Have you ever had a conversation just suddenly go from normal to extremely awkward in one sentence?

I was sitting around with a friend of mine talking. Her sister just had a baby and she was talking about being at the hospital for the event. She said, “And then you know, there’s that period of time where everyone is sitting around, waiting for the results of the paternity test…”

I kind of spluttered and said “Uhhh… wait.. what?” She thought I misheard her so she repeated herself. I was a bit surprised she said this so casually. In my family, this would be a shameful embarrassing thing to talk about. Up until that moment I had not known a single person in my (real life not on Jerry Springer show) life who had taken a paternity test.

It turns out, in her family, just about everyone takes one after the baby is born. She said her husband acted all funny about it too when she insisted on it. She said “You never know! I don’t wan’t it all up in my face a few years from now when he doesn’t look like you!”

This is only the most resent awkward moment I’ve had with this woman. She once asked me what do I do at Christmas time for my relatives in prison. She was genuinely surprised that I didn’t have any relatives there and assumed everyone had at least one relative there.

She was the first person in her family to graduate high school—AND go to college, AND graduate from college. She’s really worked hard to get where she is. She’s considered the wealthiest, smartest and most successful person in her family.

I don’t want to be a snob, but sometimes talking to her is just really awkward when she works her family life into the picture. Has anyone else had situations like this?