Short Love Stories

Entanglements

"God, no."

"Why not?"

Grace gave her husband a scathing look. "Joe, honestly. Do you seriously think that's a good idea for a five-year-old?"

"Oh, come on! This is what the kids are interested in," Joe argued. "No one reads books or plays outside anymore. Kids want video games."

"Even if I were to ever think about buying a video game for a child—which I wouldn't—I would never get them Grand Theft Auto. What is wrong with you?"

"Fine, how about"—Joe scanned the other titles behind the glass case—"Lego Harry Potter? That has to be kid-friendly. Or are the Dementors too scary for them?"

"No video games," Grace said firmly, pushing their shopping cart down the aisle. She peered around the corner of the store aisle. "Where's the board game section?"

Joe matched her pace. "I'm pretty sure I saw a three-year-old with an iPhone at the front of the store. We should buy one of those gift cards for game apps." Grace ignored this. "Fine. So who's the lucky kid that's getting a crossword book for their birthday?"

Grace delved into her purse and pulled out a small invitation for him. "Please join us in celebrating Jesse's fifth birthday," Joe read aloud. He examined the front and back of the brown card stock, his dark eyebrows knitted together. "Wait, is Jesse a boy or a girl? How are we supposed to know what to buy for them?"

"I—" Grace hesitated for a moment before regaining her composure. "It doesn't matter. Toys shouldn't be gendered anyways."

A gleeful smile spread across Joe's face. "You don't even know if this kid is a boy or a girl? So much for this party being big deal. Remind me again why we're going?"

"It matters to me. I promised Lilah I would go. I haven't seen her in forever, so when she brought it up, I couldn't say no."

Grace thought back to the coffee date from two weeks ago. Lilah was a friend from college, and though communication from Grace's end was often brief and infrequent, it seemed as though nothing could hinder Lilah's insistent attempts at contact. She continued to evade Lilah's endless invitations, until one day the two women unexpectedly ran into each other at a department store, leaving Grace with no choice but to accept her proposal.

"Didn't you go to the baby shower?"

"Yes, but she made it animal-themed. They didn't want to know the sex until after the baby was born," Grace explained. Joe raised his eyebrows but knew better than to make a comment. "Besides, that was years ago!"

"So why didn't you ask her when she gave you the invitation?"

"No! You know how she is. That would have been so rude."

Joe shook his head, amused by his wife's sensibility. "I mean, you said it yourself. You haven't seen the woman in a long time."

"No, no," Grace said exasperatedly. "You don't understand." She examined a Barbie Doll play set sitting on a nearby shelf.

Joe leaned against the metal shelf unit and folded his arms over his chest. "I think I understand very well. Let's be honest here. You don't give a shit about Lilah and her family, at least not enough to remember how many kids she's had—"

"She has two—"

"—or their names or sex so now you're overcompensating. You practically jumped at the chance to make the cupcakes for the party. You were up until two, for God's sake. I ate one this morning, by the way."