My Daughter and I Had the Talk -- About Marriage Equality
Talk to your kids about marriage equality, before it's too late
INT. KITCHEN — AFTERNOON
Messy, crumb-laden kitchen nestled inside Gilded Age condo in Chicago’s gauche Lincoln Park neighborhood. Chilly spring rain pitters gently outside.
A father — battered, broken, early forties — refills reusable plastic containers with cereal and salty snacks, contented by this fleeting opportunity to control one facet of his rapidly expiring life.
His seven-year-old daughter — sinister, duplicitous, conniving — munches on peanut butter-filled pretzels and apple slices.
Overwhelmed by curiosity, she poses a question.
DAUGHTER
(Unsure)
Dad, our new neighbors — the two boys on the second floor — are they married?
FATHER
They’re partners, like me and Mommy, but I’m not sure if they’re married. We can ask them if you want.
DAUGHTER
(Excited)
We should!
(Tentative)
It’s just — I didn’t know two boys could get married.
FATHER
Sure. Two boys can get married. Two girls can get married. In Illinois, anybody can pretty much marry whoever they want, as long as both people are at least eighteen years old.
But, to be clear, you definitely shouldn’t get married when you’re eighteen. You should wait until you’re at least, like, twenty-seven.
Alright?
DAUGHTER
Got it.
FATHER
Does it bother you that two boys can get married?
DAUGHTER
No!
It doesn’t bother me. I just — I didn’t know boys and girls could marry other boys and girls.
FATHER
They sure can. And it’s no big deal, right?
DAUGHTER
Nope!
Not. At. All.
