Bachelors, Bigots, and Bisexuals

Chapter 1

It was Monday night, which meant one thing for my kid sister, Jessa who had stars in her eyes and hope in her heart--we were hate-watching The Bachelorette. Well, I was hate-watching it, but she was truly invested in the fairytale of it all. I did not know how to tell her that assholes with six-packs were a dime a dozen. You see, my sister and I were eleven years apart. We had very different perspectives on everything- boys, faith, and her guardians. When our parents died two years ago, we listened to the will and she went to live with our wealthy aunt and her husband. I had wanted full custody, despite the fact that I made less than a decent wage as a part-time Art history professor.

I mean, yes, I couldn't picture her living in my shack that I called an apartment. I could have gotten a better job, a better place, and things could have been better. But I missed Jessa and my aunt never let me spend any time with her.

"Look, there is Angelo," Jessa explains. "He still hasn't told Madilynn that when he was seventeen, he struggled with an eating disorder. What will she say?"

"Probably that she is so happy he could be vulnerable on this journey," I rolled my eyes. "I'm team Niko. Niko has a real job and he is just... likable."

"Or boring," Jessa said. "I mean, Flynn is a travel photographer ..."

"Social media influencer..."

"Still, is Madilynn really going to marry Niko the accountant? What would they talk about? He is so, bland..."

The television went on a break. I looked over at Jessa and smiled.

"Hey kid, I have a gift for you."

"Really?"

"Really," I said. "I bought us tickets to go to Rome this summer. It's for a whole week, and it is right after your birthday. We can get gelato, go find some Italian boys..."

"Oh my god! I would love to... but what about aunt Maggie? She barely lets me go to school."

"I'll talk her into it."

"Oh really," Jessa said. "How?"

"I'm a professor. I am trained in the art of captivating audiences."

"You are about as captivating as Niko the accountant," she laughed.

I shook my head and threw popcorn at her.

"We need to get you out of the country," I said. "Take you somewhere with some culture and away from reality television. "

"You bitch, but you secretly love the drama."

"No, I love you. And you love this show. So here we are..."

"Ok, a summer in Rome," She purred. "Maybe we will even run into Flynn. He is a travel photographer, after all."

I shook my head and laughed, trying to prepare myself for the conversation ahead of me. I had to face down a giant, and aunt Maggie had never budged on her strict standards. Jessa was not allowed to date, go to dances, or to even go to the movies without aunt Maggie. A week in Rome with the older sister aunt Maggie hated sounded like a far-fetched fantasy. But I had to believe I could convince her. I needed the time with my sister, and she needed out of this cold house for at least once in her teenage life.

***

"You see, six universities last year required a student to write about a noteworthy trip they took in their youth," I said. "Yale asked specifically about how travel and culture had influenced students and their everyday life."

"Jessa will not go to Yale," Aunt Maggie said. "She will go to Pierce, where her uncle and sister work. Why would she go to Yale? She gets free tuition at Pierce."