Free Merry Ex-Mas by Victoria Christopher Murray

and everybody else wanted to ask the same question. It was a perfectly normal question, and after what I'd been through with Quentin, I deserved an answer. After all, it wasn't like I'd gone to his home and gotten in his business. He'd brought this to my house.
    But the fact that Harmony hadn't answered, and the fact that she seemed only to be surprised by how direct I was, made me believe that Harmony did know Quentin's history.
    So, why was she with Quentin? What kind of woman would marry a gay man?
    And then it hit me!
    "So, Harmony, where are you from?" my mother asked.
    At first, my mother's question threw me off. Wasn't she the one who had just told me not to ask questions? But then, I realized my mother and her questions were exactly what I needed to find out the truth.
    So as Harmony talked, I listened and kept my eyes on her.
    "From Detroit," Harmony said. She paused for a moment as she chewed the rest of the yams that she'd just put in her mouth. Then, "I was born and raised there. Stayed until I left for college."
    I almost stopped her there to ask when she'd graduated from college since I was curious about her age, too. But I decided I'd keep my focus on one thing at a time.
    Harmony kept talking about how she loved Detroit and hated what was going on in that city now. And as she talked, I kept my mouth shut and my eyes on her. I stared, I searched, I squinted, and then finally, I sighed.
    Harmony's throat was as smooth as the rest of her skin; she didn't have an Adam's apple.
    Harmony was born a woman. So there went that theory.
    "How did you two meet?" my mother asked.
    For someone who'd just told me to stop with the questions, my mother sure did have a lot of her own.
    "We met at a nurses ’ convention where Quentin was speaking."
    "Oh, you're a nurse?" I asked.
    The room went silent, and it almost felt like everyone was holding their breath … as if they were waiting for me to add an addendum to my question. Something that would shock and embarrass them all.
    But when I said nothing else, a huge exhale filled the room and Harmony answered.
    "Yes; I'm an RN."
    "In fact, that's how I actually met Harmony," Quentin piped in. "As she said, I was one of the presenters at their awards ceremony, and I presented her with her pin for fifteen years of service."
    "Fifteen years?" my mother said before I could get the words out. "Really?"
    Harmony laughed. "I know what you're thinking. Everyone says that I look so young. Sometimes when I walk into a patient's room, they ask to see my drivers' license."
    "Well, you know what they say," Tori piped in. "Black don't crack." She waved her fork in the air.
    "What you know about that?" When my mother asked that, everyone laughed … except for me.
    I didn't see anything funny. Okay, so Harmony wasn't twenty-one like I originally thought. And though I thought she was still a little young for Quentin, who was I to judge when my younger husband was sitting right next to me. But age was only a number and not the issue. The issue was — Harmony was a woman.
    "Well, black sure 'nuff don't crack," Quentin said. "I was up on that stage and when Harmony walked out, I was like, 'Bam!'"
    Again laughter, again not from me. I tried to imagine that scene. Quentin on stage speaking, and then this voluptuous woman comes out … and then, what? Her looks made him stop?
    No! I didn't believe that. Quentin wasn't into women.
    That's why I couldn't help it. That's why another question slipped right through my lips. "So, Quentin, when did you stop being gay?" When the table quieted and Quentin frowned at me like he wanted to fight me, I explained, "I mean, what made you change your mind? I didn't know that could happen." I was hoping that at least somebody would look at me and nod their agreement. But just like before, no one looked like they were on my side.
    "Oh, come on now." First, I looked at Brock, then, Tori, Christopher and Evon, and finally, my mother. "Y'all know you want to know. I'm