The clock on the wall of the kitchen, with Mickey Mouse’s never wavering smile and irregularly lengthened arms, ticked slow and steadily as Spencer sat at the table across from her father and mother. The look on Arthur’s face was that of the classic concerned parent but more grave, never a good sign. His hands were folded neatly on top of the table, something he always did when he wanted to talk about something serious. Paula stared at her, blue eyes cold and judgmental. Spencer wanted nothing more than to get up and walk out the front door but she wouldn’t do that to her father. He deserved better.

She tried her best not to fidget in her seat, to retain the mature composure that she would need to ward off any attempts by either of her parents to pin her down as a child who didn’t know better. Whatever this conversation would be, it probably had to do with undermining her in some way… or at least that’s how she read the situation. ‘Be calm, be cool, be collected.’

"Spencer honey," Arthur began. "We wanted to talk to you about your appointment at the psychiatrist’s yesterday."

‘Great.’

“I understand you and your mother had an argument about Ashley.”

“It wasn’t about Ashley dad, it was about me.”

“It had as much to do with Ashley as it did with you.” Paula stated.

“So you’re saying that if I was dating a different girl you wouldn’t have practically disowned me in the car?”

Arthur’s features were changing from concerned to confused and slightly angry as the conversation progressed. “What?”

“I did not disown you Spencer, stop being so dramatic.”

“Well when you tell me that ‘no daughter of your’s can be gay’ you might as well just cut me out of every family picture!”

Turning towards Paula, Arthur glared in her direction and asked if he could talk to her alone. Paula merely rolled her eyes as he turned to his daughter and asked for her to wait in the living room.

Spencer got up and walked out of the kitchen, plopping herself down on the couch and turning on the TV to take her mind off of the situation. Boring cartoons, 4 different talk-shows, and a nature program later, she settled on the news broadcast.