Breaking the News -- From Charlie's Diary

 

 

I wasn’t looking forward to telling Emily that Alice was straight.  No matter how sophisticated or well-adjusted you are, you still don’t like to hear that someone isn’t interested in you sexually, or as Nikki put it, “Isn't hot to jump your bones.”

“I guess, I should have known,” Emily sighed.  “One time Alice asked me if I thought Christina Rossetti was gay.  If you’re gay, straight people seem to think you know every gay person in history.  It was a red flag.  But of course, I didn’t pay attention, because I didn’t want to.  I told myself that she wouldn’t know every gay person in history even if she was gay.”

“You must find that very annoying,” I said.

“It’s kind of funny, really.”

“Is there anything I can do?”  If I were single, this would have been the moment when we realized we loved each other, at least in a movie.

“No.”  Then Emily laughed.  “I just realized I’m relieved because Alice and I can still be friends.  It wouldn’t have been worth the friendship if we’d gotten together and it didn’t work out.  If it’s the real thing, you think it would be worth taking the risk.”

“Was it worth the risk with Wendy?”

“Yes, it was.  We were really lucky that we stayed friends.  She’s been single since she threw Michele out.  I’ve been telling her about Alice and she’s been kind of negative.  I don’t know why.”

“She doesn’t want you to get hurt.  She sounds like a good egg.”

“Oh, she is.”  Emily looked a little wistful.  “Now we’ll have to start all over again.”

I was glad that said “we.”  “I bet Alice will help too. Maybe she knows some writers.”
Alice is a good egg, too.  “By the way, was Christina Rossetti gay?”

“I told Alice that I don’t know about Christina.”  (English professors have a way of referring to authors by their first names.  It can give you the impression that they know them.)  “My specialty is American literature.”

I would have asked her what she thought about Emily Dickinson, but I didn’t want to be one of those people who are always asking who’s gay and who isn’t.