"Why not?" I ask sitting between her and her grandson who's working on the crossword puzzle as lunch simmers on the old fashion stove.
"He's Queer!" she almost shouts.
"What?" I spit, laughing.
"He's Queer!" she repeats angrily at me.
"Sexually challenged," her grandson smirks.
"He is not," I protest still giggling.
"Pour the noodles in the water," she instructs her grandson. "It's boiling."
"You're not changing the subject," I insert padding her hand and she grabs hold.
"I have to put the noodles in the water Micheal," the grandson explains.
"I'm not talking to you," I answer.
"He's not Queer! His finance lives with him."
"He's a Sinner!" she bellows.
Almost falling out of my chair laughing, I finally compose myself and say, "Damned if you do damned if you don't, huh?"
And she laughs, moving her hand up my arm to say, "I love you."
"Well I love you too but who cares if he's Queer or not. Jesus loves him ... remember? ... red and yellow, black and white?"
Stirring the noodles, the grandson softly sings "Jesus Loves Me."
"You still gonna come?" she asks.
"Yes," I reply running my arm up hers, "because you look terrible ... your hair's not combed ... you're having Fish Sticks with noodles for lunch ... and think Queers are bad people."
"She didn't mean Queer that way," he says, refraining from Jesus loving us and the stirring the noodles.
"She did too," I scold.
"Well ... yeah ..." he grins stirring the noodles.
"I'll tell you something else," I say looking into her face, "Jesus loves Hillary Clinton every bit as much as Donald Trump."
The kitchen is full of the sound of boiling water and pins dropping.
"He's gonna save our country," she finally says.
"Hope so," I sigh standing up.
"You're not leaving," he asks, "there's some Bible things in the crossword puzzle you can help me answer."
"When you coming back?" she asks, almost pleadingly.
"As soon as I finish Christmas shopping for my Queer friends and family."
He laughs almost knocking the pot full of noodles off the tiny stove.
"Well that shouldn't take too long," she grins, kissing me on the cheek.
"You have no idea," I laugh leaving the tiny house.
