You ready for that beer?

Party preperations

I come to visit Chris pretty often, for my apartment is just around the corner from the hospital and it turns out we actually have quite much to talk about. I think she's the first girl ever I can have a serious conversation about motor bikes with. And I know it comes a little bit late, but I finally realize that with girls you can do other things than flirting. Never would have thought that, but having a lesbian in my life actually seems to teach me a lot about women.

The others drop by occasionly, too. Just like that, weeks pass by and it's already becoming autumn. One warm, golden Saturday morning, Hondo has us all gathered to walk Chris out of the hospital, finally.

"So, everyone ready for the party tonight?", Luca calls as Chris puts on her coat.

We all cheer. Tan is the only one that has to back out.

"Sorry", he says remorseful. "I've totally forgot, but I already got plans for tonight."

There is a lot of screaming and whistling right away.

"Don't tell me you've got a new girlfriend!", Luca shouts above the noise. "What's her name?"

Tan rolls his eyes. "Can't I have friends now? I'm meeting up with my old classmate, Kim Holland, who's just in town."

Luca whistles again. "Old classmate, you say?"

"Will you stop it already!" Tan pushes him away, laughing. "We're just friends. And, by the way, Kim's a boy and straight as a country road. If your current relationship doesn't work out, maybe we could set him up with you, Chris."

As the others bray even harder, I choke on my laugh. Have I gone insane now or what? Wasn't Chris into girls last week?

"I thought you liked girls", I ask as the others go silent, managing to make it sound like I don't care. I'm don't even know anymore if that is true or not.

"I do like girls", Chris says, sounding amused. "But I also like boys. Never heard of bisexuality before, you country bumpkin?"

"I do!", I tell her, playing offended. "For your information, I also know what pansexuality, polysexuality and pansexuality is."

She just laughs, whatever that means.

Now I do feel a little offended. "Look, I am not that bad a person you probably think I am!"

Luckily, she doesn't respond to that and soon the conversation's all about liquor, party food and games again.

So Chris is bisexual.

Am I relieved? Maybe a teeny tiny little bit. But I blame the fact that I tried to ask Chris out for more times I can even remember, and it would have been embarrassing if she had been a lesbian the whole time. Since she went to hospital, I had dropped it because she refused more times than my pride could take. Now we actually were something like friends, I guess. That also explains why I care so much for her and was so afraid that day she lost her consciousness in that hunting box. Yeah, it all makes perfect sense.

Drrt. Drrt. Drrt.

"Right back", I whisper to the others and make a vague gesture while backing out and leaving the room. In the empty hospital corridor, I accept the call.

"Hey, Mama"

Ivy Nancy, my foster mother, has always been 'Mama' for me, just as I call her husband 'Papa'. They are not Mom and Dad because they are not my real parents. Which doesn't mean I love them any less because that's the opposite of the truth. When it comes to my father ... I would rather forget he even existed.

"Hey, Jim, darling."

I can sense immediatly that something's wrong. My foster parents were always proud on her origin and their british accent and they tried hard not to lose it in the US. The dominance of Mamas accent always depends on her state of mind, and now she sounds all American, which is the worst sign of all.

"Everything okay with you and Papa?", I ask carefully.

She fights a sob, and for a moment, I freeze.

"No, we both are fine, darling", she says and now begins to cry unrestrained. "It's just ... It's Bobby."

That name hits me right in the face. Bobby. My mate, my friend, my brother. The best example on how a dog can be part of a family.

I swallow hard. "What's with him?"

Mama takes a deep breath. "Now we all have to be strong", she says. "Jimmy, he got cancer. He's an old dog, they ... They wanna put him down."