E-I-E-I-Oh [Sean]

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean was an adventurous eater, but he had never tried fugu for the same reasons that Tomer objected to it; if the telepath was going to die, he wanted it to be from natural causes rather than inadequately-prepared poison fish. There remained so many delicious forms of seafood that he had never felt as though he was missing out by making that particular decision.

Truthfully, Sean didn’t pay the closest attention to all of the different treats that Josh provided to Mopsy, primarily because it didn’t involve him in the least, and because his partner didn’t speak to him about certain specifics, since Josh knew more than anyone else about his aversion to animals. He knew she ate cucumbers for treats, because he had seen the younger man feed her before, and so he dwelled on that memory for a moment before he replied, “I think he did partial peeling.” Which was to say that Josh had peeled off some of the skin but not with the same care that one would for a human being who had trouble digesting cucumber skins.

As soon as Sean received Tomer’s approval, he added that to the pile and brought them to the attention of the woman running the booth. She quoted a price and bagged everything for them, while the telepath pulled out the bills necessary to pay and handed them over. Once he had their bags, he gestured at the next booth. “This way.”

The telepath nodded in response to the boy’s question. While he wasn’t entirely surprised to hear that Josh’s most introverted nephew planned to forgo Purim celebrations, he was also sure that Tomer would expect his uncle to have plans. “The Temple is throwing a party, and your uncle wants to attend.” The party was open to family members, and so Sean planned to attend as well, despite the fact that he wasn’t in the least bit Jewish. Although Josh adhered to a more conservative sect than did Tomer’s immediate family, since he and the telepath 1) weren’t married, and 2) had no offspring to whose heritage came into effect, their interfaith relationship mattered little.

[Tomer Berelowitz]

Tomer was sensitive to Sean's aversion to animals, as truly strange as it was to him. Otherwise he might've pestered the man when he'd been younger about news of Uncle Josh's latest rabbit. But he nodded. "I'll slice one in half and peel a little if it's thick," he decided. "Thanks."

He thanked the older man again when the purchases were complete, feeling that even if he didn't find anything else, the trip had been a success. He was interested to see what kind of fruit the market would have, or anything else foraged that would be interesting. Tomer was of the opinion that a farmer's market could be just as fascinating as a museum.

"Are you going too?" Likely yes. A party shared with Sean was his uncle's favorite thing. Well. And beer. "Is it a costume one?"

For a pair of middle aged men, the two of them tended to find really good costumes. Nothing slapped together last minute or half-assed. Tomer liked costumes themselves, just not... anything associated with them.

"I can carry stuff on my back," he offered. With a pair of crutches the best he could do was play Sherpa.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

As with many aspects of life as a telepath, Sean found that most non-psychic people had difficulty understanding why animals made him uncomfortable. He didn’t dislike them; he supported pet programs, and he supported animal welfare laws. He reacted to animal abuse in much the same way as most of the population of people who ate meat and disliked PETA. Still, lacking that common frame of reference, he said he “didn’t care for animals” since it was the simplest way to communicate his comfort preferences without inviting a debate.

“I’m sure Clover will appreciate that,” he replied. Then he smiled as the topic shifted back to his and Josh’s plans for Purim. “I am. He wouldn’t go to a costume party if I wasn’t invited.”

The psychiatrist’s opinions about organized religion notwithstanding, he held no ill-will towards religious communities that didn’t actively discriminate or fund discrimination. He knew that Josh had concerns about his sect’s view of homosexuality (and Sean had similar concerns as a gentile outsider), but since they needn’t worry about acknowledging children or their relationship, it didn’t matter, and since his partner believed the best way to address the problem was from inside the sect, that was their family position. “We have our costumes ready.”

Selecting theme costumes was always an event in the Neville-Bernstein family, and this was no exception.

Sean shook his head, lifting the bag easily. “Don’t worry about it; I have it under control.” Tomer was on crutches and the psychiatrist was able-bodied; he could carry their purchases.

With that, they arrived at the next table, with an assortment of fruits and jams, and Sean began to comb them over.

[Tomer Berelowitz]

"If you weren't invited he'd probably throw his own." Uncle Josh had that in common with Tomer's mom. Though even if an event were all inclusive, Talia might still throw one.

