Page:Clones - Ryan Somma.pdf/18

 would when I made an especially kinky bedroom request, "Gross!"

My face flushed red, but I managed put on my best righteous indignation look, shaking my finger at her, "I don't know what you're thinking young lady, but grow up!" Good recovery.

Now it was time to get back in control.

"Okay kids," I held up my hands. "What's brought this up?"

Alex and Emo both frowned at me.

Emo cocked one eye at me quizzically, "Are you deliberately being obtuse?"

"Huh?" I yoked. "I‘m a little overweight but—"

"Obtuse," Alex repeated the funny word. "Deliberately ignorant, bullheaded."

"Wha?"

"After everything we've just told you, you're asking us why we're bringing this up," Emo explained.

"Yeah! I am!" I shot back. "So you kids have been suspicious for a long time. Big deal, but you've decided to call a family conference over it. You've rehearsed this whole schpiel I dunno how many times, but you're even using big words that nobody understands to control the conversation. Something triggered what I'm witnessing here. Something made the pot boil over so that you kids had to jimmy-up up this whole dramatic confrontation. What was the straw that broke the weak link in the chain?"

Emo was obviously off-balance. "Uh…" he began and looked to Alex for support.

''Ah-ha! The advantage is mine!'' I thought, and then said in my most parental sympathetic tone, "Did someone say something to you? I mean, other than just the kids making fun at the bus stop?"

Emo was playing with his hands now and Alex was avoiding my eyes. Finally she said, "Tony Ford‘s mom s-said… sh-she said…"

Tears were welling up in Alex‘s eyes, she was choking on her words the way she did as a little girl. My blood started to boil. What had that tight-ass busy-body said to hurt my baby girl?

"Mrs. Ford said we were an abomination in the eyes of God," Emo blurted out suddenly.