Never Growing Older

Chapter 1

"If being gay is so bad, then why did God make girls so hot?" The church hall fell silent and all eyes turned towards me. "I am asking for a friend." I picked up my phone to show them. "Toby has some questions."

The collective sigh in the church hall was almost humorous. You would have thought I just pulled out a gun only to reveal it was just a toy. "Well, Rebecca, God made girls so desirable so it would be easier for men to find a suitable mate so they could produce offspring. Does that make any sense?"

I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. "So you are saying that we were made for men?"

My Pawpaw, who also happens to be the Pastor, loosened his tie before speaking. "Essentially, yes. Eve was made for Adam from his rib. Now, why is young Toby concerned with this? He is a male, is he not?"

I had to stop myself from smiling at his question. "Yes, Pawpaw, he is a male. Just a curious one is all. He is having a hard time seeing why being gay is so wrong, and why we are supposed to hate them."

"We are not supposed to hate them, we are supposed to love them, even if we do not agree with them. Their body, their choice, and being gay is just as wrong as getting divorced or premarital sex, but it seems that no one is ready for that conversation." Everyone in the hall shifted uncomfortably. "Now, Rebecca, if you don't mind, I would like to dig into this delicious Southern cooking that the ladies of our church prepared, wouldn't you?"

I smiled at him as I picked up the chicken leg. "Then let's dig in."

-

Sundays are my favorite day of the week. Church in the morning where I get to perform in our acapella choir, family lunch promptly after church, and after changing into my lounge around clothes, my favorite people in the world come over for study night. Toby is always the first one to arrive with all the snacks. He has deemed the name professional snacker because of his array of snacks he seems to always have on hand. Of course with Toby being the first one, that means that he has to help me set up.

"So wait, you really asked that in church?" He threw the pillows from the closet onto the bed. "I am surprised you weren't burned at the stake for such talk."

"I am pretty sure the only reason I wasn't is because I said that you asked the question."

I ducked from the flying pillow coming at my head. "You did what?" I laughed at his offended expression. "Bex, you know I love you, but damn, why you gotta throw me under the bus?"

"If I said that I was the one wanting to know, I would probably be in the conversion camp right now." I picked up the pillow that he threw and flung it back at him. "And besides, they think it was an excellent question and I got to see their views on in. My Pawpaw said that he won't hate anyone who is gay."

"Yeah, that's because your Pawpaw and Mawmaw are cool." He grabbed my shoulders and shook me a bit. "Your Grandpa and Grandma are not."

I couldn't even respond because the living room door was being flung open by Mia, who was late as usual. "What's up, bitchesssss? I am here and I am queer."

I slipped away from Toby and grabbed Mia up in a hug. "Dude took you long enough, I was about to send a troop to Greenwood to find your dumbass."

"Awe, was little Becca scared?"

I huffed as I pulled away from her. "First off, I am taller than you, like by a lot, and second, no I thought one of your random hook-ups had kidnapped you."

"Yeah, okay."

All three of us cracked up in laughter. None of us are sure why, but man did it feel nice to be laughing with my people after a long week. As usual, the snacks didn't last long, and neither did the study. We got about 10 whole minutes of studying in before Toby hit me with a pencil and started a war. Toby ultimately lost the war, because let's face it, Mia and I make a great team.

"What movie are we watching tonight?"

Mia flopped on the couch next to Toby. "I don't know Tobias, last weekend was your pick, so that means it is Becca's turn this week. So what are we watching?"

"Scooby-Doo?"

We all three looked at each other and busted out laughing. "We're like three trippy peas in a far-out pod mannnn."