I’m in the middle of dinner when the call comes, so I excuse myself and head downstairs to the restroom.
I find an empty urinal and begin my business.
Midway through, a child’s head appears in my peripheral vision. It’s blond with blue eyes and attached to the rest of the body, which is about five years old. I’m somewhat startled.
It’s startling because of two reasons:
First, children don’t usually appear directly next to me.
Second, I’m used to being in the urinal stall alone.
He just hangs out for about five seconds and then looks up at me and walks away. I have no idea what happened but I laugh. I very nearly regret doing so, considering that I had been drinking earlier, but I focus on the task at hand and finish.
I head for the sinks as the urinal flushes behind me and find that the boy is just wandering free in the restroom. I start to wash my hands at the sink and he stands a few steps behind me. I start washing my hands and he asks me a question.
“Are you a boy?”
Again, laughter.
I thought we had established that earlier.
(Editor’s Note:Â Maybe I should start using an androgyny tag.)