Up late one night recently catching an episode of “Will and Grace.” Mainly because there was nothing better on and The Kid was still awake.
“Oh let’s watch this! Let’s watch this!” he said, flipping his hand up and down.
He climbed up onto my mammoth bed and snuggled in close.
We watched an episode where Will gets pranked by Jack, who has set Will up on a blind date. The date is blind. Literally.
He feels Will’s face and immediately calls the whole thing off because he finds Will unattractive.
Will insists that his date “feel” his face again.
The date says he can’t, he doesn’t want to touch his face again.
Will stands up and demands that his fellow restaurant patrons tell his date how good looking he is.
That is when Jack jumps out from seemingly nowhere and announces that Will has been pranked.
Ha ha ha very funny, and it was, and then The Kid inhales sharply.
“Mom — is Will gay?” he asks incredulously.
“Yes,” I say, laughing, “of course he’s gay. On the show he is gay, not in real life.”
“Will is gay?” he asks again.
“Of course. That’s what the show is all about.”
“But ... I thought Will was with Grace ... that’s why they call it ‘Will and Grace.’”
Now, here’s a kid that I think is really pretty sharp and has a keen sense of humor.
“How could you not know that Will was gay? Did you never see an episode of Will on a date or complaining about his lack thereof?”
“I guess not. I thought Grace was his girlfriend.”
“Well, they tried to be boyfriend and girlfriend in college till Will told her he was gay. Then they just stayed best friends.”
He smacked himself on the forehead.
“I feel so stupid. So, Jack is gay though, right?”
Ha ha ha, “Oh ... very!”
“OK, that’s what I thought. What is Karen’s story?”
“She is married to a wealthy man named Stan that we never see.”
“Why don’t they show him?”
“No need to. They just make jokes about him. He’s either in prison during this episode or he has already died. Not sure which.”
“But she isn’t gay, right?”
“No. She isn’t gay.”
“What about Grace? Is she gay?”
“No, Grace is straight. She was married to a guy named Leo but it didn’t work out so now she is divorced.”
He sat back against the pillows, taking a deep breath.
“Man, mom. I can’t believe Will is gay. I have watched this show so many times and I just thought he and Grace were boyfriend and girlfriend
cause they are always together.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty confusing sometimes.”
“So, is Jack Will’s boyfriend?”
Ha ha ha, “No, Jack is totally off on his own twirly adventures.”
“He’s pretty funny, though.”
“Yes, he is pretty funny. He is too silly for Will, though. They’ve been friends for a long time but never been boyfriends.”
The Kid gets quiet.
“Mom, kinda weird to think about that.”
“What? A boy having a boyfriend?”
“Yeah. Kinda weird.”
I nodded quietly, both of us watching the muted commercial.
“Sure glad I like girls, mom.”
“I’m glad you like girls, too. But you know, there are boys and girls who like each other...as boy boy and girl girl.”
“Not that there’s anything wrong with that...” he quoted from Seinfeld.
“No, not that there’s anything wrong with that!” I said.
He sighs a deep sigh.
“What about ‘Frasier’? Aren’t they all gay?” he asked.
“Only a couple of them. Just not on the show.”
Another smack to his forehead.
“Turn on Animal Planet, please. I can’t take anymore.”
I’m glad he didn’t ask me to put on the Military Channel. No telling what we’d find there.
Don’t ask, don’t tell.
Don’t worry, I won’t.