"Have you ever gone as Bert and Ernie?" Tomer had been meaning to ask that for some time, but had never had the nerve. As a child, when he'd first had the idea, he'd had no idea of the so-called homosexual inflections, but had thought they'd fit the men's personalities rather well.

Nodding again when Sean said he'd do the heavy lifting, he followed to the next table and smiled. The little cardboard boxes of fruit looked like gems. He could even smell them! Tomer was a strawberry jam fan, or boring, as his sisters said. Clover liked strawberries too, but his fresh fruit of choice was bananas.

"Are you making hamantaschen this Purim too?" Poppy filling could be a little bitter and... Tomer didn't quite know how to describe it, sort of like licorice and sort of like pepper and occasionally sort of like little itty bitty rocks.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“I have no doubt he would,” Sean agreed. If Josh’s synagogue didn’t make allowances for non-Jewish family members, his partner would throw his own Purim party as well as switch to a more liberal and accepting synagogue. Although they had not discussed that in detail, the psychiatrist knew its truth all the same. Fortunately, that had yet to come up, because Josh’s current temple accepted their relationship as valid, since they weren’t trying to get married.

At the question, Sean shook his head in denial. “We haven’t.” In part, that came from his belief that Bert and Ernie weren’t a couple, and in part because they were characters on a children’s show and he didn’t believe it appropriate for him to grope his partner while dressed as a Muppet. He also disagreed that he was as stuffy as Bert, but that was a topic for another day.

With that, Sean began to examine the assorted flavors of jams and preserves, deciding which he wanted to purchase. “Of course we are.” Josh loved to bake now, Sean had always loved to bake, they both enjoyed the fruits of their labor, and the attorney in particular wanted to celebrate his cultural and religious holidays to the greatest extent possible. “Do you have any flavors you’d like us to make? I would bring you a few the next day.”

[Tomer Berelowitz]

His own mother wasn't throwing a party this Purim, but that was because one of Abby's best friends was and the parents all knew each other and were invited. The only fun part of Purim parties for Tomer was if he could invite Bee, his own best friend. She could make any party more fun (for him, anyway). Trying to find the most perfectly equilateral hamantaschen and then the most scalene was not an activity that anyone else cared to try, even (and especially) if Tomer got out his ruler.

For his own part, Tomer didn't believe Bert 'stuffy', and comparing him to Sean was a high compliment. Tomer had thought Bert very sensible. Comparing Uncle Josh to Ernie was less so, but the main point was that even so different, they were still best friends. Also, Tomer was unaware of his uncle's propensity for groping while in costume, but had he known he would've agreed that... maybe something else.

"Oh, good. Vivy said she wasn't going to bother with lots of little ones this year. She's going to make a big one. She said Abby said it would be more like a galette, but she didn't care. She found a way to make it S'mores, I guess with a graham-flavored crust, filled with chocolate, and topped with marshmallows you use the broiler on." Tomer didn't think it sounded all that Purim-y, but he supposed if you could pull that on any holiday, Purim would be it.

Smiling over at his honorary uncle, he said, "I always like strawberry, but any fruit kind is good. Has Uncle Josh ever made a cheesecake filled?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean looked forward to the Purim party, because he looked forward to all parties with his partner, and Josh took such delight in celebrating the holidays of his cultural and religious heritage. The telepath also enjoyed both the costumes and treat aspect of the holiday, which made it somewhat similar to Halloween in that respect.

Whatever their chosen costumes, he remained confident that he and Josh would enjoy themselves. “I’ll be sure to take some pictures, so you can see our costumes.” After they decided on their costumes, before they became too inebriated to focus.

Although both men had cut back on their alcohol intake, Josh had explained decades ago that Purim was a drinking holiday, and Sean would never steer the other man away from his cultural expectations.

Sean continued to pick up jars, read the labels, and then set them down while he mulled over the available selections. He would need two or three different fruit flavors, but he also saw a mint one, and despite not eating lamb or mutton frequently, he liked to keep a jar on hand. “S’mores? I’ve never heard of that.”

Unsurprisingly, since Purim had never been his holiday, even if he had celebrated it with the Bernsteins since long before Tomer had been born. He kept to traditional recipes unless Josh expressed an interest in branching out.

At the teenager’s other flavors, he smiled, “We always make strawberry.” Strawberry was his personal favorite. They also made apricot each time. Shaking his head, he added, “We haven’t. I’ve never seen a recipe for those.”