7 Kids On a Couch

Family, Dinner, and Family Dinner

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"Joey!" Ray burst into the living room where Joey laid on Mateo's big green couch. Joey shot up in surprise and looked at Ray confused, "Do you wanna go on a date with me?" Ray asked nervously.

"Uhh," Joey contemplated, "I mean yeah I would lo-"

"No, not like that." Ray interrupted.

"Oh." Joey squinted at Ray, "what other ways do you go on dates?"

"I have this cousin right, her name is Jessica, and she's like such a bitch. And I told her I was gonna bring my boyfriend to this dumb family reunion today and I, well I didn't actually end up getting a boyfriend. But then I thought about my bff who is also devilishly handsome and hasn't met my family yet, and I remembered he's also an amazing actor." Ray looked at Joey expectantly.

"And that's me, right?"

Ray laughed, "Yes, of course, that's you! Please Joey, just one fake date."

"Alright, I'm free today." Joey shrugged.

"Really? That easy? Alright, it'll be fun!"

"What should I wear?" He asked with a shy smile, not quite knowing what he was in for.

"That's a good question, perhaps we need to do a makeover!"

Joey was pulled to his room and then put into several different outfits in a classic movie montage style. Ray blasted some shitty 90's pop and made Joey try on an assortment of boyfriend type outfits. Once Joey and Ray finally found an outfit that was perfect 'take home to family' material the two were sitting on the floor in a pile of clothes laughing and singing along to the music.

"Shit," Ray looked at the time, "I'm gonna go grab my jacket, then we have to go. Meet me by the door" And with that, they ran off and Joey wondered, just a little bit, about what he had gotten into.

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James and Ryan sat together at the kitchen island. Ryan, nursing a stiff drink, was telling James a story of her latest hookup. James, drinking a cold nonalcoholic water, was applying a skill that he had built up in the years of his friendship with Ryan which combined an equal mix of nodding smiling and saying small 'hmm's and 'really?'s to make it seem like he was listening.

"You know I can tell when you're not listening to me James," Ryan said, "that smile and nod thing hasn't worked on me since like 9th grade."

"I know," James sighed, "you usually just keep talking though, and I keep pretending to listen. That's just how it goes for us sometimes Rye."

Ryan shrugged, "I know. Look, I'm not trying to break our normal routine or anything but how have you been? And Mateo, and Joey, and everyone?" Ryan was clearly a little tipsy, which would be fine if it wasn't 3 pm.

"Well," James slid Ryan's drink away from her replacing it with his water, "you would know how we were all doing if you came to family dinner sometime. It's been three weeks."

Ryan traded the drinks back, "I would love to come to dinner sometime but," Ryan paused trying to think up an excuse.

"Exactly." James interrupted her thoughts, "you have no reason not to come! You're just trying to dodge family time."

"That's not true! I'm just," Ryan gesticulated wordlessly trying to figure out what to say, "I don't know. Morgan and I don't really get along and-"

"Maybe you'd get along if you actually talked to her sometime," James spoke with a parental and somewhat condescending tone.