The Talk: Part II
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"I...I..."
David watched Clark curiously, his eyes wide with a child's innocence. "Well, Dad? What's it mean?" He cocked his head as Clark continued to squirm on the couch, making funny noises.
Sodomy. Clark stared at his son for a few seconds, and tried frantically to collect his suddenly-scattered thoughts. "David, there comes a time in every man's life when a bee flies from flower to flower..."
At David's blank look, he sighed.
Clark reached for the remote and turned off the television. He then turned so that he was facing his son fully. David, anticipating a discussion, drew his legs up so that he was sitting "Indian-sytle" on the couch, beside his father.
Clark cleared his throat. "Okay...uh..." David was watching him intently. "Sodomy." Why? Why did it have to be 'Dad, what's sodomy?' Why couldn't he have just asked where babies came from? Why did his son have to be so complicated?
"Well, there's---bees..." Okay, that was a good enough start, Clark supposed. He might as well start with the basics---the slow, safe basics. "...and bees fly around from flower to flower, picking up pollen. Then they drop the pollen into other flowers, and that goes into the flower and makes a seed, and the seed gets planted and becomes a whole new flower. Are you with me so far, David?"
David nodded. He was following, though still somewhat bemused. "So that's what sodomy is, then?"
"Uh, no." Clark could feel his cheeks starting to heat up, but he ignored it. "That's pollination. But, it's---um---I'm getting there." He coughed. "So---uh...normally, bees pollinate flowers...but---suppose---a bee tried to pollinate a tr---Well, no, not a tree. That wouldn't work here. Not really." Clark coughed. "Okay, suppose the bee tried to pollinate a rock. Rocks are not plants, and so----"
"What's this have to do with you and Mom?" David asked.
Clark stared at him silently for a moment, the wind having suddenly left his sails. "What?"
"Jeffrey Morgansen's dad said that you being married to Mom was a terrible sodomy," David elaborated. "So what is it, and why is it so terrible?"
It took Clark several seconds to realize his jaw was hanging open, and several more to regain his power of speech. "When was this?" he asked.
"This afternoon," David said. "Jeffrey's dad came to pick him up from the playground, and when he saw us playing, he got mad."
Clark's mouth formed a tight line. He reached over and pulled his son onto his lap. "David, let me explain. Nature has certain laws. These laws keep the world going. They're laws like 'Bees make honey, and other animals don't.' Birds build nests, and start families with other birds. Cows pair up with bulls, and people marry other people. When those laws are broken, that's sodomy.
"Some people think that, since I'm from another planet, that I'm breaking those rules by being with your mother. But, there are even higher laws; laws that govern the universe, and that even Nature has to answer to. Your mother and I are soul-mates, David. No matter where we go in time, or space, or even other dimensions, we're destined to find each other. We belong together. I don't know who or what ordained those laws, David, but they are higher than anything in nature, and therefore, anything that follows those laws cannot possibly be sodomy."
Clark watched his son carefully for a while. The boy seemed to digest this information. "Did I answer your question?" Clark asked.
After a heartbeat, David nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Dad."
Clark smiled. "Anytime, Son." He playfully mussed David's hair. "Just remember, you can always come to me with questions. Though maybe next time," he softly muttered, "we could try for something simpler, like where babies come from."
"Oh, I already know about that," David replied off-handedly as he climbed off of Clark's lap.
The mortified look returned to Clark's face. "You do?"
"Sure," David shrugged, apparently baffled at his father's sudden state of ignorance. "Remember, Dad? You took me to the museum when they put your rocket on display."
"Wha-----" Clark groaned as realization sunk in, and David just cheerfully grabbed the remote.
The End
