbelief.
"No. Her name is Ruthie."
TO BE CONTINUED....
Interrupting the thoughts of her mother, Ruthie walks down the creeky steps sporting an outfit that she may have borrowed from Britney Spears.
"I'm ready." Ruthie said as she grabbed her lunch. Her tan belly starring Annie right in the face as if to say, "Go ahead. Try to cover me up, MOM."
"No. You're not ready." With a slight look of shock and disgust in her face. "Go upstairs and change for school."
"Mom, I have to impress Amber with my new threads! Its very important to a fifth grader!"
"Well, I guess I don't understand, right? Go upstairs and put on that sweater grandma bought you for Christmas." Ruthie didn't move. She didn't even budge. "NOW!" Annie yelled pointing at the steps.
"I hope you're happy! Amber is going to break-up with me now!" Ruthie said as her tall boots clicked all the way up the steps.
"Break-up with her?" Annie thought. It wouldn't shock Annie if Ruthie already had a boyfriend. But what parent would name their son Amber?
The car ride to school was tense. Ruthie had regretted missing the bus, because she was now stuck with her mother the whole way to school.
"Ruthie," Annie began. She felt a small lump rise in her throat. Surely she wasn't afraid to talk to her daughter. After all, she was her daughter. "Who is Amber?" Annie looked down at Ruthie to see her big brown eyes glaring right through her's.
"Who do you think?" Ruthie asked sarcastically. Any chance she got to drive her mother crazy, she took.
"Well honey...I don't know. Thats why I asked."
"Amber is my girlfriend." Ruthie said as she grabbed her pink Jansport and headed for the halls of John Adams Elementary. Annie couldn't think of a response quick enough, for she was in such deep shock.
"W-wh...girlfriend?!" Annie gasped. The only response she received was the slamming of the car door. Girlfriend? She thought the whole way home. Was Ruthie just joking? Surely she can't be gay! What if she is, though? What in the hell did Eric do wrong?
Slamming the door shut behind her, Annie yelled for her husband Eric. Calm and collected, Eric came out of the den, removing the spectacles from his face.
"What? What is it, Annie?" Eric asked nervously. He wasn't sure if one of the kids were in trouble or if he was in trouble with Annie. Secretly, he hoped it was one of the kids.
"What did you do wrong with Ruthie?" Bingo. Once again, Eric Camden was in trouble. He couldn't think of a quick answer and he wasn't really sure why Annie was pestering him with this question.
"What do you mean what did I do wrong?" Eric asked, afraid of the answer. This was a waste of time. He could be back on his computer looking at the newest porn site that Matt had sent him over e-mail.
"Not only is Ruthie late everday for school, but she is a lesbian!" Annie yelled as if Eric was next door instead of right next to her.
"A lesbian?"
"Yes, a lesbian. Your daughter is a lesbian. She is dating a girl named Amber, who I am sure is a darling girl, but she should be dating one of our sons! NOT our daughter!" Before Eric could bring the words to his lips, Mary, the oldest girl, walks through the door. Both of her parents stare straight at her.
"Whoa. Whats going on?" Mary asked switching glances back and forth between her mom and dad.
"Whats going on? Whats going on? I'll tell you whats going on! Your sister is a lesbian!" Annie furiously snipped.
"Lucy?! I always knew that she didn't really love Robbie like I did! You know, I could sense this, Mom! Once she started to become best friends with Jenny Sawyer in-" Mary began. She was cut short by the anger of her mom.
"Not Lucy! Although, she better not be either. I'm talking about Ruthie!"
"RUTHIE," Her eyes reaching the size of saucers. "No way...I don't believe it." Mary said as she crossed her arms.
"Well you better believe it! She is dating a girl in her class!"
"I think that we better reach the parents of this Amber girl and see if we can't, well...work things out." Eric offered. Annie just shot him a glare.
"I don't care what you do. This is your problem, so you better find a way to fix it." Annie walked out of the room leaving Mary and Eric to exchange glances.
"I'm home!" Lucy, the middle Camden girl, yelled through the house as she set her keys down. She peered into the den to see her father searching through the phone book with cordless in hand. Walking down towards the kitchen, she saw her mother sitting at the table with her head in her hands.
"Did you know about Ruthie?" Annie asked, looking quite stressed.
"Know what?"
"That she is-"
"A lesbian?"
"You knew?!"
"Of course I knew. What do you think we talk about on the way home from school?" Lucy said as if her mother should've known.
"You didn't do anything to stop this?!"
"No. Does it matter?"
"Of course it matters! Do you know what the church will say about us, Lucy!"
"You're unbelievable!" Lucy said as she stormed out of the house. It was 3:00, so Annie assumed she was going to pick Ruthie up from school.
"School was so great today, Lucy!" Ruthie said as she hopped into the car.
"Why is that?" Lucy asked, admit tingly interested in the conversation with her 10-year-old sister.
"Well, Amber told me that she loved me!" The words stung at Lucy like a bee. At first she was supportive of Ruthie's choice to be a lesbian, but now it seemed weird. Almost too weird. Lucy decided maybe it was best just to drive Ruthie home and let mom and dad deal with this problem.
"Ruthie, go see your father." Annie said calmly as Ruthie walked through the door. Ruthie simply shrugged her shoulders and headed to the den where her father searched vigorously through the yellow pages.
"Hey pops!" Ruthie said as she plopped herself on the burgundy chair in front of her dad. Eric removed his glasses and looked at his daughter.
"Hi there Ruthie. How was school."
"A total bore. But hey, I got to see my girlfriend!"
"G-g-girlfriend, eh?" Eric stuttered.
"Yup. Thats what I said, Daddio."
"Well Ruthie, thats sort of what I wanted to talk to you about. You know, girls should love boys. Not other girls."
"Thats what I thought, too. But than I saw mommy making out with the mailman and I was just convinced that boys were gross!" Without even realizing what she had just said, Ruthie had let her mom's secret slip. "Ooops." Ruthie said as she placed her tiny hands over her mouth.
"What?" Eric could barely speak. Was it true? Had Annie been cheating on him? "I think that we have a bigger problem here, Ruthie. Excuse me." Eric patted Ruthie on the head and walked to the kitchen where Annie was cooking dinner.
"Did you make Ruthie straight again?"
"No. We have bigger problems here." Seriously, Eric grabbed Annie by the shoulders and sat her down at the kitchen table.
"What? What is it, Eric?" Annie was nervous. Had Simon turned gay as well? Ruthie and Simon?
"The mailman." Eric watched as Annie's eyes began to widen. He could see the shadows of Lucy, Mary, and Simon as they listened to the conversation in the kitchen, but he didn't care.
"Eric, I-" Annie stammered for her words.
"Answer me this...is it true?"
"Yes." Annie said tilting her head to the side.
"Why?"
"It all began ten years ago. I had never been with a black guy and Lamont seemed so intriguing. He always brought our mail on time, which meant that he was responsible, professional...conservative. I fell in love with him. And I even had a child with him." Annie said as she peered over to Eric.
"You have another child out there?" Eric asked in disbelief.
"No. Her name is Ruthie."
TO BE CONTINUED....