California REALITY CHECK – Day 4, Part Two – To Do Two Things At Once Is To Do Neither Properly

Sean continued to guide me through the town, and we found ourselves near a park. Not just any park; a park with a history. Between its bushes and trees and behind the walls of its public restrooms are stories of times long since gone for the gay community. I need not go into detail here. You get the gist.
Now it is a family friendly utopia where children play on swings and slides, and mothers with strollers keep their eyes on their offspring as they climb oversized plastic playpens with tunnels and tubes. Sean was somewhat sullen as we took a moment to sit on the swings. I wondered if they would bear my weight, but after a moment, felt secure. Sean, with his 150-lb frame, was fearless as he practiced gymnast moves and played like a pendulum next to me.
He has strong opinions about gay parenting. He views homosexuality as evolution in action, and the natural attraction to the same sex is in direct conflict to the urge to reproduce. We debated the topic for a bit, and he too admitted considering adoption with Robert at one time. He looked out across the park, nostalgic for a time when there were clear delineations of “ownership” to the park. For it to have been usurped in the name of posterity and converted into a different kind of Romper Room is a scar that hasn’t quite healed. “You can’t have it all,” I mused, a fond saying of mine, “Where would you put it??” It was one of those open-ended questions we pondered in silence as we swung away, and children shrieked with delight not 50 feet away.
I received a text from Jen, who was scheduled to return to LA to watch Sean’s show with me that evening, asking if I would mind flying solo and she would come get me the next day and we would do downtown LA together. I cleared it with Sean, who has happy for us to have a little more time together. As it turns out, it would be for the best. To have both Jen and Sean at once, two worlds colliding, I might’ve been a little divided in my attention span to each of them. Sean, who has never been a multitasker, concurred: “To do two things at once is to do neither of them properly.” I thought about being gay and having children, and wondered if there was an additional layer to that statement. I was snapped out of this moment when he said with fervor, “Now let’s get you some proper jeans.”
Lesson number three: always bring a second set of eyes with you…and let the second set of eyes pick the jeans out first. Sean pulled seven pairs, from Dolce & Gabbana to Gucci to Classic Levis (dark wash). I was sweating from changing so frequently in the cramped dressing chamber, and by number six we had not one winner…he threw an eighth pair over the door, which I put on immediately since it was handy…nope. And then it happened…what was (originally) Lucky Seven…the dark wash Levis. As they made their way up my thigh I knew immediately. I opened the door and Sean took one look and said, “What do they say?” to which I responded, “They say, ‘yes.’” Sold! For 20 Classic, Well-Tailored, Durable Dark Wash Bucks. More strut music, please.
Back at the apartment, Robert had cocooned himself in the kitchen, closing the doors and quarantining us to do-not-enter status. It was a tradition for them: Robert cooks, Sean hosts. Sean had two more days before his Thanksgiving tasks were due. He singularly gathered his belongings for the show, printed his programs, made some calls to the box office, and as he did so, Robert popped out like a Muppet from the kitchen for a moment, asking if I wanted a margarita. I accepted and a moment later, he obliged. I relaxed for a moment as Sean scurried off to the theatre. Robert cleared up his latest Thanksgiving pre-cooked dish, and I donned my new wardrobe. The clothes were stiff, a foreign feeling to my fleshy folds. I felt like Dorothy from the waist up and the Tin Man from the waist down. Nonetheless, I was soon off to see The Wizard, otherwise known as “The Love Talker.”