vessels.â
âBut skin cancer happens on the surface.â
âWhat I mean to say, Gray, is that you just donât know enough to be making these decisions.â
âIâve been reading on the net â â
âDonât believe everything you read.â He sighed. âEspecially on line.â
He was treating me like I was some little kid.
Mom was now standing in the doorway all glassy-eyed. She looked seriously sleep-deprived.
âI know youâre just trying to help, Gray,â said Dad. âBut a bigger help would be to remember to take out the trash so I didnât have to do it for you.â He snickered. âOr weâll put you in charge of the recycling?â He started to put the cereal back in the cupboard and I felt my stomach harden. Iâd blown off my day to do thisâ¦
âYou have to be practical, Gray, weigh the negatives against the beneï¬ts,â he continued. âThe sun can cause cancer but we still need it to survive. Tuna ï¬sh has mercury in it but that doesnât mean it isnât one of the most nutritious things you can eat. Heck, thereâs DDT, dioxins and whatever else being found in breast milk, but nobody would argue it still isnât hands down the best thing for a baby.â
âBreast milk has carcinogens?â The thought made me queasy. âAnd nobodyâs doing anything about it?â
âYou are, Gray,â said Mom, walking past Dad to grab some plastic bags. âAnd itâs just great. Iâm going to go, right now, and return these things for healthier alternatives.â
Dad glared at her back. âWell, youâre not taking my shampoo.â
âCoal tars are on the American Cancer Society list,â I said, more conï¬dent with Mom on side.
Shampoo in hand, Dad met my eye. âThe plastic of your iPod there is made using hundreds of chemical compounds. The cotton in your goddamn brand-name clothes is the most heavily pesticided crop in the world.â
I donât think Iâd ever heard Dad swear in front of me before.
âThe creature comforts of this modern world come with a price, Gray.â
âCancer?â
He threw up his hands.
âYou want to live like a caveman, go right ahead. Itâll save me some money.â He smiled but it wasnât funny.
âEthan,â said Mom, sounding disappointed. âWeâre all working toward the same objective â â
âWe all need to relax is what we need to do.â He sounded anything but relaxed.
âRelax?â said Mom in disbelief. âRelax?â
âYes, and enjoy Maggie while we still â â
âThis is no time to relax.â
Dad shook his head. âI give up.â
âGreat attitude.â She started jamming things in a shopping bag.
Dad took his tainted shampoo and left.
âSorry, Mom.â Though I was pissed at Dad, I hated to see them argue.
âNo, you are not sorry,â she said sternly. âIt only makes sense to err on the safe side. Right?â
âWell, yeah.â
âCome on, help me bag. Iâm going to return these things.â
âCan you return stuff thatâs already been used?â
âI donât see why not.â She sounded ready for a ï¬ght.
* * *
Iâm not sure how, but Mom managed to return every last item and arrived home with organic this and that, non-toxic cleansers, unbleached toilet paper, etc.
âHad quite the public argument with the manager,â she said, laughing. She seemed all hopped. âPeople were stopping to watch but what did I care?â
Sure glad I wasnât there.
âI want to drive out to this organic farm my friend Kath told me about. Their foodâs supposed to have life-giving properties.â She was talking really fast. âWhy donât you come with me, Gray? You can practice your highway driving.â
âShouldnât we put these
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