What Did We Learn?

“I can’t believe you would even think about doing this!” a man shouted.

The young interracial couple who sat across him cringed from his outburst. The woman next to him was embarrassed and tried to call him down. “George, there’s people around. Can’t we do this some other time?”

“Some other time?” George said viciously. “There is no other time, we need to put a stop to this right now.” He pointed at the couple angrily. “I forbid this from happening.”

“Dad!” his son protested. “I’m an adult now, you can’t just-”

“I’m not going to budge on this, and that’s final!”

As this unfolded, Jonathan sat nearby and was visibly shocked by what he was hearing. He kept sneaking glances at the table near him, growing more and more mortified by what he saw. In contrast, his wife was on her phone, trying her best not to eavesdrop. 

“I can’t take this anymore,” Jonathan said. “I have to step in.”

His wife sighed. “Jonathan, please don’t do this.”

“I have to say something, Judy!” Jonathan said passionately. “That man over there is forbidding his son from being with a Black girl!”

“Or,” Judy said placatingly, “maybe he’s talking about something else entirely, and you’re just misunderstanding things. How do we know if he’s talking about race?”

“What you two are doing is against God’s will!” George said loudly. “Think about what kind of future your kids will have! You think people will be okay with them? No! They’ll be outcasts! No one will accept them!”

Jonathan gestured toward their table. “Now do you think I’m ‘misunderstanding’ things?” he asked.

“Dad,” George’s son said, gripping his girlfriend’s hand. “I understand that you think this is wrong, and I respect your opinion. But I’m an adult now, and I have to make my own decisions. Even if you don’t approve.”

George stared back at him. “If you do this, I’ll no longer consider you my son.”

“George!” his wife interjected. “You can’t be serious!”

He didn’t respond to his wife. He and his son fiercely glared at each other, neither of them looking like they would change their mind. George’s wife’s face was in her hands and she shook like she was about to cry. The son’s girlfriend nervously watched the silent argument between father and son. She seemed to want to say something, but she couldn’t find the words.

“That’s it,” Jonathan said while standing up. “I’m going in.”

Judy, alarmed, said, “Jonathan, wait!”

But it was too late. Jonathan walked to the other table and stood by them. They were too preoccupied by the argument to notice him, so Jonathan had to clear his throat to get their attention. Once they heard him, they each turned to him, their expressions showing that they were startled by his sudden appearance and curious about what he wanted. 

“Can I help you?” George asked.

When George addressed him, Jonathan’s mind went blank as a whiteboard and he found himself unable to think of an intelligent response. When he did speak, all that came out was a jumbled mess. “I, um, I-”

Jonathan was beginning to wonder if this was a good idea. He didn’t know these people, and he wasn’t used to this type of confrontation. He turned around to see if his wife would help him, but all she did was give him a thumbs up and flash him a sarcastic smile that said, You made your bed, and now you’re going to have to lie in it, dumbass. 

Well, it’s too late to back out now, Jonathan thought to himself regretfully. Facing his audience again, he said, “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.” 

George’s anger quickly turned into bashfulness. “I’m sorry to have disturbed you,” George replied sincerely. “I’ll make sure to talk to my family more quietly.”

Jonathan, who honestly hadn’t expected George to be polite to him, felt his fear disappear and his courage rise. “I came over here to tell you that I think you’re wrong,” Jonathan said confidently. 

Everyone at George's table- including George- were shocked by Jonathan’s blunt statement. Even Jonathan seemed surprised by his own audacity, but tried to hide it and continue appearing self-assured. Judy meanwhile shook her head, predicting that what her husband was doing wouldn’t end well.

“Look, young man,” George said, this time with more hostility. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t think you really understand what you’re talking about right now.” 

George didn’t raise his voice at him, but Jonathan still felt his resolve die a little at the older man’s reprehension. Still, Jonathan continued. “I went through a similar situation with my own parents once.”

Jonathan pointed to his table and said, “That’s my wife, Judy.” At the mention of her name, Judly waved at George’s table and smiled weakly. “We got married last year.”

“I’m glad to hear it, but I don’t see what this has to do with me,” George said, his patience running out. 

“Judy’s an atheist, which was a problem for my religious parents. They told me that if I married her they wouldn’t come to my wedding and would never speak to me again.”

George’s table fell silent.

“I kept hoping that they would change their mind. Even after they sent back the wedding invitation I had mailed them. But when the day of my wedding came, they didn’t show up.” Jonathan sighed. “I still haven’t seen them since.”

Jonathan now looked directly at George and said, “I still miss my parents greatly. I’m not asking you to accept your son’s choice, all I ask is that you accept him. Because if you don’t, your relationship with him may never be the same again. Trust me.”

George faced his son again. His inner conflict was apparent on his face. After a moment, he broke his silence. “Son.”

“Yeah, Dad?” he replied hesitantly.

“I...I was wrong. You’re right, you’re an adult now. I may not agree with your choices, but I won’t stop you from making them.”

“Thanks, Dad,” George’s son said, smiling.

“Besides, I’m pretty sure they won’t need the vaccines. The people in our family don’t get sick that often anyway.”

“Wait,” Jonathan said, surprised. “Did you just say-”

“Now how about we go get ice cream,” George said, not hearing Johnathan’s question. “My treat.”

George’s table stood up, and his wife, son, and his son’s girlfriend exited the restaurant. Jonathan stood there, and looked as if his whole world had been flipped upside down. George was the last to leave. He patted Jonathan on the back and said, “I’d like to thank you. If you hadn’t said what you did, I don’t think I would have ever accepted my son’s refusal to vaccinate his kids.”

Jonathan replied incoherently. “Iwasn’treallytryingto”

“It was nice meeting you. Best of luck to you and your wife.” He left to join his family.

Jonathan walked back to his own table, where his wife was back to smiling sarcastically. Once Johnathan had sat down, he noticed a glint in his wife’s eye.

“Now,” Judy said, “what did we learn?”