Adult Memoir
I put my keys in the ignition and started the truck. Flipping through all the channels trying to find music other than Adam Sandler's "Thanksgiving song." I finally gave up and turned the radio off. Driving out to my dad's house was something I rarely did, so whenever I drive out there, I see different scenery that went unnoticed before. The ten minute drive took me straight to his driveway and the first difference I recognized was my sister's car wasn't there, instead I saw a black GMC Envoy.
Is that a girl or a boy.... I wondered as I sat across from "it," trying to choke down my mash potato. It spoke with the whole family instead of me, except for the occasional "pass the salt" or "pass the butter." "Michelle, what do you do for work?" My father asked.. finally I knew what gender "it" was.
I tried my absolute best not to stare at Michelle. She had red hair which was cut in a style a man would have. She wore a white polo and did not have any jewelry anywhere. Her voice was even a little bit manly and she had much more in common with my dad than my step mom.. they were getting along like peanut butter and fluff. Although I knew she was a girl, there wren't any facial features that made her look like one.
Dinner remained somewhat awkward and my sister barely said a word to me. I left the house to head back home and decided to not tell my mom about the encounter.. it was probably nothing.
***
I was unwrapping my Subway sandwich when my mom walked through the door in her uniform. "We have something we have to talk about," she took a deep breath and set her suitcase on the floor and walked over to the table to take a seat across from me. "Okay, who is it about?" I asked, nervously, hoping she wouldn't say me. "It's about your sister and something she told your father recently."
***
Family events became awkward for the longest time. I was never sure if it was as strange for everyone else as it was for me. Michelle talked to me once and a while during a family conversation but never one on one. I felt weird around her, if she was attracted to my sister, was she attracted to me too?
You've learned the lesson of the linked vignette very well and handle it here in fine style, keeping it short and sweet for maximum impact.
ReplyDeleteI do think you miss a bet not giving a little physical description of your first impression of Michelle, letting us see why you're not sure of her gender. If you did that, it would probably allow you to avoid writing, "I sat across from 'it'..." which is very jarring to a reader.