Gender Reveal

      The slam of the car door instantly cuts off the music coming from the backyard. Slumping into the driver seat, Gustavo waits. Feeling the glare of Gloria’s gaze, he knows this routine. No words at first, just the stare.  He stares ahead through the windshield, knowing Gloria won’t say anything until he does.

           Gustavo’s impatience, along with his irritation at Gloria, overtakes him after a few short moments. “Well? What did you want to talk about? Why’d you drag us out here?”

           Her eyes widening at the question, Gloria considers for a moment that it might be best if they left the party. “You really have to ask?” she says as she spins in the passenger seat, buckling the seat belt. “You’re gonna sit there and act like you just didn’t do that?”

           Seeing Gloria buckle her seat belt, Gustavo reaches for his, deciding to leave it alone. “Do what? Everything was fine back there. I don’t know what you’re all mad about.”

           Shutting her eyes and rubbing her temples, the temptation to demand that they leave and head home compels Gloria further. She wonders if this is an act; if Gustavo is genuinely usure of what he just did. “Are you serious? You’re asking what I’m mad about? You just told your mom and sister that I was fired from work last week. No, not just told them, you blurted it out in front of everyone. Do you know how embarrassing that is?”

           Feeling himself get angrier, Gustavo returns Gloria’s stare. “You’re mad about that? Because you got fired? That’s no big deal. You were about to quit anyway to start at that county job. Better pay and benefits. Besides, people get fired all the time all over the place. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”

           “It would have been fine if that’s all you said. But no, you were all like ‘they just sacked Gloria this week. Up and kicked her out’ like they tossed me out of the building. Did you even hear yourself while you were saying that.”

           Gustavo looks past Gloria and through the passenger window, trying to see what’s happening at the house. “Can you see what’s going on? I can’t see anything. If we miss the reveal, I’m gonna be furious. That’s the whole point of these parties. We can talk about this later, but I’m not about to be the only one in the family who misses this, especially since we’re here at the house only a few feet away.”

           Gustavo begins opening the driver side door when Gloria unbuckles her seat belt, reaches over him, and closes the door. Seeing that he put the keys in the ignition, she turns them, starting the car. “We’ll miss it if we have to. It’s just a gender reveal. You know your brother or someone else will put it up on TikTok or something anyway. You’re not about to just gloss over how you humiliated me in front of your family. I mean, do you even get that? What if I said that to someone while you were right there? How would you feel if I just said ‘Oh, they just tossed Gustavo out of the building yesterday. Had security guard the door from him and everything. But he got a better job, so whatever I say is fine’. Does the whole ‘got a better job’ make it okay to say whatever else?”

           Turning the ignition, Gustavo takes the keys and puts them in his pocket. “Look, I don’t know when they’re doing the reveal. I told you, I’m not missing it. That’s what we came here for. Also, you were having fun before you dragged us out here. When you won Guess the Baby Bump Size then took a shot with grandpa, you can’t tell me you weren’t having fun.”

           “Yeah, until you ruined it! You’re not about to turn this around, Gustavo. What you said, that was hurtful and embarrassing. How many times do I have to say it? Did you see your mom’s face when you said that? You could tell that even she thought that was over the line. Why is this so hard for you to get? I mean, I like your family. You know I do, and they like me too. But I’ll miss this gender reveal if it means finally getting through to you how much you embarrassed me in front of your family.”

           Planting herself into the passenger seat, Gloria reaches again for the seat belt and buckles herself in. Her arms crossed, she glares at Gustavo, waiting. The music from the backyard is faint, but she can still hear it from her seat. Keeping an ear out for any break in the music, Gloria knows that she has some time before the gender reveal is announced, but wonders if it’s enough time.

           Wringing his hands on the steering wheel, Gustavo looks through the windshield and into the blue sky. He takes a deep breath, and then faces Gloria. “Okay, you’re right. I shouldn’t have said it like that. There were tons of better ways to say you lost your job. Or maybe I shouldn’t have said anything at all and just let you say it however you wanted when my mom asked how work was going for you. But I get it. And I’m not just saying that either just so we can get back to the party. It wasn’t my place to say it, and I’m really sorry about it. If you want, we can talk about it later, but I don’t want either of us to miss this reveal. I mean, my brother’s first kid, we have to be there for the reveal. Does that sound good, if we get back and talk about this later?”

           Gloria wonders if she can even go back to the party. Not wanting to see Gustavo’s mother after what he said, Gloria knows Gustavo’s mother can’t be avoided. Gloria unbuckles her seat belt. “Okay, we’re going back in and you’re talking to your mom. I’ll leave you to her, but you’re making things right. And you know we’ll be talking about this later.”

           Gloria opens the passenger door. The air brushes a breeze past her; calming after being in the car. Music plays from the backyard, carrying over to her as she waits in her seat, waiting for Gustavo to get out of the car. Over the sounds of the party, Gloria hears someone asking for the music to be turned down.