The Good Hair Family Sitcom

S3 E15.2: Love Like a Disease

Marty's POV

It's hard to tell what Cara is thinking as they stroll beside me down the hospital corridor. Nurses and doctors zip by us on occasion, while family members of those in the hospital pass through slowly, like there's no rush, like being here isn't news anymore. Cara's expression is emotionless. There's more feeling coming from the sad-face image on their shirt than from them.

"So how was your time at your friend's house?" I ask.

"Good," they respond. "I promised her she could come to our house to go on our trampoline."

"Oh, right. We have that," I remember. "You guys never use it."

"That's because school takes up so much time," Cara complains. "It should be illegal for them to give us so much homework."

"You're in third grade," I reply.

"And I'm working my ass off!" they exclaim.

I pause for a moment before saying, "We shouldn't let Andreas swear in front of you."

"Too late. I already know them all."

As we turn a corner, a huge glass window grabs my attention, and I look over to see dozens of babies all sleeping in individual bubbles with monitors flickering light lines. Some of the infants are about as big as my shoe.

"Hey, look at all the babies," I say.

Cara stops beside me and tucks their hands into the pockets of their pink skate jeans.

"Babies are weird," they say.

"Your brother's a baby."

"And all he does is puke and poop. Seems like a lot to put up with for just a cute face."

Cara turns away and continues walking down the hallway without me.

"Fair enough," I say then catch up beside my kid.

Andreas's POV

I don't now where Jayda is, but she's not here with the rest of the family. Thank God, too, because I don't know why she's acting so crazy. Brayden's sitting with Wyatt on a couch, and it happens to be the only one not full, so I slump down beside my brother, dropping my face into my hands.

"Dude," I groan. "Girls... I don't get them."

"What did you do this time?" Brayden questions.

"Nothing. I was watching a show with my friends, missed a few of her calls, and now she's pissed at me."

"Hmm. This is why I'm glad I'm gay."

"Did Deion never freak out on you like this?" I ask.

"Deion threatened to punch me before we became friends," Brayden recalls, "but that was due to internalized homophobia. I assume Jayda doesn't have that."

I let out a laugh at the suggestion. "Nope. She points out hot girls to me when we're out."

"Straight male/women-loving-women solidarity is a sacred thing."

I let out a sigh. "I don't know. I guess I should've called her back when I saw the missed calls."

His eyes go tired and voice goes flat as he repeats, "You saw the missed calls?"

"Yeah, but I didn't think Auntie Andi was in the hospital," I justify. "I thought she was just wanting to talk."

"And you didn't want to talk?" my brother pries.

"No, I wanted to," I admit, "but I was with my friends, so I wanted to give them my attention. Look, if I could spend all my time listening to Jayda's voice, I would. I love talking to her, whether it's about what lipstick colour she wants to buy, or about some dream she had at two in the morning when she's tired and goes off on tangents. Shit, I love it," I confess. "I really love it. Like, she makes me feel so sure that the universe got it right." I bring my eyes over to Brayden's. "I don't know. What do you think?"