The show never begins
We’ve been here before. This same venue in Delaware. There are two rows of seats facing the stage, red velvet curtain to the glossy floor. A lesbian couple arrives with two children. They ask if we can read to their child. You say you’ll do it. You’re handed a book. You start to read but the child is distracted. You try to engage the child. The one mom says the child knows the book well because she helped write it. The mom says there’s no need to explain the book just to read it. You ask the couple if they wouldn’t mind if we move seats so we can sit near them and the child for the show. This time, an old man gets up grumbling about our involvement with the couple and leaves the show. This time, we move seats. This time, you keep trying to engage the child. The show never begins.
Mark Danowsky is Managing Editor for the Schuylkill Valley Journal.