Overheard Starbuck

"What a strange man."
---"He's always exhausted; he's a gay dad with two kids."
"That's nice. Adopted or surrogates?"
"Old school, he's married in the eyes of the church and state."
"Does his wife know he's gay?"
---"Did she go into the marriage with 'eyes wide shut'? --We think so. But she's the work-a-holic; he works part-time and chauffeurs around the kids. ... He's the more sociable one; she gets these headaches."
"I wonder how many gays and lesbians 'play' that hard for the other side--are married to heterosexuals? There're probably less now then there were even 10 years ago. ..Except maybe for Christians and Moslems?"
---"Play? .. It's none of our business."
"You're right, it's not illegal."
---"It's not?"
"No gay person's ever been thrown in jail for marrying a straight. Have they?"
---"It's not grounds for annulment or divorce?"
"Contracts are different--in the eyes of the law. It might depend in which state the couple were married. I don't know. I'm pretty sure annulments don't pay off as much a divorces, and if there're are kids..."
---"Shit! All that from an itch and a notion to possess and belong--from flower-strewn aisles and promises of eternal love to lawyers and judges. It's horrible."
"Life is messy."
---"I hate preceedings in which strangers arbitrate over my life."
"Then you hate doctors too."
---"Yeah but with doctors at least I'm there, my physical presence is an essential part of the process. With lawyers it's all 'by the order of the court until the party of the first-part, from this day forward your life, from the great state of Indiana by the power vested in me, is hereby declared duly and officially forever changed, here's the bill.'"
"Everybody hates lawyers until they need one."
---(mumbles) "I'm so a coward."
"What?"
---"Nothing."