I Love Dialogue from Best Medicine by Dellani

Tanya and Morgan are both doctors and they work at the same hospital. They meet by accident one evening when Tanya collapses in the doctor's lounge. Hitting it off, they soon are dating. Morgan introduces her to his large, noisy and somewhat eccentric family.

"I'm working this afternoon," Tanya said. "But before I do that, I'd better go to the grocery store. In fact, we both should. Morgan hasn't a thing in his house to eat and I'm out of just about everything."

"Oh, what excitement," Molly said dryly. "And here I thought you had something fun planned, like rock climbing or hang gliding."

"No, that's next week," Morgan said, keeping his face completely straight. "I thought we'd try joining the Mile High Club tomorrow, that is if I can borrow the family jet."

Tanya glanced around the room trying to figure out if Morgan was teasing. No one smiled. They all looked as if his remark was completely normal. Just as she was about to ask, Duke's ears went red and he burst out laughing. It was an explosive sound and made her jump. He giggled until tears came to his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he told Morgan. "I just couldn't hold it any more. Tanya, the look on your face was priceless! Good one, Uncle Morph."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Duke. I'm completely serious." He took a sip of his coffee and tipped casually back in his chair.

"But—I—Whatever!" Making rude finger gestures at his uncle, he walked from the room muttering to himself.

Morgan's lip twitched and then a smile spread across his face. "No, I'm kidding about the mile high thing, Tanya. But the family does have a plane. It belongs to Uncle Scott."

"No, Uncle Stan," Molly corrected.

"I'm always mixing them up," Morgan told her. "I hope I know them by sight and haven't had them mixed up in my head for the last thirty years. I think they played a prank on me as a child and pretended to be one another to confuse me."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Molly told him. "They are a little eccentric and have a very bizarre sense of humor."

"Which is the one with gold teeth? Stan?"

"No."

"Oh. Well then I don't know which is which. My entire life has been an illusion. I'm going to require years of therapy to make me myself again."

"I can help with that," Tanya told him with a perfectly straight face. "I am a professional. I even did a short stint on a psychiatry ward. Would you say you suffer from delusions?"

"Constantly," Morgan said with a huge, dramatic sigh. "Or are they illusions? What's the one when you see things?"

"Hallucinations... or is it halitosis? I get those two mixed up."

Kenny was looking from Morgan to Tanya and back again. "She's as loony as he is. No wonder they get along so well. What a relief! I thought we had a normal one in the family and I was going to worry about her continued mental health!"

© 2017 Dellani Oakes

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