On Voting — My Sister Called

Photo by Jose M on Unsplash

It was early morning and Chad was waiting for his buddy David to pick him up and go vote.
Then, Tricia, Chad’s sister called.
‘How are you?’ she said.
‘Hey, hey, I’m well, heading to the polls in a minute.’
‘Voting early?’
‘Yep. Working long hours during the week, so I want to get it in.’
‘Who you casting for?’
Brief pause.
‘Girl, you know that’s confidential.’
‘Not in the family,’ returned Tricia in a light tone.
But Chad was piqued. ‘Is that what you’re calling for?’
‘Yes. If you’re not telling your only sister, then I know you’re casting for Trump.’
Brief pause again.
‘Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you.’
‘Like Trump says, he’ll take care of the women whether we like it or not.’
‘What’s wrong with that?’
‘That it’s condescending, belittling and insulting.’
‘Tricia, there’s more to this election than the gender issue. We need massive deportations, high tariffs and to quit wasting money in Ukraine. They need to fend on their own. Trump will do that.’
‘Chad, gender is a huge issue in this election. We have a supreme court packed with conservatives who are denying our reproductive freedom, our reproductive sovereignty, and it’s happened because of Trump. You men want to keep us in a place where you feel comfortable, which translates into you having more opportunities than we have. But it’s going to stop.’
‘Trish, we’ve had this conversation before and it doesn’t’ go anywhere, so let’s just stop.’
Brief pause.
‘With…