After a quick peck on the lips and a smirk at one another, Marco and Pablo raced each other into the clear blue Puerto Rican ocean. They had been together for twelve months and three weeks and it had been pure bliss.
'Did that man just kiss that other man!' Seven-year-old Tommy from Minnesota asked his mom.
'Yes sweetie.' His mom replied with a slight twitch. It wasn't that she was against homosexuals, she convinced herself, and her son just wasn't ready to see that.
'Is that allowed?' Tommy looked at her with his big brown eyes.
'Yes sweetie,' what else was she going to say? The couple, she cringed even thinking the word, had put their beach equipment on the chairs next to them. She looked into the ocean where she spotted the happy couple splashing each other and laughing. She frowned. One of them was wearing a bathing suit that even her teenage daughter wouldn't be caught dead in, it was shorter then any pair of shorts she had ever seen and so tight, there was really no point in wearing a bathing suit at all. The other was larger and wearing a bathing suit of the same tightness but about three inches longer. They could at least cover up! She thought as she scowled at them.
'Ay! You see that soccer mom over there?' Marco asked Pablo as he fixed his super short bathing suit. He only wore it because of the reactions he got out of the tourists that came to their beach.
'The one who is scowling at us?' Pablo answered without looking at the woman.
'Yeah. I'm not liking it.' Marco replied.
'We should give her something to scowl about.' Pablo smirked and grabbed Marco into a full on movie style kiss.
'Mom!' Tommy called. 'They are doing it again!'
'I know sweetie, I see," laurel answered her son.
'They are really going at it!' Her husband Joe added white rubbing suntan lotion onto his white beer belly. ‘They shouldn't do that in front of the kids!'
'And why not?' Jannet challenged, removing her headphones, she was seventeen and sick of family vacations. 'If it was a girl and a guy it would be fine.'
'No, no it wouldn't,' Joe assures himself more then anyone else.
'God you people are so close minded!' Jannet said putting her headphones back in. 'Just don't do anything embarrassing.'
'Honey,' laurel said to her husband. 'They put their stuff right there, right next to us.'
'Don't do it.' Jannet mumbled to herself knowing her mother wouldn't listen.
'I think I'm going to move it.' Laurel said, ignoring her daughter. She picked up the two white towels, canvas beach bag, two pairs of flip flops and cowboy hat and moves them off the chairs and on to chairs three rows behind them, in the shade under a roof of one of the many shacks selling sunscreen and kick knacks to tourists.
'Pablo, sweetie," Marco said breaking the romantic embrace, ‘crazy woman just moved our stuff.'
'What?' Pablo glanced to their chairs and saw that the scowling woman was smiling. 'What a hoe. Come on.'
'Coming!' Marco and Pablo walked out of the ocean, Marco feeling self conscious about the size of his bathing suit and Pablo worrying about how his wide body looks compared to his thin boyfriend. They approached the family.
'Here we go,' they heard the teenage girl say right before she lowered her sunglasses over her eyes and sat back allowing the sun and wind to paint her skin the perfect shade of brown.
'Excuse me?' Pablo said to the woman.
'Can I help you?' Laurel asked, trying to keep her voice even and not show her fear.
'Mom! Mom! Mom! They are right here! Mom! Look! These are the guys!' Tommy said pulling at laurel's sleeve of her cover up dress. 'These are the kissing dudes!'
'Tommy, come sit with me and let your mom handle this.' Joe said pulling his son toward him.
'Yes we are little guy, and what's your name?' Marco was amused by the ten year old.
'Don't you talk to my son!' Laurel said with more anger then she planned.
'Why not?' Pablo challenged, his voice raising. 'Because we are different? Because we are gay?'
'Because you are strangers." Laurel covered her anger.
'It's ok,' Tommy said from his fathers lap. 'They seem nice. I'm Tommy!"
'Shut up Tommy.' Laurel said, her face turning red.
'Listen, we don't want any trouble, but we would like to sit and tan in the sun, so just show us where you moved out things and we won't bother you.' Marco said with a smile.
