Autumn Leaves by Barbara Winkes

a.m.”
    “Right. You stayed up late last night, so I thought you wouldn’t be in the mood for cooking. Here’s lunch if you want.”
    Callie gave her a knowing smile. “You checking up on me?”
    “I guess it’s the mommy instinct.”
    “Frankly, I don’t think that’s all.” She didn’t elaborate. “Maggie was lovely though. She can stay over any time she wants to.”
    “Great, thank you. Just try not to feed her chocolate every time?”
    There was another thing weighing on Rebecca’s mind. Betty pretty abrupt on the phone, informing her that she had her own family issues to deal at the moment. Sorry, but no, Maggie couldn’t come over on a five-minute advance warning. Rebecca was almost dreading this Saturday brunch at Maria’s.
    “Did Maggie like it?” Callie asked when the silence between them dragged on. It took Rebecca a moment to realize she was talking about the book.
    “I think so. It was nice, just right for her age.” Now there was the opportunity to ask.
    “I was just wondering...”
    “Yes?”
    There was the hint of a smile on Callie’s face as she probably expected a statement on the other book. Rebecca wasn’t ready for that yet. “Look, I get what you’re saying, but honestly, I think we should spare kids politics a little longer.”
    “Politics?” Callie asked, honestly surprised.
    “Well, yes, that lesbian couple who—”
    “That’s a problem?” Callie sat up straighter, her voice a cooler tone.
    “Not a problem,” Rebecca said quickly. “I just mean...Do you really have to confront children…” It had sounded so much better in her head. Now she thought it seemed ridiculous, but she couldn’t take the words back. “Forget about it,” she tried anyway.
    “No, no. You asked for an answer. I don’t mind giving it. Yes, I think children need to be confronted, the earlier, the better. Kids look up to their parents, whether they’re good at their job, or they suck. Like it or not, if you tell a five-year-old kid that ‘God Hates the Fags…’” She made quotation marks with her fingers. “They’re going to believe it. They’re going to believe that it’s okay to hassle children who are different, and ‘gay’ becomes a convenient insult.”
    “I never told that to my children,” Rebecca protested, disappointed. She was so much looking forward to this day. Now what started out as a simple question was about to completely spin out of her control.
    “I know you didn’t. Just remember that silence isn’t much better. One person out of ten in the room is not worth your attention?”
    “You’re not in the best mood today,” Rebecca remarked carefully. “I’m sorry. It’s just what I think. I have nothing against these families.”
    “Just as long as these families don’t appear in children’s books, I get it.” Callie got up without ever having touched her cup.
    “Don’t,” Rebecca pleaded. “Why are you so angry?”
    “I’m not angry. This isn’t even close. You know, Rebecca, we haven’t really discussed it, but I know you’ve been wondering. Yes, I’ve dated women. I’ve had sex with them.”
    “Now that’s just plain rude. I think you got up on the wrong side of the bed. I’ll just come back another time.”
    “You do that, but if you think that who I am is an abomination, something you need to protect your children from, then you might as well never come back.”
    “Callie! I never said that. It’s just that you’re writing those other books under the same name! People will...well, never mind the people. Aren’t you worried for yourself and, I don’t know, your reputation?” As hard as she tried, Rebecca was aware that each word was only making it worse. She might not have been responsible for Callie’s mood in the first place, but she sure wasn’t helping. Rebecca looked for a place away from all the crises around her, Dina’s, and Betty’s. She was stumbling headfirst into one of her own.
    “You don’t understand,”