Ecie & Esme III: Forever and a Day

Three

'So here's the thing,' Esme said as they drove out of Los Angeles. 'You've got to look out for mom's brothers. They're really nice, but they can get a little crazy.'

'Okay,' Lauren nodded. 'Do they all get on?'

'Oh yeah,' Verde laughed. 'But they really get on Sofie's nerves most of the time.'

'She's got three brothers and they're all older than her,' Ecie said. 'There's Morton and he's the oldest, he's fifty years old; then there's Hugh, he's forty seven...'

'...then it's uncle Jack,' Esme smiled. 'He's forty five; and finally there's uncle Adam. He's forty three.'

'That's cool,' Lauren nodded. 'They've got quite a big family.'

'Yeah,' Esme nodded. 'They might have had more of them, but their mom died when mom was only two. Granddad had to raise them all by himself and it was tough because he was a historian and he wrote books and stuff. He was travelling a lot, so all the kids were homeschooled.'

'I'm so sorry,' Lauren said sympathetically. 'That must have been really bad.'

'They got on okay,' Esme replied. 'Granddad came out when mom was about fifteen and he's been with his partner, Jackson, for like thirty years. You should see them together, they're so cute.'

'You mean your grandfather is gay?' Lauren asked surprised. 'That's amazing.'

'Yeah,' Esme nodded. 'Obviously at the time it was hard for him and stuff, but his family has always been really supportive and stuff and we all love him to pieces.'

'He's great to talk to,' Verde chimed in. 'I think he was the one who really said it was okay to be who you truly are. He made everything make sense.'

Lauren looked at Verde. 'So what's your deal? You're gay?'

Esme and Ecie looked at each other as Verde prepared to answer.

'I'm actually bisexual,' Verde replied. 'You just learn to be yourself and not to be put down by what people have to say.'

Lauren nodded. 'Has it been hard?'

'I've got a whole new family,' Verde smiled. 'They've always been there when it's gotten hard.'

Lauren nodded understanding. 'So what do your uncles do?'

'Well uncle Hugh and uncle Jack are both historians and they travel a lot,' Esme replied. 'Adam is a CEO for a computer software firm and Morton is the creative director of Push magazine.'

'You mean the really cool house and interior design one?' Lauren asked excitedly.

'That's the one,' Esme laughed. 'They're really cool and it's great seeing them. The only down side is that we really only see them about once a year because they're always working and we've got school and stuff.'

'How do their wives and stuff cope?' Lauren asked. 'It must be crazy for them.'

'Well Jack has been divorced once and is going through a second one,' Ecie said. 'Adam and Hugh have been happily married for like twenty years and Morton has been with the same girl since they met on a park bench. It's kind of weird.'

'I find your whole family so interesting,' Lauren said. 'But what about your dad?'

'Oh dad,' Esme laughed. 'He's an only child. His parents were activists and stuff and protested against the Vietnam war and the Korean war and stuff. He grew up around the Castro district where all those gay right things took place. So as you can guess, he's really into that stuff.'