'Honey, that sounds reasonable, I think-' Joe started but was cut off by his wife.
"No. I don't want your type near my family.' Laurel said with her nose in the air.
'Our type?' Pablo and Marco said at the same time.
'Yes your type.' Laurel stood her ground with her hands on her hips.
'I hope you mean Puerto Rican,' Pablo raised one eyebrow and put his hands on his hips.
'I think you know what I mean.' Laurel answered locking her gaze into his.
'Mom enough, you're just embarrassing yourself.' Jannet begged. 'Why do you care where they sit or who they kiss! Just sit down!"
'No sweetie, I am protecting you and your brother.' Laurel answered with a smile.
'From what!' Jannet stood up, book and iPod in hand and looked at the couple. 'I'll show you where your stuff is, and you can sit over here, next to me.'
'Jannet!' Laurel yelled at her daughter. 'You sit down this instant!'
'I'm Jannet by the way, and this here is my close minded, cold hearted mother." Jannet introduced herself with a smile.
"I'm Marco and this is Pablo.' Marco answered. 'And thank you, but I think its best that we leave you.'
'Yes, that is best," Laurel agreed as Jannet sat back down with a look of disappointment on her face and pointed behind her, to their stuff. 'Those are your belongings.'
'This isn't over. I hope you know that.' Pablo's calm voice whispered.
'Oh I think it is.' Laurel whispered back.
'Come on sweetie!' Marco linked his arm into his lovers. 'Good bye.'
They walked off together, arm in arm into their shady area under the roof of a building where Laurel had moved their towels and stuff.
'The nerve of some people.' Pablo mumbled to himself. 'And tourists too! What right do they have?'
'They don't, calm down. Its fine, we will just wait until they leave.' Marco rubbed Pablo arms. 'Its fine, its over.'
'But it's not. People will always do this.' Pablo said defeated.
'And this is news to you?' Marco said with a smile. 'There is nothing that anybody could say that we can't handle.'
'I guess your right.' Pablo gave his lover a kiss and leaned back on the chair.
'Oh my gosh! Look who is coming over here.' Marco tapped Pablo leg.
'Hi, again, I just wanted to apologize again for my mother. And if you have room, uh, the sun is getting hot, would you mind if I uh, sat with you?' Jannet said to the couple.
'Not at all sweetie! Come sit!' Marco said smiling.
'Scooch over Marco, there is room between us.' Pablo was smiling also. 'So how long are you here for?'
'A few days, we just got here last night.' Jannet explained. 'We are from Minnesota.'
'I see, well I hope you have fun in Puerto Rico.' Pablo said emphasizing the word you.
'I usually do.' Jannet said smiling. They talked for a half an hour before the clouds started rolling in.
'It looks like it’s going to rain.' Marco observed.
'I call ten minutes until downpour!' Pablo guessed looking at his phone. 'Jannet, you're lucky, you get to watch the tourist shuffle.'
'The what?' Jannet asked.
'Tourist shuffle.' Marco explained ' is when it rains and all the tourists run around getting all their stuff and making sure they have a place to stand to wait the rain out or they run back to the hotel. Its hilarious because usually the rain lasts a good twenty to twenty five minutes before the sun comes out again and by then all the tourists are gone and we have the beach to ourselves!'
Sure enough, ten minutes later the black cloud shattered sending drops of water all over the beach. Everybody picked up their coolers full of turkey sandwiches, folded their umbrellas, and packed up their books and headed back to the hotel holding towels over their heads in protection the whole time.
'Jannet. Are you coming with us?' Laurel asked. Jannet was too busy laughing to notice her soaking wet family approaching the dry area where she was sitting with Pablo and Marco.
'Nope. I'll see you all later.' Jannet answered. 'Karma's a bitch ain't it?'
'Aw mom! How come she gets to stay!' Tommy whined, looking at his mother.
'Suit yourself, we will talk about this later.' Laurel answered, turning on her heel and ignoring her son.
'Hey!' Pablo called as they started walking away and waited until Laurel turned around. 'You know, karma may be a bitch, but as our people say, karma is only a bitch if you are!'
THE END.