Lunch Had Well And Truly Been Interrupted

‘Beep!' ‘Beep!’ ‘Beep!’ the fire alarm rang. I sat upright, breathing heavily. I looked around, trying to figure out where the fire was. There were no flames anywhere. Disoriented, I gazed down at my phone and facepalmed. My mother was calling. In hindsight, I don’t think I should have set her ringtone as a fire alarm. It really ruined my morning. I snatched the phone and answered it.

“Why are you calling me at this ungodly hour, mother?” I grumbled. I could practically hear her rolling her eyes at me.

“Well, good morning to you too, honey," she drawled. “I’m calling to remind you that we’re going to have lunch at my place today.” I held the phone at arm’s length and cursed. I’d forgotten about this family lunch she’d been trying to organize for the past 3 months.

“You forgot, didn't you,” she sighed.

I weakly tried to protest. “You know I’ve been trying to figure out that math problem at work.”

“Whatever. Just come by, around, 12 today, or you’ll be sorry.” And with that charming statement, she hung up.

I dragged myself out of bed and went to take a shower. After I finished my shower, I opened my tiny closet. Looking at my biochromatic choices, I settled on a black t-shirt and blue jeans. A true classic if I say so myself. I walked over to the fridge and pulled out my breakfast; a gorgeous, delicious jar of Nutella. My mother and sister had always been disgusted with my eating habits. Then again, I only pretended to listen to their objections. Once I finished wolfing down the contents of the jar, I walked out of the house and sat on my motorbike. With a mighty roar, the engine started up, and I took off towards my mom’s house.

Half an hour later, I pulled up in front of my childhood home. I rang the doorbell, and as the door opened, a sturdy pair of arms engulfed me.

“Mom, too tight,” I choked out. She finally released me and launched into her regular neighborhood updates.

“Did you hear about Mr. and Mrs. Johnson? It’s an absolute scandal, I tell you!” Ah, no wonder I avoided coming back here. As my mom rambled on and on about people I didn’t know or care about, I looked around and interrupted her mid-rant.

“Mom, where’s Lily?”

She finally stopped and shrugged. “I don’t know. She said she’d be late.”

I raised my eyebrows. That did not sound like my sister. She is my sister, and I love her and all, but she was, well, to put it nicely, a control freak sent from Hell with the sole purpose of torturing me. I am the most disorganized person you will ever meet, and she was always trailing behind me, picking up the trash I left behind and yelling at me about my sense of tidiness, or in this case, my lack thereof.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the doorbell ringing. I strolled to the door and opened it.

“Well, hello Lily, long time no see,” I quipped. I looked at the woman standing next to her and smiled.

“Hey, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Lily’s sister.” She was tall, but her shirt was hastily buttoned up. I knew mom would have a field day with that outfit. She really was too traditional for her own good. I moved aside to let them in, and my mother shrieked as she spotted her favorite child.

She all but jumped on Lily, and after cooing over her for five whole minutes, finally noticed her companion. Her lip curled in distaste at seeing Lily’s friend’s clothes. Despite this, she greeted Jane happily and dragged the two of them into the dining room, chattering without taking a breather. I had to admit, I was impressed by her lung capacity.

We finally reached the dining room, and I beelined straight to my customary seat. Lily pulled Jane down to the seat next to her, across from me. My mother pulled out the roast she made, and as I took a whiff of it, my mouth watered. As I began to prepare myself for the meal, I accidentally dropped my fork under the table. I leaned down to retrieve it, and my gaze fell upon the intertwined hands of the two women sitting in front of me.

Realization struck.

My fork has forgotten. I stood up and asked Lily to come outside with me. She looked at me, confused, and reluctantly agreed.

As soon as we were outside, I turned around to smirk at her.

“Do you have anything to tell me, sis?” She looked at me, bewildered. I had forgotten what a good liar she was.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”, she stated.

“Nothing about that lovely girl you brought home? Lily, I thought we were close enough for you to tell me you played for the other team.”

A brief look of panic appeared on her face. She leaned forward and whispered worriedly, “Please don’t say anything to mom yet. I was planning on telling her after lunch.”

I sighed with relief. We both had been witness to mom’s homophobic lectures for the better parts of our lives, and I had really been looking forward to a nice meal with my family.

“Fine, but I want you to know that I’m here for you.” She looked at me, with tears in her eyes. Before it registered, she had her arms around me, something she hadn’t done since our father died three years ago.

“I love you sometimes,” she sobbed. I chuckled, trying to avoid tears myself.

“Who wouldn’t? I mean, I’m one of the best sisters ever.” She rolled her eyes and moved away. Despite her annoyance, I could see her smile threatening to break out.

“Let’s go back inside,” I declared, swinging my arms around her shoulder.

We walked back to the dining room, just as the roast landed on the table. The sisterly moment quickly faded as I darted to the table to serve myself. As I began to help myself, my mother innocently asked, “So any man in your life, Lily?”

Jane tensed up. Lily’s face lost all its colour, and I choked on air. “Well, there’s no man,” Lily finally answered. I sniggered to myself at her wording.

“And what about you, Jane, dear? I saw that enormous rock on your finger as you walked in.”

I froze.

I looked at Lily in barely disguised shock. She gave me an almost imperceptible nod and seemed to ready herself. I realized what was going to happen only seconds before it actually did.

“Mom, I gave Jane that ring. We’re engaged and we're in love.” With that, lunch had well and truly been interrupted. My mother’s jaw dropped. I steeled myself for the inevitable.

“You’re in love with a woman. You’re one of the gays,” she quietly murmured to herself. I glanced at Lily and Jane and saw the fear in their eyes. Then, it happened.

My mother stood up and began pacing the room, ranting, “I thought I raised you better than this, Lily. Don’t you know it’s abnormal and it defies God’s will?”

Lily stood up, her eyes blazing. I sunk into my seat. Jane tried to pull Lily down but to no avail. “Mom, I love her, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. I’m happier than I’ve ever been and if you can’t accept my happiness because it defies your God’s will, then I’m sorry for you. If you can’t come to terms with who I am, you only have one daughter from now on.” She grabbed Jane and stormed out. As she was slamming the door behind her, my mom shouted, “Thank God! That sinner is gone from my house.”

Now I could feel my blood boiling. My sister was a lot of things: a control freak, an obsessive, and a neat freak, but she was not a sinner. I took a deep breath. While every fiber of my being disagreed with what my mother had said, she had already lost the love of her life and now her daughter.

“There’s a special place in Hell reserved for these awful gays that are threatening our way of life. I hope she rots there.”

That did it. I stood up and firmly stated, “Mom, you have to stop being so closed-minded. Lily is your daughter, and she’s found someone she wants to spend the rest of her life with.”

She scoffed, “Yeah, and in doing so, has condemned herself to an eternity of rightful torture.”

I stared at her in disbelief. Trembling with rage, I walked to the door and growled, “Call me when you’re ready to accept your daughter and talk to her because I know for a fact that she won’t answer.” My mother looked at me, betrayed. Her eyes were wide, but there was an almost undetectable sneer to her lips.

“Honey, please. I can’t lose you too.” I looked at her sadly, wondering where the loving mother who raised me went.

“You haven’t lost me, mom. Whether you do is your choice. Try and make peace with who Lily is and you’ll have both of us back. Otherwise, you don’t have any children.” I strode out the door with my head held high. There wasn’t anything else I wanted more than my mom to take the first option.

She didn’t.